Chapter 8 - The Birthday She Thought No One Would Remember
Mia's eighth birthday arrived in the middle of winter.
She said she didn't want a party.
Sylvio knew she was lying.
She had never had a proper birthday.
Her mother had been sick.
The streets had been cruel.
The laboratory had stolen her childhood.
So Sylvio planned something enormous.
He closed Romano's for one evening.
Every table was decorated.
The restaurant smelled like chocolate and cinnamon.
There were balloons.
Flowers.
A cake.
Mia walked through the door and stopped.
“What is this?”
Sylvio smiled.
“Dinner.”
“For me?”
“For your birthday.”
She looked around.
There were dozens of people.
Elena.
Vincent.
Doctors.
Waiters.
Some neighborhood families.
Children she had met through a foundation Sylvio had created.
Mia cried.
“I don't know what to do.”
Sylvio crouched.
“You don't have to do anything.”
She hugged him.
He hugged her back.
That night, Mia blew out eight candles.
Then asked for one wish.
“What did you wish for?” Sylvio asked.
“You can't tell.”
“I'm not five.”
“You act like it.”
Everyone laughed.
Later, Mia gave Sylvio a gift.
A painting.
Three people standing beneath a rainy sky.
A little girl.
A woman.
A tall man.
Above them were stars.
Sylvio stared.
“Who are they?”
“Us.”
He smiled.
“I'm too tall.”
“I made you shorter.”
“Good.”
He looked at the painting.
“I love it.”
Mia smiled.
Then she asked,
“Can I call you Dad?”
Sylvio froze.
The restaurant went quiet.
Mia immediately looked nervous.
“You don't have to.”
He walked over.
He knelt.
“You can call me whatever you want.”
“Dad?”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Okay.”
She hugged him.
Elena cried.
Vincent looked away.
Sylvio realized that a man could own half a city and still feel completely powerless against one small word.
Dad.
After that, everything changed.
Mia became officially part of the Romano family.
Sylvio adopted her.
Her surname became Romano.
Not because blood demanded it.
Because she chose it.
They celebrated her mother every year.
Sarah's photograph was placed in the restaurant.
Underneath it was a plaque.
She saved a life she never knew she would meet.
And that life saved others.
Mia eventually learned the entire truth.
She wasn't frightened.
She was proud.
“My mom was brave.”
Sylvio nodded.
“Yes.”
“So was your dad.”
“Yes.”
“And you.”
He smiled.
“Sometimes.”
She laughed.
“More than sometimes.”
Years passed.
The restaurant flourished.
Sylvio's foundation grew.
Children from difficult backgrounds received scholarships.
Medical research received funding.
The antidote was distributed worldwide.
The old laboratory was converted into a research center.
Mia grew healthier.
Happier.
Normal.
As normal as a child raised by a former crime boss could be.
One afternoon, she asked Sylvio,
“Do you ever miss being feared?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because being loved is harder.”
She looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because fear makes people obey.”
“And love?”
“Love makes you care what happens to them.”
Mia nodded.
“Then I like love better.”
May you like
Sylvio smiled.
“So do I.”
