Page 78 of Marcello

“But he’d told me not to move or make a sound, not until he told me it was safe. I was terrified the men would come for me if they heard me. They must have left as soon as they shot my uncle, but I was only five – I thought they could be right outside the door. So I stayed in the closet. I was still there the next morning when my mother walked in from work and found his body.

“I can still hear her screaming. Even then, I didn’t make a sound until she started shrieking my name. I started crying, and that’s when she found me.” Federica looked up at me, her eyes full of tears and rage. “So – you want to know why I hate the Camorra? THAT’S why.”

There was a long beat of silence before I spoke.

“That’s fucking awful,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it,” she snarled. “I’m only going to ask this once, Marcello: why were you hanging out today with somebody from the Camorra?”

I wanted to tell her. I did.

I wanted to say, What happened to your uncle? Unless I do this, the same thing’s going to happen to my mother, my brother, and my sister. And maybe something even worse.

But I didn’t trust her.

It was possible she might say I get it – I understand –

But it was unlikely.

Federica was all about how the world should be, not how it was – no matter how messy things were.

She would probably tell me to go to the cops –

And if I didn’t, she would.

If it meant she could get revenge against the Camorra for what happened to her uncle – even though it was 20 years ago, and Cesare had had nothing to do with his death – I figured she would take the opportunity.

The odds of her ratting me out were 50/50 at best –

And I couldn’t risk my family’s lives on a coin flip.

So I said nothing. I just stood there in silence.

At first, she was furious. “You fucking asshole – after everything I just told you, you’re going to stand there and…”

She trailed off.

Then suddenly, her voice became desperate.

“I’m begging you, Marcello. Please. Tell me why you were hanging out with that guy today.”

“…I can’t,” I said softly.

She closed her eyes as though she was in pain. “Then I think you should leave. And don’t come back.”

My heart ached, and my stomach hurt…

But I couldn’t give up the plan now.

I’d already sacrificed so much…

And there was too much on the line.

If it was just my life, I might have taken the chance…

But it wasn’t just my life.

It was three other lives that hung in the balance.