Chapter 206

Chapter 206
ANGELO

I stood outside Don Luca's study door with my fists clenched so tight my nails cut into my palms. Three months of watching my mother fade away in that guest house, looking at me with empty eyes or calling me by my father's name.

I knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Don Luca was at his desk reviewing papers. He looked up and something in my face made him set down his pen.

"Angelo, what's wrong?"

Everything was wrong, but I forced the words out steadily.

"I want to bring my mother here to the main house."

Don Luca's expression shifted. "Angelo..."

"She shouldn't be in that guest house. She should be here.

Don Luca stood and walked around the desk. "Sit down."

"I don't want to sit, I want you to say yes." I almost screeched.

"Sit down." He ordered.

I sat and my leg bounced uncontrollably. I pressed my hand down to stop it.

"Your mother needs round-the-clock medical care. Monitoring, medication management, specialized equipment. The guest house is set up for all of that."

"We can set up the main house too. We have the money, we have the space."

"It's not about money or space." His voice was patient but firm. "It's about what's best for her. The medical staff are trained for this, they know how to handle her condition."

"I know how to handle her condition!" The words burst out. "I'm there every day. I know what she needs, I know how to calm her down when she gets confused, I know which stories make her smile even when she doesn't remember who I am."

My throat was closing up and I dug my nails deeper into my palms.

"I can take care of her better than strangers can. I'm her son, please just let me try."

Don Luca's jaw worked and I saw something painful cross his face. "Angelo, I know this is hard but moving her would only make things worse."

"You don't know." The words came out sharp. "You have no idea what it's like to watch your mother forget your name, to have her look at you with fear because she thinks you're a threat."

My voice was shaking now and I couldn't control it.

"She's all I have left. My father is dead, my mother is dying, and you're keeping her locked away in that building." Tears burned in my eyes and I blinked them back furiously. "Please, I'm begging you, let me bring her to the main house."

Don Luca's face tightened, “She can be in the care of the nurses round the clock and all the medical equipment cannot be set in her room…the guest house is the right place to set up all the medical facilities”.

“moving her would confuse her more, upset her routine, make her worse." He leaned forward. "Because I will not let you sacrifice your entire life to take care of her when there are trained professionals who can do it better."

"I don't care about my life! I care about her!"

"I know you do, but bringing her to the main house won't save her, Angelo. It will only destroy you."

I stood up so fast the chair tipped backward and crashed against the floor. "You never cared about her! She's just Erasmus's widow to you, just another person living on your property. You don't care if she dies alone!"

"That's not true and you know it. She is my sister!”.

Don Luca stood and moved toward me but I backed away with my hands up like I could physically push away his answer.

"I'm sorry, Angelo, I'll say you focus more on yourself and just be there for her”.

The words destroyed something inside me. His answer simply meant he wasn't going to do as I said.

I stared at him and all the respect I'd built up over the past year, all the careful obedience, all the trying to be good, it shattered like glass under my feet.

"I hate you."

Don Luca flinched but didn't look away.

"You took her away the first time when you sent her to that facility, and now you had to keep her in the guest house like some visitor”.

You're cruel and you don't care about anyone but your perfect family."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is!" I was shouting now, my whole body shaking. "You have everything! Your wife, your kids, your health, your memories. You have everything and you're taking away the one thing I have left!"

"Angelo..."

"I wish you had stayed in that wheelchair! I wish you'd never gotten better! At least then you'd understand what it feels like to lose everything!"

“Angelo!!!” He snapped and I still

The words hung in the air between us and I knew I'd gone too far, knew I'd crossed a line I couldn't uncross, but I couldn't take them back because part of me meant them.

Don Luca's face went completely blank. When he spoke, his voice was ice.

"Get out."