His to Ruin

Our Unfinished City

The mansion gates opened automatically as Alec’s car came to a stop out front. The sky had already darkened, leaving just a streak of orange on the horizon, and the garden lights glowed softly between the neatly trimmed bushes.

I stepped out first, still holding Abraham’s small suitcase. Alec let the trunk door close on its own and followed behind me without saying a word.

As soon as I crossed the main entrance, I heard small voices coming from the living room.

“Boom! I win again!”

I froze.

I moved slowly toward the sound, and my eyes landed on a scene I never thought I’d see inside Alec Romano’s house.

Abraham was sitting on a circular rug, surrounded by wooden blocks and a few toy cars. But what stopped me in my tracks was the large man sitting cross-legged across from him.

Tony.

Huge. Stone-faced. Looked like a mafia enforcer from a noir film. But in his hand… was a pink wooden block he was carefully placing on top of a little tower.

“Careful, it might fall,” Tony murmured, almost as if to himself.

“If it falls, we just start over,” Abraham replied quickly. “But this time, let’s build a bridge. Okay?”

Tony gave a small nod. He didn’t smile. But he didn’t look bothered either.

I stood frozen at the edge of the room, suitcase still hanging from my hand.

Alec stepped quietly past me, glanced at my expression, then took off his blazer and draped it over a chair.

“You look like you just saw a tiger cuddling a kitten,” he whispered, amused.

I turned my head slowly. “I didn’t think Tony even had facial expressions.”

Alec smirked. “He does. You just have to lure them out with a three-tier strategy and some toy cars.”

I almost smiled. Almost.

Abraham spotted me and waved. “Mommy! We’re building a city!”

“Looks... massive,” I said as I walked closer, placing the suitcase at the edge of the sofa.

“Tony’s so cool. He doesn’t talk much, but he totally gets blueprints!”

Tony didn’t look up, he just added another block to the side of the tower. Steady. Precise. Like he really had built a skyscraper once.

Alec passed by them and poured himself a glass of water from the dispenser in the open kitchen.

I stood behind the couch for a moment, just watching. The whole thing was strange… but peaceful. And for the first time since this morning, the tightness in my chest eased.

At least for now.

:::

Night fell slowly, wrapping the mansion in a blanket of false calm. The dim lights in the living room cast a warm glow across the polished wood floors, and the faint scent of lavender from the aromatherapy candle in the corner only made the silence feel louder.

Abraham was already asleep in his room, his tiny body tucked under the blanket up to his chin. Tony was still on watch, sitting motionless like a living statue in the next room. He didn’t speak much, just existed.

Alec wasn’t home yet.

I didn’t ask where he went. And I didn’t care.

At the desk near the large window, my laptop screen glowed bright. Emily’s face filled the screen, looking more disheveled than usual. Her blonde hair pulled back messily, a smudge of paint on the end of her button-down shirt.

“I know this is insane,” she said, rubbing her forehead, “but my boss is serious. They want to expand to New York. Not just some one-off clients—an actual permanent branch.”

I leaned back in my chair and rolled up the sleeves of my sweater. “Just interior design, or the architecture too?”

“Interior. And they need someone to lead the team who understands our old system. You know who they mean, right?”

I swallowed hard. “Emily…”

“I know.” She raised a hand, as if to wave off my protest. “You just got back to that city, and clearly not under... peaceful circumstances. But this is an oppor—”

“—that came at the wrong time,” I cut her off. “You know I’m not ready to be under the spotlight again. Especially with Abraham.”

Emily looked at me through the screen, her expression softening. “You won’t be in front of the camera, Dee. They just need your brain behind the layout. They’re designing public spaces for a boutique hotel in Tribeca. High-end, modern Italian vibe. Like that Belltower project you did back then.”

I went quiet, remembering Belltower...the last project I completed in Maine before everything fell apart. Open spaces, warm textures, reclaimed wood mixed with custom hanging lights. It was one of the best things I ever designed.

Emily narrowed her eyes. “You want to say yes. Your brain’s already redesigning the rooms in your head, isn’t it?”

I gave a faint smile. “Maybe.”

She laughed. “Thought so.”

There was a brief silence. I could hear night birds chirping through her laptop speakers, the familiar sound of her backyard in Maine, where Abraham used to run around.

Then her expression shifted. Slowly.

Her eyes glanced down, then back up at me. There was a tension in her jaw I didn’t recognize.

“What is it?” I asked, sitting up straighter.

Emily took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Some people came to the house.”

My breath caught.

“Two days ago. Men. Wearing suits. One of them had a ring on his pinky. They didn’t come in. I told them you’d moved and I didn’t know where. But... they didn’t look like real estate agents or debt collectors.”

My blood turned cold. “Emily....”

“I didn’t say anything, I swear,” she said quickly. “But they... they knew your name. They knew about Abraham.”

I stared at the screen. My best friend’s face now seemed farther away than ever.

And suddenly, the night felt far too quiet.