CHAPTER 70 – ANTONIO
Caspian and Penelope are in a private consultation room down the hall with their parents. I’m waiting in the corridor with mine. The more we hear, the more our faces change—horror creeping in, slow and sickening—until it becomes almost unbearable to stand there and listen.
“You humiliated us,” Mr. Stone says. “This kind of circus is something your brother might have done . Never you.”
I grind my teeth.
“Where is that spineless husband of yours?” he continues. “His absence was a further embarrassment for us.”
Penelope’s voice is clear, edged with steel. “Daniel is with his girlfriend, I presume. It doesn’t matter. I’ve enjoyed myself tremendously without him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mrs. Stone snaps. “Go to couples therapy or buy something. Divorce is off the table.”
“Stephen will fix this,” Mr. Stone says, his voice rising.
“No, Father,” Penelope says. She sounds tired but certain. “What I did today was the fix.”
Then I hear Caspian. My stomach flips at the sound of his steady voice. “I stand behind Penelope one hundred percent. She did the right thing.”
Mr. Stone scoffs loudly enough that we hear it through the door.
“Of course you’d think that. With restorative justice as your little hobby.”
My hands curl into fists.
“It’s my future career,” Caspian replies without raising his voice. “And what Penelope demonstrated is called accountability.”
“How dare you talk back to me!”
Before I can react, Mom yanks the door open. She steps inside, trembling with fury. “How dare you speak to your children like that?”
Caspian looks startled.
I go to him, lacing my fingers through his, squeezing gently.
His father’s lip curls as he looks at us, but then his gaze snaps to my parents.
“Who the hell are you?”
Dad steps forward, chin lifted.
“I’m Giuseppe di Scotti. This is my wife, Lucia.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Mom says, her voice shaking but loud. “You’re worried about your reputation, but it’s your shouting, your appalling behavior that everyone can hear.”
Caspian looks stunned. Like he doesn’t quite know how to exist when someone stands up for him.
Mr. Stone turns his sneer on me. “So you’re the cause of my son’s insanity.”
I step forward.
“You don’t deserve him,” I hiss .
Caspian pulls me back. His grip is gentle. His voice is not.
“Antonio is the reason I’m finally happy,” he says.
He looks at his father.
“Do you think I’ve forgotten my childhood? Do you think I’ve forgiven you?”
Penelope turns sharply toward him, but Caspian doesn’t look away from his father.
“I haven’t. I remember every time you hit me.”
The room goes utterly still.
My mom makes a broken sound and pulls Caspian into her arms.
“Oh, tesoro.”
Caspian looks at his own mother.
“And I remember how you chose to look away,” he adds quietly. “Every time.”
Mrs. Stone flinches.
Penelope’s breath catches. “I didn’t know.”
Caspian looks tired. He’s almost swaying on his feet.
“Let’s go home, amore,” I whisper.
Dad’s eyes, usually so warm, are blazing as he looks at the Stones. “We’re taking our sons home,” he says, his voice quiet but full of contempt. “Both of them.”