Elodie’s Pov~
I heard it in the way Liora’s voice went soft, that particular lilt she used when she was thinking about soone she adored.
She was thinking about Sienna.
Liora had done exactly what Dante told her to do. Stayed put at the Miller’s estate like a good little girl, didn’t wander off. But her body might’ve been here, tucked into these walls, while her mind? Her mind was sowhere else entirely. With soone else.
I’d seen her checking her phone all day. Her thumb scrolling. Waiting. She’d sent ssage after ssage to "Auntie Sienna," but Sienna, busy as always, important as always, had barely replied.
By late afternoon, we’d all made our way to the hotel. The staff moved quietly, efficiently, setting up for Nonna’s birthday banquet. Everything was pristine. Everything was perfect. By six, the guests started trickling in.
I watched from the side as Uncle Jason greeted them at the entrance, accepting gifts with that easy charm he wore like a second skin, directing people to their seats. But I noticed sothing off in the way so of them shifted on their feet. The tight smiles. The hurried words.
"Apologies, Jason. I have another engagent tonight. I’ll just pay my respects and be on my way."
Jason nodded graciously. Professionally. I didn’t say anything either. People were busy. It happened.
Except it kept happening.
Half an hour later, I realized it wasn’t just one or two people. It was a pattern now. Business partners, people who’d worked with the Miller Family for years, were dropping off gifts and disappearing before the appetizers even hit the table. So didn’t bother showing up at all. They sent assistants. Secretaries. People with rehearsed apologies and expensive wine they didn’t even hand over themselves.
We’d reserved over twenty tables.
At this rate, more than half of them were going to sit empty tonight.
I stood there, with my fingers laced together in front of , watching the room that should’ve been filling up stay painfully, embarrassingly sparse. This was supposed to be a celebration. My grandmother’s night. She’d been looking forward to this for weeks, talking about who was coming, what she’d wear, asking to help her pick out a dress because Dante certainly wouldn’t.
And now?
Now it was turning into sothing else entirely. Sothing hollow.
I kept my face smooth. Neutral. I’d gotten good at that.
But Uncle Jason, he wasn’t hiding it as well. I could see the disappointnt creeping into the lines around his mouth, the way his shoulders stiffened every ti soone else made an excuse and headed for the door. He was too polite to say anything, but I knew it was eating at him.
Finally, he caught one of the guests he actually trusted, Mr. Lane, soone he’d done business with for years and I watched him lean in slightly, with his voice low.
"A lot of our guests have ntioned they can’t stay for dinner. They’ve all said they’re attending another event." He paused, and I could hear the careful restraint in his tone. "If you don’t mind asking... which one?"
Mr. Lane looked uncomfortable. Like he’d been hoping to slip out without this exact conversation.
"The Green family," he said finally.
I went still.
"Your sister-in-law’s grandmother’s family," he continued, almost apologetic now. "They’re not originally from the Bellini Pack territory, but they just acquired an estate here. Tonight’s the housewarming for their new residence."
Those words landed like stones.
I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. But inside, sothing cold and sharp twisted through my chest.
Uncle Jason’s expression darkened. I saw his jaw tighten, the smallest flex of muscle beneath skin.
We’d thought the whole ss with the property dispute was over. Settled and done.
Apparently, we were wrong.
Because the Green family, Sienna’s family, had decided to throw a housewarming party. Tonight. The exact sa night as Nonna’s birthday.
And I was supposed to believe that was a coincidence?
Nonna’s dear friend, Sienna’s grandmother, had known her for *decades*. They’d celebrated birthdays together, holidays, milestones. There was no way, no possible way, the Greens had just "forgotten" what today was.
No. This was intentional.
I felt heat rise in my throat, but I swallowed it down and pushed it back into that familiar place where I kept everything else I wasn’t allowed to feel.
Uncle Jason looked at and I looked back.
Neither of us said it out loud, but we didn’t have to.
