[Alfio's POV—Mansini Mansion]
As I stepped inside the mansion, the distant echo of small footsteps reached me. Aria came running, her face bright with innocent excitement. "Uncle Alfio!" she called out, arms wide open.
But the moment I saw her, a cold wave crashed through me—memories of that terrible day flooded back. The day she slipped down the stairs and I couldn't catch her. The helplessness, the panic... the guilt.
I froze mid-step, my heart pounding. She kept running, undeterred, and wrapped her small arms around me in a tight embrace. My hands trembled violently, hovering uncertainly—what if I hurt her again? What if my very touch caused her pain this time?
And then the dark thought clawed its way up my throat: if anything happened to Aria, or to Miss Bianca, Salvo would lock me away—back into that suffocating dark room, again. A punishment worse than death.
