After They’re Gone

I was born in the slums with nothing to my name, yet somehow, I once saved the most dangerous man in all of Sicile.

In a crumbling shack, I treated his wounds while he patched the leaks in my roof whenever it rained. Later, he pulled me out of that miserable life and brought me into the heavily guarded estate of a mafia family. Together, we even had a son. However, seven years had passed, and he still had never publicly acknowledged either our child or me, all because my background was too lowly.

Gabriele Carlos once told me that as long as our son proved himself exceptional enough, the family would eventually accept him. So even at only seven years old, my son pushed himself desperately hard to study languages, etiquette, and even firearms training.

On his birthday, he was burning with fever, his little face pale, yet he still came out as the top student in his grade. Holding his award certificate tightly in his hands, his eyes shone brighter than I had ever seen.

“Ma, Papa’s finally going to acknowledge me this time, isn’t he?”

So, I took the certificate and went to look for Gabriele at his residence. However, through the heavy doors, I overheard him discussing a wedding with the daughter of another mafia family. They talked about the wedding date, the alliance between their families, and how the territories and profits would be divided afterward.

Then, someone suddenly asked, “What about her and the child?”

After a brief silence, Gabriele answered calmly, “Just keep them hidden.”

Those words struck me hard. So the seven years my son and I had spent waiting meant nothing at all. We had only been fooling ourselves, believing things would change.

Well, Gabriele might want us hidden, but unfortunately for him, I was done hiding.

I held the award certificate tightly in my hand and called a friend back in my hometown.

“Lisa, I’ve decided to go back.”

“What? That’s sudden!” Lisa sounded excited on the other end of the line. “It’s been seven years since we last saw each other. I’ve missed you so much. By the way, is Gabriele coming back with you? There’s been trouble in the neighborhood lately. If he’s around, he’d be able to handle it.”

My eyes lowered slightly as I replied softly, “He won’t be coming back.”

“Why? He used to follow you around everywhere. Why not this time?” she pressed on, question after question, none of which I could answer.

How was I supposed to say that the father of my child was about to marry another woman? In the end, I simply gave her the date of my return and hung up the call in a hurry.

A cold wind brushed past and slipped under my clothes, the cold seeping straight into my bones. As I turned to leave, I saw Gabriele Carlos walking out with his arm wrapped around a beautiful woman. Our eyes met briefly, and both of us were slightly taken aback.

Perhaps noticing Gabriele’s gaze lingering on me for a second too long, the woman beside him looked at me and asked, “And who is this?”

Gabriele hesitated and didn’t answer right away. In that silence, something suddenly became clear to me.

I lowered my gaze and said, “I’m a servant in the estate.”

The moment I said it, Gabriele’s expression changed noticeably. However, he didn’t say anything in the end.

Around us, the servants all looked at me with amused and almost mocking eyes. I simply ignored them and walked silently toward the small house in the far corner of the estate.

That little building was secluded, but Gabriele had seen to the renovation himself and planted white camellias, my favorite flower, in the courtyard. He even had a chef brought in from my hometown because I couldn’t get used to the food here. The house was also fitted with thick carpets year-round because Stefano was always cold, and the fireplace was never allowed to go out.

Everyone said the Don had given me everything he possibly could, but he never gave us an identity. Only today did I finally realize just how long and hopeless this road had been.

The moment I pushed the door open, Stefano immediately sat up in bed.

“Did Papa see my award certificate? Was he happy?”

His face was pale from the fever, but his eyes were bright in a way that made my heart ache.

I walked over and gently pulled the blanket up around him.

“Yes, he did. He was very happy.”

Stefano tightened his grip on the certificate and asked probingly, “Then will he finally acknowledge us?”

I paused for a moment and then looked away.

“He said… to wait a little longer,” I replied.

The light in Stefano’s eyes dimmed. After a long silence, he let out a small, quiet laugh. “So he’s still not satisfied. Otherwise… why wouldn’t he come when I’m sick?”

Feeling a lump in my throat, I immediately lowered my head and texted Gabriele.

[Stefano has a fever. He wants to see you.]

Gabriele replied quickly. [I’ll come later.]

I let out a sigh of relief and patted Stefano’s head.

“He said he’ll come later.”

A faint spark returned to his eyes. He immediately tucked the certificate beside his pillow and forced himself to pick up his books again. He was afraid that Gabriele wouldn’t see him studying when Gabriele arrived. He was also afraid that he wouldn’t be able to answer anything Gabriele asked him.

Alas, even when the lights went out and the moon had disappeared behind the clouds, no footsteps ever came. I couldn’t let my son be disappointed, so I went to Gabriele’s residence again in the middle of the night.

However, the butler told me, “The Don is attending a concert with Miss Smith.”

I froze.

“Miss Macrino, you should understand. This is not your old dockyard neighborhood. The Carlos family will soon have a true lady of the house.” He paused and then added coldly, “Before he left, the Don instructed that from today onward, you are not allowed to step into the main estate again.”

My face went pale. “Those were his exact words?”

The butler didn’t answer; he simply raised his hand. The next second, guards stepped forward and physically escorted me out.

I returned home in a daze, crying as I called him to demand an answer. The phone rang for a long time, but it was hung up in the end. I stared at the darkened screen and suddenly thought of the past.

That year, when he was surrounded at the old dock, gunfire crackled so loudly that I could hear it through the phone. I had called him just because I had a nightmare, yet he still answered.

Back then, he said, “Faye, don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

It seemed that now the future lady of this family mattered more than anything else.

That night, Stefano’s fever worsened. Half-asleep, he grabbed my sleeve weakly, his voice so hoarse it was barely audible.

“Has Papa come yet?”

Holding back the tears, I could only whisper, “Go to sleep. I’ll be here.”

He went quiet for a long time before suddenly leaning in and giving me a gentle kiss on my cheek.

“You’re the best, Ma.”

I stayed by his side the entire night until I eventually fell asleep, slumped over the bed. When I woke up, a coat had been placed over me.

Gabriele was here, with a private doctor standing behind him. He asked repeatedly whether Stefano would suffer any lingering effects from the fever, and only after getting the doctor’s reassurance did he finally seem to relax. Then, he reached out and touched my forehead.

“You’re running a fever too.”

I turned my head away. His hand froze in midair before he slowly lowered it.

After the doctor left, he finally said in a low voice, “The Smith family was here last night. I couldn’t leave.”

I looked at him and suddenly let out a quiet laugh.

“Couldn’t leave or didn’t want to leave? You didn’t want to leave your fiancée. You wanted to stay with her throughout the concert.”