Page 118 of The Unraveling of Julia

“We!”

“You!I’m so happy for you! It’s amazing!”

Julia felt giddy. “I was so excited I didn’t ask any questions!”

“Like what?”

“Anything! Whether she’s married, whether she has kids, whether she even put a baby up for adoption. What if she didn’t?”

“They didn’t seem that surprised.”

“This is so crazy!” Julia felt a rush, marveling. “Do you realize this means the vision wasreal? Thevisionis what sent us to that school!”

“I know!” Courtney squeezed her arm. “You legit have superpowers!”

“No, I used to, but I don’t think I do anymore.”

Courtney made a sad face. “Well, whatever, bottom line, you found yourbio mom.”

Julia still reeled. “Should I call her Fiamma? I’m not calling her Mom.” She flashed on her adoptive mother, whom she loved so much. “I had a great mom, and she raised me.”

“Call her whatever you want.” Courtney grinned. “She sounds nice, doesn’t she? Taking her class to the hospital and all? That was sweet.”

“It really was!”

“Those teachers weredyingfor her to answer the phone. I think she’s going to be happy to meet you.”

“I hope so.” Julia tried to process the implications. “But I don’t know. I’m crashing her life.”

“If the teachers thought it was going to go badly, they would’ve said something. Theywantedyou two to connect. I mean, reconnect.”

Julia felt a thrill at the thought. “I can’t even believe this. She must be a great artist to have a show in Florence.”

“She’s where you gotyourart skills from. Isn’t that so cool? I’m so happy for you and I’m so glad I’m here.”

“Aw, thanks for your help.” Julia blinked back tears. “I never could’ve done this without you.”

“Yes, you could. You’re Batman.”

Julia laughed. “You know, I wish I had more information about her.”

“Look her up.”

“Right, I’ll search Fiamma and Moravia Montessori School.” Julia scrolled to Google, plugged in the search, and got a bunch of results. She skimmed them and realized the problem. “They’re not about her. They’re about the school and Adamo Bucci.”

“The guy in the picture?”

“Yes, from the bulletin board.” Julia clicked the link, and it brought her to a corporate website. She switched to the English version and read About Us aloud: “We are the Romagna Group, the crown jewelin Adamo Bucci’s suite of multinational corporations, comprising his successful entertainment, gaming, hospitality, and tourism divisions.”

“A certified BFD, huh?”

Julia read “Upcoming Projects: Romagna Group is a huge fan of motorsports like Formula 1, Italian cart racing, and motorcycle racing. The Ferrari circuit at Imola is the most prestigious in the Romagna region.…” Julia paused, remembering. “I was there with Gianluca. We watched racing.”

“Cool.”

Julia read on, “Romagna Group looks forward to developing a hospitality complex catering to those who appreciate excellence in fine accommodations when they visit Imola.” Julia looked up, remembering. “Gianluca said whenever there was an F1 race, Imola got overrun with tourists.”

“Maybe that’s the project that Giovanna meant, the one she got the gossip about.” Courtney shifted over, reading the phone. “Jules, look, it says the project’s going to cost seven hundredmillioneuros. That’s a lotta lira.”

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