Liliana.
The name suits her. I drag my gaze from her with deliberate effort to face the man sitting before me, brows furrowed like he's just been inconvenienced.
He shifts in his chair and sighs like she's a nuisance. “What the hell do you want?”
I look back at her just in time to see her flinch under his tone. I tense. She raises her hands and signs something quickly. I know what it means. She's apologizing to him. When he doesn't say anything, she touches her wrist, rubbing the skin in a circular motion.
Renato scoffs. “Don’t start your flailing in front of company. Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something, you stupid girl?”
Something shifts in my gut. “Is she your daughter?” I look past her face to her ear, where a hearing aid is nestled. She's deaf and probably mute. That realization tugs at something in me.
He shrugs like it’s barely worth confirming. “Unfortunately. The useless thing came from her mother’s cursed womb.”
The air stills. “I asked if she is your daughter?” I say with barely suppressed fury.
“My daughter.” He says it like it's the worst thing in the world.
The words hit me with such force that I rear back slightly. Not from surprise, but from disgust.
Daughter.
I didn’t even realize he had one. She’s his daughter, Renato Marchelli’s daughter. And he talks about her like that. No warmth. No pride. Just pure disdain.
I turn to her again. She's still brushing her fingers over her wrist in repetition. I see it now. It's a nervous gesture, like she's trying to calm herself down.
There's a slight resemblance, but she's nothing like Renato. She's everything he isn't. And I know this because there's a familiar feeling that's too intense to ignore.
She signs again in apology, this time, to me. I start to say something about her not needing to apologize when Renato snaps. “Get out, Liliana. Get the hell out before I lose my patience.”
That’s it. Something in me loosens.
“Shut the hell up, Renato,” I say, my voice thunderous.
Renato freezes. So does she.
I step forward. Just once. Just enough to let him see the anger coursing through me. “That’s your daughter. And you speak to her like that in front of me? In front of anyone? You should be ashamed.”
He opens his mouth to speak, but I’m not done. I turn to her, voice gentler now. The heat under my skin is still simmering. I hold her startled gaze. “I apologize for his rudeness. You didn’t deserve that.”
Her eyes search mine, confused, like no one’s ever spoken to her that way before. Like she’s not sure if this is real. Before I can say something else, she turns and then she’s gone, feet turning soundlessly as she slips back through the door and out of sight.
Something about her retreat leaves a hollowness in my chest, like I've just let something monumental slip through my grasp.
Renato clears his throat. “She’s sensitive. Silly thing thinks the world owes her gentleness because she has an impediment.” He chuckles. The bastard actually chuckles.
I face him again, fists clenched at my sides, the full effect of my wrath evident in the glare I pin him with. I want to put him through his own desk, hurt him so badly, he won't ever speak to her like that again. But I don’t.
Instead, I speak through clenched teeth. “Fix what you did, Renato. You’ve got one week to put back every single cent you stole from Palermo. Every cent. Or I swear on my father’s grave, I’ll make you wish you'd stayed loyal. If I so much as get a whiff of hesitation from you, I will tear your life apart from the inside out.”
His face pales. Good.
My father was not a man of useless words. If he had any working brain, he would know I don't make empty threats either. If I wanted to hurt him before for stealing from me, I now want to eviscerate him from the face of the earth.
And it's all because of his daughter. Liliana.
His mouth opens on a defense or a rebuttal, I don't know. I'm not waiting for a response. I turn and walk out of the room.
But I still see her, the image of Liliana’s eyes, those wide blue eyes, burned behind mine. And I know I’ll see them again.
