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
"Stop, Bellini!" I order him as soon as I see his intention to draw his weapon and point it at Liza. She turns and looks at us with a smile."This place is beautiful." She comments, pointing to the photo in her hand."It is, darling. I'll take you there one of these days." At this, her smile widens, and she nods excitedly."Really, bonbon? I've always wanted to go, but I know it's extremely hard to get a ticket." She replies, a bit disheartened."Yes, darling, I promise. But now, I'd like to know, how does that place belong to your uncle Maurizio?""He bought it a year ago. Apparently, the previous owner went bankrupt, and since uncle Maurizio always wanted a place like that, he decided to acquire it.""And does he know who the previous owner was?" Yasha inquires, stepping ahead of us."He’s never mentioned it, but I suppose he does. Why is it so important to know that person's name?" Bellini subtly shakes his head at me, signaling not to say anything, but since she’s shared something
I leave my office after that conversation we had and head to the bar, where Liza is chatting with the bartender. I signal to him not to mention that I’m standing behind her, and I listen to their conversation."So, what drink do you recommend?" Liza asks, eyeing all the bottles in front of her."Do you drink alcohol?" Liza ponders for a moment and shakes her head. "In that case, I'll make you a Cosmopolitan.""And how do you make it?""With a bit of vodka, raspberry juice, some triple sec, and lemon juice. It's not too strong, so I hope you'll like it." He starts preparing her drink, and Liza watches intently as he mixes the flavors. When he places it in front of her, I signal for him to leave us alone."I'll be back later." He says before heading to the storeroom."Thanks, I hope you're not gone too long, I enjoyed talking with you." Liza murmurs, taking a small sip of her drink."Did you like it, sweetheart?" I ask, hugging her from behind and resting my head on her shoulder. She te
Yelizaveta "Yelizaveta!" Dad's shout pierces the silence that reigns at this moment. I look up and realize he is watching me quite annoyed."Mom! What happened?" She just cries a little louder and before she can say anything, Dad comes to us and takes mom by the waist."Why do you think I did something to your mother? Just because she's crying doesn't mean it's my fault." As soon as he says this, I feel ashamed for thinking that about dad, so I lower my head."So what happened to her?" I murmur, taking mom's hand."Grandpa Yuri is very delicate, honey. I have to go take care of him," She informs me with a choked voice."I want to go with you.""No honey, it's better if you stay with your father, besides you will leave Alexandre alone. I don't know how long I'll take to return. Uncle Mich will accompany me, and you know aunt Melike will be sad if you leave too.""But Alexandre will understand…""There’s no time, honey. They're waiting for me at the airport." She kisses my cheek and le