Chapter 52

**Lily**

Matteo really did put effort into it. He spent a lot of time with me, talking to me. He was also very open to me about everything. It was good to be able to talk to him about his organization as he calls it, about the criminal side of his life, but also about his love life. In hindsight, I’m not sure if I really wanted to know everything, but the fact that he was open about everything warmed my heart.

I didn’t expect him to throw back questions at me, but he did. Judging by the look on his face, Matteo enjoyed questioning me about sex. I felt embarrassed. He didn’t seem appalled by anything I said though. In fact, he concluded that I wanted to be dominated by a man. I don’t know because I just never thought about it. I always associated domination with masters and submissives from reading books, but I guess the spectrum is wider than just that.

The longer I think about it, the more I am accepting it as the truth. The fact that he takes the initiative, and he pushes me, is what I find attractive. So, I guess there is some truth in it.

It’s been a little over a week now that we were talking about everything. In the meantime, we also didn’t have any sex all this time. I have to say that I do feel an itch, and it is becoming more and more difficult for me to resist him. Matteo had been a complete gentleman, but he has this charm, this sex appeal, that made me struggle to resist him.

I was also feeling more comfortable around him as well. The first conversation was awkward as hell, but by now the awkwardness was gone. In fact, I think I was falling harder and harder for him. He is funny, kind, and he cares.

“Hello bellisima.”, he greeted me with a sweet kiss on my cheek, after he entered my home. I gave him a quick hug and handed him a glass of wine. It was becoming a routine by now.

“How are you?”, I asked him. He smiled.

“I’m good now.”, he answered. His answer is the same as every time. “What were you doing?”

I looked around my living room, which was a mess. Since I no longer was working at the bank, because of Matteo, I was spending my life here. I was now using my time to search further for the truth around my mom. The letters and pictures I got from my mom’s house were scattered over the table. My laptop opened with the bank statements, trying to find something that I was missing.

“Never mind.”, Matteo chuckled, as he picked up a picture.

“I’m trying to find a reference, a name of someone who might know more. Other than Mario Bruno himself, that is.”, I said. Matteo nodded.

“Did you find anything?”, he asked. I shook my head. There is nothing in those letters. Well, no name at least.

“Is there some other communication from your mom? Maybe letters to her family or friends?”, he asked. I shook my head. The box was all that I had found in her house.

“Any comments made by anyone?”, he asked. I thought for a second before it came back to me.

“Yes! Thank you!”, I yelled happily, grabbed his face, and kissed him on the lips, before I ran to my bedroom. It took some digging in my closet, but I finally found what I was looking for. I entered the living room again triumphant, waving the book in the air. Matteo looked bewildered.

“What’s that?”, he asked, pointing at the book in my hand.

“At her funeral, I gave the people a chance to write something down, a memory or a message. There was also a lady there that mentioned a holiday in Italy with mom, so I’m hoping she left her name in here.”, I explained. Matteo started smiling.

Together we looked through the page of the book. I hadn’t looked at it since the funeral, and I also didn’t have any idea what people wrote in that book. It warmed my heart to learn that people did write the loveliest messages and memories to mom in the book. During the reading of the book, I felt my eyes tear up, and Matteo wiped away the tear that slid down my cheek.

“Is this the one?”, he pointed to a message. I started to read it. It did mention Italy.

“No, wait. It says Salvatore Caruso. Never mind.”, Matteo said, when he read the name below the message.

“Well, we could always reach out to this Salvatore as well?”, I asked. It mentioned my mom in Italy when she was younger, so maybe he also knew more.

“Wait! This is the one.”, I yelled, halfway through reading one. “Listen! Your mom and I were young and carefree when we went to Italy, but that holiday changed our lives forever. For the better!”

“Did she leave a name?”, Matteo asked, reading over my shoulder.

“Jelena Stojanovic.”, I read out loud. I let it all process for a minute. We had a new lead to follow!

“Can I ask Valeria?”, I asked a bit nervous, biting my lip.

