I take Yelizaveta by the arm and position her behind my back. It's possible she might get hurt if we start arguing, and above all, I don’t need her protecting me when I’m more than capable of protecting us both. I draw my weapon and aim it at Mr. Belucci’s men.“I don’t think it’s right for us to argue on our first meeting, father-in-law. I believe we should maintain a cordial relationship. After all, we might become family sooner than you think.” I comment with a trace of amusement in my voice.His face shifts from confusion to absolute rage when he hears me call him father-in-law, and the throbbing vein on his forehead indicates that danger is looming. He reaches for my neck and tightens his grip in an attempt to intimidate me.“I’m not going to aim my weapon at you, just as you’re doing with me, father-in-law.” I emphasize the term again, and his grip tightens, but I remain firm in my place. My men continue to point their weapons at him, and I signal them with a hand gesture not to
“I have bad news, Alexandre.” Flavio informs me as soon as I return to the mansion.“What’s going on? You look worried.”“They found Lieutenant Amato dead. It’s been made to look like he had a heart attack and died instantly, but that’s not even the worst part.”“What could be worse than that?”“His family is missing.”“It must have been that son of a bitch. He knew Amato could help us, so he decided to end his life, which makes me think he must have infiltrators in the police.” I pace back and forth in despair, turn around again, and punch the wall, screaming in rage.“Calm down! We’ll find the one responsible somehow. Rats always leave a trail sooner or later.”“And Bellini?”“He went to see what he could find out.”“Good. In that case, I’m going to give you an order, and I want you to carry it out without objection.”“You know that’s why Bellini left me by your side.”“I want you to send several of our men to watch over Yelizaveta day and night, but only those you trust completely.
Fabrizio “We’ve followed Belucci’s daughter as you instructed, boss.” One of my men reports to me.“And what news do you have for me?”“It seems her father found out she was secretly meeting with Carluccio and rushed to his mansion, looking like he was going to kill him.”“I suppose there’s a ‘but,’ right?” I inquire, frustrated.“His daughter escaped from her house, got to Carluccio before him, and defended him from her father. We also managed to arrange a meeting with him, though it was a bit complicated, he agreed to see us.”My man hands me an envelope, which I open immediately. With a broad smile, I see photos of Belucci pointing his gun at Giuseppe’s stupid grandson, and also grabbing his neck. It seems he can’t stand him, and that’s exactly what I will take advantage of—to get close to his daughter and achieve my goal.“Continue following her. I want you to inform me of everything Yelizaveta does, no matter how small. As for the other thing, this is the best news you’ve given
Fabrizio “I appreciate you agreeing to see me, Mr. Belucci.” I say to the man in front of me as I take a seat where he indicates.“To be honest, I was a bit curious about your insistence on meeting with me. Tell me, Fabrizio, why me? What kind of business do you want to propose?”“I appreciate your directness, Mr. Belucci. I know you have several very successful businesses, and that the entire Cinque Terre area belongs to you, so doing business with you would be a great honor for me. As for the business I would like to offer, it's to enter the automotive market.” Stefano looks at me for a moment, weighing how good the business I just proposed might be.“You’re right about that, Fabrizio. But how can you guarantee that what you have to offer is of excellent quality? As you understand, above all, I like my partners to be trustworthy. I don’t like to risk getting low-quality merchandise that could cause me more losses than profits in the future.”“I understand, that’s why if you like, y
"Good afternoon, Alexandre!" She responds with a small smile, but I notice that it doesn't reach those eyes that look so much like Liza's. "Melike, could you bring us something to drink, please?""Yes, ma'am.""Don't take this the wrong way, but I've come to find my girlfriend, Mrs. Belucci," I say, scanning the room for Liza."Let's be honest, Alexandre, I know that you and my daughter are not a couple; there's no need to lie to me." She replies calmly. Immediately, I tense up a bit, but I just keep quiet. "I also know that Liza told my husband that you're dating so Stefano wouldn't do anything bad to you that day he came looking for you at your house.""In that case, since you already know the truth, I've come to see Liza. I want to ask her out." We fall silent once our drinks are brought to us. I take the glass of water that's been left for me, waiting for Liza's mother to continue our conversation."My daughter isn't here; she went out, but she shouldn't be long. I'd like to take
Alex turns around and looks at me with narrowed eyes. He signals his men, who then give us a bit of privacy by turning and looking out towards the horizon."Do you know how to use weapons, Liza?" He asks with pursed lips."W-well, yes, bonbon." I confess, looking down. "I've known how to use them for years, but seeing you so excited, I was embarrassed to admit it.""So you were pretending all this time?""Yes, but it was for a good cause." I say, meeting his gaze as he frowns and crosses his arms over his chest, waiting for an explanation. "I wanted to be closer to you, and if I had to lie to get you to hug me, believe me, I would do it again." I respond with a slightly trembling voice as I see him approach and wrap his arms around my waist a little more firmly than usual, then lift me up and spin me around, causing me to let out a small squeal."You’re a little trickster! You don’t need any excuse for me to hug you, Liza." He murmurs against my lips before giving me a deep kiss, the
When I arrive at our destination, I head up to my office where Dunyasha is already waiting for me, and from the expression on her face, I imagine the news isn’t good.“Good evening, Dunyasha! What news do you have for me?” I ask, taking a seat.“Good evening, young Carluccio! You can call me Yasha, as I’ve mentioned before. Regarding the other matter, we still haven’t found the mastermind behind all this, but the good news is that I’ve started eliminating several locations that were indicated as starting points. Believe it or not, it’s a significant advance.”“And I told you that you can call me Alexandre, Yasha. I believe you; if Pietro recommended you, there’s a reason, so I trust both of you. About the other issue, what have you been informed?”“We’ve kept her under surveillance day and night as you ordered, so much so that I was informed when you went to look for her and where you visited.”“Perfect, keep it up.”“Don’t worry, young Carluccio, nothing bad will happen to your girlf
The next day, as I'm finishing getting ready, aunt Melike appears, her eyes a bit red and puffy, but despite everything, a small smile adorns her face."Oh, aunt Melike! Don't tell me you had a nasty argument with uncle Mich?" I ask, somewhat concerned."Just a little, but eventually he calmed down, and we sorted everything out.""But your eyes are still a bit red; for a moment, I thought you'd do what mom does with dad." I respond while trying to tie my hair into a ponytail."What does Mrs. Ekatherina do?" I start laughing and lower my voice so no one will hear us if they decide to open the door without knocking."When mom argues with dad, she locks herself in her room almost all day, making him feel miserable...""Liza! Don’t speak like that about your father." She responds, somewhat alarmed, glancing toward the door."Fine, making him feel bad, happy now?" She nods, so I continue, "She doesn't come out all day, but when dinner time comes, she comes downstairs all dressed up, wearin