Chapter 8
Margaret believed Sarah owed the Mercers.
She finally said it outright.
“We elevated her.”
I stared at her.
“My daughter?”
“She married into a respected family.”
I almost laughed.
“She is a DeLuca.”
“That’s exactly the problem.”
There.
She hated the imbalance.
Sarah entered the marriage with more name, more money, more influence.
David became “Vittorio’s son-in-law” before people called him Mercer capo.
Margaret resented it.
She wanted the marriage to elevate David.
Instead, it emphasized his position beneath mine.
So she spent years correcting the imbalance privately.
Make Sarah ask.
Make Sarah defer.
Make Sarah apologize.
Make Sarah appear unstable.
Then David looks patient.
Strong.
Necessary.
“You wanted her smaller.”
Margaret frowned.
“I wanted her to respect her husband.”
“No.”
I leaned forward.
“You wanted other people to believe he was bigger.”
That landed.
She looked away.
I continued.
“That’s why you told her to say she slipped.”
Silence.
“If Sarah is injured by David, he looks weak.”
Her face tightened.
“If Sarah injures herself, he looks burdened.”
There.
Narrative.
Everything came back to image.
David’s violence was not only hidden to protect marriage.
It was rewritten to enhance him.
A patient husband managing a difficult wife.
A competent capo carrying domestic strain.
A man ready for more authority.
May you like
Sarah’s pain became part of his résumé.
I had never hated a lie more.
