Chapter 161

“Siena, it’s time to see that grumpy, old, annoying, rude-hating grandfather of yours!” I complained as I walked through the Lamberti estate. “And when did you get so heavy?”

“Let me help you!” A voice behind me called out. I turned around in surprise and looked at Gio, who grabbed the seat from my hands. “She’s looks so much like you.” He smiled and looked down at Siena.

“How are you holding up?”

“Me?” I asked, surprised. It was still a bit hard to get used to the fact that the brother who used to hate me the most turned out to be a really warm and kind person. “Yes, you.” Gio laughed. “A lot has happened, but you’re back just as expected.”

“Just as expected?” I frowned while Gio shrugged his shoulders. “Yes, you and Christian belong together- and I, unfortunately, found out the harsh way.” He explained. “Dana and I knew the two of you would work things out.”

“Dana? How is she doing-is the baby still not here yet?” I asked. I was so selfish that I hadn’t even thought about Dana or the baby, and I never asked Christian about it either.

“No, it’s been a week, but he still has no plans to show himself.” Gio sighed. “I understand, because this family is a bit crazy.”

“How about the family shoot? Will she make it?” I wondered. It would be nice to hang out with someone sane afterward. “Yes, don’t worry-she’ll make it.” Gio reassured me.

“What are you and Siena doing here without Christian?” Gio wondered. The poor guy didn’t even know that his uncle was still alive or that we saved his brother from death, but Christian did it for a reason. Gio had more than enough to worry about.

“Christian went out to…work?” I made up on the spot. “And I’m here to visit your grandpa.”

“Grandpa?” Gio asked, confused. “Not my dad, but my grandpa?”

“Yes.” I smiled. “I’m here for your grandpa. I know it’s weird, but I made this stupid bet with Christian, so here 1 am-”

“Bet? What kind of bet?” Gio chuckled as we walked through the door. “What’s in for you if you win?”

Shit. How would I get myself out of this one?

“A tour through the Lamberti warehouse.” I shrugged him off. It was better to tell him the truth. “And it’s just a bet about how long I’ll be able to survive with your grandpa.”

“Christian promised to take you to the Lamberti warehouse?” Gio frowned. “Not even Dana has been there and we’ve been together for years.”

Gio gave me a suspicious look, but he didn’t mention it again and pushed the seat into my hands instead. “Well, good luck.” He smiled and took one last look at Siena.

“How is Beau doing?”

“Good, he’s doing good, and Christian has also been really good to him,” I told Gio, who seemed to be pleased with that information. “I heard he knocked up Isobel. That’s cute. I hope it works out for them.”

“Excuse me?” I spoke, flustered by his sudden statement. “Wow, I’m sorry-I didn’t mean it like that.”

Gio gasped and smacked his hand in front of his mouth. “I forgot about you and Christian-

“It’s okay.” I reassured him. “It was a bit different with them, though, because they were actually together “I’m sorry.” Gio apologized. “I wasn’t thinking, and I didn’t mean it like that-please don’t tell Christian”

He whispered the last sentence. “The last thing I need is for him to threaten me again.” Gio joked.

“Now, why would he do that?” A voice suddenly interfered. I closed my eyes and prepared myself to face Franco. “He’s your brother, and you’re nothing like Enzo-don’t you think?”

“Enzo didn’t even think about visiting your dad. He’s just like your grandma.” He muttered under his breath. Although Enzo was kidnapped, he wasn’t even welcome because of Lucio’s request, so I didn’t know what this man was talking about.

“Grandpa!” Gio greeted him and pulled him into a hug. “You’re still alive.”

“Yes, unfortunately.” Franco scoffed while he looked at me. It was still beyond me how much this man disliked me while I hadn’t done a thing, but I was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Just as I was determined to get to the bottom of the Lamberti warehouse.

“Grandpa, don’t give Serena a hard time-come on.” Gio stuck up for me. “I went through the same thing. and she obviously isn’t going anywhere, so you might as well get used to it, right Serena?”

“Yes, what he said.” I agreed. “I didn’t come here to argue with you-I came here to talk.” I smiled and pulled out the bag of liquor. “I even brought you a drink. I only want to talk.”

