Chapter 49
Hanna
"The estate is sold?" Holding the signed contract in my hands, I scrutinize Vico's father. "How can that be?" Everything within me refuses to believe that it could really be over.
There is no response, only a pair of sad eyes staring right through me. I let the paper fall to the ground, massage my throbbing temples, and concentrate on breathing in and out. "We have to undo it."
"We don't have to," Camilla whispers in disbelief, standing in the doorway with the phone in her hand, her shoulders trembling. Alessia is here too.
"But our roots are what define us," I argue. It's what I said to Vico at Spiaggia bianche, and I still believe it. Those who still have roots should hold them, and the Olivettas have them.
"We don't have to undo it," Camilla repeats hesitantly as if she can't believe what she's saying. Then she steps toward me and pulls me into her arms. "Because it's already done."
I don't understand anything now. "How…? What…?" I stutter clumsily, looking past Camilla's shoulder to Alessia, who takes a handkerchief from her pocket.
Camilla strokes my back. "I just found out. The contract is void."
My God. I push away from her to look at her. "How can that be?"
She shrugs. "We'll find out more details soon. But right now, all that matters is that it's true, isn't it?"
You're right. "So that means…"
Tears well up in the corners of her eyes, her lower lip trembles. Unable to say anything, she nods.
For a moment, I'm paralyzed. I can hardly gather a clear thought and look around, searching for what's next.
The funding application.
Vico's father needs to sign it.
Almost in a trance, I pick up the paper from the floor and hand it to Signor Olivetta. "Can I have your permission?"
A glimmer of hope flashes across his face. With eyes glistening, he takes the application from me and puts his signature on it.
"Grazie mille," I say, touched, as he hands the application back to me. To bid farewell, I plant a kiss on his unshaven cheek.
Out of nowhere, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. He says nothing, just breathes out in bursts. But his gesture alone is enough for me to understand how much my help means to him.
"I won't give up, I promise," I whisper in his ear, then gently disentangle myself from him and turn to Vico's sisters. "I have to be in Florence in about two hours for the presentation with the application. Are you coming?"
Alessia nods so vigorously that her long curls fall into her face.
Camilla smiles at me. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. Just give me five minutes. I need to arrange for someone to look after my little ones," she says, rushing into the adjacent room while I bid farewell to her father.
A short while later, she stands before me with her handbag. "Should I drive?" she asks, glancing at my cast.
I quickly shake my head. "Everything is arranged."
"Perfetto. Then I can inform Pietro on the way." She heads to the front door with an exhilarated expression, where Alessia impatiently taps her foot.
I follow her on unsteady legs.
It's really happening. The chance for a happy ending is alive.
Now, it all depends on me to make it come true.