Chapter 63

**Annika**

Raffaele popped his head in while I was washing my face in the bathroom. "My grandfather's coming today."

"Your grandfather?" I turned to look at him, surprised.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Oh, cool."

"You good?" he asked.

"I'm fine, just feel like he doesn't really like me," I admitted.

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, the first time we met, he bombarded me with questions. It wasn't just what he asked, but how he asked it—like he was trying to catch me off guard," I explained.

"What kind of questions?"

"Just stuff about our relationship and why I seemed different, or something like that," I said, trailing off.

"I haven't changed, have I?" he questioned, looking a bit confused.

"Not that I can tell," I shrugged.

"I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. My grandpa's a softie," he said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

Yeah, right. The guy's the head of a dangerous organization. "Sure," I replied, heading down the stairs while he gave me a puzzled look. As I reached the bottom, I saw his grandfather walk in, flanked by two big bodyguards. I froze for a second as he locked eyes with me.

The guards helped him out of his jacket, and I decided to be polite and start fresh. "Good to see you again, Mr. Cattaneo," I said.

"Likewise, Annie," he replied.

"It's Annika," I corrected him softly.

"Sorry, what?" 

"My name is Annika," I repeated, a bit quieter this time.

"Right," he said, clearly not interested, which made me mentally roll my eyes. I could see where Raffaele got his attitude from; his grandpa wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy either.

Raffaele came down the stairs, and his dad greeted him with a smile and a hug. "What took you so long, son?" he asked, then glanced at me and sighed before turning back to Raffaele. "Let’s talk in the office," he said, heading toward the back.

Raffaele headed to the back with him, and I let out a big sigh as I plopped down on a kitchen chair. "Does he treat you guys like this too?" I asked the bodyguards, unsure if they’d even respond.

"Just give him some time," one of them replied. Enzo was holed up in his brother's room, glued to a game he couldn’t get enough of, so I was left feeling a bit bored and decided to video call Thea.

She picked up while still lounging in bed. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" I asked her.

"I called in sick," she shrugged.

"Why's that?"

"My period is killing me right now, Annika, ugh." She said, making me chuckle. "You usually come over to take care of me during these times, but you ditched me, and now I'm all by myself."

"Where's Flavio then?"

"He's out having coffee with his sister. She met someone recently," she sighed.

"Wow, didn’t expect her to start dating again."

"Now both my best friends are diving into their love lives, and I’m just here, feeling like I’m stuck in a ditch." She pouted.

"We’d never leave you in a ditch," I teased, making her roll her eyes.

"Why are you always in the kitchen?" Derek joked as he walked in, causing me to roll my eyes again.

"Are you calling me fat?"

"Bingo," he replied with a grin.

"Who's that handsome guy in the background?" Thea called out loud enough for him to hear, prompting me to turn the volume down. Derek turned to my phone, spotting Thea, and smirked.

"Is that your friend?" he asked.

"Yeah, this is Thea, and she’s with Flavio," I said with a smirk.

"Nice to meet you," Thea smiled.

"Don’t you have any single friends?" Derek asked.

We both laughed and exchanged glances. "Yeah, we do have one more. Speaking of which, she’ll be here in a few days."

"Wait, Monica is coming?"

"Yep! Maybe we can set her up with you," she said, grinning as I watched them both.

Sure thing! Here’s a different version of your text:

"Alright then..." I trailed off before ending the call.

"Can I get her number?" he asked.

"Seriously, don’t chase after my friends, especially since you haven’t even met her yet." I let out a sigh.

"I already made my move. If she’s anything like you two, I’m sure I’ll be into her." He said, making me shoot him a glare.

"Where’s Dad?" Enzo piped up.

"Uh, I think he’s busy with something right now." I replied, knowing he was probably still downstairs with his grandfather.

"Do you know what Dad does?" he asked.

"Yeah, he’s into business stuff." He just hummed to himself while I brushed his hair and we watched TV. "I’ll be right back." I said, getting up to head to the bathroom. I felt like I was going to be sick. Ugh, I hate this feeling.

A few minutes later, I came out and noticed Enzo was gone from the bed. Great, he always manages to slip away. Maybe he’s playing hide and seek. I checked under the bed and in the closet, but he wasn’t there.

I ran to his room, but he wasn’t there either, so I quickly checked all the other rooms and bathrooms upstairs, but still no sign of him. "Have you seen Enzo?" I asked Romeo and Caterina, who were busy gaming.

"Nope, he’s probably hiding. We’ll help you look for him." Catarina said, putting her controller down.

