Chapter 18
The dirt road finally came to an end.After hours of tension, chases, and fear, the massive black SUV climbed the last curve of the mountain and revealed the destination Vincenzo had insisted on reaching.
Sara was speechless.
The cabin appeared among tall pine trees and green fields, built of dark wood and light stone, looking like it had stepped straight out of a movie.
The place was huge. Much bigger than she had imagined when she’d heard the word “cabin.” The sloping roof followed the lines of the surrounding mountains, and the wide windows reflected the golden glow of the early afternoon sun.
All around was pure nature: imposing mountains, ancient trees swaying in the wind, open fields, and a silence so deep it felt almost unreal after everything they had been through.
“My God…” she murmured as she stepped out of the car, still holding her belly.
Vincenzo watched her reaction in silence. For the first time since the attack, a small smile appeared on his face. A real one.
“You like it?”
She turned slowly, taking in the landscape as if she were dreaming.
“It’s… beautiful. It feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere and, at the same time, in a castle.”
“Then it was worth it,” he answered, laughing at her comment, his voice softer.
His gaze stayed on her for a few seconds. Maybe that was the only approval that really mattered to him.
Vincenzo grabbed her bags before Sara could protest. She was already walking more slowly, her nearly eight-month belly making every movement more tiring.
The porch steps required effort, her back ached, and her feet swelled often.
Vincenzo noticed everything—every little sigh, every time she pressed a hand to her lower back.
He opened the front door.
The interior of the cabin was even more impressive than the outside.
Warm dark wood everywhere, a massive stone fireplace that took up almost an entire wall, huge soft leather sofas, plush rugs, and giant windows that let the sunlight flood the whole space.
There were several bedrooms scattered along the hallways, spacious bathrooms with jetted tubs, and a fully equipped kitchen that looked like it belonged in a restaurant.
Everything prepared for long stays in total comfort.
“I thought it was going to be a small cabin,” Sara commented, turning slowly in the middle of the living room.
“My brothers call anything a cabin,” Vincenzo replied, setting the bags on the floor. “They have a natural talent for understatement.”
She let out a soft laugh. It was the first one since the attack. And Vincenzo felt his chest warm at the sound.
He carried the bags up to one of the upstairs bedrooms. When he opened the door, Sara was impressed all over again.
The suite was enormous. The king-size bed took up a good part of the space, with impeccable white sheets and a carved wooden headboard.
A private balcony looked straight out at the mountains.
And the windows let the sunlight hit the bed for almost the entire day.
“Wow…” she murmured, walking over to the window.
“I figured you’d like this one,” he said, stopping behind her. “It has a view of the sunset. I thought you might enjoy that.”
She just nodded, still absorbed by the landscape.
While Vincenzo was unpacking, Eleonora appeared in the bedroom doorway, leaning her shoulder against the frame.
“I’m going to need to go out later,” she announced.
They both looked at her.
“I left the house so fast to help you guys that I didn’t bring a single thing,” she explained.
Vincenzo closed a drawer and answered without even looking back:
“No need. There are well-stocked closets in some of the rooms and suites.”
Eleonora raised an eyebrow.
“Closets?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“A few.”
“When you build a cabin, make it an actual cabin, not a mansion disguised as a cabin. That way it’s no fun at all.”
He shrugged, a mischievous little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“All right, I’ll remember that next time.”
Eleonora laughed and walked off.
Sara couldn’t hold back her own laughter. For the first time in days, the atmosphere felt lighter.
Later, already toward the end of the afternoon, Sara announced she was hungry. Vincenzo stood up from the chair immediately.
“Finally an emergency I know how to handle.”
She laughed again, and he felt an absurd sense of satisfaction at being the one responsible for that smile.
Before heading to the kitchen, though, he led her to the bedroom.
“Go take a shower while I make our dinner. You need to rest.”
“Vincenzo…”
“No arguing.”
She crossed her arms, pretending to be indignant.
“Are you giving me orders now?”
He crossed his arms too and held back a laugh at seeing her irritated. “Yes… I am…”
“I don’t like being ordered around…”
He stepped closer, rested his hands gently on her belly, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
“You’re almost eight months pregnant. From now on, I’m the one who’s going to take care of everything. Your job is to rest as much as possible, sweetheart… Besides, let me do what I couldn’t do throughout your whole pregnancy… Take care of my wife, who’s already doing so much for me…”
Sara looked away, her eyes filling with tears. She was already tired of being the woman who cried, so she simply nodded.
