(Luca’s POV)
He hated feeling helpless.
He could take a punch. A fight. Even public humiliation.
But watching Emery sit across the room, curled up with her knees pulled to her chest, staring at the man who just shattered her entire world — that was the kind of helpless that made him want to set something on fire.
Her uncle — James — hadn’t even blinked when she asked him what he was doing there. He just stood in the doorway like a storm cloud in denim and dust.
Luca watched them, arms crossed, jaw locked tight.
And waited.
“I didn’t come to cause trouble,” James finally said. “I came because I owe her the truth. And maybe you too.”
Luca’s gut twisted. Me too?
James looked older than Luca remembered. Thinner. Like life had carved out pieces of him he never got back.
“You knew my m
