The dog whined, ears flattening, then—surprisingly—fell silent.
Vee pulled the dog closer to her, fingers tightening around the leash. Her body angled away from Luca instinctively, chin lifted in stubborn pride. "I'm just going to walk away from you now," she said. The dog leaned into her leg.
"Good idea," Luca replied coolly, straightening to his full height. "It's not like I called you over here in the first place."
"Sorry I bothered you," she muttered.
"You should be," Luca shot back. "You might have gotten your head blown off."
Vee stopped, spun around, and stuck out her tongue at him in a childish, exaggerated gesture. "You need help," she snapped.
"You really are five," Luca muttered, shaking his head as he turned away from her. He dropped back onto the bench, stretching his legs out in front of him. Only then did he notice the empty space around him. The ducks he'd been feeding moments earlier had scattered. "Great. Just great."
*****
Three days later, when Veronica returned home from the pizza parlour, the familiar comfort of routine was shattered the moment she stepped through the door. The house was in chaos. Valentina's shrill screams cut through the air. Her father's voice boomed back, words tumbling over each other too fast to understand. The dog barked wildly.
Before she could even set her bag down, Valentina came running toward her. The girl threw herself into Vee's arms, clinging tightly. "Vee! Vee!" she cried, eyes wide and frantic. "Dad wants to sell me!"
"What?" Vee raised a brow, instinctively steadying Valentina with both hands. Despite the tension in the air, a tired chuckle escaped her lips. She brushed hair from the girl's face, convinced this was just another dramatic outburst. "Come on," she sighed softly. "I'm tired."
"Vee!" Valentina insisted, pulling back just enough to look at her properly. Her grip tightened again. "Listen to me!"
Knowing she wasn't going to catch a break tonight, Vee drew in a slow breath and forced her feet to move. She walked into the living room. Her father sat slouched on the couch, bottle dangling loosely from his fingers. "Dad?" she said carefully. "What's this nonsense about selling Tina?"
"I don't have a choice," Vito replied. He lifted the bottle and took another swig. "I made a deal with the devil."
"Is this some kind of joke?" she snapped. "Quit it, Dad." She searched his face for the familiar signs of drunken exaggeration, the dramatic nonsense she had grown up deflecting, but what she saw instead made her stomach tighten.
"I'm not kidding," Vito said, finally looking at her. "I owe the devil a debt, and he has come to collect." His hand trembled as he lowered the bottle. "I either give him Tina, or we are all dead!"
Vee felt suddenly unmoored. None of it made sense. "What do you mean," she finally whispered, "by you made a deal with the devil?"
"The devil," Vito repeated quietly. His gaze dropped to the floor. "Luciano Genovese."
Vee recoiled as if he had struck her. "Are you… are you crazy?" she demanded, stepping back, disbelief colliding violently with rage. "Dad, what are you doing?" She ran a hand through her hair, panic threading through her movements. "Has years of alcohol abuse finally melted your brain?" Her eyes burned as she looked at him.
"You want to sacrifice your daughter to the devil. Your daughter? What debt? What did you take from him?"
"That's not the point," Vito snapped weakly, frustration flashing as he slammed the bottle down on the table. "The point is they are coming to collect her."
"Over my dead body!" Valentina screamed. Her face buried itself against Vee's chest. Vee wrapped her arms around her instantly, pulling her close with fierce urgency. She could feel Tina's heart racing, feel the tremors of terror rippling through her slight frame.
"Dad, think about this," Vee said, lifting her head slowly to look at him. She stroked Valentina's hair in long, steady motions, a soothing contrast to the chaos spiraling inside her. Her eyes pleaded even as they hardened. She needed him to pause, to hear himself, to understand what he was saying before the damage became irreversible.
"Would you rather he kill three of us, then?" Vito snapped back, desperation sharpening his words. His face was drawn now.
"Then take me," Vee said. "Give me to him." If someone had to be the offering, it would not be the child trembling in her arms.
"I need you to run the pizza parlour," Vito replied flatly, avoiding her gaze. "And besides, you are too old."
"Dad!" Vee cried. Tears burned her eyes now. "Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming." She shook her head slowly. "Truly, that must be it. I'm asleep and I am dreaming."
Valentina sobbed harder, her small body collapsing fully into Vee's embrace. Her cries were muffled now. Vee pressed her cheek to the top of her sister's head, breathing her in, memorizing the warmth, the softness, the very proof of her existence. She would not let this be taken. She could not.
"What are they going to do to her?" Vee asked quietly.
"I don't know," Vito answered. "Luca can decide that."
"Jesus Christ!" Vee snapped, panic flaring anew. She pulled back slightly, eyes wild. "I'm calling the police."
"Will you use your head?" Vito barked. "What will they do?" He gestured helplessly. "Do you really want to take on the devil?"
"Dad… Dad… please." Tears slipped free now. "You cannot do this." She stepped toward him, still holding Valentina, still shielding her with her body. "How much is the debt? I can pay it." She meant it. Every ounce of her. There was nothing she wouldn't give.
"It's not money, Vee," Vito said quietly. "Just drop it." He rose to his feet, the decision already carved into his spine, and without another word, he turned and walked out of the room.
"I'm not doing it, Vee. I'll run away!" Valentina cried. Her hands clutched at Vee's shirt, fingers shaking, eyes wide. Her body trembled, thin shoulders hitching with each breath, and Vee felt the fragile heat of her fear seep straight into her own chest.
"Don't worry," Vee murmured immediately, pulling her closer, wrapping herself around her sister. "I'll… I'll fix this." She pressed a kiss into Valentina's hair. "It's alright, love," she continued, stroking her hair slowly. "Come. I'll make you some tea. It will calm your nerves. Come on," she coaxed softly. "You know I got you."