For one full second, no one says anything.
Then Stefano slams on the brakes.
“Olivia.”
The way he says her name would scare most grown men.
Livy winces.
I turn completely in my seat. “Have you lost your ever-loving mind?”
“I wanted to help.”
“No.” My voice rises so fast I barely recognize it. “No, you wanted to disobey me and sneak into a car during a security threat after I specifically told you to stay home.”
Her eyes fill with tears.
Normally, that would soften me.
Not today.
Today, fear turns everything inside me sharp.
“You could’ve been locked in the garage. You could’ve been hurt. You could’ve scared Stefano and caused an accident. Do you understand how dangerous that was?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“You’re sorry now,” I say, my voice harsh. “But when you climbed into this car, the only thing you were thinking about was yourself. What you wanted. How you could get it. You didn’t think about Rosa, who is probably scared out of her mind looking for you right now. You didn’t think about Stefano. You didn’t think about me.”
“I’m sorry, Mama,” she repeats.
“You’re in so much trouble, Olivia Marie.”
Stefano pulls the SUV to the side of the drive and puts it in park. His hands grip the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turn white.
“We’re turning around.”
“No,” I say. “There’s no time.”
His head snaps toward me.
“The horse will die, Stefano.”
“Mia,” he whispers. “It’s not safe right now.”
“We’re too far already, and if we take her back, get her inside, explain what happened, and then leave again, that horse may not make it.”
His jaw tightens.
“I don’t like this.”
“I don’t either.” I look back at my daughter. “She stays in the car when we get there. She does not step one foot outside unless one of us says so.”
Livy nods quickly. “I won’t. I promise.”
I point at her. “Your promises are not worth much to me right now.”
Her little face crumples.
