Val looked down at her lap, her fingers twisting together.
Carol's voice softened. "Just… for your own peace of mind, leave the famiglia business to Marco, okay? But this world...is designed to take pieces of you."
The car moved smoothly through the traffic.
"Concentrate on being whole, Val. On being a woman with a life outside their wars. A wife because you choose to be. A mother."
Val's eyes shone, but she blinked the tears back.
Carol kept her voice steady. "Let Marco carry the famiglia business.You carry Matteo. Carry yourself. That is enough. It should be enough."
Val nodded. She did not trust her voice, so she said nothing.
Back at the mansion, the members of the famiglia had begun to arrive. Cars lined the street beyond the gates, sleek black vehicles slipping into place one after another, delivering dangerous men.
Everyone knew why they had been summoned. They moved through the house and towards the back courtyard.
