"PUFF—!"
Orange juice exploded across the table like a burst pipe.
Nick choked so hard he nearly toppled sideways out of his chair, coughing violently as he grabbed for a napkin.
Beside him, Antonio wasn't much better. The tea he had just swallowed came shooting right back out in a messy spray, splattering across the white tablecloth.
"What?!"
The shout exploded from both of them at almost the exact same time.
A spoon slipped from Lucia's hand and clattered loudly against her plate.
Even Isabella's usually controlled expression cracked, her eyes widening in pure disbelief.
Clara froze completely, teacup halfway to her lips, fingers locked in place.
For several long seconds, nobody spoke.
The dining room looked as though reality itself had stopped functioning.
Antonello remained seated calmly, watching their reactions with quiet surprise. I didn't think they would be this shocked, he thought. But for a man like Vincenzo to suddenly want marriage… even his own family finds it unbelievable.
"I understand the surprise," he said gently, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Surprise?" Antonio coughed again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "You call this a surprise?"
Nick grabbed another napkin, still coughing. "No, wait. Hold on."
He pointed directly at Antonello, eyes wide.
"I think we heard wrong."
"You didn't," Antonello replied evenly.
The room fell silent again.
Lucia looked between everyone repeatedly, then back toward Antonello, then back again, as if expecting someone to laugh and reveal this was all a joke.
Nobody did.
No one seemed willing to be the first to speak.
Finally, Antonio rubbed both hands over his face.
"Brother is getting engaged."
He said it slowly, testing the words like they might break.
"Brother."
No one said anything.
"Vincenzo."
Nick looked disturbed. "Say it one more time."
Antonio stared at the ceiling.
"Brother is getting engaged."
The words sounded ridiculous every time he said them.
Nick looked at Antonello with an expression that said 'I don't believe you' — yet the man had shown them Vincenzo's verified letter with their address written on it. Otherwise he wouldn't be sitting here.
Brother wouldn't give anyone our address, especially now, Nick thought. Not while he's being hunted. If he invited this man here, then it must be real.
Lucia slowly lowered her cup.
"…to an actual girl?"
"Lucia," Isabella said, warningly.
"What?" Lucia replied immediately. "I'm serious."
Because she was.
The entire thing sounded impossible.
Engagement?
Vincenzo?
Those two concepts simply didn't belong together.
She had heard the stories. The rumors. The girls who disappeared after being choosen by her brother. She felt sick just remembering that.
Her brother was a monster.
And a man like him wanted to marry?
Across the table, Isabella finally recovered first.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Not at Antonello.
At the situation.
Everything.
The entire country was talking about Vincenzo. News stations replayed the explosion every day. The police announced searches. The government offered rewards. People online called him everything from terrorist to cartel proxy.
And somehow…
An engagement discussion was happening.
Now.
Of all times.
Her stomach tightened.
*Does the girl even know what kind of person my brother is?*
Clara slowly placed her coffee cup down.
Her hands looked steady.
Only someone watching carefully would notice how tightly her fingers had curled around the porcelain moments earlier.
Marriage.
The word alone dragged old memories to the surface.
Girls.
Rumors.
Blood.
Police reports.
A crying mother years ago.
Clara immediately pushed the memories away.
Not now.
Not here.
Not in front of a guest.
She forced herself to look toward Antonello.
"My apologies," her voice came out softer than intended. "The news was unexpected."
Antonello nodded politely. "I anticipated something similar."
That answer somehow made Antonio feel embarrassed.
The man sitting across from him wasn't some random businessman anymore.
If what he said was true—
Then he was Sofia's father.
His brother's future father-in-law.
Antonio straightened immediately.
The change was obvious.
His earlier disbelief remained.
But respect appeared now too.
"Sorry, Mister Castellano."
Nick followed half a second later.
"Yeah. Sorry."
Both sounded awkward.
Neither knew how to react.
Because they still couldn't process the original statement.
Lucia finally leaned forward.
Curiosity and concern beginning to overpower shock.
"What is she like?"
Everybody looked toward her.
"What?"
"You all want to know too."
Nobody denied it.
Lucia pointed at Antonello.
"You suddenly came here and told us our brother is getting engaged."
She paused.
"Obviously we want details."
Antonio nodded immediately.
"Actually, yeah."
Nick joined in.
"How old is she?"
"What does she look like?"
"How did they meet?"
"Does she know who Brother is?"
"Did she agree herself?"
The questions started coming one after another.
Isabella remained silent.
Because of her concerns—
She wanted those answers too.
Antonello listened patiently.
Then finally replied.
"Her name is Sofia."
The room quieted.
The first real detail.
A real person.
Not just an idea anymore.
"Sofia…" Lucia repeated quietly.
The name sounded normal.
Too normal.
Not the name she expected attached to Vincenzo.
She searched her memories, trying to remember any girl named Sofia who matched the rumors surrounding her brother.
She didn't.
Somehow that made everything feel even stranger.
