Chapter 53. Broken Hope

Margherita woke to stillness.

The curtains were half-drawn, the light outside soft and hazy, bleeding across the room. For a moment she didn’t know where she was. Then the weight in her chest reminded her.

The safe house.

She lay on her side, staring blankly at the folds of the duvet. Her eyes felt raw, heavy from crying. Her limbs ached as though she’d run a mile.

She didn’t want to move.

Her thoughts crawled, looping in circles.

Costanzo. Her padrino. Her last hope. The man she trusted all her life.

He’d hung up on her.

Didn’t even listen.

She’d begged—actually begged—and he’d shut her out.

How long would she stay here like this?

Who was going to claim her in the end?

What if Ezio changed his mind?

What if Maurizio found them first?

A soft creak pulled her back to the present.

The door opened, and Rosa slipped inside, carrying that familiar warmth that always seemed to follow he