| 108 | Breakups And Screwups

[ S E R A P H I N E ]

“How much?”

“About half.” I squint at Pierre as I sit across from him, trying to look normal, keeping my hands steady as I pick at the food on my plate. It's not a lot. This pesky nausea has been messing with my appetite since Friday. “Just a little above four hundred. ”

“Good. Half's paid off and it's not goin' up.” Pierre sighs briefly, sounding genuinely relieved by my answer.

“Dad sorted out the principal with his inheritance. I mean, what's left of it.” Thanks to my grandparents, rest their generous souls, my parents are no longer that worried about the bank loans. I still think most of the Tomassinis are too greedy to be offering business loans to small-to-medium enterprises. But it's not like I can turn back time and undo all of my parents' poor financial decisions.

“And Dominico told you Ignazio no longer co-owns the bank. Correct?”

“His nephew owns most of his shares now.”

Pierre leans back and stares at me while staining his fork with th