Tainted Sanctuary

Chapter Three

As the days bled into each other, the storm swept through her soul, leaving behind an untouchable hollowness that started to fill with uncontrollable rage. Her eyes, once a sparkling shade of green, had turned into a dull shade of moss. Her cheeks, once flushed with life, were now pale and sunken.

She had become a shell of herself.

The house felt haunted, not by ghosts but the deafening silence, each toy untouched, a trace of happiness, each room stands motionless, the nursery sings a haunting chorus and the smell of crayons is a taunting reminder of where love should have grown but betrayal dwells.

How do you paint happiness when the canvas is gray?

A tiny laugh echoes, a ghostly sound, a brief happiness lost to the hands of time. His tiny shoes were left by the door, each scuff tells a story of happier times, but the house felt haunted not just by Marco, but by the ghost of mine and Mauro's marriage. Every room held a memory, a reminder of what we had, but then I started to see her everywhere – in the reflection in the windows, in the patterns on the wallpaper and in the silence that used to be filled with my life before her.

He took, without warning, my child, drained color from days. My world exploded into mounds of irreparable fragments and some were gone. And gone, went with the woman I used to be.

A time sewn with dishonesty.

A love so blind.

I had to find her.

I knew the mafia world was an unforgiving one, but this was further than unforgiving, but I knew its power and knew it could be wielded as both a sword and a shield.

The guilt was a living beast, gnawing at my guts. A predatory monster that consumed everything - my sleep, my hunger, my sanity. I blamed myself. A good mother would have been more alert. A good wife would have kept her husband happy. What the f**k did I miss? Where did I go so f*****g wrong? I spent days looking for answers, searching for something, anything. I spent hours combing through his phone, his laptop, everything I could, but the silence was soon shattered by a piercing scream from upstairs followed by glass shattering. "NO! God no, no, f*****g no!" "This can’t be!" Elena's voice broke. My heart sank, dread pooled within, "Elena!"

"What’s wrong?"

"What happened?" as I rushed towards the noise, my feet pounding against the wood, each one echoing my increasing anxiety. "Maria!" she sobbed.

"You need to see this!"

"It’s in… in your son’s room!" she shrieked.

I have never run so quickly, but what could she have found? It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t. My heart felt stuck in my throat as I burst into Marco’s room.

Elena was kneeling on the floor, glittering jewelry surrounded by scattered photographs, intimate moments and letters. The maid’s face is pale, eyes wide with shock as she clutches a photo of a naked woman in her trembling hands.

"What is this?"

"What did you find?" my breath hitched.

"I found these... under your son’s wardrobe, as you instructed me to look, everywhere. I didn’t know what to do. I… I was moving things, and I found this."

"I thought it was just… just some old photos, but then…(she holds up the picture) this… this woman… and… (gestures to the floor) all of this?" her voice trembling.

My hands shivered as I reached out to take the photo of Elena. "This is it" I mumbled, my heart sinking, my fingers brushing against the glossy surface. The woman is beautiful, an embodiment of everything I am not. "Who is she?"

"Who is this woman?" my voice cracked as I looked around, more photos of my husband with this woman, their bodies entwined, lips touching in moments that should have been kept for me. My heart shatters again.

"I don’t know, Maria. I swear, I didn’t know. I’m… I’m so sorry, Maria."

"I didn’t mean, I didn’t know he was like this?" she whispered, choking back tears, but I didn’t hear her. My gaze was focused on the letters. Each one seemed to taunt me, filled with words of love and devotion meant for someone else. "How could he do this to us?" "To our son?" I clutched onto the letters, reading them aloud.

"My love, every moment without you, I suffer… I can't get you out of my head… I crave you, every inch, every corner..."

"... I need you…" I couldn’t bare it. I desperately wanted to rip it, but I couldn’t. Instead, I crumpled it before tossing it aside, my hands shaking as I struggled to breathe.

"Maria, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe he did this."

"I didn’t think he would do this."

"He was a mess, but he never ever would he do this?!" her voice broke.

"It's not your fault, Elena, I know you would’ve told me if something was happening…" my voice trailed off, my eyes caught sight of something glimmering beneath the chaos—a USB stick, almost innocent amidst the havoc. "What is this?"

Elena nervously started rubbing my back, "Do you think it's what you wanted? Well … more of…this? Maybe it’s something he didn’t want you to find?"

My heart started to race as I looked around my son's room, filled with our son’s toys and memories and this is where he f*****g hides his sinful deeds. Anger washes over me, but my voice is steady. "I need to go to the computer."

"I need to see what’s in this."

"I need to know!" Elena nods, hesitant but supportive. I turned and headed towards the desk in the corner, my heart throbbing as I plugged the USB stick into his laptop, my hands rattling.

"If this doesn’t end this madness, it will end me, please. Please… let there be something here… something that makes sense of all this. The truth. I need the truth. Please, God." I muttered as the computer purrs to life.

The login screen stared back at me, demanding a password I had never known. My hand hovered over the keyboard, before typing in our wedding date. It was always his go-to. It worked. It f*****g worked, but my eyes fell on the background picture: a photo of Marco, beaming ear to ear as he played in the park, the sun casting a warm glow on his cheeks.

I felt a lump form in my throat. It was one of our sons' favorite places. My favorite picture, taken just before…

"Maria… are you sure you want to do this?" Her voice is soft but laced with worry. I nodded as a folder popped up on the screen. I clicked it open, revealing a trove of files—videos, photos, messages. The betrayal unfolds before my eyes.

I blinked back tears as I scanned the list, searching for more, anything that might hold the answers I needed. And there it was, a folder titled "Amore Mio".

"Maria, please…you’ll only hurt yourself" she gently said as she tried to take my hands, but I pulled away.

"I’m here for you, every step of the way," she whispered. As I clicked, it opened.