2
- 2 days ago
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00...a rival family for territory along the Gulf Coast.
00:03When he came home, a heavily pregnant young woman was at his side.
00:06I asked him over and over,
00:08Is the baby yours?
00:09He dropped to his knees at my feet in front of the entire family.
00:12But all he said was,
00:14I'm sorry, I can't tell you.
00:15After six months of family war, my husband, Rafe DeLuca, finally came home alive.
00:21Twelve black sedans rolled into the estate one after another.
00:24I stood on the steps of the main house with Sam in my arms.
00:27A car door opened, Rafe stepped out.
00:29Helping a young woman whose belly was already showing.
00:33My expression hardened all around me.
00:35The wives of the capos who had come to welcome the Don home broke into shocked whispers.
00:39The moment Rafe saw me, his gaze flickered away.
00:42Nora, let me explain.
00:44I gave a cold laugh, turned around, and walked away.
00:47Sam looked at his father, then at the woman beside him.
00:49Mommy, who's that lady next to Daddy?
00:52You don't have a Daddy. Your Daddy's dead.
00:54A commotion broke out behind me.
00:56Rafe hurried after us, his dress shoes striking sharply against the pavement.
01:00He cut in front of me, and in full view of every capo, every capo's wife, and every soldier in
01:06the family, dropped straight to his knees.
01:08Nora, let me explain.
01:10I shifted Sam to my other arm and looked down at Rafe.
01:13We hadn't seen each other in six months.
01:15I never imagined this was how we'd meet again.
01:18Go ahead. I'm listening.
01:20The young woman came over, too.
01:21She stopped beside Rafe, both hands protectively cupping her stomach.
01:26Donna, my name is Lily.
01:27Lily Carter.
01:28The Caruso family attacked the town where I live.
01:31My whole family was killed.
01:33Don DeLucco got me out of a safe house.
01:35Whose baby is it?
01:36Lily lowered her head and said nothing.
01:38I turned back to Rafe.
01:40He knelt there with his head bowed and his hands braced on his knees, as if someone had ripped the
01:44spine out of him.
01:45I asked you whose baby it is.
01:49Don't ask. I really can't tell you.
01:50A gasp suddenly came from the crowd.
01:52Bianca DeLuca, Rafe's mother, raised her voice.
01:55Her belly's already that big.
01:57Do you really have to ask? Isn't it obvious?
02:00Sounding almost excited, I crouched down with Sam in my arms.
02:04Rafe, I'm only going to ask you three things.
02:11Rafe's Adam's apple bobbed.
02:14First, is the baby yours?
02:18Second, what exactly happened between you and her on the Gulf Coast?
02:23Third, before you brought her home, did you ever think about how you were going to tell me?
02:28I did. I just never figured out how to say it.
02:31I laughed once, then I stood and hitched Sam higher in my arms.
02:34Sam wrapped both little arms around my neck and buried his face against my shoulder.
02:39I stepped around Rafe, still kneeling on the ground, and headed for the main house.
02:43Bianca spoke to the Capo's wives beside her, not quite loudly enough to be called shouting, but more than loudly
02:49enough for me to hear.
02:51Who does she think she is, acting like that?
02:54My son spent six months fighting enemies out there.
02:58So what if he brought a woman home?
03:00A Don, I can't afford to be this jealous!
03:02My steps paused.
03:04I didn't look back until I had reached the top of the stairs.
03:06Rafe was still kneeling where I'd left him, his knees seemingly nailed to the ground.
03:11Lily was still there, too, looking down at him.
03:13Get up. You're the Don.
03:16How can you kneel to that woman?
03:18She's not worth it.
03:20I carried Sam into the main house.
03:21He leaned close to my ear and whispered,
03:23Mommy, why won't Daddy get up?
03:26Because Mommy hasn't told him he can.
03:28Oh. Who's that lady?
03:30I kicked the bedroom door open, set Sam down, then crouched so we were eye to eye.
03:34Your father brought her back with him.
03:36Starting today, she's living here with us.
03:38Then whose baby is in her tummy?
03:40Good question, kid.
03:42Mommy would like to know, too.
03:43That afternoon, Vincent Marino personally delivered the paperwork for Lily's stay.
03:48Vincent was the DeLuca family's consigliere.
03:51The paperwork stated that Lily was under the Don's personal protection and would stay temporarily at the estate.
03:57Without the Don's permission, no one was allowed to look into her background.
04:02The paperwork had barely landed on my desk when Bianca arrived with several Capos' wives.
04:07They didn't even knock before coming upstairs.
04:09Bianca pushed open the door to Sam's room and walked around inside.
