I felt completely powerless standing there watching them. The rift between Whitney and Vito ran too deep for any words to reach not tonight, maybe not for a long time. I had already suspected what Vito was really doing, but that didn't make it easier to witness.
I moved toward Whitney and gently helped her to her feet. "Don't cry. You need to take care of yourself. What if you make yourself sick?" She didn't respond at first, but the moment her eyes found mine, something in her cracked open. She threw herself into my arms, sobbing like she'd been holding it in for years like a child who had finally found the one safe place left in the world.
I held her and rubbed slow circles on her back. "It's okay. You still have me. I'm not going anywhere."
Her voice broke between sobs. "But my dad… and the others…"
