Two Villains

Ch.7- First Naked Truth

It might sound ridiculous to some, but I spent my entire evening trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive Volkners. To my surprise, none of them were in sight. I knew what Maria looked like, but I had no idea about Royce's appearance.

But my curiosity got the best of me.

I began to observe the security personnel. They all appeared ordinary, but upon closer inspection, I noticed something peculiar. Each of them had a prosthetic right hand cleverly concealed under their coats, and their real right hand was inside their gun holsters. The prosthetic hands looked incredibly realistic. Additionally, most of these guards wore dark glasses, even indoors. Strangely, none of them had earpieces, yet they seemed to communicate seamlessly with each other.

These guards moved like shadows, blending into the background. If you did not pay close attention, you might not notice them. But I could not help but notice them.

And they noticed me noticing them.

I was taken aback when all of them suddenly turned their attention toward me. It felt like they were silently urging me to look at them, but instead, they all offered a subtle bow, just slightly lowering their heads.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable with their humble gestures, I decided to retreat to my room. Dante's mother had invited me for lunch, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring Julia along.

Lunch was a pleasant affair, filled with laughter and casual conversation. I learned that Julia had always been a single mother, never having married Mila's biological father. It was clear that Julia was well-loved by Dante's family, and I soon discovered the reason behind my invitation to this family gathering.

Julia mentioned to all that I had met Maria earlier in the day, and Dante seemed quite excited by this revelation.

"Cousin Maria! She came and talked to you? Oh, you are lucky, girl," Dante exclaimed with enthusiasm.

I was surprised by the familial connection. "Wait, she's your cousin?"

Dante clarified, "Well, not exactly. She's my cousin twice removed. My mother is her mother's cousin, and so on."

I was intrigued and asked, "Does she visit here often?"

"Oh, no. Nowadays she is too busy with all her business stuff! She often comes here whenever she is in Italy. We always have a big get-together in her momma's home whenever she visits. Did I ever tell you she gave me this restaurant when I started 10 years ago?"

I slapped my head, that's why Luca could bring food from here. This place already had Volkner security clearance.

"What did you talk to her?" Dante asked me again.

"Nothing, she just told me how pretty I looked," I explained.

Julia said something to him in Italian, Dante was so shocked that he covered his widened mouth with his palm and exchanged an astonished yet joyful look with Julia.

"What's going on?" I demanded to know.

They both quickly responded in unison, "Nothing!"

Our conversation was interrupted by Dante's mother, who presented me with a bracelet made from white moonstone beads.

"Oh, it's beautiful Nonna! Thank you!" I hugged her. She hugged me back and ended her hug with two sloppy kisses on my cheeks. It was a goodbye gift from her.

"Stay well, Cara Mia." Dante bid me goodbye, "Until we meet again, soon." He winked at me.

"I am not coming back to Italy until I learn the language. I hate the cryptic things that all of you hide from me." I admitted.