04:14This room is perfect.
04:15It's bright and airy, just what a pregnant woman needs.
04:19I pulled Sam to my side and leaned against the door frame, watching her.
04:23Mrs. DeLuca, this is Sam's room.
04:28So move the boy somewhere else.
04:29What's the big deal?
04:30She's pregnant.
04:31Is it really so much to ask that he give up a room for her?
04:34Before I could answer, a voice came from behind me.
04:37Lily stood in the hallway holding a canvas duffel bag.
04:40Ma'am, I can stay anywhere.
04:42Please don't make things difficult for the Donna.
04:44All I need is a bed.
04:49Bianca grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her to her side.
04:52The way she did it, anyone would have thought she was protecting her own daughter.
04:58What are you scared of?
04:59I'm here.
05:01Rafe brought you home.
05:02You think the DeLuca family is going to leave you sleeping in the street?
05:06The other women nodded along.
05:07One capo's wife even tried to lecture me.
05:10Nora, you're the Donna.
05:12You need to be more generous.
05:14Since you're so generous, why don't you take Lily home with you?
05:18She shut her mouth.
05:19That night, the estate held a welcome home dinner.
05:22Rafe came over carrying three plates and carefully set them in front of Sam and me.
05:27I sat down with Sam.
05:28I had barely picked up my fork when Lily approached with her own plate.
05:32She didn't dare sit beside me.
05:34She just stood across the table, looking at me expectantly.
05:37Sam glanced at her, then at me, and tugged lightly on my sleeve.
05:40I looked up at her but said nothing.
05:42Only then did she sit, stiff and awkward, keeping her head down as she ate in silence.
05:46Bianca came over with her plate.
05:48She dropped into the seat next to Lily and placed a large piece of stewed meat on Lily's plate.
05:54Eat more.
05:54You're eating for two now.
05:56My fork paused.
05:57Rafe sat across from me, watching me cautiously.
06:00I ignored him and kept cutting Sam's meat.
06:02Bianca smiled at Lily again.
06:04Rafe was a big, strong boy even when he was little.
06:07This baby will probably take after him too.
06:09I finished my meal calmly and set my napkin on the table.
06:13As I passed Rafe, I tossed out one word.
06:17Outside.
06:19There was a stretch of stone wall behind the estate's private chapel.
06:23I shoved him back against it.
06:25Is the baby yours or not?
06:27Rafe leaned against the wall with his head down, refusing to meet my eyes.
06:30After a long silence, he said,
06:32Give me a little more time.
06:33How much time?
06:34Didn't you see how your mother moped me today?
06:36Are you deaf or are you blind?
06:38If Lily is your mistress, then say it to my face.
06:41I'll step aside and let you have each other.
06:44He went silent again.
06:45I turned and walked away.
06:47Early the next morning, I went to the soldiers who had returned from the fighting with Rafe and
06:51asked about Lily.
06:52One soldier's expression changed instantly.
06:55Donna, don't ask.
06:56The Don gave a direct order.
06:58Please don't push a pregnant woman into a corner.
07:00With that, they turned and left.
07:01I stood in the garden, the sun beating down so fiercely that my scalp prickled from the heat.
07:06Then someone called my name from behind.
07:08Donna.
07:09I turned and saw Gabriel, one of Rafe's most trusted men.
07:18Gabriel pulled me into the shade and lowered his voice.
07:20Donna, the day Lily arrived in New Orleans, the first place she went was the Don's office.
07:26When we came out of the meeting room later, she was already sitting in the Don's car.
07:30You know the Don isn't that kind of man.
07:32Just give him a little more time.
07:33Please don't assume the worst.
07:34I looked at him without saying anything.
07:36He seemed to realize there was no reasonable way not to assume the worst.
07:39He gave me an awkward smile and left.
07:41Back in my room, I opened the safe and pulled out the letters Rafe had sent me from the Gulf
07:46Coast over the past six months.
07:48There were eight in total.
07:49The first three were completely normal.
07:52Starting with the fourth, his tone changed.
07:54Looking back now, that must have been when something happened.
07:58Sam ran in and leaned against my knees, tipping his face up at me.
08:01Mommy, what are you reading?
08:04Some old debts.
08:06Within days, people in the family had started calling me a jealous bitch behind my back.
08:10One afternoon, I passed the storage room behind the chapel.
08:13Several Capo's wives were inside sorting donations for a charity sale, talking animatedly.
08:18The Don spent six months fighting a war.
08:21So what if he has a mistress?
08:23Who does she think she is?
08:25Glaring at everyone all day?
