Chapter 8
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It was already the next morning when Maddalena finally came to.
She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the plain white ceiling. For a second, her mind was completely blank. Then suddenly, all the memories came crashing back like sharp needles piercing her heart.
“You’re pretty good now, huh? Even know how to threaten people with suicide?” Silvano’s voice came from beside
her.
Maddalena turned her head and looked at his face. The features were the same, but now they felt completely unfamil-
iar.
It was like the last ten years of her life had shattered into pieces and were put back together again-everything looked the same, but nothing felt right.
She closed her eyes and stayed quiet.
Silvano was about to scold her as usual, but when he saw how pale she looked, he hesitated.
“When had she gotten so thin?” he thought to himself.
Her face, barely the size of a hand, looked way too fragile. His brows furrowed slightly.
His tone softened as he said, “I’ll ask the hospital to take you back as long as you stop messing with Tori.”
Then, trying to make up for it, he added, “Didn’t you always want to go to Switzerland? Your birthday’s coming up in a couple of days. I’ll go with you.”
Silvano felt like he had given her more than enough already. But when Maddalena still did not say anything, his im- patience started to show again.
“Sir…” the bodyguard in the corner stepped forward as if to report something. “Today…”
Yet, he did not get the chance to finish before Silvano’s phone rang.
Silvano picked it up, and his whole face softened. “Tori, what’s wrong?”
Vittoria’s voice came faintly through the phone speaker. “Silo, Celene just woke up. She’s asking to see you. Can you
come?”
“I’ll be right there,” Silvano said without hesitation, then turned and left without looking back.
The bodyguard glanced at Maddalena, his face full of sympathy.
Maddalena looked at the bodyguard calmly and asked, “Where’s my grandpa’s body?”
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The bodyguard answered softly, “In the morgue for now.”
“Okay,” she said.
Maddalena took a deep breath, got up, and started contacting the cremation services.
She was leaving New York soon, and there was no way she would leave her grandfather behind. She arranged to bring his ashes home with her, then pulled out her phone to book a ticket.
It was time to go.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the hospital, Celene was snuggled in Silvano’s arms, being playful. “Daddy, when I leave the hospital, can we go to the amusement park?”
Vittoria chimed in gently, “She’s been cooped up in the hospital the past few days and keeps begging to go out. Silo, if you’re too busy, don’t worry about it.”
Silvano glanced down at Celene, smiling. “How could I say no to our little princess?”
Then he remembered the promise he had made to Maddalena at the hospital. “But let’s wait a couple of days first. Maddalena’s birthday is coming up, and I’ll be taking her to Switzerland. Once I’m back, I’ll take you to the amuse- ment park, okay?”
Celene pouted and was about to protest.
“It’s fine, Ms. Albergo’s birthday is more important,” Vittoria spoke up first, quietly tightening her grip on Celene’s arm. “We can wait for you to come back.”
Celene flinched at the pain and swallowed back the words she was going to say.
Then she forced a sweet smile and said, “Okay, I’ll wait for Daddy to come back.”
