Chương 6
"Yes."
"Maria, I appreciate what you did yesterday, but I don't think—"
"This is not a discussion about appreciation."
The sharpness in her voice surprised him.
She softened slightly.
"I am sorry."
Daniel nodded.
He understood the apology.
"Why does she need to stay?"
Maria looked at Lily.
"Because someone wants to scare me."
Daniel looked confused.
"And Lily is part of that?"
"I don't know."
That answer bothered him.
Good.
It should.
"I don't want her caught in the middle of whatever is happening with your family."
Maria leaned against the counter.
"Neither do I."
"Then why keep her here?"
Maria looked at the girl.
"Because yesterday she was surrounded by people who thought she was powerless."
Daniel was quiet.
"And now?"
"Now I want them to be wrong."
Lily stopped eating.
She looked between them.
"Am I in trouble?"
Maria walked closer.
"No."
"Then why are people angry?"
Maria sat beside her.
"Because sometimes when someone does the right thing, it reminds other people that they did the wrong thing."
Lily considered that.
"Adults are confusing."
A small smile appeared on Maria's face.
"Yes."
It was the first honest smile she had given all day.
Daniel noticed.
So did Lily.
For a moment, the kitchen felt normal.
Then Maria's phone rang.
This time it was not Thomas.
It was the security manager at the gate.
She answered.
"What happened?"
"Mrs. Bellandi, there is a situation."
"What kind?"
"A vehicle was found outside the property line."
Maria's expression changed.
"Whose?"
"We don't know."
"Why are you calling me?"
The man hesitated.
"Because the vehicle belongs to your nephew Vincent."
Maria looked toward the window.
"Is he there?"
"No."
"Anything inside?"
Another pause.
"Yes."
"What?"
"Your husband's old business files."
The room went silent.
Maria stood slowly.
"Do not touch anything."
"We already secured the vehicle."
"Nobody opens it."
"Understood."
She ended the call.
Daniel looked at her.
"What happened?"
Maria picked up her coat from the chair.
"Something I hoped was not going to happen."
Lily watched her.
"Are you leaving?"
Maria looked at the girl.
The question was simple.
But it carried something heavier.
It was the question of someone who had spent too much time being left behind.
"I am going to find out why people keep trying to make me afraid."
Lily nodded.
Then she asked quietly.
"Are you afraid?"
Maria almost gave the answer everyone expected.
No.
She was Maria Bellandi.
She did not fear threats.
She did not fear enemies.
She did not fear the past.
But the truth was different.
She was afraid.
Not of what someone might do to her.
Of what she might discover about the people she had spent her life protecting.
"Yes," Maria said.
Lily looked surprised.
Maria buttoned her coat.
"But being afraid does not mean you stop moving."
Outside, the gate opened.
And for the first time in seven years, Maria Bellandi walked toward a piece of Luca's past that she had once believed was buried forever.
"I have spent seven years waiting for someone to ask the right question," Anthony said.
Maria stood on the other side of the gate, her hand still resting on the cold metal latch.
She had imagined this moment many times without realizing it.
Sometimes Anthony returned angry.
Sometimes he returned desperate.
Sometimes he returned with an apology that she had secretly wanted even though she knew she would never accept it easily.
She had never imagined him standing there looking exhausted.
That was harder.
Anger was simple.
Exhaustion suggested a person had been carrying something for too long.
"Why now?" Maria asked.
Anthony looked toward the house.
Because Lily and Daniel were still nearby, Maria noticed him lower his voice.
"Because they made a mistake."
"Who?"
Anthony looked back at her.
"The same people who thought they could use a child to move you."
Maria felt the old instinct rise.
Control the conversation.
Ask questions.
Reveal nothing.
It had kept her alive in rooms full of people who wanted information more than friendship.
But Anthony was not an enemy standing across a negotiation table.
He was family.
That was the problem.
Family was where caution became complicated.
"Come inside," she said.
Anthony looked surprised.
Only slightly.
But she saw it.
He expected rejection.
That bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
As they walked toward the house, Daniel moved closer to Lily.
Maria noticed.
He was protecting the girl without making a show of it.
Small choices revealed people better than speeches.
Inside the living room, Anthony stopped near the old fireplace.
A photograph of Luca sat on the shelf above it.
Anthony stared at the picture.
"You kept it there."
Maria looked at him.
"Where else would I put it?"
He gave a small smile.
"Somewhere less visible."
"Why?"
"Because after everything, I wasn't sure you still wanted to remember him."
The comment struck harder than she expected.
"You think I stopped loving him?"
Anthony looked away.
"No."
"Then what are you saying?"
He rubbed his hand over his face.
"I'm saying Luca hurt people while trying to protect you."
Maria felt her body go still.
She hated how easily the sentence created two versions of the man she knew.
The husband who brought her coffee every morning.
The man who remembered every detail about her.
The person who could also make decisions without telling her because he believed he was carrying the burden alone.
"Explain."
Anthony sat down slowly.
"He found out someone inside the family was using our businesses to move money."
Maria remained standing.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"That is not enough."
"I know."
Anthony looked up.
"But Luca didn't know either."
Maria crossed her arms.
"So he left a note telling me to find you because he didn't know?"
Anthony looked frustrated.
"No."
The emotion surprised her.
Not anger.
Pain.
"He left that because he knew exactly who would come after him."
The room became quiet.
May you like
Daniel appeared in the doorway.
Maria looked at him.
