English Version

Under the Spell of Omertà

Manuel is searching for his biological mother, Eva. Meanwhile, in a Tuscan cafe, Manuel's adoptive aunt, Carolina, finds a photo of her with a baby. A veteran journalist, Carolina decides to investigate, unaware that she has just stumbled upon a hornet's nest of family secrets, organised crime machinations and a mysterious accident: all shrouded by theimpregnable veil of omertà. How will she break through the vow of silence governing everyone and everything involved and shake off the shadows of the past?

Eva was wondering how to leave the house unseen, to get to her meeting with Daniel and Michele. It was all painfully reminiscent of her time in Frankfurt. Unfortunately, she'd have to revisit her memories of that time. She didn’t want Chiara to be with her for this first meeting, of course. So she pretended she had to go to Florence for a stage set. She didn't like lying to her, but she had no choice. She left the house by the basement door in the middle of the night and took a night bus to a suburb of Pisa where she picked up an inconspicuous little hire car which she’d booked through an agency the previous day. On the way there, she'd been very careful to make sure no one was following her. Relieved, she unlocked the car and let herself sink down onto the cushioned upholstery. A glance at her watch informed her that she still had a few hours to spare before she had to go to Lucca. She decided to take a little detour along the coast. Maybe she could still catch the sunrise.

When she arrived in Lucca, she hurried through the narrow lanes of the old town to the Guingi Tower, where she'd arranged to meet Daniel and Michele. She waited nervously until the tower was opened and she could climb up to the top. The minutes seemed to stretch out into hours until she finally heard footsteps ascending the staircase of the tower. To her relief, she discovered it was Michele. She looked around in search of Daniel, but couldn't spot him anywhere.

"Hello Eva, nice to see you."

"Good morning. Where's Daniel?"

"I'll tell you later. But why did we have to meet here in Lucca, in this tower? Have they been stalking or threatening you again?" He scrutinized his niece. "You look tired. Have you been on the road all night?"

"Only half the night. I wanted to meet you here because I needed to talk to you in private. But first, tell me why Daniel isn't here." Michele was examining her with concern. "He couldn't get away. He has to watch his cafe."

"Why? Doesn't he have any employees?"

"He does - that's the problem. He has a waiter who seems a little too good to be true."

"I see. He doesn't trust him. So you're being watched too."

Michele was growing impatient. "But what about you? Has someone else been stalking you?"

"I'm afraid so." Eva told him about the young man who threatened Chiara and Manuel. "They warned me not to contact you or Daniel."

"There seems to be a method to this madness. But what do they want from us?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that. Could it have something to do with Grandfather? Even though he's been dead for so long? Or with his successors?"

"I don't know what they want from us. I imagine it could have something to do with him or, rather, with his successors. They want to show us how powerful they are. That's why we're not supposed to meet. But I'm sick of having to observe this damned omertà." Michele anxiously awaited Eva's response.

"Me too. So what are we going to do now? Most importantly, how can I protect my children? I don't know what I'd have done if they'd actually abducted Manuel. Unfortunately, we don't have enough evidence to go to the police. But I've been thinking: if we keep a record of everything they do, that might help."

"They don't want anything from the children, but, unfortunately, they're a good blackmail tool. But I really don't want to turn our house into a fortress again, the way they did when Salvatore was alive. You're welcome to stay with us anytime, Eva, and so is Chiara, of course. We’ve got to stick together; it's our only chance. And we have to defend ourselves."