CHAPTER 124

As Aunt Lou drove us toward the Montefalco villa, I could sense her unease. She gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly, her knuckles white against the leather. “Margarette, just a little reminder, this is as close as we can get. You know that we can’t stay too close. We’ll have to park at a distance or they might notice us,” she said, her voice tinged with concern.

“I understand, Aunt Lou,” I replied softly. “We don’t have to get too close anyway. Just seeing the front view of the villa will be enough.”

We eventually found a spot that wasn’t too far away. From where we parked, I could see the sprawling mansion, its grandeur still as imposing as ever. The perfectly manicured lawns, the towering gates—it all looked exactly the same, but the memories it held for me had changed.

As we sat there, the villa looming in the distance, I couldn’t help but let my mind drift back to the three years I had spent inside those walls. “You know, Aunt Lou,” I began, my voice almost a whisper,