Page 106 of Enzo
Their slow, deliberate chimes echoed through the city, the breeze carrying its symphony and dragging my heart with it. I could feel their weight, hammering into my soul the truth that I struggled to accept.
She’s gone. She’s gone. She’s gone.
The church loomed ahead, exactly as it did the day my nonno died. Just as it did that day, not too long ago, when I said “I do.”
We entered the church, my husband’s hand squeezing mine, reminding me that I wasn’t alone. Only, I felt more alone than ever before. Grief had been a hollow companion in the past few days while he’d been handling business.
“She’d want you here,” I would say, but he wouldn’t listen. He needed to stay busy, likely knowing that if he’d crumbled along with the rest of us, we’d never have made it here today.
My heels clicked on the stone floor with a cruel echo, adding to the soft sobs that traveled through the air. The scent of flowers hit me like a punch. Bouquets of white lilies dominated the room, but they made the colorful roses stand out starkly in the dull gray church.
“She would have liked all the color,” Enzo rasped.
I clutched his arm, my fingers digging into his coat. He didn’t flinch, just kept walking with me, steady and unshaken, while I wanted to scream.
I wanted to hug her one more time. Kiss her one more time. Tell her I love her—for the last time.
The white casket at the altar was small. Too small.
She was supposed to stay. She should’ve outlived me.
Instead, she lay there wearing a white dress and a crown of lilies.
We sat in the front pew, the world tilting. My husband’s hand never left mine, yet somehow he felt worlds away. Just like my baby sister.
The priest began in Italian.“We gather here today and choose to believe our dear Amara is at peace, watching down on this congregation with Pascale DiMauro, her beloved nonno.”
My throat tightened. I didn’t even notice the tears until they hit my lips, tasting salty.
“Nonno wouldn’t want her to join him so soon,” I whispered, clutching his hand tighter. I was afraid that if I let go, I would dissolve completely. Or maybe he would, I wasn’t sure.
His arm wrapped around me, warm and strong. He pressed a kiss to my temple. And we sat there, surrounded by bouquets of flowers and my baby sister in permanent silence.
It was time for her to rest. And I hated it. I hated every minute of it.
41
ENZO
The coffin lowered into the cold ground among the ancient stone walls. The late morning sun’s rays bounced off the frost-covered graveyard, unable to warm our bleeding hearts.
DiMauro’s family. My wife’s. Mine.
Pen’s hand trembled inside mine, and when I glanced in her direction, my legs almost gave out at the grief I found in her eyes.
Penelope hadn’t slept in days, hadn’t eaten either. She just sat in silence, watching me and waiting. For what, I didn’t know.
And I… Fuck, I was a mess too.
Amara’s words churned in my mind, over and over again, while my thirst for revenge consumed me. I would keep my promise to her, but first I would makethempay.
I’d learned of the ultimate betrayal, and I intended to rain fire on the evil that had made Amara suffer. They killed the strong, bright girl whose life had barely begun. For pettiness. For revenge.
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…”
The priest spoke gently, but I tuned him out.
Instead, I went over my plan, and the promise I’d made to Amara.