08:27That poor girl is pregnant and has already been through enough.
08:30And Nora acts like she wants to throw her out on the street.
08:33I pushed the door open.
08:35The room went silent instantly.
08:37The three women each grabbed a box and hurried out.
08:40Lily, on the other hand, kept her head down and stayed out of trouble.
08:43She helped with whatever work she could around the estate.
08:46Whenever she saw me walking past with Sam, she lowered her head and called me Donna.
08:51Always careful and respectful.
08:53Several of the older women at the estate praised her for being so well-mannered and spoke about
08:58her with obvious affection.
08:59Once, Bianca took Lily's hand right in front of me and said,
09:03Good girl, don't be afraid.
09:05No one here is going to bully you.
09:07I tried asking Lily directly once.
09:09That day, she was in the kitchen arranging washed fruit on a plate.
09:12I walked over and helped her sort it.
09:14She looked up at me and her eyes brightened.
09:16The more I looked at those clear, bright eyes, the more confused I became.
09:20Lily didn't look at me the way a mistress looked at a wife.
09:22Lily, where are you from?
09:25A small town near the Gulf Coast.
09:28What were your parents' names?
09:30They died a long time ago.
09:32How did you meet Rafe?
09:40Asked again more softly.
09:42Lily, is the baby you're carrying Rafe's?
09:46All the color drained from her face as if she'd been shot point blank.
09:50Donna, just tell me the truth.
09:52Tears rushed into her eyes.
09:54One hand covered her stomach while the other braced against the edge of the sink.
09:58Donna, are you going to force me to leave?
09:59Then she clutched her belly and hurried out of the kitchen.
10:02She couldn't move quickly, and Bianca happened to see her rushing out.
10:05I stood there, stunned.
10:06That afternoon, Bianca showed up at my bedroom door with several Capo's wives.
10:10The four of them stood in a row like debt collectors.
10:13She's pregnant, and you still made her cry.
10:15What exactly are you trying to do?
10:17Sam stood beside my leg, hugging my knee.
10:20I pulled him behind me.
10:21If you're so worried about her, Mrs. DeLula, then move her into the room next to your, and
10:26take care of her yourself.
10:27Otherwise, stop gossiping and keep your mouth shut.
10:30Before any of them could answer, I shut the door.
10:32At the end of the month, the family held a charity committee meeting.
10:35Bianca stood at the head of the long table to speak.
10:37Near the end, her tone suddenly shifted.
10:40Some women are so consumed by jealousy that they forget the family entirely.
10:45A real Donna should never make life difficult for a homeless pregnant woman, much less make
10:49herself a laughingstock in front of the whole family.
10:52My back went rigid, and I started to stand.
10:54Under the table, Rafe grabbed my wrist and held me in place.
10:57I tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let go.
10:59I turned toward him.
11:00Let go.
11:01Not now.
11:02She's accusing me in front of everyone.
11:04I know.
11:04You know, and you're still stopping me from defending myself?
11:08His hand didn't move.
11:09Anger burned through me.
11:10The moment the meeting ended, I went straight to the records room Vincent managed.
11:15I want to see Lily's file.
11:17I'm sorry, Donna.
11:19The file has been sealed.
11:20The Don also gave strict orders that not a single detail about Lily is to be disclosed.
11:25Who handled Lily's file?
11:30Don Salvador.
11:31Don Salvatore DeLuca, Rafe's father and the former head of the family.
11:34Had stepped down three years earlier.
11:36He no longer involved himself in the family's day-to-day affairs and only stepped in when
11:40something serious happened.
11:42I turned and left the records room to find him.
11:44When Don Salvatore saw me, a conflicted look crossed his face.
11:47Nora, take my advice.
11:49Let this go.
11:50Stop making things difficult for her.
11:57Clenched my teeth.
11:58I hated letting it go, but I turned and left anyway.
12:00I had just reached the estate gates when my brother Jake's car came tearing through them.
12:05He was the heir to the Valenti family.
12:07And before I married Rafe, he'd always been the one who spoiled me most.
12:11The car hadn't even come to a full stop before he shoved the door open and jumped out.
12:15He'd rolled up his sleeves, veins standing out on his arms, his face dark with fury.
12:20Nora, just wait here.
12:21I'm going inside to kill Rafe right now.
12:23He pulled out a gun, looking ready to murder someone.
12:26Not yet.
12:28First, I need you to investigate someone for me.
12:30Who?
12:31Lily Carter, everything about her.
12:33Three days.
12:34I'll have an answer for you in three days.
12:36Three days later, Jake came back the moment I saw him walk through the front doors of the
12:40main house.
