Roberto’s mother

As Roberto got into the compound. All the armed men that were in the compound, on the top floor of the house, corked their guns and pointed them at him. In front of him sat a woman, she looked like she was in her late fifties. She sat on a chair, she wore a long white garment, and she crossed her legs. She raised her hand, and they all lowered their guns. Roberto wasn’t shaken by the guns they pointed at him, all he thought was how a woman could steal that huge amount of money from his Father, and he wasn’t aware until now.

He got to where she sat, and he saw she wore a bright smile. “Roberto Galante! Welcome.” She uttered, standing up. “I don’t think greeting me this way would save you from my hands. Let’s have a chat, shall we?” Roberto sounded angry and determined as he spoke. He wanted to know everything. Who she was, how she got access to his Father’s money, how she could stay hidden for years. “Sure. I’d love to have a chat with you too. Alone.”

Greco looked at Adelina from behind Roberto with a suspicious gaze. ‘Why would she want to have a chat with him in private?’ He moved closer to Roberto and whispered in his ear. “I don’t think chatting privately with her is a good idea. It could be a trap.” Roberto turned his head halfway to look at him and said, “Have you forgotten I love traps? I’m not scared of what she could be planning. She is a lady, she can do me no harm. All you have to do is stick to the initial plan, and be alert. Let me have the files.” Greco nodded reluctantly and passed the files to Roberto. Roberto collected it and looked at Adelina.

“Sure. Having a chat alone is the best,” He said, and she moved aside and pointed into the house. “Shall we?” She took the lead, and Roberto followed behind her. He looked at Greco, and he gave him a slight bow. Roberto got into the house, and he saw a lot of men and women roaming around. They all had the same color of clothes, black, which made him know that they weren’t just people, but the woman’s people. Probably her workers. Roberto watched around him closely. Everyone that walked past him turned to take at least one more look at him. Roberto couldn’t help but wonder why they couldn’t get their eyes off him. Though he was used to people staring, this time their faces said something different. They had faces he couldn’t interpret.

After observing the people, he began to observe the paintings on the wall. He saw lots of drawings and paintings of Adelina, nature, and others, but he never saw a picture of a man. ‘Does this mean she is yet to get married? If her husband is dead, at least she should have his picture on display. Except, they didn’t have a good relationship and they got divorced.’ Roberto kept trying to figure out who this woman was. If Vincenzo hadn’t found her files, he wouldn’t have known how to tackle her about it. She was super secretive.

“I think we should be able to talk here.” She turned to look at him when she got to a large study room. She pointed to a chair, and she sat on one that was next to her desk. Roberto sat and kept his gaze on her. There were no visible armed men in the study room, but he didn’t fall for that. There could be a sniper or armed men hidden in there. He knew because he would do the same thing if he was in her shoes. “So, here we are, Mr. Roberto. Let’s talk,” She said, crossing her legs and folding her hands.

Roberto reached for the file in his hand and threw it on her desk. “About 20 years ago, a sum of $500M was stolen from Giovanni Galante’s account…” “I was the one who took the money, and I’m very aware of that. I remember vividly,” She responded, and Roberto narrowed his eyes at her. “Then, I believe you know why I’m here, right? I’m here to take back that money you stole. If you can cooperate with me, then, no fight has to happen, and no one has to die.”

Adelina chuckled after listening to Roberto speak. “Mr. Roberto Galante, I don’t want to trigger a fight either. If I didn’t want this meeting to take place, I wouldn’t have waited for you to come and see me. I was supposed to leave Belgium on a business trip, two weeks ago, but then I got the invite of Mr. Elio Bianchi, a very good friend of Giovanni. I decided to attend the party because I am also a friend to him. I was at the party when I saw you.” She paused and smiled. Roberto arched his eyebrow, wondering why she was telling him these. “Why are you saying all these? All I want is my money,” He responded, and she shook her head.

“Not yet. You have to listen to me. I need you to know something no one ever told you. Not even your father!” As soon as Roberto heard this, his anxiety doubled. From her words, he figured out she had a secret that he would love to know, and he wasn’t going to back out. “Fine. Tell me what no one has ever told me.” He folded his arms on his torso and crossed his legs, the same way she did.

“I saw you at the party and decided to have a chat with you. The last time I saw you was twenty-nine years ago. You were a year old. God, you were so innocent and joyful back then.” She chuckled, and Roberto scoffed. “Don’t act as if you know me, Woman. Go straight to the point, I have other things to do,” He responded angrily, and she bounced her head, still smiling widely. “I allowed you to find me, Roberto. If I didn’t allow you, you wouldn’t have. I put myself out there so that you would find out about me and come to me to collect your father’s stolen money. Giovanni didn’t only let me steal his money, he also let me run away. Would I call that stealing? I don’t think so. He gave me that money to send me far away from him.”

Roberto chuckled in disbelief and sprang to his feet. “Do you think you can waste my time by saying things that don’t even make sense?!” He smacked, and she shook her head. “You didn’t steal the money, then why is your name written on this file?” He further asked. “Because your father wanted us to meet in the future. A little more patience and you will understand what I’m trying to say. Giovanni didn’t want to ruin his reputation and that is why he sent me away. Who wouldn’t judge him if they heard he impregnated his slave?” She asked, and Roberto creased his brows. He broke into laughter and raised his hand in the air. “I’m so done listening to you!” He pulled out his pistol from the back of his pants and pointed it at her.

“You have a scar, right above your left buttocks,” She said, and Roberto’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?! Have you been watching me?!” He barked and moved back a bit. “I haven’t been watching you, Roberto. I know because I was the one that gave you that mark. I gave you that mark a year after I gave birth to you. I knew Giovanni was going to send me away, and that is why I did that to you. I knew we would meet in the future, and you wouldn’t believe me. I had to do something about it.”

Roberto’s eyes were still wide open. He looked for the right words to say but he didn’t find them. He was shocked, and he couldn’t process all she had said. “I know it’s hard to believe, but I have the same mark on that same spot!” She raised her garment and turned her back to him. She wore a legging under this garment, and she pulled down the band at her left butt to show him the same mark. Roberto’s heart began to beat very fast when he saw she had the same mark as him.

“You also have a star tattooed on your collarbone.” She dropped her garment and pulled down the neck of the cloth. “I have the same star because I gave you that tattoo. Haven’t you ever wondered how it got there since you never drew one?” She asked. “My father said I was born with it, and it means I’m a special child!” Roberto yelled. She scoffed and walked closer to him. “Truly, you are a special child, but you weren’t born with it. I drew it for you.”

Roberto’s hands grew weak from pointing his gun at her. Many thoughts crossed his mind, he tried putting one and one together to make two.

“I am your mother, Roberto. I have everything to prove it!”