Chapter 98: Money
"Are you going to call her again?" Maria asked as she stood by her bed, leaning against it. She was tired—tired of lying down all the time, so much so that in a few months she had almost doubled in size. The bed creaked softly beneath her weight as she shifted, trying to ease the constant ache that lived in her remaining leg and her lower back.
It wasn’t that the doctors didn’t try to help her exercise and reduce her diet, but she always convinced Elisa to bring more snacks for her since all she could do was sit and watch TV. The television was always on now, its noise filling the silence of the room, becoming a constant companion when she didn’t want to think.
"Of course not! Not yet! I’m sure she’s pissed at me!" Luca responded as he opened the door, peeked outside, then slammed it shut again. The sound echoed faintly down the hallway before fading.
Not amateur enough to get caught when he least expected it, he moved closer to Maria as they spoke in very hushed tones. His movements were careful, calculated, as though every step had already been planned in his head.
"...she should be smart enough to see that losing that large amount of money almost borders on foolishness," Luca continued to speak even as Maria stared at him. His voice was low, almost smooth, but there was something sharp underneath it.
Gone was the crying and apologetic man he had shown to Dora while she had been there. Standing before her now was a man that could kill if he felt he needed to. His face was cold, his eyes cruel, and the change was almost comical to Maria, who had seen it many times over the years, but more recently than ever before.
Dora had spent her days and years in boarding schools and hostels, so the time she spent with him was always limited and fun, with Luca showering her with a lot of love—so much so that she would be blinded to anything else. He knew exactly when to play the role of the loving father and when to remove the mask.
At least some of the money would be able to get to me too, Maria thought, thinking of Elisa, whom she desperately needed to get a rich husband for—one that would protect her from the maniac she was married to.
"Why is your expression like that?" Luca suddenly opened his mouth to ask, even as his brows furrowed in annoyance. His eyes narrowed slightly as he continued to speak.
"Do you think the money was too small? She’s carrying his child... there’s nothing he won’t give her!" Luca snapped, not waiting for Maria to respond.
"...moreover, it worries me. I heard from a reliable source that the Vivaldi family had recently moved over here!" He said with an even deeper frown, his fingers tapping restlessly against his thigh.
"That is bad! We need to leave and disappear as soon as possible! All of us!" He added, the frown still pasted on his face.
Maria almost sneered in anger.
That was the thing about Luca that made her want to rip her own hair out, wondering how she had been so blind to get married to such a person. He was a cruel and selfish man who would drag everyone down just to keep himself afloat, which meant that he couldn’t just let you go for his own safety.
All of them staying with him would ensure that if something else came up, he would have an available body to throw at it.
He had already sold Dora.
Maria was aware that if she didn’t start working to escape from him, Elisa would be next.
He can do anything, she realized, knowing that even her children had no idea of the kind of person he was—but she knew. She had always known.
"Of course! Once we get the money from Dora, we will have more than enough! Which means you’ll have to call her even if she doesn’t call you," Maria told him. Her voice sounded calm, controlled, even as her heart raced. At the same time, she thought of her own leg problems, aware that just to be safe she needed to start her physiotherapy soon.
The last thing I need is for him to kill me like he killed Dora’s mother, she thought, having heard him boast about it time without number in the earlier years while he got drunk. The memory made her stomach churn.
"Of course! I’ll give her till this weekend, then I’ll call. Or we can just wait until she visits you, then we’ll give her what bank she should send the money to," he said, almost like there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that she would get the money he had asked for.
Maria didn’t respond and simply nodded her head. Slowly, she leaned back and sat on the bed. It was still too stressful to remain standing, putting her weight on only one leg, even if the crutches helped.
Her face morphed into one of pure hate as she stared at the ground, realizing once again that Luca was also the reason she lost her leg. She cursed him over and over again in her mind, the words burning but silent.
Luca continued to sit beside her bed even as the nurses and doctors came in to visit. They admired his tenacity for caring for his wife, praising him openly as though he were some kind of saint. They gave him lots of compliments, which he happily received, nodding modestly.
Back to his chirpy, happy, middle-aged, balding man smile he always gave. His chubby belly and round face gave him that fatherly look and gentle demeanor that came naturally with his appearance. It was a mask he wore perfectly.
I hate this man, Maria thought to herself, wondering how she could have been so stupid to fall for him.
She stared at him, her gaze fixed, unblinking, as she realized that she hadn’t fallen for him—but for the money he had happily lavished on her, considering her poor background.
I’ll make it work, she thought to herself with a determined look in her eyes as she watched him place fresh flowers he had bought by her bedside, carefully removing the old ones as if performing a loving ritual.
Elisa will get a rich man and I, together with Rossi, will be safe, she thought, aware that it was the only option left for her at that moment.
Whether or not she liked it or wanted it, Luca continued to stay close by her side—and she knew that he would continue to do so. Whether or not she wanted it, as long as that was what he wanted.
Knowing that now that Dora had snagged a billionaire, millions would slowly trickle down to him as her father, whether or not she liked it.
All he cares about is money.