12:41I knew something was wrong.
12:42His head was down.
12:44His shoulders slumped.
12:45All his usual fire gone.
12:47He walked into the living room, dropped into a chair, picked up a glass, and drained half
12:51of it.
12:52Then he said nothing.
12:53I had a servant take Sam out to the garden and sat across from Jake.
12:58You found something?
12:59Whose baby is it?
13:01I found out.
13:03Then tell me whose it is.
13:04Nor.
13:05Can't we just say the baby is Rafe and leave it at death?
13:09What do you mean?
13:12Rafe didn't do anything wrong.
13:13Listen to me on this one.
13:15Let it go.
13:16He didn't do anything wrong?
13:18He brought home a pregnant woman and you're telling me he did nothing wrong?
13:22Jake fell silent.
13:23That afternoon, my parents arrived too.
13:25My father walked in, saw Rafe standing at the foot of the stairs, strode straight over,
13:29and slapped him across the face.
13:31Every guard nearby reached for a gun at once.
13:34Rafe lifted one hand.
13:35They all lowered their weapons again.
13:37He stood there without dodging.
13:39Papa.
13:40Don't call me Papa.
13:42What did you promise in front of both families?
13:44On the day you married my daughter.
13:46I remember.
13:47If that baby is yours, then as of tonight, the alliance between the Valti and DeLuca families
13:52is over.
13:53Let's talk in the study.
13:54My father and mother followed Rafe inside.
13:57The doors and windows were shut.
13:58All I could hear was my father's voice rising louder and louder.
14:02Then the room suddenly went quiet.
14:04A long time later, the door opened.
14:06My mother came out first.
14:08Take your mother's advice.
14:10Let this go.
14:11Do it for the child.
14:16My head buzzed.
14:17They had gone into that study one way and come out completely changed.
14:21What the hell had Rafe told them?
14:23Why should I let it go?
14:25You haven't even asked me what happened, and you're already telling me to let it go?
14:29Because dropping this is best for everyone, especially you and Sam.
14:33I stared at her.
14:34Her eyes were firm.
14:36Then I looked at my father.
14:37He stood by the window with his back to me, and the hand holding his gun was still trembling.
14:42If none of you will tell me, I'll find out myself.
14:45Enough!
14:46Stop investigating.
14:49I'm asking you one last time.
14:51Is the baby yours?
14:53I can't tell you.
14:55Fine.
14:57That night, after everyone left, Rafe stood outside my door.
15:01I didn't let him in.
15:01I held Sam and cried for a long time, tears dripping onto the back of his neck.
15:05Sam turned around.
15:07He was only four.
15:08He lifted his sleeve and wiped my face.
15:10Mommy.
15:11Yeah?
15:12Let's leave together.
15:14This place is bad.
15:16It makes Mommy sad.
15:17Mommy isn't happy here.
15:21That night, I packed one travel bag.
15:23I only took our documents, a few changes of clothes, and Sam's favorite storybook.
15:29At two in the morning, I carried Sam to the estate's side gate.
15:33A guard stopped me.
15:35Donna, the Don said no one is allowed to leave for the time being.
15:37I raised my hand and let him see the obsidian ring clearly.
15:41What?
15:42You listen when the Don speaks, but when the Donna gives an order, suddenly it means nothing?
15:48The guard's face changed.
15:49He lowered his head and opened the iron gate.
15:52The night wind slipped down my collar, and I shivered from the cold.
15:55Mommy, where are we going?
15:57Away from here first.
15:58The next morning, Rafe came back from the port.
16:02Nora?
16:03No one answered.
16:04A sense of dread tightened in Rafe's chest.
16:06He pushed hard on the door.
16:07It swung open.
16:08The bed was cold.
16:09As if no one had slept in it all night, the closet stood open and half empty.
16:15Sam's pillow and storybook were gone too, his face slowly draining of color.
16:20At that moment, he finally understood.
16:22I had taken our son and left.
16:24Nora!
16:25How could you do something this reckless?
16:28The father of Lily's baby is...
16:33He stopped.
16:35His expression changed.
16:36Then Rafe swallowed the words that had almost escaped and spun toward the door, shouting,
16:41Lock down every exit!
16:42Rafe turned all of the city upside down, looking for me.
16:45He took a group of men to the bus station first, showing my photo to ticket agents one by one.
16:50Someone said they'd seen me carrying Sam onto a bus headed downtown.
16:55He rushed into the city and searched every hotel and rental apartment along the route.
17:02Vincent took two teams to the airport and the docks and pulled every piece of surveillance footage they could access.
