Chapter 11
Helena turned state witness two days later.
Not because her conscience woke.
Because prison scared her more than Dante.
I did not care why truth came, only that it came under oath.
She admitted Dante approached her before our engagement.
He knew I was lonely.
He knew Leo needed a mother figure.
He knew I wanted the house to feel alive again.
So he gave Helena a role.
Win Carmine.
Resent Leo.
Document his “difficult behavior.”
Push for custody if I broke.
Helena cried during the statement.
No one believed the tears.
Then she confessed something I did not expect.
“Sofia knew about me.”
Detective Voss leaned forward.
“What do you mean?”
“She knew Dante planned to put me near Carmine eventually. She found messages. That’s why she wrote the letter.”
I watched from behind the glass.
My wife had been fighting a war while I thought we were happy.
That guilt nearly bent me in half.
Later, I sat alone in the safe house kitchen.
Alessia found me there.
“She didn’t tell you because she loved you.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if she thought the truth would make you kill Dante before she had enough evidence.”
I looked at my sister.
“I might have.”
“I know.”
We sat in silence.
Leo came in dragging his bear.
“Papa sad?”
“Yes.”
He climbed into my lap.
“Because Mama?”
I stopped breathing.
We rarely spoke of Sofia.
He had been a baby when she died.
“Yes.”
He touched my cheek.
“I remember singing.”
My throat tightened.
“She sang to you every night.”
He leaned against me.
“Helena said Mama left because I was wrong.”
I closed my eyes.
“She lied.”
“Was Mama happy I came?”
I held him so tightly he squeaked.
“She fought to keep you safe before you were born.”
Leo was quiet.
Then he whispered, “I’m real?”
I pulled back and looked into his eyes.
“You are the realest thing in my life.”
He smiled.
Small.
Uncertain.
Enough.
That night, I called for a family court hearing to secure permanent protection of Leo’s trust and custody.
I had spent years avoiding courts.
Now I wanted a judge, a transcript, and a stamp no Bellucci cousin could whisper around.
May you like
Dante had weaponized shadows.
So I would drag him into light.
