AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There’s silence, everyone hanging on Gino’s words. You can hear a pin drop in the room.
An ugly sneer crosses Gino’s face. “His confession was that my father loved Cher Saldano.” He pauses, letting the implication hang in the air. “So much so that he bought the building where Perfezione is. He intended to gift it to Cher. Romantic, right?”
There are murmurs and gasps from the crowd. My gut twists, and I can see Fee’s eyes widen slightly, the shock and disbelief written all over her face. This is the first she’s hearing of it, and I don’t like where this is going.
Gino smirks, enjoying the reaction he’s getting. “But here’s the thing—there’s no deal in writing. No gift tied up in a neat little bow. So as far as I’m concerned, the building’s still a Timpone asset. And since I’m the one handling the estate now, that means you’ve got a problem, Sofia.”
“What do you want, Gino?” I ask, my voice low, barely keeping my anger in check.
He grins, savoring the moment. “Cash. Rent. Back rent. As much money as I can squeeze out of Perfezione. My father might’ve been soft, but I’m not. You owe the Timpone family, and I intend to collect.”
Fee’s face pales, but she stands her ground, staring him down. “That’s bullshit, Gino. Your father didn’t charge me or my grandfather rent.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Gino snaps back. “You’ve got three months to come up with $4.9 million to buy the building, or I’ll file the court docs proving you haven’t paid rent in months. Lease or no lease, you’re going to pay what’s owed—through money or blood. I don’t care how you get it done, but you’d better get it done fast.”
The threat hangs in the air, heavy and real. Gino’s eyes gleam with malicious satisfaction, knowing he’s backed Fee into a corner. I want to smash that smug grin off his face, but I hold back. There’s too much at stake to lose control now.
“We’ll see about that,” I finally say, my voice as hard as steel.
Gino shrugs, unfazed. “Tick-tock, Sofia. Three months. Clock’s ticking.” With that, he turns on his heel and walks away, leaving us standing there with the weight of his ultimatum crashing down around us.
9
SOFIA
I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything as I stand in the middle of the crowded funeral home, surrounded by whispers and judgmental stares. It feels like I’m moving through a thick fog, everything muffled and distant, as if I’m not really here. Gino’s words keep echoing in my mind, each revelation cutting deeper than the last.
Perfezione was given to my mother because Don Antoni loved her? I can’t make sense of it. Did my mother love him back? The thought alone feels like a betrayal, like something sacred has been twisted into something ugly and tainted.
I glance around the room, catching snippets of conversations, the looks people are giving me. It’s like they all know something I don’t, like they’re in on some terrible secret. My heart races, and I feel the walls closing in on me.
Why didn’t Zip ever tell me about this? Did he know? He must have known. My grandfather has always been fiercely protective of me, always there to shield me from the uglier side of our world. But this… this feels like a blindside, like I’ve been left out in the cold with no idea what’s really going on.
I feel like I’m drowning in questions, each one heavier than the last. If Antoni loved my mother, why didn’t she ever say anything? Why didn’t she tell me about him, about the building, about any of this? Did she hide it because she was ashamed, or is there something else I’m missing?
I try to focus on the people around me, on the murmurs of condolence and the heavy atmosphere of grief, but it’s all just a blur. The only things that feel real are the confusion and anger swirling inside me, making it impossible to think straight.
I see Zip across the room, his face etched with worry as he speaks to some old family friends. Did he know this whole time? He must have. Didn’t he tell Gino that he and Antoni had an agreement that Perfezione would remain neutral territory? Is that why that deal came about? Because Antoni loved my mother?
The questions are burning in my throat, but I can’t bring myself to confront him or my mother, not here, not now. The truth is, I’m scared of what they might say, scared of the answers I might get.
I keep replaying Gino’s words over and over in my head, trying to piece together the puzzle of my mother’s relationships, of this building that’s been my salvation. But the more I think about it, the less sense it makes. It’s like trying to hold onto water, slipping through my fingers no matter how tightly I try to grip it.
The fog in my mind thickens, making it hard to breathe, hard to focus. I feel like I’m on the edge of something, a precipice I never knew was there, and one wrong step could send me tumbling into an abyss I’m not ready to face.
Angelo's voice cuts through the fog of my thoughts, grounding me. “Fee, breathe,” he says softly, his hand a steadying presence on my shoulder. “We’ll get answers, I promise. As soon as the viewing is over.”
I nod, trying to focus on the rise and fall of my breath, on the solidity of Angelo’s hand. But the weight of everything I’ve just learned makes it hard to think clearly. Still, I manage to hold it together until the last mourner files out of the room.
As soon as the doors close, I don’t waste a second. I march straight toward my mother and Zip, my mind swirling with anger and confusion. Without thinking, I grab my mother’s arm, my voice low and fierce. “We need to talk.Now.”
Mom looks startled, her usual air of arrogance faltering for a moment. Angelo, always the calm in the storm, steps forward. “Let’s take this somewhere private,” he suggests. “My car shop isn’t far.”
I blink, momentarily thrown by the idea that Angelo owns a car repair shop. It seems so… ordinary for him. But there’s no time to dwell on it. I nod in agreement, and we quickly make our way to his shop.
The drive is tense, the silence heavy with unspoken questions. When we arrive, Angelo leads us into a small office at the back of the shop, the smells of oil and rubber lingering in the air. It’s a far cry from the opulence of the funeral home, but it’s private, and that’s all that matters.
I turn to my mother as soon as the door closes behind us, my voice shaking with barely contained anger. “What’s going on, Mom? What’s the real story between our families? I need to know the truth—no more lies.”