Franco’s eyes moved to the bag in my hands. “I’m not the one to turn down good liquor, and I’m curious. as to what kind of rubbish will be leaving your mouth this time, so you know what? We should talk.”

“Yes, and I will remove myself from this situation.” Gio laughed. “The two of you have fun and don’t kill each other.”

It was uncomfortably quiet the moment Gio left is alone. I gave Franco a big smile and knew I had to win this bet, no matter what. “You can hold the liquor or your granddaughter. It’s up to you.” I started the conversation.

Franco ignored me and grabbed Siena instead. He walked off and left me behind, startled, while I was unsure what to do. “Are you coming or not?” He asked.

“Yes!” I spoke back and tried to catch up with him. “Thanks for the invite.”

“Invite? You’re already here.” Franco commented.

“You are right, I am here,” I spoke as I followed him to the living room. Franco placed Siena on the floor and put his hand behind her back. “Why isn’t she crawling yet?” He asked, surprised.

“Maybe because she’s just five months?”

“Christian crawled with five months.” Franco shrugged.

Christian wasn’t that different from his grandfather, but the only difference was that one loved me while the other one didn’t want anything from me.

I wasn’t in the mood for any of his comments, and I came here with a clear goal. I came here to get more information on the warehouse, and I knew how to play my cards right.

“I came here because I want to talk to you about a comment you once made about me,” I told Franco. “You compared me to Christian’s uncle, first wife, or something like that?” I played along as if I was stupid.

“I did.” Franco nodded. “I said you were going to be the downfall of this family. I’m glad you remembered.

“I don’t want to be anyone’s downfall, and that’s also not my plan,” I mentioned. “The only thing I want to do is to be there for Christian.”

“I already apologized for the video, but if I crossed the line with something else-I would like to know.

because I want to fix it,” I told Franco. If I would just push him a bit more, he would be more than willing to talk. “Please tell me what she was like? So I can prevent that kind of behavior in the future.”

“Nosy.” Franco snarled. “She was too involved and too nosy, and you’re no different from her.”

He clearly had no issues bringing me down. “Christian’s grandmother and I were always begging him to find a decent girl for once, and I liked you at the beginning-but you’ve changed a lot.”

“Changed how?” I asked. It was something I heard a lot, but as far as I was concerned, I was still the same. I became stronger, but that was not an issue.

“You’re too loud. All you have to do is sit still and do nothing-”

“Because I’m a woman?” I speculated. “Because if that’s the reason, then I want to tell you that you’re wrong,”

Franco held Siena in the air and kissed her cheek. “Don’t be ridiculous!” He hissed. “It’s not because you’re a woman, everything will go to Siena, and I have no problem with that. It’s what we all want.”

“Then what’s the issue?”

“You’re doing too much, and it will not only backfire for you but also for Christian,” Franco explained.

“It was the same thing which happened to my eldest son’s first wife, and since you’re so eager to hear that story, I’ll tell you all about it!”

“Okay,” I smirked. Franco was finally where I wanted him to be. The next step would be the warehouse.

“Her nickname was Stasia, and she was just like you.” He started.

“Strong-minded, beautiful, and clumsy with a dangerous look in her eyes and a really big mouth. It’s the same look you have nowadays.”

His words sounded just like Cesca’s, and I still hadn’t figured out what she meant by that. “Your look is telling us that you’re out to lead Christian down the wrong path, and I won’t let you do that.”

Something in Franco’s expression had changed, but and he was willing to talk, but what I really wanted to know was why he was so obsessed with that warehouse. “I’ve experienced how she changed from a sweet obeying girl to a rebel.”

“I’m not like her,” I told him. I wasn’t out to destroy this family, and I didn’t want to boss Christian around either. All I wanted was to be more involved and to know where exactly I got myself into.

“Do you want to know what she did?” Franco started. “She convinced my son to bail on this family, and that idiot almost did it.” He explained. “I was willing to give him everything, but he stole our money and was planning to run away with it. All of it!”

“If I hadn’t caught him!”

“I’m not like that-I’m an Alfonzo.“ I made clear. Christian’s money was the last thing I was after. I was desperate, but not that desperate.

