Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Eleonora
We pull up to one of Nico’s safe houses on the outskirts of the city, and I can barely wait for the car to stop before I’m reaching for the door handle.
“Eleonora, calm down,” Nico says firmly, his hand on my arm. “We need to be careful.”
I nod, but my heart is racing. The second Marco and the men clear the area, I’m out and rushing toward the entrance. Nico stays right beside me, his hand on the small of my back, guiding me inside.
The moment we step into the living room, I see her.
Sienna is sitting on the couch, a thick blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders. She’s staring blankly at the wall, eyes red and swollen, looking completely lost. My chest tightens painfully.
“Sienna…” I whisper.
She turns her head slowly, and the second her eyes meet mine, something breaks.
“Ellie!” she screams, launching herself off the couch.
We crash into each other, arms wrapping tight, both of us sobbing uncontrollably. I hold her as hard as I can, burying my face in her hair, feeling her tremble against me.
“I’m so sorry,” I choke out, tears streaming down my face. “I’m so sorry about Domenico. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
She cries harder, her whole body shaking. “They killed him, Ellie… He told me to run. He protected me until the end.”
We hold each other for what feels like forever, crying, clinging, whispering how much we missed each other. I’m so relieved she’s alive, so grateful she’s safe, even while my heart breaks for her loss.
Eventually, I pull back just enough to look at her, cupping her face and checking her over. “Are you hurt? Did they touch you?”
She shakes her head, wiping her tears. “Not really. It doesn’t matter anyway… He’s dead because of me.”
“Don’t say that,” I whisper fiercely. “You’re alive. That’s what matters right now.”
Nico clears his throat behind us. “We can’t stay long. We need to get going.”
Sienna flinches at the sound of his voice, finally noticing the other men in the room. She shrinks back slightly, fear flashing in her eyes.
Nico steps forward, his voice calm and steady. “I’m Nico Lombardi. These are my men. The one who brought you here is also one of mine. I’m sorry about what happened to your boyfriend.”
Sienna nods shakily, still looking overwhelmed and a little confused, but she doesn’t pull away from me.
“Thank you.”
We all move toward the cars. I keep Sienna close, her hand gripped tightly in mine. Nico rides in the front with Marco driving, while Sienna and I sit in the back with the other cars following behind us for security.
We’ve only been driving for a few minutes when Sienna breaks into another sob, curling into my side. I wrap my arms around her, holding her as she cries, my own tears falling silently.
I glance up and catch Nico watching us in the rearview mirror, his expression unreadable.
But his hand reaches back between the seats, resting on my knee for a brief second.
Sienna eventually stops crying, but she stays curled against my side, staring blankly out the window. Her hand is still gripping mine tightly, like she’s afraid I’ll disappear if she lets go.
Every few minutes, I catch Nico’s eyes in the rearview mirror, watching me. He doesn’t look away when our gazes meet.
There’s something protective and possessive in the way he keeps checking on me, and it makes my chest feel strangely warm despite everything.
When we finally arrive back at the estate, I help Sienna out of the car. She looks exhausted, fragile, like the smallest breeze could knock her over. She's lost so much weight.
“This is where I’ve been staying,” I tell her softly as we walk inside and she gives me a curious look. “I’ll explain everything, I promise.”
Nico walks beside us. He turns to Sienna with surprising gentleness.
“You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need,” he says. “I’m sorry for your loss. If you want, we can arrange a proper burial for Domenico, to honor him.”
Sienna’s eyes fill with fresh tears. She nods quickly, her voice small and broken. “You… you would do that?”
“Of course,” Nico replies. “I’ll make the arrangements.”
She whispers a shaky “Thank you,” clutching my arm tighter. Nico gives me a small nod, his eyes lingering on me for a second longer, before he turns and walks away.
A maid appears and leads us to one of the guest rooms that has already been prepared. The moment the door closes behind us, Sienna turns to me, eyes wide and confused.
“Ellie… who are these men? What is going on? Why are you here?”
