Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
MEREDITH
I stayed in the theater after Leo left, letting the familiar space hold my grief. A few minutes after, Roman appeared in the doorway, a silent guardian checking that I was still okay. The tears dried once Leo had left, leaving me hollow and exhausted. Roman only watched me for a few minutes before he disappeared, leaving me alone and empty inside.
Numb. I couldn't feel anything, it was like Leo had walked out with my emotions following him, taking a piece of me with him.
My phone rang yet again – Sofia's smiling face on the screen – and I finally answered.
"Mer?" Her voice was careful, worried. "Can we meet somewhere? Talk?"
I wiped my face with my sleeve, looking around the dusty theater that had once been my sanctuary. "I'll come back to yours."
"You sure? I know you're struggling to trust me right now."
"I am," I admitted. "But I need answers."
"I'll have coffee waiting," she promised. "And I swear, complete honesty from now on. Whatever you want to know."
"Thank you." The words felt inadequate for everything I was feeling.
Outside, Roman straightened from where he'd been leaning against his car. I managed a weak smile at him, and he gave me a soft, sympathetic one in return.
"Can you drive me to Sofia's?" I asked, hating how I had to sniffle to keep my nose from running.
He nodded, opening the passenger door. I paused at the door, needing to ask. "Where did Leo go?"
"Working on tracking down whoever's behind the blackmail." Roman's voice was gentle. "He also instructed me not to hide things from you anymore. No more secrets."
"Thank you, Roman." I slid into the passenger seat, the leather cool against my skin. As he rounded the car, I wrestled with the question burning in my throat.
"How..." I swallowed hard as he got in. "How did Leo seem?"
"How so?" He glanced at me before starting the engine. He leaned over to the glovebox, pulling out some napkins for me.
"Thanks," I mumbled as I accepted and blew my nose. "I think I hurt him. Or upset him." The words felt small in the quiet car.
Roman's hands flexed on the steering wheel. "Leo's good at masking those kinds of emotions. But..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "He seemed very determined to handle this situation. More so than usual."
I pulled out my phone, opening up my messages with Leo.
What would I even say? 'Sorry I called you a monster, but also sorry I'm afraid of what you're capable of'? Everything felt tangled, messy. That nod – that silent agreement that he should let me go – had hurt me more than I'd expected. Like I'd cut away a piece of myself.
The image of him turning to leave haunted me. That final glance back, the defeat in his posture, the broken look in his eyes – it was so at odds with the Leo I knew. The Leo who commanded rooms with his presence, who never showed weakness.
I'd done that to him. And I wasn't sure if it was the right choice after all.
My phone lit up again before I could come up with any kind of message. Gray's twentieth call. His smiling face on the screen, a photo from happier times, made my heart ache. This time, I answered.
"Mer, I'm so sorry." His words tumbled out, desperate and raw. "I'll be there in ten minutes. There's traffic backed up, and there was an accident?—"
"Gray." I cut him off, my voice thick with emotion that welled at the sound of his voice. "I'm still processing everything. I still love you – you're my brother, that won't change – but I need space right now."
"Where are you? Please, let me?—"
"Heading to Sofia's." I watched the city pass by through the window, buildings blurring as my eyes welled up. "Even though she's lied too..." Sure, she'd lied to me, but she hadn't done what they'd done.
"I understand." His voice softened, but it sounded raw with a hint of pain. "Sofia doesn't have blood on her hands like us."
The call ended, and I wiped fresh tears away with trembling fingers. They had protected me that day – my brother and Leo. Saved me from a monster wearing our father's face. But the cost of that protection had been so high, written in blood and secrets.
Sofia was waiting at her door when Roman pulled up, wrapped in a cashmere sweater against the evening chill. She hesitated before pulling me into a hug, like she wasn't sure she had the right anymore, like our years of friendship might have shattered under the weight of truth.
"I never wanted to jeopardize our friendship," she whispered against my hair, her familiar perfume wrapping around me. "Everything I did was to protect you."
"I know," I mumbled, finding comfort in her embrace despite everything.
Inside, I settled on her plush couch while she made fresh coffee, the rich aroma filling the space between us. The soft glow from Sofia's antique lamps cast warm shadows across the room, catching on the crystal vase of fresh flowers on her coffee table. Everything looked so normal, so elegant – the perfect facade while my world crumbled around me. Even the gardens outside her windows, barely visible in the evening darkness, maintained their manicured perfection, as if the chaos of my life couldn't touch this carefully curated sanctuary.
I could see why Sofia loved it so much right now.
"Tell me about your family," I said, accepting the steaming mug she offered. "You said they're a crime family."
