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I open my mouth to answer … what? I know I still love Nina, but how can I know she won’t break my heart again?
The front door opens again, saving me from having to answer.
It’s my mom.
She’s alone as she hurries inside the house. Once she sees me, her eyes water as she pulls me into a hug. “Oh my god. Antonio. You’re alive.”
“I’m alive.” I hug her close to me. Nina steps aside to let my mom and me have this moment. When we pull apart, Mom turns to Franco.
“He’s … really dead?”
“He is.”
Relief flashes through her eyes before they darken. “Good.” Then she does something I’d never expect from Giulia Moretti.
She spits on Franco.
“He can rot in hell for all I care,” she says.
“You really hated him.”
She huffs. “Of course, I hated him. He made my life miserable for the past twelve years. I’ll never get those years back. But I can rest easy knowing all my children are safe from him forever. You’ve safe, Antonio.” She cups my cheek, her eyes watering. “But now you have to take over, and you need to do it soon before someone else steps in. You’ve worked so hard to take Franco down. Don’t let someone else get in your way.”
“Never,” I say in a ragged voice. “I’ll get rid of his body, and that will be that. I’ll be the new head of the family business. I always will be. I’ll make Dad proud.” My voice cracks on the last few words. My fingers brush against my father’s pendant around my neck.
Mom smiles wider. “I know you will. You’ve been making him proud your entire life.”
I bend down by Franco’s head. An idea occurs. “Do you have a plastic bag I can use?” I ask my mom.
She nods and goes to the kitchen as if in a daze. Nina is looking at the floor, not acknowledging me at all. When Mom comes back with the plastic bag, she asks what I’m doing.
“This,” I tell her, plucking out a few of Franco’s hair and stuffing them in the bag.
“What for?”
“You said the twins are his kids. I want to make sure. They could be Dad’s, and you’re carrying around a weight you don’t need to carry.”
“Oh, Antonio.” Mom kneels beside me, stroking back my hair. “I appreciate what you’re doing, but you don’t need to. It doesn’t matter now who Lucia and Luca’s father is. They’ll have me as their mom. And they’ll have this family supporting them.”
“But if news got out that they’re Franco’s kids, it could hurt their reputation.”
“It could,” she agrees. “That’s why you shouldn’t do the test. It’s better ultimately to not know.”
I stare at the plastic bag in my hands, a few strands Franco’s dark hair inside it. I shove it into my pocket. “I can’t get rid of it. Just in case.”
Mom smiles sadly as she pats my cheek. “Ok. Just in case.”
“Where’s Cecilia and everyone else?”
“I didn’t want them to come back here just in case you were …” She gasps, covering her mouth.Killed. Just in case I was killed.
“I understand,” I tell her. “Once I dispose of Franco’s body, you can bring them back.”
“And you’ll get to see them again. I know Cecilia misses you so much.”
“Me, too.” The pang of missing my sister is slightly lighter today than it was before. I lost out on five years, but I plan on being a part of my family’s life for the rest of mine.
Mom turns to Nina. “Are you all right?” Nina looks even more withdrawn. I can see my mom take in Nina’s dirty dress, the blood stains on her back. “Why don’t you stay here for the night? I’ll make sure you’re all right.”
