Page 52 of Mafia Shade's Reluctant Bride
Then, finally, he looked up and asked, “Is it true my grandfather was a bad man?”
The question caught all of us by surprise. There was silence like the angel of death had just passed.
No one moved.
Even Luca—who usually had something stupid to say—just sat there, fork frozen mid-air.
I glanced around the table. Maria’s face was devoid of expression, but I could practically feel the storm brewing inside her. Kayla shifted in her seat. Luca blinked like he was buffering. Matteo just looked between us, waiting.
Maria was the first to break. “Who told you that?”
Matteo hesitated. “My teacher, Mr Halverson. He said my grandfather was a bad man who died. And that it was good that he died because he did a lot of bad things. And he was evil.”
Maria inhaled sharply.
I’d seen her angry before, but this was different. This wasn’t the quick-tempered, sharp-tongued Maria I was used to. This was a mother hearing that some stranger had fed her child poison.
And Maria never let poison go unanswered.
Her voice was soft, but I could hear the steel beneath it. “That’s not true, Matteo. Your grandfather was a good man. You shouldn’t believe him.”
Matteo studied her, processing. Then, like the good son he was, he nodded. “Okay, Mama.”
Kayla reached over, patting his head. “Come on, bud. Let’s get you ready for bed.”
Matteo pushed his chair back, mumbling goodnight to everyone before following Kayla up the stairs.
The second he was out of earshot, Maria pushed back from the table and stood.
“That school is done for,” she cursed out.
Luca groaned. “Here we go.”
Maria turned to him, fury sparking in her dark eyes. “Don’t ‘here we go’ me. A teacher, Luca. A grown man told my son that his grandfather deserved to die. I don’t care what the town thinks of us. I do care that a supposed educator is planting garbage in my child’s head.”
She was pacing now, hands clenched, practically vibrating with rage.
I leaned back, watching with something bordering on admiration and caution. I was cautious not to say anything that would make her transfer that aggression meant for Mr. Halve—Half-baked idiot something, but damn, she looked hot when she was furious.
Luca, clearly valuing his life, raised his hands in surrender. “Look, I get it. But you knew this would happen eventually. People talk.”
Maria whipped around, eyes flashing. “Talking is one thing. But bringing a kid into it? That’s crossing the line.”
I nodded. “She’s right.”
Luca sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. Then, in typical Luca fashion, he made the mistake of opening his mouth again.
“But let’s be real. The teacher wasn’t wrong. Our father was evil.”
The room went dead silent, and this time, the angel of death really passed because we could all see Luca’s life flash before his eyes.
Maria slowly turned her head toward him.
Luca realized—too late—that he might’ve just signed his own death certificate.
“Idiot,” Maria muttered before storming off.
I barely held in a laugh.