I take a deep breath. “We have a lot to talk about. But first, maybe you should rest—”
She shakes her head fiercely. “I can’t rest. Domenico is dead. He’s gone because of me.”
Her voice cracks, and she starts crying again, hard, ugly sobs that shake her whole body. I pull her into my arms immediately, holding her as tightly as I can.
“Shh, it’s going to be okay,” I whisper, rubbing her back. “I’ve got you.”
“No, it’s not,” she sobs into my shoulder. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t run away with him, if I had just married Gallo like Papa wanted—”
“Don’t say that,” I cut in firmly, pulling back to look at her. “None of this is your fault. Those men killed Domenico. Not you. You hear me?”
She cries harder, but she nods weakly. After a few minutes, her sobs quiet into soft sniffles. We sit on the edge of the bed, and I keep my arm around her.
When she’s a little calmer, I ask gently, “What happened, Sienna? You were supposed to have left the country.”
She stares at her hands for a long moment, then begins to speak, her voice hoarse and broken.
“We didn’t get far… after we ran. We were supposed to leave the country, but we needed fake passports. Domenico had a guy who promised to help us, but he never showed. He took the money and disappeared. We were duped.”
She lets out a shaky breath, fingers twisting in the blanket.
“We didn’t have enough left for new documents and travel. So, Domenico said we should hide while he tried to find another way. We stayed in cheap motels that only took cash… dirty places with broken locks and loud neighbors.”
I squeeze her arm gently, trying to offer comfort she can’t feel right now.
“Then tonight…” Her voice cracks. “We were staying at this rundown motel on the edge of the city. We thought we were being careful. We paid cash, used fake names.”
She starts crying again, harder this time.
“They came at night. Papa’s men… and some of Gallo’s too. I woke up to gunshots. Domenico grabbed his gun and told me to run.’”
Her whole body trembles as she relives it.
“I didn’t want to leave him… but I ran. I climbed out the window and ran into the woods behind the motel.
I kept looking back… I saw them shooting him.
He was fighting them, trying to give me time.
I heard him scream my name once… and then more shots.
I ran until my legs gave out. One of Nico’s men found me hiding behind an old shed, and took me to the safe house.
At first I thought he was one of Papa’s men, until he showed me his arms. He didn't have the tattoo.”
The made men in the Caruso family have an axe tattooed to their left arm. It's how they are identified.
Sienna buries her face in my shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I should have stayed with him. It was me they wanted. If I had stayed, maybe they would have taken me and left him alone. He died because of me, Ellie. Because I was selfish. Because I ran away with him…”
“No,” I whisper fiercely, holding her tighter. “He chose to protect you. That was his decision, not yours. You honoring his last wish by surviving, that’s what he wanted.”
She cries harder, like the weight of the world is crushing her. I rock her gently, tears slipping down my own cheeks as I hold my broken little sister.
I don’t know how to fix this pain for her.
“It’s not your fault,” I whisper, my own voice thick with tears. “There was nothing you could have done to save Domenico. Those men… our father’s men… they were the ones who killed him. Not you.”
She shakes her head against my shoulder, crying harder. “All of this was in vain. I should have just stayed. If I had married Gallo like Papa wanted, Domenico would still be alive.”
Her words break something inside me. I feel the guilt like a knife twisting in my chest. When I agreed to switch places with her, I thought I was giving her a real chance at happiness.
I had no idea it would lead to this, to Domenico’s death, to my sister's chance at happiness being shattered.
Tears slip down my cheeks as I hold her. “Don’t say that. Please. You both deserved that chance.”
We stay like that for a long time, crying together, holding each other through the pain. Eventually, her sobs quiet into soft, exhausted sniffles. We lie on the bed in silence, staring into space, both of us drained.
After a while, Sienna breaks the silence.
“That man… that was Nico Lombardi, right? How come you’re with him and not with Gallo?” she asks quietly.
I let out a slow breath. I take her hand in mine and squeeze it gently.
