The Female Boss They Tried to Rob Chapter 01
My cousin Enzo was getting married, and his fiancee’s family demanded thirteen ten–ounce gold bars.
My calculating aunt Mirella called me.
“Giulia, I remember you have plenty of gold. Thirteen is a lucky number. Give Enzo thirteen ten–ounce bars as a wedding gift. Think how impressive that would look.”
Gold was trading at $4,043 per troy ounce in Chicago that day.
One hundred and thirty troy ounces was worth over $520,000.
And she casually expected me to hand it over as a wedding gift.
How was that any different from robbery?
I held back my temper.
“Aunt Mirella, don’t be ridiculous. I’ll give Enzo two
thousand dollars as a wedding gift. You can take him to
a gold dealer yourselves.”
The moment she hung up, she posted an
announcement in the family group chat. She even
emailed our Sicilian relatives who didn’t know how to use smartphones.
She thought public pressure would force me to give up my gold.
“Giulia said she’s giving Enzo thirteen ten–ounce gold
bars for his wedding. She’s really making our Enzo look good.”
The chat exploded with praise for my generosity.
I laughed.
If Mirella wanted to guilt me into surrendering half a
million dollars, she had chosen the wrong woman.
GIULIA’S POV
“Just take a little gold out of your collection for your
cousin’s wedding,” Aunt Mirella said cheerfully over the phone.
“It doesn’t have to be much. One hundred and thirty
ounces. Thirteen bars exactly. It’s lucky.”
My lips twisted.
“Aunt Mirella, I’ll give Enzo two thousand dollars as a wedding gift. You’ll have to buy the gold yourselves.”
Her voice rose at once.
“Two thousand dollars? Is that what you toss at a beggar?”
“I’m your elder. I only asked because I thought you were worth asking!”
“Giulia Bellandi, don’t mistake this family’s patience for weakness…”
I hung up.
My phone immediately began chiming nonstop.
In the family group chat, Mirella had tagged everyone.
“Giulia is giving Enzo thirteen ten–ounce gold bars for his wedding!”
Messages raced across the screen.
Aunt Sofia: “My God. Thirteen ten–ounce gold bars? Giulia, that’s incredibly generous!”
My cousin Isabella: “@Enzo, you’re making a fortune off this wedding!”
My cousin Nico: “Nicely done. I had no idea my cousin was so rich!”
Then Aunt Sofia sent a voice message dripping with sarcasm.
“Giulia must have been joking. That’s worth more than
half a million dollars. I don’t believe it.”
Mirella shot back without hesitation.
“Giulia said we’re family. She told me to pick it up at
her house in the next couple of days.”
Then she tagged me directly.
“Isn’t that right, Giulia?”
The chat erupted.
Aunt Rosa: “@Giulia, you gave your sister two thousand dollars when she married last year, but you’re giving Enzo gold? What is that supposed to mean?”
Uncle Antonio: “This is clearly meant to humiliate us. If you look down on my family, say it to my face.”
Aunt Lucia: “@Giulia, when my son gets married, I expect the same.”
I stared at the messages, too furious to speak.
Ten years ago, I had invested all my savings and the family fund my father left me in gold.
I believed it was a strong long–term investment, so I kept buying gold instead of leaving my money in the
bank.
When my relatives found out, they laughed at me.
No one laughed harder than Mirella.
“Who hoards gold these days?”
“It’s tacky, old–fashioned, and too ugly to wear.”
“With a brain like yours, you’ll never be rich.”
Now her son was getting married.
Somehow, she had heard how much money I had made from my investment, and suddenly my gold looked
very attractive.
The messages kept coming.
I picked up my phone and tagged everyone.
“Who gives gold bars as a wedding gift? Aunt Mirella was joking.”
I added a cold smile emoji.
The chat instantly went silent.
Mirella tagged my mother without saying another word.
Less than two minutes later, Mom called me.
“Giulia, don’t embarrass Mirella’s family in front of everyone!”