However, I’m shocked when he knocks gently on the door and enters the room, calling out softly, “Mama, I’m home.”
A surprisingly firm voice says sharply, “Massimo, you’re late.”
He looks a little worried, which confuses me further, and as he stands before her meekly, he nods to me to follow.
Feeling like two naughty children before the principal, I stand with him as she peers at us from over her spectacles.
“Who is the girl?”
“My wife, mama.”
“Your wife is dead.”
Her harsh words cause him to flinch, and he says in a shaking voice, “My second wife, Winter.”
Iris Young looks closer, and I see a stern woman with harsh angular features looking at me with derision.
“She’s not good enough.”
Massimo looks worried as she spits, “Nobody will ever be good enough for my son.”
Now I’m even more confused because she was his nanny, not his mother, he already told me that, but they obviously act out a role they are happy with and I’m guessing she was more like a mother to him than his own, anyway.
She lifts a brush from the side and says sharply, “Kneel before me.”
I am shocked when he meekly does what she says and as I stand there awkwardly, she proceeds to brush his hair with a firm hand that looks quite painful.
“Tell me your news.”
As she goes about her task, he says in a gentle voice, “I had dinner with a visitor of yours.”
She hesitates before carrying on and says harshly, “I don’t know what you are talking about. Make sense, Massimo, don’t pretend.”
I stare at him intently and see the malevolence creep into his eyes as he hisses, “Wesley Vasquez’s son and my brother’s daughter.”
“Dimitri’s daughter don’t be ridiculous. Why would she come to see me? Stop telling lies, Massimo.”
I jump when she cracks the brush hard against his head, causing it to lurch sideways and as he rights himself, the rage settles over him like a welcome friend, transforming him into the monster he is most of the time. As she raises her hand to carry on brushing, he grabs her wrist and turns, leaning forward so he is staring into her startled eyes.
“Are you lying to me, mama?”
For the first time, I see the genuine fear in her expression and her voice quivers as she says, “No.”
The brush drops from her frail hand as his palm presses firmly against her mouth and her eyes water as he whispers in a voice dressed in darkness, “Now listen to me, you old hag. I have treated you like a loving son. Paid for you to live like a queen and been your only visitor for several years. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you and in return, I expected your loyalty.”
I’m not sure if she can even breathe as her face turns red, and he snarls, “You betrayed me, mama. You lied to me, you took my daughter from me and put a cuckoo in the nest. You conspired with my best friend to lie to me, and I will never forgive you for that.”
I’m not sure if she’s still breathing and then he removes his hand, and she gasps for air.
Grabbing her head in both hands like he did to me, he snarls, “Where is my daughter?”
Iris’s eyes are wide and frightened, and I pity her despite what she’s done. I really hope she tells him what he needs but she looks defeated as she whispers, “I can’t.”
I have to admire her balls because Massimo is holding her life in his hands literally and yet if I were in her position, death would be a welcome compromise because it doesn’t look as if she has that many years left, anyway.
“Why not?” Massimo’s words are without emotion, despite the fact he is full of it right now and the tears leak from her eyes as she whispers, “I don’t know.”
“Try again.” He tightens his grip, and she chokes. “All I remember is she went to England to a family I used to work for. Mr. and Mrs. Cruickshank.”