Chapter 59. Enough Chains for Now

The house had gone still again. The faint clinking of dishes came from the kitchen, Rosa and Gabriella’s voices muffled through the walls. Somewhere outside, Dante’s footsteps shifted on the porch—a steady reminder that her freedom was still conditional.

Margherita sat on the edge of her bed, hands curled around her knees. The smell of coffee still lingered faintly on her skin.

She had made it through breakfast without crying. That alone felt like an accomplishment.

But her cheeks still burned when she thought of Rosa’s teasing, Ezio’s calm voice cutting through the laughter, the way he gave her attention without hovering too much—steady, reassuring, wordless.

Why did it make her heart race?

She sighed and buried her face in her hands. “You’re pathetic,” she muttered to herself.

He’d locked her in a basement. Scared her half to death. And she was sitting here remembering the way he said glad you came back like it meant something.

What