She joined me, tucking her legs under her, her dark curls falling forward as she gathered her thoughts. "I wanted nothing to do with that life. But you can't just walk away clean – I inherited money, businesses. Blood money." Her lips twisted. "I sold everything I could, made sure all my ventures were legitimate." Her fingers traced the rim of her mug, her grandmother's rings catching the light. "I cut ties with the family, but sometimes news still reaches me. They've left me alone, respecting my wishes, surprisingly. Probably because my cousin is glad there's no competition for the head of the family. Not that it would go to a woman anyway," she muttered before continuing, "I keep my head down, focus on my work at the hospital, my investments. My life."
"A life built on lies," I couldn't help adding, the bitterness seeping into my voice. It was hard for me to not be upset with her still, despite her attempts to smooth things over.
"No," she met my eyes, her gaze fierce and steady. "A life built on choices. The choice to be better, to do better, to not be like my family. Just like the choice your brother and Leo made that night – to protect you, no matter the cost."
The weight of her words settled over me like a heavy blanket, suffocating in its truth.
I stared down at my mug of coffee, as if it could fix all of this. I couldn't be mad at Sofia right now, make her feel guilty for her family. She'd chosen to leave them behind, something that would not have been an easy thing to do. I'd always known her mother had moved back to Italy and her father had passed like my own, but never all of this.
"I'm sorry, I'm just… still hurting, Sof. You've done well for yourself," I said softly. "Breaking free."
"I understand, and it's okay. I know you feel betrayed, and I'm so sorry for that." She offered me a faint smile. "It's a hard world to escape, though." Sofia's eyes grew distant. "To lose touch with all your family. I rarely communicate with my mother either, but at least I know she's doing well back in her home country." She studied my face carefully. "You're torn about all this, aren't you? It's a lot to take in and understand."
I clutched my mug tighter, watching the steam curl in the lamplight. "Yeah, it really is. My brother is involved in it. And Leo..." My voice caught. "He's a killer still. He didn't just kill once to protect someone he loved like Gray did. Leo is a man who murders easily, who is part of a crime family that runs this city from the shadows, right?" I looked to her, my lips pursed.
"He is," Sofia agreed quietly. "But it's also clear he cares deeply for you."
"That could get me killed, couldn't it?"
Sofia sighed, tapping one of her rings on the rim of her mug. "Few people are willing to defy the Donati family. They've made their position very clear in this city." She set her mug down, the sound loud in the quiet room. "Does him caring for you put you at risk? Yes, but so does simply being Grayson's sister, since he's involved as well, even if only at a business level. But on the other hand, they have their fingers in everything – local government, law enforcement, community projects. That gives you protection. Like I said, few people would go up against the Donati family, not only because of their reputation, but because of the power they hold in this city. This latest fiasco with the rival company, I dare to bet that they didn't truly know who the Donati were. They'd sure be wishing they'd done their research," she said with a smirk before shaking her head. "The Donati name opens doors as well, and their charity work makes people willing to look the other way."
The charity articles I'd found online suddenly made more sense – the new children's hospital wing, the community centers, the scholarships. "I don't understand. Do they do the charity work so people will look the other way? Why do all that good if you're..."
"If you're monsters?" Sofia finished gently. "I don't think it's as a bribe, not always. Sometimes people who live in the shadows need something to keep them human. They need bridges to the light, reminders that they're more than the blood on their hands." She touched the flower petals in the vase. "When everyone sees you as a monster, you need something to prove – maybe to yourself most of all – that you're still capable of doing good."
The words hit too close to home, making me think of Leo's gentle hands, the way he'd held me through nightmares despite the violence those same hands had dealt.
"Do you think Leo..." I chewed my cheek, thinking of his split knuckles, his gentle touch. "Do you think he's still trying to hold onto his humanity?"
Sofia's expression softened. "Maybe."
I frowned, finally taking a sip of my coffee that I'd been holding for so long. Was I Leo's attempt to cling to humanity? His tie to the good side of who he was?
"You know what we need?" Sofia stood suddenly. "Drinks. Something to make us feel human again, like the old days. Forget all of this for a while."
A surprised laugh escaped me. "What, our college years?"
"Why not?" She grinned, some of her usual sparkle returning. "Whatever helps make this knowledge easier to handle. We can pretend we're those same naive girls who thought final exams were the worst of our problems."
"You weren't naive," I pointed out, but found myself smiling anyway. "But drinks sound good."
I sure could use something to make all of this easier, to dull the blow that had been dealt.
An hour later, we were dressed to kill – Sofia in a sleek black dress that probably cost an eye-watering amount, and me in a borrowed emerald cocktail dress that made my eyes pop. The familiar ritual of getting ready – Sofia insisting on doing my makeup, the way she used to before parties in our dorm room – felt like stepping back in time.
As we headed out into the night, Roman a discrete presence behind us, I tried to let it all fade away. The memories, the revelations, Leo's broken expression as he walked away – I pushed it all down. Tonight, I just wanted to be Meredith again, the girl who didn't know about family empires built on blood and crime.
Just for a few hours, I wanted to pretend my world hadn't shattered around me.