17:08They searched all day and found nothing.
17:10That night, Rafe sat in the station waiting room and didn't leave until morning.
17:15He kept the obsidian ring clenched in his fist, the one I'd dropped after leaving the estate.
17:20By dawn, its edge had dug a bloody groove into his palm.
17:23The estate was in chaos, too.
17:26What respectable Donna sneaks out in the middle of the night with the air?
17:31Her husband spent six months fighting a war, and she can't even tolerate one woman in the house.
17:37If she has the nerve to leave, she can forget about my son getting down on his knees to beg
17:41her to come back.
17:43He's the Don of this family.
17:45She doesn't care how much she humiliates her husband.
17:48The words had barely left her mouth when an ebony cane tapped lightly against the floor at the doorway.
17:53Don Salvatore stood there, leaning on his cane.
17:55The chapel storage room fell silent instantly.
18:02He had been retired for three years and rarely spoke unless necessary.
18:06None of the women expected him to appear in person.
18:09Nora is Rafe's wife.
18:11She's your daughter-in-law.
18:13Aren't you ashamed of standing here gossiping about her every day?
18:17She's the one being petty.
18:18So what if the Don has a mistress?
18:20What do you know?
18:22Bianca didn't dare say another word.
18:24Don Salvatore said nothing more.
18:26He turned and slowly walked away with his cane.
18:30Then again, the sound fading farther and farther away.
18:33That afternoon, Don Salvatore personally went to Rafe's study.
18:36When he came out, his expression was grim.
18:40Don Salvatore.
18:42Don't address me as Don.
18:44I mishandled this.
18:46Nora never should have been kept in the dark.
18:52One week searched for me for two days.
18:54When he finally found Sam and me at a cheap hotel on the west side of the city,
18:58I was sharpening Sam's crayons.
19:00Sam lay over the table drawing a picture of an adult holding a child's hand.
19:06Uncle Jake.
19:10Jake sat across from me, pulled a black envelope from inside his coat,
19:14and slid it across the table.
19:15I opened it.
19:16Inside was a death certificate.
19:18Name.
19:18Michael Doyle.
19:19Dot of death.
19:20One week before Rafe returned to New Orleans.
19:24A photograph was clipped behind the certificate.
19:26In it, an unfamiliar man stood behind Lily,
19:29one hand resting on her still-flat stomach,
19:31while the other held a tiny pair of baby shoes still in their packaging.
19:34They were both smiling.
19:36Who is this?
19:37Michael Doyle.
19:38Rafe's head of security,
19:39and one of the DeLucco family's most important associates.
19:42He wasn't a made man,
19:44but he'd worked for Rafe for nine years,
19:45and saved his life twice.
19:47Jake pulled another piece of paper from his pocket.
19:49This one stained with blood.
19:51Don, I'm leaving Lily and the baby with you.
19:53Don't let Caruso find them.
19:55Michael, I clenched the paper in my hand.
19:57The baby's Michael's?
20:03Yes.
20:04After Caruso attacked the port,
20:06Michael had been investigating the mole inside the family.
20:10In the final ambush,
20:12he took two bullets for Rafe
20:13and killed the Caruso heir.
20:16He didn't survive the night.
20:20Michael and Lily never made their relationship public.
20:23Caruso only knew he'd left behind a pregnant woman.
20:25They didn't know who she was.
20:27They put the word out that they intended to wipe out Michael's bloodline, too.
20:31No wonder she'd looked at me that way in the kitchen.
20:34No wonder she'd looked so deeply hurt when she burst into tears.
20:37She hadn't come to steal my husband.
20:39She simply couldn't say the name of the man she loved who had died.
20:42Why did Rafe let everyone think the baby was his?
20:45Because there was still a mole inside the DeLuca family.
20:48As long as he didn't deny it,
20:50everyone would assume Lily was the Don's woman.
20:52No one would dare keep digging into her.
20:54Only after they found the mole
20:55and eliminated the killers Caruso left behind,
20:57could the truth come out?
21:00Why didn't you tell me before?
21:07Rafe didn't tell me.
21:08I found it out myself.
21:10What about Mom and Dad?
21:12Dad went after him with a gun.
21:14The two families almost went to war.
21:15Rafe had no choice but to tell him
21:17and make him swear on the honor of the Velotti family
21:18that he would keep it secret.
21:20So you were allowed to investigate.
21:22Dad was allowed to point a gun at him
21:23and force the truth out of him.
21:24Vincent and Don Salvatore knew from the beginning
21:26and the one person who had the greatest right
21:28to know the truth
21:29was the one all of you decided to lie to.