Before she stepped into the bathroom, she hesitated. She looked at him, then at the bedroom door, as if she still didn’t feel completely comfortable with Eleonora’s presence.
Vincenzo understood right away.
“Sara… it’s okay, sweetheart…”
“I know. It’s silly,” she murmured.
“No… it’s not,” he answered gently. He walked over to a small panel on the wall and pressed a few buttons. Several images appeared on a small screen. Security cameras showing every room in the house. “You can watch everything if you want. That way you’ll see I’m not running off with anyone.”
She ended up laughing, shaking her head.
“You’re impossible.”
“I just want you to be happy,” he teased, giving her a quick peck on the lips.
The shower lasted a long time. Hot water cascading over her body, the mountain silence drifting in through the half-open window, the scent of wood and pine in the air. Maybe it was the first time in months that Sara truly relaxed.
When she finally came down the stairs, the aroma filled the entire space. Homemade pasta with tomato sauce, meatballs, fresh herbs, warm bread, and a colorful salad. Dessert was already on the table too.
“My God…” she murmured, stopping in the kitchen doorway.
Vincenzo smiled, his shirt a little stained.
“You like it?”
“You made this?”
“Yes… but I had a little help,” he admitted.
Eleonora raised a hand from the sofa.
“A little help… I was exploited. He made me chop all the vegetables.”
“Lie,” Vincenzo shot back.
“Truth,” she insisted. “And he still complained that I cut them wrong.”
All three of them ended up laughing.
Vincenzo noticed Sara walking with difficulty and went to her, pulling out the chair and helping her sit with the utmost care. Then he started serving her plate as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if they had been doing it for years.
Dinner was peaceful. For the first time in a long while. No gunshots. No chases. No constant fear. Just light conversation, good food, and a few moments of normalcy that felt far too precious.
But not everything could be perfect.
At one point, Vincenzo grew serious, looking at his phone.
“Still no news from those two.”
Silence fell over the table.
“Nothing?” Sara asked quietly.
He shook his head.
The tightness returned to everyone’s chest. Because they all knew what that silence could mean.
Later, after the meal, the baby decided to make herself known with force. One kick. Then another. And another.
“Ow…” Sara laughed, placing a hand on her belly.
Vincenzo was instantly on alert.
“What is it?”
“I think she’s practicing boxing… This can’t be possible.”
Eleonora almost choked from laughing so hard.
“Definitely takes after her father.”
But Vincenzo was too distracted, placing his large, warm hand over Sara’s belly and feeling another strong kick right under his palm. The light in his eyes was impossible to hide.
A little while later, exhaustion won. Sara decided to lie down. The day had been too long, too frightening, too painful.
Vincenzo looked at Eleonora.
“Do you mind?”
“Disappearing from here?” she replied, already standing up. “Gladly. I’ll stand guard outside for a bit. Enjoy.”
He laughed and thanked her with a nod.
Vincenzo walked Sara to the bedroom. The two of them lay down on the enormous bed, his body fitting perfectly behind hers. The silence returned, but now it was comfortable, warm, safe.
Through the open window, the mountains stretched to the horizon, tinted in golden and orange hues by the sunset. The wind made the trees dance outside, and the scent of pine and burning wood from the fireplace drifted into the room.
For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. They just watched the landscape. Just felt each other’s presence.
Vincenzo slid his arm over her belly, pulling her closer. His nose buried in her hair as he breathed in deeply the familiar scent he had missed so much these past months.
“I missed you so much…” he murmured against the nape of her neck, his voice low and rough with emotion.
Sara laced her fingers with his over her belly, squeezing gently.
“I was sure I’d never see you again… I cried every night missing you,” she confessed softly.
Vincenzo kissed her shoulder slowly, then her neck, with a tenderness that was almost reverent.
“Forgive me… for messing up so badly,” he whispered. “For making you suffer…”
“You came back… You’re here, and I love you for that…”
She turned her face back, searching for his lips. The kiss was slow, sweet, full of everything they didn’t need to say in words. When they pulled apart, she rested her forehead against his.
“I love you,” he said, simple and true. Vincenzo closed his eyes, feeling his chest tighten in a good way.
He ran his hand slowly over her belly, feeling the baby move lightly, as if approving of the moment. Then he kissed Sara’s temple, her nose, her cheek, until he returned to her lips in a longer, more lingering kiss, full of love and promise.
Outside, the wind kept blowing through the trees. Inside the bedroom, the world seemed to have stopped. Only the two of them existed.
For the first time in a long while, that future—no matter how uncertain it still was—felt a little less frightening.
And a little more theirs.