Chapter 46: I Love You

Victoria P.O.V

She freezes at the stern tone of her father’s voice, her heart thrashing in her chest. His thumb brushed across her cheek before his hand falls back over his chest. She follows it, noticing they’re wetter than before. And pinker.

‘Oh,’ she realizes as his figure blurs in and out of focus. His face swells large like a balloon before shrinking suddenly when she blinks. ‘I’m crying.’

Giuseppe takes a big gulp of the hot, smoky air. “You were right,” he says gravely. “About the law firm.”

“What?” she squeaks. Her mind is immobile, the train tracks carrying her thoughts are burned and broken in some places, and frozen over with jagged ice picks in others. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Papa.”

“The ... law firm,” Giuseppe wheezes. He takes another lungful of air before continuing. “You and Antoni were trying to figure out ... why Dante and I suddenly made both ... of you co-managing partners. You were right, about that.”