"Enzo!" I called out, but got no answer. I headed downstairs, looking around, and made my way to the back where Raffaele’s office was, but he wasn’t there either. "Enzo." I called again, but still nothing.

As I moved further down the hallway, I noticed the basement door was ajar. Raffaele never leaves it open, and I’ve only been down there once. I know it’s just stuff Enzo shouldn’t see.

I really hope he didn’t go down there.

I heard some noises and then a scream that sounded like it came from Enzo. I rushed down the hall, noticing the short corridor lined with hardware doors. The walls were painted black, and the doors were a tough steel grey. I caught Raffaele's voice and quickly followed it to an open door, with the other two right behind me.

"Enzo..." he said as I stepped inside, finding Enzo standing there, looking completely frozen.

Raffaele's shirt was soaked in blood, and there was a guy slumped in a chair, passed out, with blood dripping from his head. Weapons were laid out on a nearby stool, and his grandfather was just standing there, smoking.

Raffaele glanced at me, and I could see the same fear on my face that was on Enzo's. 

I shook off the shock and hurriedly picked up Enzo, rushing out of the room and back up the stairs. I took a moment to steady myself and closed the door, noticing Enzo was still in shock. The other two followed me quietly. They knew what their father was up to down there, but Enzo had no clue.

I brought him upstairs to his room, and I saw a tear roll down his cheek. "D-daddy was..." he stammered, struggling to find the words.

"Enzo," I heard Raffaele call as he entered the room, now wearing a fresh shirt. Enzo instinctively backed up behind me, and I could see Raffaele's expression shift to one of distress. He clung to me, and I sighed internally. I couldn't blame him; I could only imagine the horror he witnessed, and I had only caught a glimpse of it myself.

I knew what was happening, but Enzo was still in the dark.

"I don't want to talk to you," he sniffled, darting into the bathroom and slamming the door shut, locking it behind him. Raffaele turned to me, his face filled with anger.

"Why did you let him go down there?" he demanded, leaving me confused.

I pulled him out of the room and shut Enzo's door behind us.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

He was never meant to be down there, and you know it. You're his babysitter; you're supposed to keep an eye on him! He shouldn't have had to see that! He raised his voice at me.

"I stepped away for just a moment to use the bathroom, and when I got back, he was gone. You can't blame this on me," I shot back.

"You should have been more vigilant."

"You should have locked the door. You’re not even worried about what he saw; you’re just yelling at me to deflect from your own mistake. That was really upsetting for Nicolas," I explained.

"I'm tired of you telling me how to raise my kids."

"I'm not telling you how to parent; I'm saying you need to talk to him about his feelings instead of just yelling at me for what went wrong," I replied, making him glare at me in frustration. Just then, his grandfather stormed up the stairs.

"What the hell is going on, Raffaele?" his grandfather shouted.

"Not now, Grandpa," he replied.

"Where's my grandson?"

"He locked himself in the bathroom," Raffaele said.

"And where were you while he was wandering around the house? He’s probably terrified in there! Aren’t you supposed to be watching him? How did you even hire her?!" His grandfather yelled, marching toward me.

"Mr. Cattaneo, I—"

"You're fired," he interrupted, making my eyes widen in disbelief.

"What?" I stammered.

"You heard me. You're not suitable for my grandchildren at all. I want you out of this house by tonight," he said, and I slowly glanced at Raffaele, who looked back at his grandfather.

"You can't fire her, Grandpa. She works for me, not you," Raffaele insisted. "We'll sort this out downstairs."

"Excuse me? Who runs this Mafia? I’m your grandfather, and you should listen to me when I say this woman isn’t right for your kids. Just look at what happened tonight; he’s traumatized."

“I'm now the head of this whole organization, and this is my place. She's my babysitter, and I hired her. Enzo is my son, and I've got this under control. Anyway, as I was saying, we can wrap up this conversation downstairs.” He explained to him.

"This is ridiculous—"

"Grandpa, just go downstairs." He interrupted. The old man shot me one last look of disgust before heading down, making Raffaele turn back to me.

"Raffaela..." I called, but he just ignored me and continued down the stairs. I wiped my eyes and went into Enzo's room, knocking on the bathroom door. "Enzo, it's me."

The door creaked open, and he rushed out, wrapping his arms around me as he sobbed. I laid him down on his bed while he let the tears flow.

I can't even begin to fathom what he's feeling right now. Romeo and Caterina walked in and joined me on Enzo's bed. They must have caught every bit of that conversation.