21:31No, Rafe didn't betray you.
21:32He just couldn't tell you.
21:33You should forgive him.
21:34Couldn't tell me?
21:36Forgive him?
21:37I can understand why he couldn't tell me who Michael was.
21:40I can understand why he couldn't tell me
21:41he was hunting a mull.
21:43But he couldn't even tell me in private
21:44that the baby wasn't his.
21:45Do any of you understand how much the truth mattered?
21:48Who was the one people pointed at
21:50and insulted for two months?
21:51Who was the one Rafe's mother told
21:53to give up her son's room to a pregnant woman
21:55who tried to stand up and defend herself
21:57only to have her husband physically hold her down?
21:59Did any of you ever think about how humiliated I was
22:01and now you want me to forgive him?
22:03Dream on.
22:04Get out.
22:04I don't want to see you right now.
22:12Nor.
22:13If you don't leave,
22:13I'll take Sam and switch hotels right now.
22:21Rafe hasn't slept in two days.
22:23He seemed to sleep just fine
22:24during the two months everyone was insulting me.
22:27Jake said nothing else.
22:28I slammed the door in his face.
22:31That night,
22:31after Sam fell asleep,
22:33a crayon was still clutched in his hand.
22:35I gently pulled it free
22:36and picked up the picture he'd drawn.
22:38There were only two people in it.
22:39Sam and me.
22:40Two little figures,
22:41one big and one small,
22:43holding hands beneath the sun.
22:45I'd asked him where his father was.
22:47He'd said daddy was very far away.
22:49I folded the picture,
22:50turned off the light,
22:51and lay down.
22:56Next morning,
22:57I checked out of the hotel.
22:58I didn't go back to the DeLuca estate
23:00and I didn't return to the Valenti home either.
23:02I sent Sam to stay with my mother for a while
23:04and went alone to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
23:07There was a private physical rehabilitation center there
23:10called Harbor House.
23:11My grandmother had left it to me.
23:13After I got married,
23:14I handed it over to professional management
23:16and hadn't been back in six years.
23:18Mrs. Coleman,
23:19the director,
23:20was in her 50s,
23:21finished going through the past few years of accounts,
23:23then looked up at me.
23:24What brought you back all of a sudden?
23:27My husband has passed away.
23:29I told her my husband was dead.
23:30Mrs. Coleman didn't ask any more questions.
23:33She pushed a ring of keys across the desk.
23:35There's only enough money left
23:36to keep us running for two months.
23:38The East Wing leaks,
23:39the kitchen owes money to suppliers,
23:41and we're short six caregivers.
23:43Where do we start?
23:45With the unpaid wages.
23:51Working at Harbor House wasn't easy.
23:53I got to the office at six every morning.
23:55During the day I went through the books,
23:57called contractors,
23:58interviewed staff,
23:59and helped on the wards
24:00whenever we were shorthanded.
24:01Call bells rang nonstop.
24:03Carts rattled through the halls.
24:04Patients pressed their call buttons.
24:06Relatives argued,
24:07and nurses called for help.
24:08The noise never stopped.
24:10The first week,
24:11I got three blisters on my hands,
24:13moving supplies,
24:13covered them with gauze,
24:14and kept working.
24:15By the second week,
24:17the blisters had turned into calluses.
24:19I sold several pieces of my personal jewelry
24:21and used the money
24:22to cover the back pay owed to 27 employees.
24:25When my father found out,
24:27he called me.
24:29The Volante family isn't short on money.
24:31I know.
24:33Then why are you selling your own things?
24:36Because Harbor House is mine.
24:39The other end of the line
24:40was silent for a long time.
24:42You're really not coming back?
24:44No.
24:45My father hung up.
24:54The end of the month,
24:56Mrs. Coleman slid a piece of paper
24:57with an address across my desk.
24:59It was the apartment
25:00I'd asked her to help me find.
25:01It was right across from the rehab center.
25:04One bedroom,
25:05one living room,
25:06and a small balcony.
25:07I signed the lease that afternoon.
25:09That weekend,
25:09I went back to Galveston
25:10to pick up Sam.
25:11My parents were waiting in front of the estate.
25:13When my father saw me,
25:14his lips moved.
25:15What happened to your hands?
25:18Moving supplies.
25:20The next day,
25:21as I was leaving,
25:22my mother caught my sleeve.
25:23You're really not going back to Rafe?
25:26No.
25:27He came by the day before yesterday.
25:28He's lost a lot of weight.
25:30Every single one of them
25:31had helped keep the truth from me.
25:33None of them had the right
25:34to talk me into reconciling with him.
