Sienna knew right away when she entered the west hallway that something was not right, the atmosphere was too still and heavy.
The house had its own natural rhythm, with the soft sounds of voices, footsteps, and doors. But now, it all feels frozen.
Then she picked up the sound of Mirabella's voice.
"I swear, Dante, it wasn't like that,"
Her voice wasn't harsh or teasing like Sienna was used to hearing.
This time, it was shaky.
Sienna stopped at the hallway corner without planning to.
She almost moved away, almost made herself keep walking, but Dante's voice held her there.
"You don't touch her again."
Not raging.
Just dangerously controlled.
Mirabella shook her head, her gold earrings moving.
"It was a misunderstanding, she took it the wrong way."
"No," Dante said softly. "She didn't."
The hallway went silent.
Mirabella started to speak, but no sound came out. She gasped, and took a step back, not because he moved, but because she'd never seen him like this.
Dante wasn't yelling. He wasn't making threats. He was just… done. And that felt even worse.
When he finally walked by her, she leaned against the wall as if she was scared to touch him. He didn't even look back.
Sienna held her breath as he came closer to where she was hiding.
For a moment, she worried he would see her and become hard again.
But as soon as he noticed her, something in his eyes softened, so quickly she wondered if she imagined it.
He didn't talk.
He just kept going, his jaw tight and his shoulders stiff.
Sienna slowly let out her breath.
It was the first time she had seen Dante Luciano angry.
It scared her,
and bothered her,
and also made her feel warm inside.
She wasn't ready for what Lorenzo would do.
Later that day, she walked by Matteo's office and heard a quiet voice through the door.
It took her a moment to realize it was Lorenzo.
"No. Cancel the agreement."
A pause.
Someone on the other end disagreed.
Lorenzo's voice became sharper, not louder, but more precise.
"I don't care what he says. Cancel it. And make sure he knows why."
Her heart sank.
Andriana's family.
Lorenzo wasn't giving them a warning.
He was taking them apart.
Sienna held the books she was carrying tighter.
She should go away. She shouldn't be listening. But fear and shock kept her still.
Another pause.
Then Lorenzo said, "Good," and hung up the phone quietly.
When he came out of the office and saw her, his face changed right away.
"Sienna."
A small nod, nothing else, but his voice softened in a way that surprised her.
She swallowed. "I didn't mean to listen. I was just walking by."
"It's not important."
He moved closer, not in a threatening way, just focused.
"Did she hurt you?"
Sienna moved the books in her arms. "It wasn't that bad."
"It was," he said. Not even a pause. "And now it's taken care of."
She didn't even know what to say to that.
Lorenzo, who seemed cold and hard to read, had ended a family's connections because someone had hurt her.
She didn't know if she should be thankful or really scared.
"Lorenzo, I didn't want,"
"It's not about what you wanted." He spoke a little more kindly.
"It's about what actually took place."
He looked at her for a little longer, then moved aside so she could walk past.
Her heart was still beating fast.
By the evening, the house felt different.
People were kind in a way they hadn't been before, careful, almost worried.
Some spoke quietly about her; others stayed completely away from her.
She didn't want people to notice her.
Not in this way.
But a part of her, hidden deep down and hurt, felt…safe. As if someone finally saw her in a way no one ever had back home.
It made her more afraid than the danger.
Finally, she found the strength to thank them. It felt important, even though her voice felt tight in her throat.
She found Dante and Lorenzo in the hallway, both looking like they were waiting for something, even though neither would say it.
Sienna cleared her throat quietly. "I, um...heard what you did."
Dante stood up straight from where he was leaning against the wall.
Lorenzo stopped fixing his cufflinks and looked at her.
"I wanted to say..." She moved her hands around before she made them still.
"Thank you."
Lorenzo's eyebrow moved a little. "You don't have to say that."
"It wasn't a problem," Dante added, speaking softly. "We took care of it."
"But you did it because of me," she said gently.
Dante looked furious. "Because someone hurt you."
"And because they thought you were all alone," Lorenzo finished.
She looked at both of them, her throat feeling tight. "Still... I appreciate it."
There was a moment of silence that felt heavy.
Then Lorenzo said, "It won't happen again."
It wasn't a promise.
It was a fact.
Before anything else could be said, Matteo called them from down the hallway.
The brothers left her there, shocked and overwhelmed.
She didn't understand any of this.
And that made her more scared than any threat ever could.
Night covered the house like a soft blanket, making the noise in Sienna's head less loud but not stopping it.
She went onto the balcony because she needed air.
The sky was dark and wide, the wind touching her skin like a reminder she was still here, still alive.
Her hands were shaking again.
She breathed out, putting her hands on the cold railing. "Calm down," she whispered to herself.
But the tears came anyway, slowly, quietly, making her frustrated.
Someone walked up behind her.
She didn't turn.
Somehow, she didn't need to.
She already knew how he walked.
Dante stopped a few feet away. He didn't speak at first.
He just stood there, letting them be quiet together.
Then, softly,
"Are you okay?"
She breathed out in a shaky way. "I don't know."
He stepped closer. Not too close, but close enough for her to feel he was there. Present. Steady.
"You're shaking," he whispered.
She wiped her face quickly. "I'm fine."
He didn't fight back. He just breathed out, softly and deeply, like he knew she wasn't okay but wasn't going to make her say it.
"Check me out," Dante said in a kind voice.
She did it.
Slowly.
And as their eyes locked, a part inside her broke apart.
A single tear fell before she could hold it back.
Dante stretched his hand out, wiping it away with his thumb.
His contact was gentle, surprisingly gentle coming from someone like him.
"You are secure with us," he spoke.
The words probably shouldn't have felt like a guarantee.
Or a heads-up.
Or a mix of both.
But they did indeed.
He didn't get any closer.
He didn't speak an
y more words.
He just stayed right by her, hands hanging at his sides.
And for the first time since she had gotten there, Sienna felt the scary truth sink into her:
She wasn't only being kept safe.
She was being looked after.