“Of course! I told you I was going to help you get to the bottom of this. I meant it, Lily.”, Matteo said, cupping my chin with his hand, and kissing my lips softly. He pulled back, and subconsciously I touched my lips with my fingers. I doubted whether to give in to my desires.

By the time I finally finished making my mind up about giving in to him, the moment was gone already. Matteo had pulled out his phone. I looked at him curiously.

“I’m asking Valeria to look into the two names we found.”, he explained.

Today I was back at the Esposito estate, for the first time since the incident. It felt a tad weird to be here today, but Matteo had asked me to come here. Valeria already searched for the two people that could provide a link to my mom’s background, and Matteo said she already found some things.

But I was looking at these people differently. Considering that Matteo is the mafia leader, it meant that the people living on the estate are working for him in the mafia organization. It gave me a completely different view on what Valeria and Vico are doing for example. The illegal searches were not so innocent as I thought initially.

For Vita and Guilia I still didn’t really know how much they were involved in the illegal part of the organization. But for Ennio, Luciano, Renzo, and Nino, it all made sense now. They were all about the illegal part. The fighters of the organization. It felt so incredibly strange, because I wasn’t too intimidated by them, but I could understand just how intimidated they could be.

“Hi Valeria.”, I smiled as I walked into her office. She smiled back freely, and openly. Like she was relieved that I now know the truth.

“Hello! Come sit, I want to show you what I found so far.”, Valeria said hurriedly, and patted the seat next to her.

I sat down quickly, I was beyond curious to see what she had.

“Show me!”, I asked.

“First, Salvatore Caruso.”, she said, and opened a few windows on her laptop. She took a blank sheet of paper and a pen to start drawing. She wrote his name in the middle of the sheet.

“Salvatore Caruso, born on Sicily, Italy. Moved to the US about twenty five years ago, I couldn’t find out why. He moved around quite a bit, never stayed in one place long. Either he was searching for something or someone, or he was running for someone.”, she shared, writing down some notes on the sheet.

“Do you know?”, I asked her. Valeria shook her head.

“Not yet, Vico and I are still looking.”, Valeria shared. “But the interesting thing, he was born in the same street as Nero and Maria Bruno.”

I was surprised by that news. How did mom know him? And how did mom get so close to the Bruno famiglia? “What does that mean?”

“We don’t know. Luciano has a pretty good view on their organization, but he isn’t aware of a Salvatore Caruso. So, maybe he is retired, or was never part of it in the first place.”, Valeria said. “But we are still looking.”, she added. I nodded.

“The other name was Jelena Stojanovic.”, she stated. Valeria took another sheet of paper and wrote that name in the middle.

“First the good news, we have an address and phone number. She was born in Belgrad, Serbia. Should be 55 years old by now and living in the US. We have been digging in all her records, so we know more about her. She moved to the US about 25 years ago and she saw your mom regularly.”, Valeria shared. I was astonished because I had never known this woman. Why did my mom never tell me? Why had I never met this woman?

“You said you had a phone number?”, I asked. Valeria handed me a piece of paper with the information on it.

“Can I call from here?”, I asked her. She looked at me strangely.

“Yeah, sure.”, she answered. I just wanted to be considerate. I didn’t have a clue what was the etiquette.

I took my phone and dialed the number. It took a few rings, but then someone picked up.

“Hello?”, I heard from the other side of the line.

“Hello Jelena?”, I asked tentatively.

“Yes? Who is this?”, she asked me.

“I’m Lily Brown. Mary Brown’s daughter? I met you after my mom’s funeral?”, I tried to explain to her who I was.

“Yes, of course. How are you dear?”, she asked me, sounding friendlier immediately.

“I’m good, but I would like to talk to you for a longer time. I would like to learn more about my mom.”, I said. She said yes quickly, and we agreed on time and place to meet.

I felt relieved that she had said yes. I was happy to be learning more about my mom from someone that had known her when she was young. Finally, I was going to get some answers.