31. No Middlemen

[VECTOR]

I didn’t expect myself to get so invested in that kid’s sickness—I had hundreds of jobs to do, and piles of paperwork to go through. But for some reason, my mind chose to disregard all the deadlines and fixate on Lizzy and the kid she brought along, the one who stuck to her like an annoying little monkey.

But maybe he wasn’t the reason. Even though the doctor assured me that there was nothing to worry about and the kid had just caught a flu, possibly due to the unusual weather in recent days, I still couldn’t bring myself to leave for work. Venice could be quite unbearable for someone who wasn’t accustomed to the local climate.

It was Lizzy I was worried about. I had been informed by the household staff that she wasn’t taking care of herself as a young woman her age should. She frequently skipped meals, completely focused on the kids.

At first, it was only Joey, so she usually found time to take small breaks. That kid, surprisingly, wasn’t all that nuts. Nothing like Nico. I