25:36No one at the DeLuca estate
25:37knew where I'd gone.
25:38They only knew that Rafe
25:40returned to the main house
25:41less and less.
25:42He spent his days at the port,
25:44slept in his study at night,
25:45and barely spoke to anyone
25:47even during meals.
25:48Vincent tried to talk to him once.
25:50Rafe shut the door in his face.
25:51Lily wasn't doing well either.
25:53One evening,
25:54she was carrying a plate of dessert
25:56toward the dining room.
25:57When her legs suddenly gave out beneath her,
25:59the plate shattered,
26:01cream splattering across the floor.
26:03After examining her,
26:04the doctor said she was malnourished.
26:06Her blood pressure was dangerously low,
26:08and the pregnancy was at serious risk.
26:10If things continued like this,
26:12she could lose the baby.
26:14When Bianca went to see her,
26:15she brought a basket of fruit.
26:17Lily leaned against the headboard,
26:19her face as white as the sheets.
26:20Bianca sat for a while
26:22before finally asking the question
26:23she'd been holding in for two months.
26:25Lily, tell me the truth.
26:27Whose baby are you carrying?
26:34Lily didn't take the fruit
26:35Bianca offered her.
26:36If the baby isn't Rafe's,
26:37why didn't you say so?
26:39The Don saved me.
26:41I can't ruin his plan.
26:44What about Nora?
26:47Every single day,
26:48I wanted to tell her.
26:49When Bianca returned from the clinic,
26:51she ran into Don Salvatore in the hallway.
26:53Salvador.
26:54Don Salvatore stood in front of her
26:55for a long moment.
26:57Bianca, when you married me,
26:58I told you one thing.
27:00Do you remember it?
27:01Bianca answered nervously.
27:03I remember.
27:04You said a Delina woman
27:05either helps hold the family together
27:07or knows when to keep her mouth shut.
27:09For the past two months,
27:11you've done neither.
27:12You humiliated your own daughter-in-law
27:14over a girl whose background
27:15you didn't even know.
27:16I didn't know.
27:17Then that was even more reason
27:18to keep your mouth shut.
27:22Nora is the only person in this house
27:24who hasn't done a single thing wrong
27:26from beginning to end.
27:27Go ask Vincent.
27:29Once you have,
27:30think very carefully
27:31about what you're going to do next.
27:32By the time Bianca left the hallway,
27:34her legs were shaking.
27:35She went straight to Vincent's office.
27:37Lily's baby isn't Rafe's, is it?
27:39Vincent closed the file in front of him
27:41and didn't answer.
27:43Then whose baby is it?
27:45There are still things I can't tell you.
27:47Think about it yourself.
27:49If the baby really was the Dons,
27:51why did every man who came back
27:52from the Gulf Coast protect Lily,
27:54yet not one of them congratulate him?
27:56A living person's pride
27:58will never matter more
27:58than protecting the child of a dead man.
28:06Rafe's belongings were returned to the estate.
28:09The package wasn't large.
28:10It was a metal box recovered
28:11from the burned warehouse.
28:13Rafe opened it.
28:14Inside were a neatly folded black suit,
28:16an old watch,
28:17a bill folded in half,
28:18and a letter that had never been sent.
28:20Lily's name was written on the envelope.
28:22Rafe opened the letter.
28:23If I don't make it back,
28:25tell my child his father didn't run away.
28:27I died trying to come home.
28:29Rafe took the letter to Vincent's study
28:31that two of them shut the door
28:32and stayed inside all afternoon.
28:35Vincent took apart the old watch
28:36and found a tiny folded ledger page
28:38hidden inside the casing.
28:40It listed several DeLuca shipments
28:42whose schedules had been leaked.
28:43The same initials were written
28:45beside every entry CG Carlo Greco,
28:48a capo responsible for coordinating
28:50the DeLuca port operations.
28:52That night, Carlo was caught
28:53while trying to leave New Orleans.
28:55He was dragged into the basement,
28:57still shouting that he'd served
28:58the DeLuca family for 20 years.
29:01Were you the one who sold our movements
29:02to Caruso before those attacks?
29:04Carlo stopped shouting.
29:06Using the addresses he gave up,
29:08DeLuca men found the last group of Carusas
29:10still hiding in the city.
29:12Before dawn, the threat was gone.
29:18The next morning, Don Salvatore ordered Vincent
29:21to summon every core member of the family
29:23to the private chapel.
29:24It wasn't a family meeting.
29:25It was a formal family tribunal
29:27presided over by Don Salvatore himself.
29:30The chapel was packed.
29:32Bianca sat in the front row.
