...gets pulled against a hard chest. Two strong arms lift her from the ground and pull her away from Dani. She tries to escape those arms and cries and screams simultaneously. She gets dragged towards a Dodge pick-up and suddenly realizes who is holding her.

"Ricardo?"

"Yes, Scorpia. Calm down! She's not worth the years of jail time. Do you hear me? Calm down! I don't want you to lose yourself!"

Her voice is soft and broken as she says: "The shadows are calling me. It's calm there. I don't have to do anything there."

"No! Salvatore's there! And Logan is lost there. You do not want to go there! I will not let you go there! Listen to me!"

She sniffles and says: "I've lost Logan already. I've lost everyone. I don't want to be here anymore Ricardo. I don't." 

She starts to cry uncontrollably and stops resisting.

Ricardo helps her into his car and drives off. He catches a glimpse of a bunch of Gentiles on the sidewalk, who seem to be beating Logan up. But there's no time to look at it longer. His priorities lie with the broken woman next to him.

He takes her to his apartment because he has no clue what happened and he doesn't want to make it worse by throwing other people into the mix. He carries her into the apartment and puts her down on the couch. She silently cried all the way over there and when he picked her up there wasn't even a hint of resistance.

He prefers her furious because she looks like she's given up right now.

He gets a glass of water and sets it down on the coffee table in front of her, sitting down next to her quietly. She has her arms wrapped around her knees and stares into nothing. Ricardo glances at his phone and notices a new message from Bruno to share what he has learned so far.

Dani has declared her love to Logan.
Scorpia gave Logan space to talk to Dani.
To explain to her that Scorpia is the only one for him.

She found Ciro and Dani having sex in her office.
And heard Dino had sex with her last night.
She tried to seduce me too.
Not that I wanted anything to do with her. Tramp.

Ricardo connects the dots in his head and is fairly certain that Scorpia found Dani and Logan together in a compromising position. He quickly lets Bruno know that he was just in time to prevent Scorpia from killing Dani. And that he doesn't have any details yet.

He notices that Scorpia has stopped crying and hands her the glass of water. She takes a sip and asks hoarsely: "Why can't I hide in the shadows if I really want to?"

Ricardo rests his big hand on her cheek and says: "Because you don't really want to go back there. Because you're not powerless and defeated. Because you're a strong woman, who is not going to let that cunt of a lawyer win."

She laughs softly and says: "You said cunt."

The corner of Ricardo's mouth points up a little and he says: "Yes, I said cunt. I'm trying to stay decent. But I had the pleasure to be victim to her antics too and I don't like her."

"What?"

Scorpia looks at him and asks: "What did she do?"

"She tried to force herself onto me when she came out of your hospital room. I told her I wasn't interested in a woman like her. A woman who stops for nothing and who enjoys another person's pain."

Scorpia rocks back and forth and wraps her arms around her body. "I trusted her Ricardo. I've been so incredibly stupid. I never should've trusted her. She went after all the men I love. I can't handle this..."

"Scorpia? What happened in the cafe?" Her face distorts and she looks like he just hit her, which makes him regret his question immediately.

His phone rings and he sees Bruno's name on the screen. He answers it and Bruno asks: "How is she doing?"

Ricardo thinks about his answer and then says honestly: "Not good. But not extremely bad either. She wanted to hide in the shadows, but couldn't. And I won't let her."

"Do you know what happened with Logan?"

Ricardo says: "No, the question alone hurt her too much."

"I heard he got beaten up by a bunch of Gentile cousins. But if Scorpia tried to kill Dani, it can't be just about Ciro and Dino..."

Bruno sighs and says: "Ricardo? Try to figure out if she wants to pick up Lucas and Matteo from school? And bring them to mamma? I'll bring Lexy, Enzo, and Mia over there. The kids have the afternoon off. I think spending some time with them will do her good. And she might open up easier."

Ricardo promises to ask her and hangs up. Scorpia softly asks: "Bruno?"

"Yes. He's also the one who sent me to the cafe. I thought I was going to talk to you, but..."