So people didn’t want to cross Dante. Others were scrambling to get closer to the Brown and Green families.
It made sense, in a cold way. The Miller family had been struggling for years now. We’d lost influence, lost allies, lost ground. anwhile, the Browns and the Greens? They had Dante’s backing. They had power. They had everything we didn’t.
The choice was obvious.
Mr. Lane offered Jason an apologetic nod before he slipped out the door, and I watched him go with my hands folded neatly at my sides, expression unreadable.
At first, Grandma and aunt Helen, hadn’t paid much attention to the trickle of departures. A few guests leaving early wasn’t unusual. But as the minutes passed and more people arrived only to drop off their gifts and vanish, the banquet hall began to feel cavernous. Empty. The al was about to be served, and we had rows upon rows of vacant seats staring back at us.
That’s when they noticed.
My Nonna and Aunt Helen approached, both frowning, confusion flickering across their faces.
"Why have so many people left?" Grandma Miller’s voice was firm, but there was an edge to it. "What’s going on?"
Uncle Jason and I stood there, frozen for a heartbeat. Neither of us wanted to be the one to say it. But silence wasn’t an option anymore.
Uncle Jason exhaled slowly, his shoulders dropping just a fraction.
"The Green and Brown families have both relocated to the Bellini Pack territory," he said carefully. "The Green family scheduled their housewarming for today. They sent invitations to most of our guests, so..."
He didn’t finish.
He didn’t have to.
The picture was painfully clear now. The Green family had deliberately chosen today. My grandmother’s birthday. A day they knew mattered. A day they’d celebrated with her for years.
This wasn’t a scheduling conflict.
This was a ssage.
Jason and I exchanged a glance, worry pooling between us. I could see it in the tight set of his jaw, the way his fingers curled into fists at his sides. We were both bracing ourselves, waiting to see how grandma would take this.
The Green family had repaid her kindness with cruelty. They’d humiliated her in front of everyone who mattered. And as long as my mother, Sally, was still recovering in that rehabilitation center, still dealing with the aftermath of what they had caused, we would never forget what they’d done.
But now? Now they’d escalated.
Nonna stood perfectly still for a mont, her hand gripping the edge of the table so tightly her knuckles went white.
Then her sharp and unwavering eyes locked onto Jason and .
"Is Wilson backing them?" she asked, her voice cutting through the air.
Wilson. Dante’s family na. The na that carried weight in every corner of this Pack and beyond.
She didn’t say Dante. She said Wilson. And sohow, that made it worse.
Because it wasn’t just him. It was everything he represented. Everything he’d chosen over us.
I felt my throat tighten, but I kept my voice steady.
"Yes."
The word ca out quieter than I intended, and I hated how small it sounded.
Nonna’s gaze didn’t waver, but I saw sothing flicker behind her eyes. Hurt, maybe. Or anger. Or both.
My vision blurred at the edges, and I felt the sting before I could stop it. My own eyes burned, and I lowered my head quickly before anyone could see.
"I’m sorry, Nonna," I whispered.
Her hand reached out, warm and gentle, cupping my cheek. She tilted my face up so I had no choice but to look at her.
"It’s not your fault," she said softly, her thumb brushing just beneath my eye. "You all underestimated their vile and shaless nature. That’s all."
"Nonna..." My voice cracked, just barely.
"Don’t worry." She straightened, her hand falling away as she turned to survey the half-empty banquet hall. The rows of chairs no one would sit in. The tables set for guests who weren’t coming.
Her expression shifted into an calm, unshaken one.
"It’s just a birthday," she said unbothered. "What does it matter how we celebrate it? As long as you’re all well, that’s all I ask. Everything else is trivial. No need to care too much."
She looked back at , then at Jason, then at Aunt Helen.
"Rember," she continued, her tone firm now, almost commanding. "I’ve always told you, don’t punish yourself because of soone else’s shalessness. Understand?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)