Lorenzo pushes off from the doorframe. He moves into the room with an easy grace that feels wrong in this moment.
"Our father knew yours," Lorenzo says. He stops beside Nico, and the two of them stand shoulder to shoulder. A united front. "Giuseppe considered you a friend. You did business together for years. Shared meals. Shared trust."
Papa's head lifts slightly.
"Out of respect for that friendship," Lorenzo continues, "we're willing to offer you an arrangement. A way to clear your debt without bloodshed."
The room goes still.
I hold my breath. Beside me, Claudio's hands drop from his face.
"The Romano family will work for us," Nico says. "Your son. Your import business. Everything you have left—it belongs to the Sartoris now. You'll operate under our direction, follow our orders."
Papa nods frantically. "Yes. Yes, of course. Whatever you need?—"
"That's not all."
Nico's voice cuts through Papa's desperate agreement. The hope on my father's face flickers. Dies.
"The debt is too large to be paid through labor alone," Lorenzo says. His tone remains gentle, almost apologetic. "Even if your business tripled its profits, it would take decades to clear two million dollars. We need something more immediate. Something that demonstrates your commitment to this arrangement."
My stomach drops.
I know what's coming before he says it.
"You have two daughters," Nico says. "One of them will marry into the Sartori family."
The words hang in the air.
Marriage.
They want one of us. They want to take one of Papa's daughters as payment for his sins.
Claudio moves before I can react.
He steps around the couch, positioning himself between the Sartori brothers and me. His hands ball into fists at his sides. His voice shakes when he speaks, but he speaks anyway.
"No."
One word. Absolute. Final.
The Sartoris don't move.
They just... wait.
Like they expected this. Like Claudio's defiance is a minor inconvenience, a speed bump on a road they've already mapped out.
"No," Claudio repeats. His voice is stronger now. "You can have the business. You can have the house. Take whatever you want. But you're not taking my sisters."
Lorenzo tilts his head slightly. "That's not your decision to make."
"The hell it isn't."
"Claudio." Papa's voice is barely a whisper. "Sit down."
"No." Claudio whirls on him. "You did this. You gambled away everything we had, and now you're going to let them take Antonella? Or Gianna? She's nineteen years old. She's a child."
Papa flinches like he's been struck.