The Female Boss They Tried to Rob Chapter 07
GIULIA’S POV
I stared at her.
“So because you didn’t consider me an outsider, you thought you could bully me?”
“You thought you could invade my home and rob me?”
“Fourteen ten–ounce gold bars.”
“Five hundred and sixty–six thousand dollars.”
“Try calculating how many years in prison that can buy you.”
Mirella began to cry.
Tears streamed down her face.
“Giulia, you know our situation.”
“I don’t have a job. Carlo drives for a rideshare service,
but his back is bad. Some months, he barely makes two thousand dollars.”
“Your cousin changes jobs every few months and is drowning in debt.”
“I couldn’t afford one hundred and thirty ounces of gold.”
“So you stole it?” I asked.
“And what does your poverty have to do with me?”
She stared at me, then cried even harder.
“It doesn’t, but we’re family.”
“I know I was wrong.”
“All three of us will apologize.”
“We’ll return the gold and pay your medical bills.”
“Please stop pursuing the charges.”
“Your cousin finally found someone willing to marry him.”
“If he gets a criminal record, he’ll lose his fiancee, and
his entire life will be ruined!”
“No.”
“You will return my gold.”
“You will pay my medical bills.”
“And you will face every criminal consequence you deserve.”
My answer was immediate.
She stared at me in disbelief.
“Are you trying to destroy our whole family?”
“Your whole family came into my home and stole my gold.”
Her eyes reddened again.
“Have you forgotten what happened after your father died?”
“Carlo risked his life to bring his body back intact.”
“Then he arranged a dignified funeral.”
“I always worried about you and your mother. I visited you all the time…”
I slowly rubbed the back of my hand.
“I remember.”
“The men Carlo took to that warehouse already
worked for my father.”
“The vehicle used to recover Dad’s body and the money paid to those men came from Bellandi
accounts.”
“As for that dignified funeral, Carlo charged my mother three times what the funeral home charged him.”
“When she found out and confronted him, he screamed at her.”
“He said he had worked himself to death making the
arrangements, so the difference was his payment.”
“And yes, you visited us often.”
“You brought old clothes and stale pastries, then
talked me into tutoring your son for free.”
“You never stopped thinking about us.
“If you had, maybe your entire family wouldn’t be
sitting in a Chicago police station for robbery right now.”
Mirella had no answer.
After I signed my statement, I asked the officer, “How many years could they receive?”
“With property this valuable, the sentence would
likely begin at ten years.”
“But if you agree to forgive them, the Cook County
court may take that into consideration.‘
I shook my head.
“I won’t forgive them.”
On my way out, I passed two other interview rooms.
Carlo sat with his head hanging as though someone
had pulled the bones from his body.
Enzo looked terrified, like a cornered dog.
His eyes darted around until they met mine through the window.
He flinched as if burned.
Then he forced a hideous smile that looked worse than crying.
When I left the station, my phone rang.
It was Mom.
“Giulia, where are you?”
“Uncle Antonio and the others are all here.”
“Come home right now.”
“All right.”
I ended the call.
They were all there?
Why?
Had they gathered to pressure me into saving Carlo’s family? Fine.
Let them try.