Scorpia closes her eyes for a second but immediately opens them wide again. "Every time I close my eyes I see Logan with Dani. I can't get that image out of my head."

Ricardo wraps an arm around her and says: "Matteo and Lucas have to be picked up from school... Want to do that with me? And bring the boys to your mamma's house? Bruno, Lexy, Enzo, and Mia will be there too. A house full of people who love you and would love to see you."

Scorpia looks into his eyes and whispers: "Yes." She gets up and walks into the kitchen to splash some water in her face. She dries her face and walks back into the living room.

"Ricardo? Could you hold me for a while? I'm scared."

He pulls her into a protective hug, providing her the comfort she so desperately needs. She focuses on his warmth and calm heartbeat and takes slow breaths.

She looks up at him and says: "You're right. I don't want to go back there. I just don't know what I do want."

Ricardo says: "As long as you don't want to go back into the shadows, I'm happy. The rest will come with time. We're going to pick up two sweet boys and meet with even more sweet people. That's all you need to know right now."

They arrive at the school just in time. The bell rings and it doesn't take long for Scorpia to hear someone shout her name. Lucas comes running towards her. She swallows the lump in her throat down because he looks like his uncle too much. She quickly crouches down to receive his hug. He hugs her with his entire body and whispers 'ti amo' in her ear.

He checks out Ricardo curiously, who greets him with a warm smile. Scorpia says: "That's Ricardo. He is giving us a ride to nonna's house. Can you stay with him, while I find out what is taking Matteo so long?" 

Lucas nods and starts a conversation with Ricardo, trusting him immediately.

She steps into the well-known building and makes her way over to Thomas' classroom. She stops on the threshold and watches Matteo clean the whiteboard. Thomas looks her way and his jaw drops. "Pia?"

Matteo looks her way too and smiles wide. "Scorpia? It was fun with mister Thomas!"

Scorpia smiles at the boy and says: "Just like I expected Matteo. Thomas is a fun teacher. She messed up his hair as he hugs her. I have to talk to mister Thomas for a minute, okay? You go outside to Lucas and Ricardo, they are waiting for you there." 

Matteo yells bye to Thomas and runs off. Scorpia chuckles and makes eye contact with Thomas.

Thomas spreads his arms out and she steps into them with a sigh. He hugs her warmly and asks her how she's doing. She wants to say good, but knows there's no use in lying to Thomas.

"Not that great. But better."

Thomas looks into her eyes and says: "I know that there's a lot you can't or won't tell me. And I know you won't be coming back. But I want you to know one thing. There's always a hug for you here. Always."

She looks at him with her tear-filled eyes and nods gratefully.

He starts to tell her about Matteo and how good he did today. "It's a smart boy. He clearly hasn't missed much of school and he really wants to join in on everything. He is going to be fine here."

She nods and says: "Thomas? My full name is Scorpia. Matteo lives with my mom and we've saved him from a bad environment."

Thomas processes the information quickly and says: "Nice to meet you Scorpia. I'll keep an eye on him, but I honestly didn't notice anything off about him today. Besides the cast on his arm." He sees the pain in her eyes when he mentions that and doesn't press for details about it. 

"Get out of here. Go find those men waiting for you outside. You look like you could use some quality time with kids."

She nods and whispers: "Thank you." 

She turns around and walks out of the classroom. She stops in front of the door to her old classroom for a beat, before walking out of the building. She finds two excited boys in Ricardo's car. Ricardo is shaking his head, standing next to the car to wait for her.

Lucas yells happily: "Scorpia! This is a really cool car!"

Scorpia laughs and says: "Yes, I think so too. And enough room for a hulk." Ricardo chuckles and opens the door for her. She slides in, next to the boys, and Ricardo gets behind the wheel.

Matteo asks a bit confused: "Hulk?"

Scorpia says: "Yes. Don't you think he looks like the Hulk?" She nods at Ricardo and Lucas bursts out in laughter.

"Scorpia! He is not green!"

Scorpia laughs and hugs Lucas. "You're right. He's not green."

Matteo says: "But he is really big."

