Chapter 20: Chapter 20

“What happened to Antonio?” Grandma Rosa asked as she pushed open the door to Lucio’s bed room, her shaky voice hardened with anger, while she peered hard at her son, guessing that she knew about what hat killed Antonio as she walked into the his bedroom. She furrowed her brows immediately as her gaze met the scene in Lucio’s bedroom, hating the sight of her son’s disgusting self, mad that he could still do this immediately Antonio’s death.

“Mama, don’t you ever knock?” Lucio asked in return while he hurriedly covered himself with the bed sheet, feeling frustrated too that his mum would barge into his room like this without knocking and hated the fact that he had forgotten to lock the door from the inside, knowing how his mum can be. “Get out of the room, girls.” He said to the two skinny girls in his bed with him.

“Shameless…” Grandma Rosa said as her eyes followed the girls who ran out of the room immediately, feeling so ashamed of them for doing this with a man that was old enough to be their father, knowing that they could be about the same age as her granddaughter Lora. “Look at what you are doing to yourself, Lucio,” she said angrily, turning her gaze back at him, “anyway, that is not the reason why I am here,” she added almost immediately, bringing her attention to the reason why she had barged into his room. “Tell me… what happened to Antonio? She asked again, her shaky voice trembling with rage again as she, recalled the death of Antonio who was also like a son to her.

“He had a car accident, Mama.” Lucio replied getting out of bed and slipping into his night pants, fuming with anger, he hated the way his mum often treats him like he were still a child even when his daughter was already a grown woman.

“Oh, you do not have to fool me, tell me exactly what happened to Antonio and don’t give me that accident crap because I don’t believe it.” Grandma Rosa said her eyes fixed on Lucio who now walked to a drawer in his bedroom, he opened it and took out a cigarette and a lighter, trying to control his feeling right now because she was his mother, something he would not have tolerated if she were somebody else.

“Mama, I don’t know what you want from me, or what you want me to tell you.” Lucio said as he lit the cigarette and started puffing smoke out of the cigarette, still trying to fight the rage building up inside of him and doing his best to try and sound calm as he replied her angry questions.

“Antonio left this house with you and Rodrigo two nights ago in your van and how come he ended up in a car accident in his car when he never drove?” Grandma Rosa demanded, gesturing a little, still peering hard at her son, knowing he had said something that was the truth and knew that Lucio did not know that she knew about this one fact.

“I don’t understand Mama.” Lucio replied still puffing the cigarette and looking out the window this time unable to face his mother after hearing what she just said about Antonio never driving his car that night, how she came to know about this was baffling to him right now, but again it was his mum and she kind have a way of knowing things.

His mother always finds a way to dig out the truth from him, no matter how hard he tries to hide or burry the truth she finds a way to get the real information from him, sometimes he wonders if she has some kind of supernatural powers.

“Antonio’s car was packed in this mansion the night you fools went out, how come he was found dead in his car? What did you do to him?” Grandma Rosa asked his son angrily this time. “Did you kill him?” she added, knowing how her son can be sometimes, especially when he is angry and that was mostly her fear, she wonders if Lucio had killed him by his hands out of anger or something which could also make him act the way he was acting right now, she knew he was grieving about the loss of Antonio right now.

“Stop it Mama, I don’t know what you are talking about.” Lucio snapped in anger and murmured something to himself. “My goodness mama! How can you even think that?” he added as he furrowed his brows at her, wondering why she would think that he killed Antonio, his temper hasn’t gotten to that especially when the man did nothing to him and was supposed to be looking after his child.

“Look at you Lucio, you are not the son I raised, I don’t know how you ended up this way.” Grandma Rosa said holding on to a chair and sat down slowly on it, recalling some of the things he had heard and seen her son do. “Now tell me the truth, did you kill Antonio?” she asked after sitting down properly on the chair, this time, peering directly into Lucio’s eyes, still maintaining that he must have done something to Antonio or that there was something he was not telling her since she does not believe that Antonio died in a car accident like Lucio was making it seem.

