Chapter 1 – The Silence After the Cry
Chapter 1 – The Silence After the Cry
For three long seconds, nobody answered.
Then Sophie blinked.
A tiny laugh escaped before she could stop it.
"It's... not a person," she said softly.
"Colic is a condition."
Dominic stared at her.
The most feared man in Chicago looked genuinely confused.
"A condition?"
She nodded while continuing the slow figure-eight motion.
"Some babies can't calm their digestive systems yet. They swallow air while crying. Their stomach fills with gas, and every cramp makes them cry harder."
The infant let out another strained sob.
Then—
A loud little burp escaped.
The sound echoed through the silent restaurant.
Every bodyguard froze.
Another burp.
Then another.
The baby's tiny body relaxed ever so slightly.
His fists loosened.
His legs slowly stretched instead of curling toward his chest.
The screaming faded into exhausted whimpers.
A collective breath swept through Bellavita.
Someone near the kitchen whispered,
"Did she... fix him?"
"No," Sophie answered without looking up.
"He fixed himself."
"I just helped him breathe."
Dominic watched every movement.
"You've done this before."
The words weren't a question.
Sophie hesitated.
"My son."
Silence returned.
"He had heart problems."
The gentle smile disappeared from her face.
"He cried like this after surgeries."
Her voice remained calm.
"Sometimes all he needed was someone who wasn't afraid."
Dominic noticed the way she avoided saying his son's name in the present tense.
Understanding settled over him.
"You lost him."
She nodded once.
"I did."
Nothing more.
No tears.
No dramatic speech.
Just two words carrying enough weight to silence an entire room.
The baby sighed.
Actually sighed.
Then his tiny eyes fluttered closed against Sophie's shoulder.
For the first time that evening—
He slept.
Nobody moved.
Not even Dominic.
It felt almost sacred.
Finally, Dominic spoke.
"What was his name?"
Sophie's fingers paused.
"Leo."
Dominic lowered his eyes toward his sleeping son.
"My son's name is Matteo."
Sophie smiled sadly.
"They would have been friends."
Something inside Dominic—something buried beneath years of violence, power, and fear—shifted.
He didn't know how to respond.
So he simply whispered,
May you like
"Thank you."
No one in Bellavita had ever heard Dominic Moretti say those words.