“Christian threatened to leave this family multiple times because of you, he sold his daughter’s hotel. without discussing it with us because of you, he wants to change the entire family business because of you, he became soft and cries every day because of you-”

“I’m not like that woman. I didn’t force him to do anything!” I yelled at Franco. “I’m sorry for what all of have been through, but I’m not like that.”

you “You’re sorry for what we’ve been through?” Franco fumed. “I did not only have to take away his position, but I also had to threaten my son to choose between his pregnant wife and his family.”

“And he chose the family,” I concluded. It made a lot of sense why Franco was so determined to force Christian to fight for Siena. It was because he felt guilty for his actions. “What happened to the child?”

I was curious about Franco’s opinion on Dario and wanted to know how he felt about him. “I don’t know. No one knows.” Franco stated. “At the end, my son ended up with a wife he didn’t want and a grudge against the family-”

“And it was all because of her?” I wondered. “That’s why you wanted Christian to hate me-so he wouldn’t resent this family?”

For the first time, Franco didn’t have anything to say and looked down, defeated. I was even starting to feel sorry for him. “I just wanted him to have both. I wanted him to have the family business and the baby-I didn’t want him to end up like his uncle.”

“And he won’t,” I promised and moved closer to hold his hand. All I could see was a broken grandfather who didn’t want to make the same mistake. “I’m trying to make this work, and I know you don’t want to lose Christian after losing Lucio, but I’m not like that. You have my word.”

Franco finally looked into my eyes and gave me a nod. “I hope you’re right, Serena. Because Christian is this family’s last hope.” He sighed.

“Gio is to demanding and not capable of running a business, Enzo is extremely unstable, and I’m not even getting started on all my other children and grandchildren,” Franco spoke. “They’re not meant to be leaders like Christian.”

Christian’s aunts, uncles and cousins were way worse than Gio, so I definitely understood where he was coming from.

“Everything I do is not because I hate you, but because I need Christian. I failed my eldest son, I missed. one of my grandchildren, my other son is dying, I don’t have many years left myself—”

“You can trust me,” I told Franco and looked at him with a truthful look in my eyes. How would he react if I told him that his son was still alive? Or that all Dario wanted was a family?

I was hoping for this to be the part where I would finally get a breakthrough and get the answer to my question. I had to win the bet.

“If you want me to stay in the background, I’ll stay in the background.” I lied straight to his face, but Franco seemed to believe me.

“I might’ve mistreated you, but don’t disappoint me, Serena,” Franco warned me. “I can see you love Christian, so I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt, and I’m begging you not to pull him away from his family.”

“Fine.” I promised Franco. I had no intentions to pull him away from the Lamberti’s. I just wanted to be helpful. but I was even failing at that. I still did not get a single word about the Lamberti warehouse. The only thing which came to my advantage was that Dario was a closed book and wouldn’t open up to Christian. There was no way I would lose this bet.

“So, what happened after you caught your son?” I asked Franco.

“I took back the money, and I hid it where no one can find it.” Franco chuckled. “That money caused a lot of issues in the past, so I’m guarding it until the day I die.”

“I’m guarding it for Siena, and one day it will all be hers. Not even Christian knows where it is.”

Franco stated. “Yes, he told me something like that a long time ago,” I remembered. He used to talk about the Lamberti’s love for Siena all the time.

“What amount are we talking about?” I wondered. Berto pulled many strings to get to that money, got disowned and even faked his own death, so it sounded extremely serious. Would it be 10 million? Or maybe 100 million?

Franco motioned for me to move closer while I followed his instructions. “I guess it’s okay for you to know since you’re Siena’s mother,” Franco whispered.

“We’re talking about nine zeros.”

Billions?

“What did your son want with it?” I asked, surprised. Unlike Christian’s expectations, Franco had no issue opening up to me. “His first wife told him that he had all the rights to the money and that it belonged to him. He wanted to cut us off and continue the Lamberti business on his own.” Franco explained.

It was all starting to become very clear to me. Berto Lamberti was after the money his wife fought for and was planning to build his own empire with it.

The reason why he wanted to know about the warehouse was because he must’ve found out where the money was.

The money was at the Lamberti warehouse and he would do anything to get to it.

None of us were safe.