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For the first time in a long time, I feel something I cannot control.

Loss.

And worse than that?—

Defeat.

The door slams shut behind him. The silence that follows is unbearable. I stand there, unmoving, staring at the space Daniele just occupied, his words still ringing in my ears like gunfire.

“For the rest of my life, I will hate you.”

I press my fingertips against my temple. Control. Breathe. But it’s useless. The tension in my chest is unbearable, pressing down like a vice, suffocating me in ways I refuse to name.

Daniele is my son. My son.

Not by blood. But by something far greater.

And yet, he looks at me as if I’m nothing to him. As if the years I spent raising him, protecting him, guiding him, none of it ever mattered. I should be furious. I should get up, go after him, shake him by the shoulders until he sees the truth. Until he sees me.

Giacomo.

He’s poisoned my son’s mind, twisted his grief into something sharp enough to drive straight into my chest. And Daniele—angry, lost Daniele—has swallowed every lie whole.

You never looked at me the way a father looks at his son.

I am reminded of how Beatrice never wanted him to know the truth of his paternity. She wanted him to know only me as his father. I promised her that I would keep this secret, and now I’ve failed her, too.

How the fuck do I fix this?

Daniele isn’t a child anymore. He’s a grown man, one who has been made to believe that his entire life was built on a foundation of lies. And the worst part? He’s not entirely wrong.

I should have told him the truth—I should have gone against Beatrice’s wishes and jumped the gun. Maybe then Giacomo wouldn’t have had the ammunition to turn him against me.

“Fuck.” The curse is felt right down to the very depths of my soul.

A knock sounds at the door.

I already know who it is.

“Come in.”

Valerio steps inside, his usual smirk absent. His sharp blue eyes scan me. He exhales, shutting the door behind him.

“Well, that went about as well as we knew it would.” He sighs heavily. “I’m sorry, boss.”

Valerio comes to stand beside me. “I think if we kidnap him and lock him up and starve him a little, he will come out right. We could add in a good spanking or two.”

I let out a breath that’s almost a laugh. Almost.

“This isn’t a joke.”

Valerio shrugs. “Didn’t say it was. I’m entirely serious. What did he say?”

“He hates me.”

Valerio exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Matteo…”

I don’t need his sympathy. I don’t need anything. What I need is to fix this and get my son back.