Page 51 of Of Lies and Shadows

“Oh, please,” I murmur, the sound of my laughter fading like smoke. “I don’t need anything from you.”

“Francesca…” His voice dips into a warning, but I don’t get a chance to reply, not when I hear a soft voice in the hallway.

“Where’s my mermaid?”

My heart stutters, and this time, my smile is real. I step past both men and out into the corridor to find Lucia standing in front of her bedroom door, blinking sleep from her eyes. Her curls are a wild halo on her head, her tiny fist rubbing at one cheek.

“Oh, little princess,” I breathe out, crouching down to open my arms. “Here I am.”

God, I love these kids.

It takes almost two hours to get them dressed, fed, and ready. Lucia refuses two different pairs of socks, and Alessio insists on wearing his pirate eye patch until I bribe him with toast, but I don’t mind. For those two hours, the weight of everything else lifts. No marriage. No shame. No violence. Just breakfast and cartoons and laughter.

I can breathe again.

“You okay?” Bruno asks quietly as we head toward the car.

I nod, adjusting Lucia’s sweater over my shoulder. But when he starts to follow me into the back seat, Fulvio, Dante’s guard, steps in, expression unreadable.

“You sit in the front. Boss wants me in the back. With the family.”

Bruno frowns.

Alessio tenses beside me, puffing up just a little, like a tiny knight ready to defend his princess and his mermaid.

I smile at Bruno, placing a gentle hand on his arm. “It’s fine. Go on.”

He hesitates, but then he catches the quick look I throw toward the kids. A silent plea not to escalate this in front of them.

He sighs but nods, stepping around the car.

I settle into the back seat between Lucia and Alessio, wrapping one arm around each of them as the engine hums to life.

One moment of peace at a time. That’s all I can manage. And for now, it’s enough.

We arrive at the seamstress. A small, elegant shop nestled in the back corner of a luxury shopping street, the kind of place that doesn’t need to advertise. They already know your name when you walk in.

I shouldn’t be surprised. Of course Dante would pick a school where even the uniforms are tailored like haute couture. God forbid Lucia wear a skirt that doesn't match her stride or Alessio a shirt with a crease out of place.

As the children are ushered toward mirrored platforms with polite efficiency, I take a seat on the velvet bench. Bruno settles beside me, close enough for comfort but nottoo close for suspicion.

He leans in slightly, his voice quiet. “How are you really? Honestly?”

I hesitate, watching Lucia tug at the hem of her blouse while Alessio grumbles about ties.

“I’m not sure,” I admit. “Not as bad as I thought I’d be.”

A lie, maybe. Or maybe just a fragile, fractured truth.

Bruno follows my gaze and then says quietly, “He seems… attached.”

I snort under my breath and shake my head. “Don’t mistake possession for care.”

The seamstress hovers nearby, pinning up Lucia’s skirt. I lean forward. “Can you make it just below the knees? She doesn’t like it too short.”

Lucia beams at me in the mirror. I wink at her.

My heart aches.

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