Scorpia laughs freely with the boys during the drive and helps them out of the car when they arrive at mamma's house.

Lucas and Matteo run inside together, as a black-haired whirlwind comes bursting out.

"Soppiaaaaaaa! Kisses!"

She picks Enzo up and he covers her entire face in wet kisses. Ricardo watches the ritual and sees the huge amount of love she has for this little boy in her eyes.

Enzo stops kissing her and says: "Soppia? Sister. Enzo sister."

Scorpia smiles and asks: "What? You have a sister?"

Enzo nods with a serious expression on his face and says: "Pia."

Scorpia assumes he pronounces the name wrong and carries him over to the front door. Bruno is waiting for them there with Mia on his arm. She puts Enzo down and he runs inside.

Ricardo followed her and Mia's eyes light up when she sees the tall man. She sticks her arms to him and Ricardo takes her from Bruno's arms. She puts her little head down on his shoulder and sighs. Ricardo shoots Scorpia an emotional look and Scorpia kisses Mia's cheek.

Bruno wraps his arms around her shoulder and says: "Hey sister. There's a really nervous, redheaded woman in the kitchen, scared that you don't want to see her."

Scorpia makes eye contact with Bruno and says softly: "I would really like to see her actually and talk to her about it all." Bruno kisses the tip of her nose and takes her with him into the kitchen. Ricardo follows them, talking softly to the sleepy Mia.

Lexy looks up at Scorpia with eyes full of worry, who says in a voice full of emotion: "Sis. I need you. Now more than ever. Do you have time to talk to me?"

Lexy jumps up from her chair and hugs Scorpia tightly. "Oh, my dear sister. Of course. I will always be here for you."

Bruno says: "Go outside for a bit. I'll look after the kids with Ricardo."

Scorpia and Lexy sit down on the chairs on the terrace and Scorpia can't hold her tears back any longer. Lexy grabs her hands and says: "My dear sister. What can I do for you? Tell me and I'll do it."

Scorpia wipes the tears from her cheeks and says: "Could you help me make sense of it all? I really need to talk about it with a woman."

Lexy listens to Scorpia attentively, who shares every detail with her. Scorpia says: "She tried to seduce all the men I love. And I know I don't have any right to tell my brothers who to sleep with... They are not my boyfriends... But I do feel betrayed... Bruno turned her down at least... Oh Lexy, it's such a mess in my head."

Lexy runs her fingers over Scorpia's hands and says: "Of course you feel betrayed. Especially by the two brothers who betrayed you before. But..." 

She looks deep into Scorpia's eyes to check if she's ready to hear what she has to say.

Scorpia's eyes show she is willing to listen and Lexy decides to start with Dino. "I think Dino met with her to help you. Because you told him you would feel better if she paid attention to another guy."

Scorpia thinks about it and nods slowly.

Lexy says: "And if he had known that she would try the same thing with Ciro the next day..."

Scorpia swears and says: "In my office! And that bitch looked me dead in the eye with a smirk on her face!"

Lexy waits for Scorpia's eyes to connect with hers again and says: "That's what pisses you off the most isn't it?"

Scorpia spits out: "I can never work in that office again!"

"So? Pick a different room as your office. You're the boss."

She looks at Lexy with a stunned expression on her face and nods silently. Lexy gives her the time to think about it all.

Scorpia blurts out: "It would all be so much easier if I could just move on with someone like Ricardo. No more hotel or cafe. Just Ricardo's apartment and come here to hug the kids every once in a while."

Lexy lays her hand on Scorpia's leg and says: "Talk to him about it. Work it out in detail. And if you're convinced that you can be happy with him, I'll give you my blessing right away."

Scorpia sighs and Lexy says: "I'll send him out. Talk to him."

She gets up, walks inside and over to the table where the men are seated with the kids. She takes Mia from Ricardo and says: "Ricardo? She needs to talk to you. Be honest with her please."

Ricardo frowns and gets up to walk out.

───────────────

And that's chapter 47. 
What are you thinking right now?
What do you hope for?

I think this is it for the weekend. 
So you will have to wait a couple of days to find out what happens next. 

Hankie