I’ve been trying to avoid him all day, hoping he’d pass out from the alcohol. But hunger has a way of keeping even the drunkest man awake.
Chiara is sitting at the breakfast table, doing her homework, trying to stay invisible. But she’s too young, too innocent to understand that sometimes invisibility isn’t enough.
“Why’s there no food in this house?” Roberto slurs, his voice rising with every word.
I swallow hard, trying to find my voice. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to get some tomorrow.”
Hopefully, I will make some tips tonight, or I won’t be able to keep that promise. I had to pay rent for the first time on my own two days ago, and it was more than I anticipated.
He turns his gaze to Chiara, and my heart stops. “You! You eat all the food, don’t you?” he accuses, pointing a shaky finger at her.
Chiara’s eyes widen in fear, and she shakes her head frantically. “No,zio.”
But Roberto is beyond reasoning. He lunges at her, his hand raised to strike. Without thinking, I step in between them, grabbing his arm. “Don’t you dare touch her!” I shout.
His eyes, filled with fury, lock onto mine. “You think you can stop me?” He sneers.
Then, his fist connects with my face. Pain explodes in my cheek, and I stumble back. He has spewed shit at me since we moved in a few weeks ago, but it’s the first time he has hit me. And somehow, I already know it won’t be the last time.
I pull Chiara to her feet with me, and rush to the bathroom. I lock the door just as Roberto’s heavy footsteps approach. Chiara’s sobs fill the small space as I slide down the door, pulling her onto my lap. She buries her face in my neck, her tears hot against my skin.
Outside, Roberto’s angry shouts and pounding on the door echo through the apartment. But I hold Chiara close, whispering words of comfort into her ear. “It’s going to be okay,piccola,” I promise, even though I’m not sure if I believe it myself. “I am never going to let him hurt you. I promise.”
Minutes feel like hours, but eventually, the banging stops. The apartment falls silent, save for our heartbeats. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart.
We’re safe.
But for how long?
FORTY-ONE
It’s been halfan hour with still no sign of Sophia. I look at my phone again, wondering what the holdup is. Every other day, if she’d be running late, I’d just do something else and wait for her to show up. But today, my mind is fixated on the revelation I had yesterday.
I’m dying to have another look at the file and see if there are any other inconsistencies I might have missed from shock and narrow-mindedness.
Just as I contemplate whether to wait a little longer or look for her, I hear Sophia’s muffled voice from outside the door in the hallway. She sounds agitated, so I quickly get up and walk over to the door, trying to listen in on the conversation.
“I said no, it was authorized,” Sophia says.
“Who authorized it?” a deep male voice asks, and I strain to hear their exchange.
“It came from all the way up, so there’s no reason to withdraw it now,” Sophia says, her tone tense.
I notice that the door handle is pressed down, but the door isn’t opening.
“This case is closed. There is no need to investigate or ask questions again. And I am authorized to withdraw the file ifyou use it for anything other than its intended purpose, as a reference,” the male voice warns.
“No!” Sophia yells, and the door handle starts to slip from her grip. I quickly open the door to find an older version of Del Moro standing before Sophia. I haven’t seen his father in years, but they look so alike that it’s impossible not to recognize him.
He has a tight grip on Sophia’s wrist, the hand she holds the file with, and his dark eyes lock onto mine.
“Let her go, now,” I say, my phone firmly clutched in my hand.
His gaze shifts down to my phone before he finally releases Sophia.
“We were just talking, weren’t we, Lee?” Del Moro, Sr. tries to play off the encounter while Sophia glares at him, rubbing her wrist. “I still need to insist on taking the file back to the archive, as it is being misused. There have been young, promising toxicology workers here who were fired for less. It would be a shame if you lost your team and your job just because of a misunderstanding, wouldn’t it?” he taunts, keeping his eyes fixed on Sophia.
“Give him the file,” I say quietly.
