Chapter 108
"We've given you more chances than you deserve, Greta," Romano's voice said.
"It's over. I've already asked you to leave, and yet here you are, still trying to manipulate us all."
Greta's eyes looked at Jacqueline, still standing not too far away.
"Please, just let me see Vincenzo before I go. He needs to hear my own side of the story. I owe him an explanation!
Enough!" Romano's voice, suddenly loud, boomed across the room. He snapped his fingers, and right on cue, the door opened as two of his most reliable enforcers, Luca and Angelo, stepped in.
"Take them out of here," he ordered, nodding toward Greta, Bruno, and Brenda. "I don't want to hear another word.
Luca and Angelo struggled on, but Greta was already resisting. "I am not leaving until I see Vincenzo!" She dug her heels in, twisting out of their grip, clawing at the hands reaching for her. "I have the right to face him!"
"You lost that right when you betrayed him," Jacqueline hissed, stepping forward. "No one here owes you a thing, Greta."
Bruno pushed Luca's hand off his shoulder.
"Don't you dare touch me! I am not going anywhere until I see my father." He turned to Romano. "Do you hear me?
It was like a stone had been cast into Romano's face.
"And who are you to demand anything?" he snarled. "You're nothing but a spoiled child, a coward hiding behind your mother's schemes." Then Romano swung a fist, catching Bruno right in the jaw.
Bruno stumbled and wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth. He did not back off.
"You think you are so righteous, Romano?" Bruno sneered through gritted teeth.
"You are no better than any of us. Hypocrite.
Jackie turned to Brenda, who had stood off to the side. But as Brenda muttered under her breath, calling her a "whore,"
"Watch your mouth, girl," Jacqueline spat, slapping Brenda right across her face.
"You may think you're tough, but you're nothing more than a foolish little girl caught up in lies.
At this, Brenda's face reddened, her eyes ablaze as she yelled back, "I don't care what you think of me, Jacqueline! And I'm not leaving until I see Alexander. I deserve an explanation after everything he's put me through.".
The argument boiled, each fighting for a place to be heard. Greta was struggling with Luca and Angelo pummelling them with her fists, her fingernails into Angelo's arm to break free.
Romano was punching Bruno's chest hard, and the wind came out of him.
“You bastard, you think you can walk in on her and tell me what to do? Huh…you've failed bitch fuck you”. He yelled at him
Then, a shrill voice cut through the air like a hot knife through butter.
"Enough! All of you, shut up!"
The room was silent; Everybody froze in place, heads turned.
Grandma Penelope was standing at the door.
She scanned the scene, her eyes cutting from face to face, resting on each,looking for one important person.
Penelope…" Bruno managed to choke out,
But Penelope raised her hand, silencing him with a single, commanding gesture.
"You all have no idea what's going on here," she said, her tone chillingly calm. Her eyes settled on Greta, who was watching her with terrified eyes.
"Vincenzo is dead.
Greta gasped; the words hit her like a sledgehammer. Her knees buckled, and she slumped to the floor, her hands reaching to her mouth as if holding a scream inside her.
"No. no, that can't be. He can't be—" Her voice broke; the tears gushed from her eyes.
But Grandma Penelope wasn't finished yet. She stepped closer to Greta.
"You may cry for him now, Greta, but there's more truth due to be spoken here. You think you can play around with words, telling lies to get your way out of everything?" She pointed at Bruno, shocked, staring at her.
"Why don't you tell everybody who the real father of your son is?"
The silence after that was thick; the air was charged with tension. Greta's face went pale, and in that instant, panic set in. She looked from Romano to Jacqueline and finally her gaze landed on Bruno, who stared at her with a look of stunned disbelief.
"Mother," Bruno said in a near whisper, his voice shaking. "What… What is she talking about?"
Greta stood, her eyes darting to the door as if she wanted to run. But she was stuck fast in place by Luca and Angelo. She was trapped.
“This. isn't something I need to answer here," she stammered.
Grandma Penelope's voice hardened, "No more lies, Greta. Tell him. Tell your son the truth he deserves, or I will.
“And what if I don't, I don't want to talk about it. My son has a father and his father is Vincenzo”.
“Shut up bitch, who are you F^ckig with huh, you think we're in for your silly games” Jacqueline barked at her.
“For goodness sake quit lying already, Greta”.
“Mom… what are they talking about?” Bruno asked, looking at his mom.
"Bruno," she whispered, her eyes welling with tears. "I… I wanted only the best for you. I never wanted to tell you because…." She choked, almost unable to get the words out. "Your father… isn't Vincenzo. He… he never was."
Bruno took a backward step as if her words were some sort of physical blow; his breathing was ragged, and his face pale.
"So… all of this… it was all a lie?" he spat, voice shaking with anger. "All these years, and you never told me the truth?
Greta reached out to him, her hands quivering. "Please, Bruno, I have done it all to protect you… to give you the life that you deserved."
Bruno jerked away from her, his face twisted in disgust. "Don't touch me. I don't want anything to do with you.
Sobs from Greta filled the silence as she sank to the floor, broken, her face buried in her hands. The weight of her secrets had finally crushed her, leaving her alone, with nothing but echoes of her lies. Grandma Penelope turned to Romano and grimaced.
"Get her out of here. This is over.
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