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She looks at me wearily, and I take off my wedding ring and leave it by the bed. “I hope you live the best life possible.”
I lug my suitcase onto its wheels and wheel it out the door. Whatever I’ve left can be replaced. Luigi is waiting on the porch with Aleks.
“Goodbye, Aleks,” I say, tears free-flowing down my face. “Thank you for protecting me.”
Aleks remains stony-faced, but I see he nods slightly, and I know he will miss me too.
Luigi takes my bag and puts it in the trunk before helping me into the car. We pull into traffic, and I hug my knees and sob hard. I don’t think I cried this hard when Mama was killed.
Luigi pats my back. “It’ll be okay, sis. You’ll see. You’re better off back with us.”
This just makes me sob harder, so he falls silent.
We arrive at my sister's house, and I climb out of the car, miserable and feeling nauseous, and I walk inside. I want to find a bed to curl up on and grieve the loss of the one person I will ever love.
My plans are haltered, though, when I find Alessandro in the entrance hall waiting for me. I look at him sadly, then he opens his arms, and I hug him, crying into his shoulder. “I fell for him,” I sob. “I know I wasn’t supposed to, but I did, and I regret betraying him, Alessandro. I want him back.”
He pats my back softly. “There’s nothing to be done about it now. Ivan will never forgive you for this. He has declared war on our family and will never trust one of us again.”
I pull away and look up to see Alessandro looking at me sternly. “Is it true you’re pregnant with his child? Luigi says you are.”
The sudden change in my emotions is surprising even to me. I’ve never stepped out of line. I’ve never talked back. I wasn’t even grounded ever because I was a good child and did what I was told, and theone thingI asked my brother to keep secret, he told the head of our family.
I ignore Alessandro and round on Luigi, who is standing awkwardly at the door. “How fucking dare you! How fucking dare you! You promised it would stay between us until I was ready to tell Alessandro.”
“Vittoria…” Alessandro says, surprised.
Luigi holds his hands up. “He’s the head of our family, and you were acting weird. I had to tell him. Just in case….”
“In case of what? In case I betrayedourfamily. The family that has cost me the love of my life and the father of my child. Fuck you, Luigi. I will never forgive you for this.”
Before he can say anything, Alessandro’s voice booms, “Luigi, leave it. Scram, let me speak to Tori.”
After my brother leaves, I breathe heavily and move to sit down, holding my belly. “You mustn’t stress yourself out,” Alessandro says quietly. “Stress you feel is stress the baby feels.”
He stands there for a moment. “I assume Ivan doesn’t know, so if you want, I can send you out of state to a private place where no one will find you, and you can have the baby there.”
“No, I need to make things right.” I look up at my cousin desperately. “I think I know someone who can help. Please, Alessandro, let me try to make this right.”
He looks at me for what feels like the longest moment before he nods. “Just be careful. Call me if you need backup.”
I get up and hug him. Ivan doesn’t want to see me, and Evgeni has betrayed him. There is only one person I can try to turn to, and I know he hates my guts, but I have to try.
“I’ll go in the morning,” I tell him, getting up. “For now, I just want to be alone.”
He nods and lets me go upstairs.
I take one of my brother-in-law's cars in the morning and drive to the main warehouse. I only know where it is from the reports I looked at with Ivan.
I park a safe distance away and approach carefully but try to appear casual. I have no weapons, but I know Ivan doesn’t want me hurt. I know he still loves me. I go to the guard and say, “I’m here to speak to Leonid.”
The guard looks at me for a moment, then opens the door. “We know who you are. I wouldn’t stay long.”
I nod, and he points to a set of stairs. “Office at the top.”
I knock on the door and hear Leonid call for me to come in. When he sees me, he raises an eyebrow. “You have some nerve.”
“Leonid, please, just hear me out,” I say, wringing my hands. “I need to speak to Ivan, and I know you can make that happen. You’re his most trusted person.”
