Days passed after the shooting, and the house changed completely. The halls were quiet, and the guards no longer joked. The workers spoke in low tones and moved fast to avoid attention. Even the sound of footsteps seemed heavier than before. Dante’s injury had changed everything.

The doctors said the bullet had grazed his spine. He could speak and think clearly, but he could not walk. He sat in a wheelchair now, silent most of the time, staring out the window of his room. The man who once ...