"She's twenty-two."
Antonio blinked.
"Twenty-two?"
Nick questioned.
"One year older than Brother?"
Lucia immediately ignored both of them.
"Is she pretty?"
"Lucia."
"I'm asking important questions."
Even Isabella almost rolled her eyes.
Lucia was mostly normal until Vincenzo came up.
If not for him, she was like any girl her age.
Curious about her brother's fiancée.
Seeing all of this.
Antonello actually looked amused for the first time.
"Sofia is very beautiful."
That answer somehow made everyone even quieter.
Because now she felt more real.
A name.
An age.
A face they hadn't seen.
A girl somewhere out there who was apparently connected to Vincenzo.
Lucia found herself imagining her automatically.
What kind of girl would agree to marry someone like her brother?
Was she scared?
Confident?
Crazy?
Forced?
That final thought lingered.
Unfortunately it wasn't just Lucia thinking it.
Across the table, Isabella finally asked the question everyone had avoided.
"Did she agree willingly?"
The room immediately fell silent.
Everyone looked toward Antonello seriously now.
Waiting.
Because regardless of everything else—
That answer mattered.
Not because they could surely change it.
But at least they could try to convince Vincenzo to back out if she was forced.
Antonello noticed the shift immediately.
The joking disappeared.
The excitement disappeared.
Everyone was waiting.
"Did she agree willingly?"
Isabella's question lingered in the air.
Antonello remained silent for several moments before answering.
"Yes."
The reply came without hesitation.
Isabella studied him carefully.
Not the words.
The man.
Searching for uncertainty.
Doubt.
Anything.
She found none.
She still didn't believe it.
But until she met Sofia herself, there was nothing she could do.
Across the table, Clara quietly released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
She doesn't believe it either, Clara thought. But for now… she won't say anything.
Lucia didn't get relieved. Her thoughts were the same as everyone else's.
"Okay."
"But I want to have a private talk with her at the party."
Everyone looked at her.
"?"
"You all know why."
She pointed vaguely toward the television.
"The entire country keeps talking about Brother."
Antonio groaned immediately.
"Here we go."
"No, seriously."
Lucia crossed her arms.
"If I was some random girl and the news kept calling my future husband a terrorist every day, I'd be terrified."
*What if she was only pretending to agree because she was scared?*
Nick shook his head arrogantly. So what, he thought.
Antonio looked offended.
"You act like Brother would randomly explode people at breakfast."
Nobody replied.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
Even Antonello almost smiled.
Not because he found that funny.
Looking at them act like that. He thought, emotional people... They are easier to handle.
Clara leaned forward.
"So…"
Antonello looked toward her.
"We have to attend the party?"
Antonello nodded. He had mentioned this before revealing the engagement.
Clara fell into deep thought.
Vincenzo, along with Cathy, was outside somewhere. He had gone to change Cathy's identity and once done, send her overseas to study.
Enzo and Luca were with Rafael and Marco maintaining the company after what happened, trying to make it as clear as possible that their security company had no criminal activities.
Anna and Elena had gone to their sons in college. Klein and Frank's situation had gotten bad, the effect of Vincenzo's actions had reached there.
They were getting threats and cyber bullied so they had gone to transfer them in another callage. Sigh. Their tests were coming and this happened.
After thinking for sometime, Clara gave the only answer she could.
"We need to ask Vincenzo," she said with a polite smile.
Nobody said anything.
This answer was normal. Vincenzo was being hunted currently. He was shown on news across the entire country. At a time like this, someone inviting them wasn't safe even if the other person might be connected to the family. Letting him enter was already more than enough. They couldn't risk more, neither did they want to anger Vincenzo by rejecting this man's invitation.
Antonello also understood that. In fact, when he got to know Vincenzo wasn't here, he had already predicted this would be their answer.
Anyway, his family would contact him.
When Vincenzo would get the news, he would also come along.
And if he doesn't.
He could only hope Vincenzo still showed interest in his daughter.
"Well then I will be going," Antonello got up and chuckled, seeing the two guards who were shocked hearing about the engagement.
"I apologize for earlier rudeness," Clara said.
"It's okay," Antonello replied before leaving with the two guards.
"Well, do we contact Brother?" Nick said, still skeptical about this.
"No. Vincenzo is busy. Don't you know what his situation is? We can't disturb him," Isabella said, knowing that this engagement thing needed to be verified, yet she wouldn't do anything stupid to put the family in danger.
"Yeah, let Vincenzo come back. We will talk then," Clara sighed, though she wished that the engagement was true because she knew as a mother there was a limit to what she could change in him.
"We first need his permission," Lucia said. Clearly annoyed.
Despite that, everyone agreed.
"Yeah."
The Moretti family slowly returned to their discussion.
---
Far away from the estate, however, one man watched the same news with bloodshot eyes.
Every mention of Vincenzo Moretti only deepened the hatred already festering inside him.
"VINCENZO MORRETI I WILL KILL YOU."