Page 83 of Ti Amo

“Catalina, I promise you Giovanni isn’t going to make any decisions about you and Dominic today. Let’s go and join the family. We can deal with everything else later.”

Catalina released a burdened sigh. “That’s just it. I don’t want to deal with this. Domi will never be mine. Gio will never forgive me. I can never wash the sin of what I did to Franco off my soul. I have nothing now.”

“Not true.” Mira put her hand on Catalina’s shoulder. She turned to her and they embraced. Mira held her tight then stroked the back of her head. “I’ll talk to Giovanni. We’ll figure this out. But first you have to stop this self-pity. Get showered, put on some makeup.”

“I’m sorry. You’re going through a lot too.” Catalina let her go.

“I can handle it. We both can. Can’t we?”

Catalina wiped at her tears and nodded.“Grazie.”

“Go on and get dressed.”

Catalina headed to the bathroom. Mira’s gaze shifted to the bag of unopened pregnancy tests. She reached inside the bag, took a box, and slipped out of Catalina’s room hurrying to her own. Not long after she entered her bathroom Giovanni entered as well. “Where’s Ma-ma!” he yelled.

Mira scrambled to hide the pregnancy test and left the bathroom closing the door. Giovanni set Eve down on her feet. “There she is.”

“Hi baby.” Mira said kneeling for her daughter to rush into her arms. She kissed her gently on the cheek. Eve loved the attention. Mira rose smiling. “It’s Christmas Eve.”

“Let’s have some fun.”

“How?” she asked.

“The gardens. The cold has moved on. Today the sun is out and it’s nice. Perfect for a stroll.” He kissed her. Mira smiled. She hadn’t seen Giovanni this happy since the news of Catalina and Dominic. She glanced to the bathroom. What would he think of another baby?

****

“I want to see my attorney. I have nothing to say.” Kei slumped back into his chair and glared directly at Special Agent Muntz. He had been kept for over a day in a holding cell with no access to a phone or his lawyers. The FBI would have to let him go eventually. He knew his fucking rights.

“Tell us about Angelique Roberts and Eduardo Glenn.” The agent asked again.

“I told you. They worked for Mira Ellison. That’s all I know. This conversation is redundant.”

“No Mr. Hyogo, your answers are redundant.” The agent said. “We’ve already interviewed the parents of Angelique Roberts. They claim their daughter who has been missing since 1989 has been on an assignment outside of the country?”

Kei shrugged.

“So we pulled their bank statements. Looks like you’ve made some generous deposits in their accounts quarterly. How much did it cost you to convince them to ignore the death of their daughter? I’m curious what parents sell their children for these days.”

Kei smirked. He didn’t answer.

The agent openly fumed. He continued with his anger barely contained. “We’ve received Mira Ellison’s statement. She said you staged the deaths of both Angelique and Eduardo. And she gave us information on your property in Switzerland where she was kept. Why don’t you tell us how this all connects with the Triad and a man being detained in Italy by the name of Cheung Bojing? A relative right?”

Kei closed his eyes and sighed. “I won’t say another word until I have an attorney present.”

The agent chuckled. “Then that’s quite unfortunate. Trust me this is your one and only time to negotiate with me.”

Kei smirked. “Get my fucking lawyer.”

****

Poggioreale,Napoli Italy.

Dominic and Lorenzo walked through the narrow hall. A single light above and what naturally poured in from the sparse windows was all they had to lead the way. The guard nodded and led them the rest of the way. They went though several locked doors past the dorms to the private holding cells. Dominic hadn’t said much on the drive over. His thoughts kept returning to Catalina. After Christmas he would lose her forever. How the hell could he accept it enough to be sure to follow his Don’s orders?

The calm resolution between him and Giovanni felt so final. Once he left for America he would never see any of them again. Already he’d been cut out of all family meetings. Lorenzo was now at Giovanni’s side in closed door discussions, and Dominic was regulated to this shit on Christmas Eve, no less.

“I can do this job alone.” Dominic grumbled. They waited for the guard to unlock the cell door. The man fumbled with his keys trying to find the right one. The holding cell was separate from the rest of the prison, and the isolation would be perfect for the mission.

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