Chapter 8 - THE NIGHT ELIO CHOSE HER
The confrontation happened at a private family meeting.
Dario arrived smiling.
My father sat beside him.
Bruno stood near the door.
Elio sat at the head of the table.
I stood beside the window.
Dario looked at me.
“Why is she here?”
Elio's expression hardened.
“Because she asked to be.”
Dario laughed.
“Business isn't for women.”
I stepped forward.
“Then perhaps you should stop using women as bargaining chips.”
Silence.
Dario stared.
Elio didn't interrupt.
I placed the documents on the table.
Shipping records.
Payment transfers.
Messages.
Evidence of Dario's secret dealings with the Santoro family.
Dario's smile vanished.
“Where did you get those?”
I looked at him.
“Does it matter?”
Elio leaned forward.
“You've been working against the family.”
Dario's jaw tightened.
“You think you're untouchable?”
Elio's expression didn't change.
“No.”
He looked toward Bruno.
“That's why I brought witnesses.”
The meeting ended without violence.
Dario was removed from the family's business operations.
The evidence was preserved for legal review.
Afterward, Elio found me in the conservatory.
I stood before his mother's painting.
“You were brave,” he said.
I laughed softly.
“I was terrified.”
He smiled.
“Both can be true.”
I looked at him.
“Why did you let me speak?”
Elio frowned.
“Why wouldn't I?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Six months ago, you would have told me to leave the room.”
He looked down.
“Yes.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Elio whispered:
“I was wrong about you.”
My heart raced.
He stepped closer.
“You're not sheltered.”
I smiled faintly.
“No.”
Elio looked at me.
“And you're not weak.”
My eyes filled.
He hesitated.
“I think I've spent my life confusing control with strength.”
I swallowed.
For the first time, Elio Viera wasn't trying to impress me.
May you like
He was trying to understand me.
And somehow, that frightened me more than his coldness ever had.
