MAfia Desire

Thirty three.

DIVYA

The doorbell ringing shook the drowsiness out of the jet-legged haze I was in. I didn't know why it was ringing and why no one was answering.

Ding-dong

The house was swimming with men in black on any day, and now no one was around?

Ding-dong

I sat up on the sofa, trying to orient myself. Boston was just so different from India. So quiet.

Ding-dong

With a groan, I put foot before foot towards the door. Where were Armando and Rosa...?

Crap!

They had gone on another errand for Mrs Capizzi. I hoped it wasn't history repeating itself. I wasn't in the mood to have Antonio's mother on the doorstep with a shitload of opinions and a canon ready to fire.

Relief fuelled me to smile when I found a smartly dressed, young, blonde woman reaching for the doorbell.

"Oh, sorry I didn't want to disturb you."

So you rang the bell four times?

She was pretty, in an obvious way. Her blonde hair curling at the ends unnaturally, her lips a shade of crimson, her ample bosom spilling over her tight top.

"I am looking for Antonio... I mean Mr Capizzi," she said with a private smile, hinting at an intimate acquaintance with my husband.

An uneasiness beyond the jet leg I was feeling sent a cold tingle up my spine. "He's not home."

"I am from Mr Popolizio's office, his lawyer," she said, giving me information I didn't ask for.

frowned, my glance slipping beyond the woman's shoulder to find two of Antonio's men watching the interaction from the street. Is that how she got past them? I sighed impatiently. "Why are you here? If you are from Roberto's office, you should meet downtown."

"Oh...." The woman faltered at my sharp tone. "I was told to hand over this file...." She tried to shove the thin file she was holding onto me.

I took a step back, wanting nothing to do with whatever this woman wanted. At the same time, she purposefully loosened her grip on the thin file, feigning surprise. The contents of it, the few pieces of paper came loose and scattered onto the floor.

"What are you doing?" I dropped to my knees, flustered, helping the girl pick the papers up. My movements were choppy, but I wasn't blind. An unusually large font glared back at me for what appeared to be documentation about the custody case. Before my sense gave word to my brain, I snatched the papers away from the girl, taking a closer look.

Shit.

I didn't understand this legal jargon. It was a whole lot of black lettering, but Cora's name sprang out together with Antonio's and the address in Boston. It was signed a month ago.

"What is this?" I asked quietly, trying to figure out what it was saying, but the pounding in my head and trembling in my hands wouldn't allow me to see the sense right in front of me.

"The signed custody, of course, for the baby. You must be happy that the mother signed off all her rights so quickly."

So quickly...

"When?" I croaked.

"Oh, you see the date here...." She pointed towards the date a month ago. "We are already working on the divorce for Antonio now." She didn't even bother to correct herself in addressing him properly this time. "Oh!" She let her hands fly to her mouth, feigning shock. "I shouldn't have told you that."