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Vincenzo enjoyed one or two special rights. It was he who was supposed to be behind the desk instead of Emilio, but after losing his wife, he had not only hung up his post but also withdrawn from all business.
Sometimes he would come to the villa and expose himself to our company, but most of the time it was as if he did not exist at all. But when we needed him, he was always there.
"I just wish that at some point he would learn to get past this pain and come back to us."
I gave him an interested look. "And you got this new view from where?"
Actually, I could already guess. Surely the relationship with Flavia was now to the point where she was influencing him and making a better person out of him. Was she teaching him empathy? People skills that weren't just about whether someone was a friend or foe?
Although I regretted it a little, I decided not to ask further after Emilio didn't even see fit to respond to my question.
"Write to him, call him, I don't care at all. Otherwise, we need Fiero or Natale." Although the two men were only our cousins, they played a damn important role in our lives.
Without them, the empire would miss two important cogs.
"I'll get something to eat while I wait for his answer," I grumbled after sending Vincenzo a curt message and rose from my quite comfortable spot on the couch.
Since it seemed that in the villa, despite its enormous size, one could not take a step without running into someone, I also encountered my sister in the kitchen, leaning against the counter in her usual aristocratic manner, leafing through a magazine and chewing on a strawberry.
If decadence had a name, it would be Carlotta. To be fair, my sister had been dealt a hard lot and had a free pass on pretty much everything.
Besides, she'd been saving our asses since she learned to speak, which is why she was forever assured a place in my heart, no matter how she sometimes acted.
"You? Here?" she said without lifting her eyes.
"Don't act surprised." I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then went straight to the fridge to find something to eat as well.
The contents didn't look like it was just for three people– Carlotta, Emilio and the latter's girlfriend, Flavia. No wonder when Natale, Fiero and I came here, as if it was our second home.
I pulled a bowl of pasta from the far corner, ignoring the fact that someone had already used the fork in it.
After I had also leaned against the sideboard and taken the first bite, I turned my gaze back to Carlotta.
"What kind of super-secret mission are you on now?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Emilio didn't tell you about last night?"
"I don't think he even told Flavia about it."
"He was probably afraid that you wouldn't let him out again if you found out that we almost all blew up." I told her neutral and as matter of fact, but my sister still lowered her hand, her gaze fixed on me with full intensity.
"Say that again?"
"Instead of the business partner, a young woman showed up, sporting a bomb belt."
Carlotta drew in her breath angrily, but I continued.
"It was risky, but I took it from her and threw it in the nearby ocean. Seconds later it exploded."
Before Carlotta could punch me too, I ducked away and continued eating at a distance while she bubbled away.
"I don't even understand why you all have such a penchant for getting six feet under!"
"It runs in the family, chérie."
"Chérie," Carlotta repeated, blinking several times as she gave me a deadly stare.
"Looked at some French swear words for our meeting with the guy."