29:34The women who had insulted me sat behind her.
29:36Rafe stood beside the altar
29:37instead of taking the Don's seat.
29:39That chair had been left for Don Salvatore.
29:41Don Salvatore walked slowly toward the altar,
29:45leaning on his ebony cane.
29:46He had been retired for three years.
29:48This was the first time in three years
29:50that he had sat in that old chair.
29:52I've been retired for three years.
29:55Today, I'm stepping into family business
29:58one more time.
29:59Because this time,
30:00the family owes a debt to one dead man
30:03and justice to one woman.
30:15Vincent walked to the long table
30:17and placed three things on it.
30:19Michael's cufflinks,
30:20the farewell letter he'd written to Lily,
30:22and the bloodstained note
30:23entrusting Lily and the baby to Rafe.
30:25Michael Doyle was not a made man.
30:27For nine years,
30:28he carried out 27 operations
30:30for the DeLuca family
30:31and saved my son's life twice.
30:34The last time,
30:35he didn't come home alive.
30:41If I don't make it back,
30:43tell my child his father didn't run away.
30:46I died trying to come home.
30:48The woman the Don brought back
30:50from the Gulf Coast
30:51was not his mistress.
30:53She was the fiancé of a man
30:54who died for the DeLuca family
30:56and she was carrying his child.
31:02The handkerchief slipped from Bianca's hand.
31:08Until Carlo was caught
31:09and the killers were eliminated,
31:11anyone learning the child's identity
31:13would have put Lily and the baby
31:14in mortal danger.
31:16That's why the Don
31:17couldn't explain publicly.
31:22I was the one
31:23who ordered everyone
31:24to believe Lily was my woman.
31:26I take responsibility
31:27for every consequence.
31:31Over the past two months,
31:32several people in this house
31:34said ugly things
31:35to the Donna's face.
31:37I won't name names.
31:39If you were one of them,
31:40stand up!
31:41After a long time,
31:42two Capo's wives stood first.
31:45We're sorry.
31:46We were wrong.
31:46Then four more stood.
31:48Then five.
31:50Bianca was the last.
31:51She slowly rose from the front row
31:53and turned to face
31:54the entire chapel.
31:55I'm Rafe's mother.
31:57I tried to force Nora
31:58to give Lily her son's room.
32:01I humiliated her in public
32:03at the charity committee meeting.
32:06Everyone in this house
32:07who spoke badly about Nora
32:09followed my lead.
32:10I was wrong.
32:14Don Salvatore watched her
32:16in silence for a long time.
32:17Tell Nora that.
32:19Not us.
32:24After the tribunal ended,
32:26Bianca didn't leave right away.
32:28She stood for a long time
32:29staring at the empty seat
32:30reserved for the Donna
32:31beside the altar
32:32as tears kept slipping
32:33down her cheeks.
32:34Three days later,
32:35she wrote me a letter by hand.
32:37She wrote that
32:38if I was willing to come back,
32:39she would move out of the main house
32:41and hand over the estate keys,
32:43along with everything
32:44that belonged to the Donna.
32:46If I still couldn't forgive her,
32:48she would come kneel
32:49before me herself.
32:50By the end of the letter,
32:51the ink had bled
32:52across the page.
32:54Gabriel came to Harbor House
32:55with two men.
32:56At the time,
32:57I was pushing a cart
32:58of clean sheets
32:59toward the inpatient wing.
33:00Mrs. Coleman called me twice
33:01from the end of the hallway
33:02before I heard her.
33:03I handed the cart
33:04to a caregiver
33:05and went outside.
33:08Donna, two days ago,
33:09Don Salvatore personally presided
33:11over a family tribunal
33:12in the chapel
33:12and explained everything.
33:14Michael saved the Don's life.
33:16Lily and the baby
33:17were both entrusted to him
33:18by Michael.
33:19Bianca and the others
33:19were all there.
33:20Don Salvatore ordered Bianca
33:21to apologize to you herself.
33:28Opened Bianca's letter,
33:29read it,
33:30then folded it again.
33:31She said that if you'd come back,
33:32she'd move out.
33:34And she said,
33:35if you want her to kneel,
33:36she'll come and kneel
33:37before you herself.
33:39Tell her she doesn't need to kneel.
33:43Then when are you coming back
33:44to the estate?
33:45I never said I was going back.
33:47But the baby isn't the Don's.
33:49I know.
33:51The Don never touched Lily either.
33:53I know.
33:53Then why?
33:57Because my shift isn't over yet.
34:14She's coming back.
34:15She's coming back.
34:17She's coming back.
34:18You