Valentina and I knelt at the gates of the Castellano compound. The guards couldn't bear the sight of us and sent word inside five or six times. Two hours later, my father finally came out.
"Reduced to this sorry state, and NOW you remember you have a father?"
He held a walking cane in his hand and raised it as if to strike me. I didn't flinch, didn't move to dodge. Instead, I stepped closer.
"Your daughter knows she was wrong. Beat me, kill me, do whatever you see fit."
"I regret not listening to you back then. I put my trust in the wrong man."
Tears streamed down my father's weathered face. He didn't strike me. He threw the cane to the ground and pulled me to my feet with trembling hands.
"You were so heartless back then. You threw away your own father and your Family for a man. But since you know you were wrong, cut those ties clean and come home where you belong!"
"As long as you sever that cursed bond completely, you are still Serafina Castellano, and this compound is still yours."
He told me to change out of my rags, but I shook my head.
His expression shifted. "Don't tell me you still intend to have dealings with that man?"