Don Montecarlo's cane struck the ground again, louder this time, filled with anger. He gripped the silver head with both hands and rested his chin on his knuckles, and the room went still in a way that had nothing to do with the hour and everything to do with what that posture meant. Every man in the family who had seen it before felt their mouths go dry.
"You think this is a joke?" he thundered, his voice echoing across the hall. "You think harming the innocent is something to laugh about?"
The children flinched.
"You will each receive twenty lashes tonight," he continued without hesitation. "For one full month, you will have no outings, no toys, no entertainment of any kind. You will rise at dawn and scrub this entire estate until your hands bleed."
Gianna gasped, lifting her head. "But Grandpa—"
"Silence," he snapped.
"But it was just a prank—"
"A prank?" Don Montecarlo's voice rose, filled with disbelief and rage. "You call this a prank? Taking the life of a helpless creature? Shame on all of you."
Enzo tried to say something, but the Old Don silenced him with a single look. The same look that had once stripped a capo of his territory in front of twenty men without a word being spoken.
"This is my house," Don Montecarlo said firmly. "And Seraphina is still family under this roof. If she wishes it, I will throw every one of you out myself."
Enzo froze, clearly shaken.
For a fleeting moment, something stirred inside me. A faint sense of protection.
But it came far too late.
Nothing could undo what had already happened.
I stood up slowly and walked past them, ignoring their whispers, ignoring the hatred in their eyes. I did not look back.
In the garden, beneath the dim night sky, I knelt down and began digging with my bare hands.
The soil was cold and damp. It clung to my fingers, filled my nails, scraped my skin raw. I did not stop. I could not stop. My tears fell into the dirt as I carved out a small grave behind the garden wall, where the security lights didn't reach and the soldiers on night rotation never patrolled.
"I'm sorry, Miso," I sobbed quietly.
He had been my only comfort in this place. The only one who loved me without conditions. The only one who stayed by my side.
And now he was gone.
Just like that.
Something inside me broke completely.