Chapter 2

I put my right hand on my stomach. My eyes fill up.

"Baby. It's okay. Don't be scared. Mommy's getting you out of here."

Then I see the watch on my wrist. My chest twists.

When I first started diving, I panicked in the training pool and almost drowned. Luca pulled me out.

After that, he had this watch made for me. It gets signal even fifty meters down.

He said if it ever rings, he'd come running.

I call him without thinking.

The video connects.

The wedding is already going. People cheering, glasses clinking. Nobody noticed the bride got switched.

Luca doesn't see the call come through. He's moving through the crowd. The camera pans across the room.

The bride's photo. It's Serafina's face now.

The white roses I picked. Gone. Replaced with the red ones she likes.

The Valentino gown I waited a year for. It's on her. Fits her like it was made for her.

That's when it hits me.

This wedding was never mine. Not from the start.

My best friend Chiara. She's in her bridesmaid dress, arm hooked through Serafina's.

"Sera, you're crazy. Luca flew you to Vegas to sign the papers, threw a whole party, and you still wanted a wedding? I figured you'd skip it."

"I mean. Giada's such a control freak. She'd have made your life hell either way."

I saved Chiara in middle school. Some girls were beating her up. I stepped in front of her and took it.

She told me I was the only person in the world who loved her for nothing.

Serafina tugs the veil, smirking.

"Honestly? I didn't even want the papers. But Luca was worried I'd feel insecure. He heard Vegas quickies are basically un-annullable, so he insisted."

"Same with the wedding. He wanted to keep a room for me at the house. Giada threw a fit."

"So he came up with this. Just to knock her down a peg."

Matteo, Luca's consigliere. He's in the groomsman suit. He snorts.

"If Giada knew the bet was rigged from the start. Whether she kneeled or not, she was losing. God, she'd lose her mind."

A month ago, Matteo's own family cut him off. He had nowhere to go.

I hid him. Covered for him. Protected his pride when he had nothing left.

Mama walks over. She's smiling.

"Giada's a softie. Just sweet-talk her after. She'll come around."

She pauses. Sighs a little.

"Poor Sera though. Moving overseas just to give her sister space. I'll barely get to see you."

Luca's hand slides around Serafina's waist. Easy. Natural.

"Ma. Don't worry about it. You miss her, I'll fly you out. Anytime."

Something in my chest crushes.

Mama knew.

Mama knew.

Every single one of them was in on it.

I'm shaking. I force my breathing down. Slow. Even. I can't waste a single breath.

Tears are pouring down my face. I bang the watch. SOS. SOS. SOS.

Luca finally notices the call. He freezes for a second. Something flickers on his face.

"Giada. How much did you hear?"

Doesn't matter.

None of it matters.

I just want to live.

I just need him to see the ultrasound. Maybe then he lets me go.

I duck my head. Reach for the pouch.

Luca sighs.

"Maybe it's better you know. I've made Sera wait too long."

"She's pregnant, Giada. I have to think about her right now."

My hand stops.

Something inside me shatters.

After the ice pool, I couldn't touch water. Not for years.

Two months ago, he coaxed me back into it. Said he had to take me to see the Christ of the Abyss. Just once.

I clawed my way through the panic. Through the nightmares of losing my first baby. For him.

And the whole time, he was doing it to get back at me. For her.

That's what I am to him.

Serafina's mood. Worth more than my life.

Then Serafina steps into frame. She holds up a velvet box.

I know that box. I've seen it a hundred times.

Inside is the little cross pendant. The one Luca designed for our baby. The one he's kept locked in his desk for five years.

His miracle. She's already given it to him.

I almost break.

I can't.

I can't break.

I'm shaking. I tap the watch. Soft. Pleading.

Two taps, 1.5 seconds apart. Five times in a row.

Luca told me once. Two taps 1.5 seconds apart is his heartbeat.

Five times in a row is my code. Nobody else's.

The last time I ever used it was the day his stepmother threw me in the ice pool.

He got to me in three minutes. Jumped into the freezing water without hesitating. Didn't care if he died with me.

But this time.

He pauses.

Something flickers on his face. Hesitation.

Then Serafina starts crying. Big, perfect tears.

"Luca, go get her. Before the ceremony starts. Let her be the bride. I don't even need to prove anything. I just want us to be a family."

His hesitation dies. His face goes cold.

"That code is for emergencies. Not tantrums."

"Sera's leaving the country after the wedding. She won't bother you. It's one wedding, Giada. Get a grip."

He's about to hang up. I shake my head. Frantic.

"I don't care about the wedding. I don't have enough air. Luca, I'm going to die down here."

He waves me off. Impatient.

"If something's actually wrong, call the dive instructor!"

He hangs up.

The screen goes black. My only light. Gone.

Tears come down slow. I can't stop them.

He knows I'm scared of water. When I was learning to dive, he was a wreck. No matter how deep I went, he made sure a dive instructor was on standby. Every single time.

He didn't forget today either.

I got worked up. Burned through my air. I have maybe thirty minutes now.

I steady myself. I call the instructor. The tap pattern we set up in advance.

He picks up. Silent for a few seconds.