Page 14 of The Unraveling of Julia

“Wait, what?”

“Galeazzo Maria Sforza was the Duke of Milan, the most powerful nobleman in northern Italy. He had many lovers, and the best-known was Lucrezia Landriani. She bore him several children, among them a daughter named Caterina, who would become Countess CaterinaSforza of Forlì and Imola.” Lombardi’s tone turned professorial. “The Duke treated his illegitimate children the same as his children born within marriage. Caterina grew into a remarkable noblewoman, legendary in the history of Italian royalty.”

Julia’s head was spinning. It sounded like the History Channel. “Are you saying that Rossi was related toroyalty?”

“No.” Lombardi held up a cautionary finger. “I’m saying sheclaimedto be related to royalty. I do not know if the claim was true. I have many aging clients who develop dementia and harbor common delusions, some as regards their past. Often they suspect that children or the help are stealing from them.”

Julia tried to understand the implications. “Could she still make a will? She was of sound mind, wasn’t she?”

“Yes, but she did have a peculiar, strongly held belief that she was related to Caterina Sforza.” Lombardi lifted a graying eyebrow. “In fairness to her, itisa matter of historical fact that Caterina Sforza bore illegitimate children, and it is possible they went unrecorded by history. One such child could have been the beginning of a line that gave rise to Emilia Rossi.” Lombardi met Julia’s eye. “If so, then you could be related to the bravest Italian noblewoman who ever lived.”

“Me?”Julia laughed. She wasn’t even brave enough to leave her apartment. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“I like to be respectful of my clients. Yet I also felt you should know.”

Julia read between the lines. “Do you think Rossi was… crazy?”

“I’m a lawyer, not a psychiatrist.” Lombardi rose, tacitly ending the meeting. “You may want to educate yourself about Caterina Sforza. There is no better place to do so than Milan. You should visit the Castello Sforzesco where Caterina grew up, only a few blocks away. You should also visit the Cathedral of Milan, built by the Duke, among others.”

Julia couldn’t imagine sightseeing in this crowded, bustling city. She wondered if she could drive past the castle and the Cathedral in her Mercedes cocoon. She was still trying to metabolize the possibility that her biological family could be Italian royalty.

Either that, or insane.

9

Julia stood in front of the Sforza family castle, Castello Sforzesco, a gargantuan walled fortress spanning ten city blocks, with red brick walls that soared into the late afternoon sky. Huge turrets with conical roofs anchored its corners, and a covered battlement ran the endless length of its walls. It was inconceivable to Julia that she could be related to such world-class wealth and power.

Meanwhile she began to feel more and more nervous in the crowd, which she’d underestimated. Tourists teemed around the castle’s arched entrances and exits, filling its open spaces. Noise, motion, sight, and sound surrounded her. People of all ages and races talked and shouted, drinking, smoking, and jostling each other. Vendors hawked souvenirs, waving Pinocchio marionettes and fake gold crowns.

Julia broke into a sweat. She had to get back to the car, which waited for her at a nearby traffic circle. She left the castle grounds and white-knuckled through the crowd heading to the rendezvous point. She looked ahead but didn’t see the Mercedes. It had been parked in a line of other hired cars, and all were gone, evidently shooed away by the traffic cop. She didn’t know what to do.

Her heart thundered. It was beginning to get dark. The crowd behind her pressed her forward, almost into the street. Traffic lurched around the rotary. Teenage boys crossed against the light, dodging cars and laughing. A bus driver leaned on his horn, startling her.

Julia took off. The hotel was twenty minutes away. She hurried down Via Dante, a main drag for pedestrians, lined with bustling shops, restaurants, and cafés, and kiosks vending kebabs, pizza, and gelato.

Panic tightened her chest. The moving throng was thick with noise, language, laughter, cigarette smoke, vapes, and weed. She picked up the pace. Evening was coming on, and the sky was deepening to periwinkle. Stars shone through a transparent film of darkness.

Julia hurried ahead. Fear twisted her gut. She willed herself to keep it together. The street curved, and ahead was the Cathedral of Milan, its illuminated facade of white marble bright as bones against the blackening sky. Its ornate facade came to a majestic point, its spiky Gothic towers stabbing the night.

She reached the massive piazza in front of the Cathedral, lined with lighted shops and restaurants. People surrounded her, talking, laughing, and partying. She wedged her way through.

“Mi scusi!” a man shouted, bumping into her.

Suddenly Julia lost her sense of direction. She didn’t know which way the hotel was. She was too short to see above the heads. She turned right, then left, whirling around. Everywhere around her were shadows silhouetted against the Cathedral. She looked up to see its marble gargoyles glaring down at her.

“Move!” Julia barreled ahead, broke into a jog, then started running. She elbowed people out of the way, feeling like she was running for her life. Some got angry. Others pushed back.

Julia kept running.

From what, she didn’t know.

10

The next morning, Julia sat in the back seat of the Mercedes, gliding through Tuscany. She was relieved to have left Milan, shaken by what happened at the castle. She’d barely slept, jet-lagged and jangly nerved. When dawn broke, she read her horoscope, taking some comfort.

Go with the proverbial flow. Don’t try and control so much. The universe has agency. Let go, and go. Be of open heart and mind.

They reached Chianti province, and Julia took it in through the window, charmed by the landscape. Sunshine gilded hilly vineyards that rolled on and on, their grapes growing in neat rows against a verdant backdrop of umbrella pines and cypresses. There were magnificent stucco villas with red tile roofs and picturesque farmhouses with brownstone facades and horses grazing in small barnyards.

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