Chapter 1
“My son can’t breathe… and you tied up my four-year-old child so your favorite grandchild could hurt him.”
I said it while holding Caleb against my chest.
His breathing was shallow and uneven, and every few seconds his fingers tightened in the front of my jacket as if he needed to make sure I was still there. Behind me, one of my bodyguards cleared the hallway. In front of me, my mother stood beside the dining table with the same cold expression she used when dismissing a failed business proposal.
Francesca did not apologize.
She looked at Caleb.
Then at me.
“He needs to stop being fragile.”
The room went silent.
My father remained near the doorway. Bianca was still pulling herself up beside the collapsed chess table, one hand pressed to her cheek. Mason stood farther back, suddenly much quieter now that no one was laughing.
I looked at my mother.
“You tied him.”
“He kept interfering.”
“With what?”
No answer.
That mattered.
Caleb shifted weakly against me.
“Mom…”
I lowered my head.
“What?”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“Grandma said Mason has to win.”
I looked up.
Francesca’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
Enough.
“Win what?”
Caleb swallowed.
“The family game.”
Bianca stopped moving.
My father looked toward her.
There it was.
Not an explanation.
Reaction.
I turned slowly toward all three of them.
“What family game?”
Francesca lifted her chin.
“You’re emotional.”
“No.”
I adjusted Caleb carefully in my arms.
“I’m listening.”
Vincent finally spoke.
“Alessandra, take Caleb upstairs. We’ll discuss this after dinner.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
His face hardened.
I had heard that tone my entire childhood. It used to end conversations.
It did not anymore.
Bianca stepped forward.
“Mason’s future has already been discussed.”
I looked at her.
“By whom?”
Silence.
That was the moment I understood this dinner had never been only dinner.
May you like
Caleb had been tied to a chair because someone wanted him to lose something.
And the adults in the room already knew exactly what that something was.