“After you left with Domenico that day… Nico kidnapped me right outside the church. He thought I was you. He took me because he wanted to use me as leverage against Papa and Gallo.”
Sienna’s eyes widen. “He kidnapped you?”
I nod. “At first, yes. But things… changed.” I look down at our joined hands, unsure how much to tell her right now.
She stares at me for a long moment, processing everything. Then fresh tears fill her eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers. “You took my place so I could be happy… and you’re the one who got taken—”
“No,” I say firmly, cupping her face so she has to look at me. “I’m safe here. Nico isn’t going to hurt me. And he’s helping us now. He’s the reason we were able to find you.”
She still looks guilty, but she nods weakly.
I squeeze her hands. “Nico hasn’t hurt me. He’s actually… protected me from Gallo. A lot has happened, and I have so much to tell you, but right now you’re exhausted. You’ve been through hell. How about you take a shower, get some rest, and we can talk properly tomorrow?”
Sienna hesitates, then asks in a small voice, “Did Nico really mean it when he said he would arrange something for Domenico? A proper farewell?”
I nod without hesitation. “If Nico says he’ll do it, he will. He doesn’t make empty promises.”
She looks at me strangely. “You know him like that now?”
I feel my cheeks warm a little. “Yes. I do.”
Sienna stares at me for a moment, but she’s too drained to push further. She simply nods and lets me pull her into another hug.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” I whisper, holding her tight. “I’m so happy you’re safe.”
“I’m happy to see you too,” she murmurs against my shoulder, her voice cracking. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Not long after, she falls asleep and I sit up to cover her with a blanket.
She looks so tired. So frail. Her cheeks are hollow, and she’s lost a worrying amount of weight. I can only imagine the fear, the hunger, the constant running she and Domenico endured while trying to stay hidden from our father.
And now… the love of her life is gone. My heart aches so badly for her. I don’t even know how to help heal something this deep.
I lean down and press a soft kiss to her forehead, brushing damp strands of hair away from her face. Then I pull the blanket higher around her shoulders, turn off the bedside lamp, and quietly slip out of the room, closing the door gently behind me.
As I walk down the hallway toward our bedroom, I see Nico stepping out of his office with Marco. They speak in low voices for a moment before Marco nods and walks away. Nico turns and sees me. His expression softens instantly.
He pulls me gently to his side. “How is she?”
“She’s asleep,” I whisper. “She’s heartbroken. Exhausted. She keeps blaming herself for what happened to Domenico.”
Nico’s jaw tightens. “It wasn’t her fault.”
“I know. I keep trying to tell her that.”
“It might take time for her to accept that.”
He guides me back toward our bedroom, his hand warm and steady on my lower back. Once inside, I turn to him, my throat tight with emotion.
“Thank you,” I say softly. “For saving her. For letting me go see her. I know it wasn’t easy for you to agree.”
Nico cups my face with both hands, his thumbs brushing my cheeks.
“I promised you I would keep you and your sisters safe,” he says, voice low and serious. “I meant that. I’ll do everything in my power to protect what’s mine. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get to her faster… that Domenico was killed.”
I nod, blinking back fresh tears. “Are you really going to arrange a burial for him?”
“Yes,” he says without hesitation. “I already reached out to the priest. He can come if your sister wants. Talk to her. If she prefers to wait, we’ll push it back. But I’ll make sure it’s done properly.”
I feel my chest tighten with gratitude. Without thinking, I step forward and wrap my arms around him, hugging him tightly.
“Thank you,” I whisper against his chest. “I’m really grateful for everything you’re doing.”
Nico’s arms come around me immediately, one hand rubbing my back while the other cradles the back of my head. He presses a soft kiss to my temple.
“I’ll do anything for you,” he murmurs, the words sinking deep into my skin. “Anything.”
His declaration stays with me. I don’t know what the future holds anymore, for me, for Sienna, for us, but in this moment, wrapped in Nico’s arms, I let myself believe that maybe… just maybe… we might be okay.