He turns around, revealing his muscular, well-defined torso. I avert my gaze, then look at his face. His eyes are small, red, and puffy.

"So, you've made your decision. You're really leaving ?"

"Unless you're willing to explain everything to me, I have no other choice."

He lowers his gaze to the floor, his fists clenched in a struggle. He's on the verge of opening up, but then he closes off again and looks at me sadly.

"I'm sorry, May. I can't. I gave my word, and you know what that means for us."

"Fine, I understand. We all have our priorities."

He sighs, visibly tormented.

"You know it's more complex than that."

"No, Ezio, I don't know. But if this secret is more important to you than our so-called relationship, then I'll leave without regret."

I start to walk away, but he grabs my wrist. Thinking he's finally going to open up, I turn back, but instead, he hands me an envelope.

"Take this. It's the information gathered by the detective. Please, before making any decisions, come see me and we'll act together. I told you I'd stand by you and support your mission, and I meant it."

I look at the envelope and take it without saying anything. Unable to look at him one last time, I turn away, tears welling up in my eyes, and disappear behind the elevator doors.

He becomes the witness to my loss of control over my emotions. I collapse for a few seconds, unable to comprehend how our story could end like this. The elevator's "ding" announcing my arrival at the ground floor snaps me back to reality. I quickly compose myself before the imminent opening of the doors.

In a mechanical and hostile noise, they open to reveal a familiar face: Paola.

Damn, he wastes no time.

Consumed by rage, I try to control myself.

"May ! What a pleasant surprise to see you here ! Do you live in this building ?"

"Not anymore. I'm moving away from my cousin."

"Oh, that's too bad. We could have seen each other more often. I'm here to convince Ezio to move in together. Isn't that exciting ?" she says, bouncing and clapping her hands.

"Very. Sorry, I have to go. I'm expected somewhere." I reply coldly, unable to contain my irritation.

"Oh, sorry for holding you up. I hope to see you soon, May!"

"Have a good day."

I leave without waiting for her response. Outside, I see Salvatore and rush to his car.

"Let's go to the city center, please. It's a shopping spree this morning."

"Very well, Miss May. Let's go."

The entire drive passes in silence as I keep my eyes fixed on the envelope full of promises. We arrive in the city center, and I hide the envelope under my seat in a compartment designed for that purpose.

I spend the rest of the morning flitting from store to store, my arms laden with bags. Shopping is the most wonderful therapy. Like many women, it allows me to think of nothing, to forget my problems, and simply be happy. Occasionally, I meet a fan who asks for a photo and autograph, which I gladly oblige. Once the shopping is done, I return to the car and ask Salva to take us to Andy's address.

"This is where I'll be living from now on."

He looks at me with wide eyes through the rearview mirror but doesn't ask for more details.

"Very well, Miss May," he agrees as he starts the car. "I wanted to apologize for telling Ezio about the kiss with the stranger. Without that, your situation might be different."

I look at him, my brows furrowed in surprise at his apology.

"You don't need to apologize. You did your job, and even without your intervention, the die was already cast. Besides, your loyalty lies with Ezio. You can stop being my chauffeur after this trip. I'll manage."

"Don Ezio wants me to continue being your chauffeur. So unless you fire me for gross misconduct, please allow me to stay."

"Fine, I guess I don't have a choice anyway. And I suppose I can't ask you to respect my privacy ?"

"If Don Ezio asks, I will have to report your actions to him."

"Of course," I sigh, feeling defeated.

We park the car, and he accompanies me to Andy's place. She lives in a charming alley, narrow and lined with buildings of different colors—yellow, pink, green—with beautiful arches adorned with olive trees and plants. The wrought-iron balconies offer a delightful fragrance from the flowers blossoming there. It's the quintessential Sicilian charm.

Arriving at her door, we knock, and she opens it, her angelic face illuminated by a smile.

"May, you're here ! Come in quickly ! Salva, you're welcome to come in as well if you'd like."

I turn around and witness their budding chemistry. Despite his professionalism, Salva gets lost in her emerald eyes. He quickly composes himself and nods. I suppress a smile as Andy clears her throat.

I climb the stairs, and we arrive in a spacious, sunlit living area. Tastefully decorated in a southern style with plenty of plants and warm colors, each piece of furniture is unique, collected from all over the world, creating a harmonious and personal touch to the apartment.

"Can I offer you something to drink ?"

"With pleasure !" I say, putting my bags in a corner.

We sit at her kitchen bar, where Andy serves us lemonade.

"I'm starving. Do you have anything to snack on ?" I ask Andy.

She smiles and pulls some club sandwiches from her fridge.

"Oh, you're the best !"

"Obviously, what do you take me for ?" she replies proudly.

We chat for a few minutes, and I listen to Andy flirting here and there with Salva, who hesitates to join in, either out of shyness or professionalism, I'm not sure. Despite my doubts about him, I can't help but notice his integrity, respect, and loyalty. His work for the Madini family must be, at heart, a true source of pride.

My eyes fixed on him, I continue my analysis, searching for any clue that might betray him. It doesn't take long. The ring of a phone interrupts us. It takes a few seconds before Salvatore reacts, as if only just realizing it's his phone ringing. My eyes widen as I recognize the case of the phone he quickly pulls from his pocket. He steps away to answer the call before I can mention it to Andy, but he's back before I know it.

"Thank you, ladies, for this break. Andy, thank you for the lemonade, it was very good. I have to go, work awaits. Miss May, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me," he says, heading towards the exit without waiting for a response.

Andy sees him out, leaving me alone with my fertile thoughts that bloom into increasingly wild hypotheses. Her sigh pulls me back to reality.

"Damn, that guy is hot. I need him !"

I laugh, though my mind is still deep in contemplation.

"Oh, did I interrupt an intellectual tryst ?" she teases.

"His phone, it has the same case as Valentina's. I'm now 90 percent sure it's hers."

"What kind of case ?"

"Yellow with a dripping pizza slice."

"Maybe they just have the same taste. Maybe there was a buy-one-get-one-free deal on crappy phone cases ?" she mocks.

"You exhaust me. Can't you be serious for two seconds ?"

"Oh, the killjoy speaks! Fine, I'll switch to May's sad and boring mode," she retorts, resting her cheek on her fist.

"And what if he's not just loyal to Ezio ? What if that second phone was never Valentina's ? What if it's been Salvatore's all along ? And what if..."

"May, stop. You're overthinking this."

"But don't you find it strange that he has the same phone with the same case and once he answers, he says he has work to do ?"

"Maybe it's all just a huge coincidence..."

"And how did the Condore brothers find us at the bar? Only Salva knew where we were that night."

"You're wrong. Ezio came to get you, so he knew where you were too."

"It was Salvatore who told him."

"So what ? He's working for some Moriarty figure trying to undermine Ezio or you ? Trying to sabotage you ?"

"Who says he's not the Moriarty ?"

"Honestly, anything is possible and nothing is at the same time. It all seems so unreal."

"Welcome to the world of the mafia," I say ironically. "Whether it was Valentina or someone else, there's a mole, which means there's a hand feeding them. Ignoring it is dangerous because we don't know how much of a head start this Moriarty has on us."

"Listen, as planned, I'll try to gather information to help you see things more clearly, but in the meantime, please spare me the headache," she smiles at me.

I smile back at her and then tell her the reason for my sudden stay.

"Ouch, I knew it had something to do with that." 

She leaves for a few minutes and returns with a magazine in hand.

On the cover, I see Paola on Ezio's arm, both smiling, with the headline: 

"Has Sicily's Most Eligible Bachelor Finally Been Tamed?"