Chapter 10 - Tears of Marble
The little girl buried her face into the cold wool of Matteo’s suit jacket, sobbing hysterically, her small fingers clutching desperately at his lapels.
"I'm here," Matteo muttered. His voice wasn't flat anymore. It was ragged, trembling, and broken. "I've got you. You're safe."
He carried her back through the vineyard toward the glowing lights of the main estate, holding her as if she were the only fragile thing keeping the world from collapsing into ruin.
When they reached the terrace, Elena rushed out, weeping uncontrollably as she snatched Luna from Matteo’s arms, covering her face with frantic kisses. "Oh, my baby, my sweet baby..."
Elena looked up at Matteo, seeing the blood splattered on his coat, the soot on his face, and the raw, unshielded vulnerability in his cold gray eyes.
"Thank you, Signor Santoro," Elena choked out. "Thank you for saving her."
Matteo didn't answer. He turned away, walking slowly back toward the dark shadows of the grand staircase.
He climbed the stairs to the second floor, passing the locked door of Aurora’s room. For three years, that door had been a tomb. A monument to a grief that had frozen his blood into marble.
With trembling hands, Matteo reached into his pocket and pulled out the small, brass key he hadn't touched in over a thousand days. He slid it into the lock. It turned with a heavy, rusted click.
He pushed the door open.
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The room smelled of old lavender and preserved dust. The porcelain doll still rested on the pillow. The yellow dress hung in the wardrobe. But as Matteo stood in the center of the room, looking at the empty bed, he didn't feel the suffocating weight of the past.
Instead, he remembered the crush of a yellow dandelion in his palm, and the sound of a little girl singing in the hallway.
