Chapter 11
Silvano began with Ethan.
Not an apology designed to end the conversation.
A real one.
They sat beside the estate swimming pool before breakfast.
“I didn't listen enough before this happened.”
Ethan kicked one sneaker against the chair.
“To Aunt Lucia?”
“To her.”
Silvano paused.
“And to you.”
Ethan looked at him.
“You don't like her house.”
“That isn't true.”
“You said it's too far.”
Silvano remembered.
Every request for more weekends in Pasadena had become an argument about school schedules, security or inconvenience.
Ethan had heard something simpler.
No.
Silvano continued.
“I should've asked why you liked being there.”
“No yelling.”
The answer was immediate.
Silvano felt it.
“Here?”
Ethan nodded.
“People yell when you're mad.”
Silvano looked toward the estate.
He had believed keeping Ethan inside guarded walls meant safety.
The child experienced those same walls differently.
Silvano changed the custody routine voluntarily.
Once professional guidance allowed supervised contact again, Ethan would be able to see Lucia at a neutral location if he wanted.
Not because Lucia deserved it.
Because Ethan’s relationships were not weapons adults could confiscate from each other.
The decision angered several relatives.
It also angered Lucia.
She wanted Ethan at her house.
Silvano refused.
“You almost killed him trying to prove my home was unsafe.”
“I didn't know—”
“You knew you were using him.”
Lucia stopped.
There was no answer to that.
Meanwhile, Marco denied the temperature evidence meant what investigators claimed.
His attorneys argued that phone status checks did not prove he understood the immediate danger.
May you like
The truth existed.
Accountability would still require more.
