Chapter 4

I look down at the ground.

Five years of kneeling for that money.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. New York area code.

"Miss Bellini, your mother's crashed. She won't make it to mid-month. We need the payment through today. Dr. Keller's only got the window right now."

I'm on my feet and running before she's done talking.

"Nero!"

He stops. Turns.

I catch his hand. "The hospital just called. Mom needs the surgery today. Please. Wire it. Now. Right now—"

Something shifts in his face.

Before he can answer, Sabrina's voice slides in behind me.

"Miss Bellini." Polite. Doubtful. "I checked in with them yesterday. They said your mother was stable. What could've changed overnight?"

She's already got her phone out. Thumbing through it.

"Don't get worked up. Let me have the nurse pull up a video. Then we'll know."

She dials, right there in front of everyone. Puts it on speaker.

"Nurse Perez. How's Mrs. Bellini doing this morning? Send me a video, quick."

Fifteen seconds later, it comes through.

There's my mom. Propped up in bed. Newspaper in her hands. Talking to a nurse. Cheeks pink. Fine.

Sabrina angles the phone so everyone in the courtyard can see.

"Miss Bellini." All soft concern. "She looks fine to me. Does that look like a woman who won't last two weeks?"

She sighs.

"You want that surgery paid for? Follow the Family's rules. You don't have to hide behind your mother."

My ears start ringing.

Nero's face closes. Disappointment settles behind his eyes.

"I didn't—" My voice cracks. "Nero. Call the hospital yourself. Please. Just call them—"

"That's enough."

He cuts me off. Tired.

"Stay here. Don't make another scene. If you do—"

He pauses.

"—I'll pull Keller off the case."

Everything in me goes still.

Dr. Keller. Without the Marchetti name, I couldn't get him to pick up the phone.

"Padrone. The Council's waiting." Sabrina, at his elbow.

Nero looks at me one last time.

Nothing there but the tired look of a man dealing with a wife who doesn't know when to stop.

"Let's go." He turns. Walks.

Sabrina throws a smile over her shoulder. "Told you. Rules are rules."

I take a step back and almost lose my balance.

I watch her catch up to him. Lean in close. Say something.

He tilts his head to listen. The corner of his mouth lifts.

And standing there in the fog, I honestly can't remember how I ever fell in love with him.