He crouched low to meet him at eye level and reached out his hands, only to hesitantly withdraw. “Kid… How old are you?”
Luca didn’t answer and glared back warily.
“Seven! You’re seven, aren’t you?” Rafael’s words spilled out in excitement as he didn’t wait for an answer. His hands
trembled as he reached for Luca.
“This has to be my child! Gianna, you kept him! You still love me!”
“Don’t touch him!” I barked and shielded Luca.
Rafael looked up and even had the audacity to smile. “Come on, Gianna. You gave me a son, and that’s all proof I need that
we’re-”
“He’s not yours,” I said, cutting him off.
“No way! The timing’s perfect, and he has to be my son! You can’t lie to me!” he stubbornly growled.
Luca, who’d been silent this whole time, peeped out from behind me. When he spoke, his voice was cold and rang clear with disdain. “So, you’re the trashy man who made my mother cry.”
Rafael’s smile froze on his face as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “W–What did you just say?”
“I know what you did. You abandoned her 17 times and even gave my grandma’s gemstone to another woman. You threw away her dignity on the most important, special day of her life and nearly made her lose me.”
The color drained from Rafael’s face as he looked up at me and shakingly asked, “D–Did you tell him all this?”
Before I could speak, Luca replied, “She didn’t need to. The Rossetti family’s intelligence web reaches further than you think.”
Rafael’s shock turned into panic before he soon regained his composure. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Luca and tried to tempt him in a warm, promising voice.
“Listen to me, kid. I know I’ve been absent all these years, but we can start over. You can have anything you want–toys, cars,
castles–I can give them all to you, as long as you come with me…”
He’d assumed that a seven–year–old child would be tempted by material possessions.
“No thanks. There’s nothing I need–least of all, a father,” Luca snapped.
Rafael looked hurt like he’d been stabbed in the chest. His mouth opened to speak when Luca stepped forward and curled his little hand around my fingers. “Touch my mother again, and I’ll make sure you and that woman beside you disappear from Silenzio.”
The room plunged into silence.
Rafael looked utterly destroyed by despair and disbelief. His gaze, filled with anguish, darted between me and Luca.
“Giannna, our son… He…”
“He’s not ‘our‘ son. He’s my child, a Rossetti heir.” I took Luca’s hand and turned away without sparing him another look.
“Let’s go, Luca.”
“Yes, Mother,” Luca obediently replied as he tightened his grip around my fingers.
“W–Wait, Gianna!” He ran over her, refusing to give up.