“No Mama, I did not kill him, Antonio is like a brother to me, and it was an accident Mama, an accident I want to forget.” Lucio said as he walked to where his mother is sitting.

He knelt down, holding on to his mother’s knees. “Antonio is family Mama, I wish I never called him that evening, we were supposed to carry out a clean job.” He added, he could no longer bear the pain he feels inside as he regrets now that he had called Antonio out to join him that night when he would have left him behind to stay by his wife and child’s side. “believe me mama, I did not kill him, I can never kill Antonio...” he continued as tears started falling down his face.

Grandma Rosa just peered down at him from a corner of her eyes, seeing his reaction, she knew that she was right all along that Antonio did not die in a car accident but must have died by another means, never the less, she believed that it was her son Lucio that had killed the man, whether or not he did it directly, she was still the reason why the man left his house and gone out on that faithful night so whatever was the case, it was all on Lucio and she know that he knew it that was why he was grieving the way he was doing.

After shedding a few tears, he stood up again and walked back to where he was standing, his face so down cast looking out the window again as he started to puff out smoke from his cigarette again. He is a hard hearted man who had done some despicable things in the past but Antonio’s death really touched him, it was not one of the deaths that he simply overlooked.

“Bring your daughter home and set your life straight Lucio, you have all the money you can possibly need, I want my granddaughter home again.” Grandma Rosa said to Lucio after a long pause, changing the topic. She feels the need to have Lora back home with her.

“What! No Mama, she’s better off on her own.” Lucio said and brought out another cigarette to smoke after walking to his bedside table and putting out the first cigarette in the ash tray. He put the stick of cigarette in his mouth and lit it, puffing out thick smoke from his mouth and nostrils again, his brows furrowed especially because of his mum just said.

“How is she better off by herself? You don’t want her home because of your dirty life style and business dealings.” Grandma Rosa replied furrowing her brows at her son again, feeling the urge to smack him in the head, as if that would make him reason better.

“It’s for her safety, Mama… I mean, she is leaving away from all this dirt as you call it.” Lucio said as he sat down on the bed still smoking his cigarette without looking at his mother.

“That child is lonely and how do you ensure her safety? Is it by sending men to follow her around secretly in the name of body guards?” Grandma Rosa asked, clapping her hands angrily together. “If those dirty business partner of yours discovers the real reason behind Antonio’s death, don’t you know who they will attack first.” She added her voice filled with rage as she glared at Lucio. She was thinking about the safety of her granddaughter after she grasped what happened with Antonio even though Lucio did not explain to her how it had happened.

“That will never happen, Mama, no one would dare go to harm my daughter, besides, very many people does not know that she is my daughter especially because I choose for her to stay out of the mansion, I mean, who believe that I Lucio Afonso would leave his daughter by herself.” Lucio said and continued immediately afterwards before his mum could speak, “…and who told you she is lonely, she have friends that keep her company, that Alfredo guy and what is her name… Catalina, she also has some kids she tutors.” Lucio said, pointing out to his mum the people in Lora’s life in case she has forgotten. “She is not lonely Mama, I know all about her and my men are always watching over her day and night.” He added, lifting his gaze to take a quick glance at his mother, who was practically glaring at him as he spoke. Lucio does not think any harm can come to his daughter Lora because all the men that he had secretly put in charge to watch over Lora’s every move, the only part he did not like very much was the part where she has a boyfriend but after looking into the boy’s background, he decided to let them be since he kept Lora company.

“I think you should send her to her mother if you can’t bring her here.” Grandma Rosa said after another short silence, her voice cool as if they were just having a chit-chat. She had heard about Camilla and the power and money she possess now and felt that Lora would be safer there with her Mum Camilla than here, besides, it was about time he let her spend some time with her child, she thought.

“What!” Lucio asked, turning his sharp gaze on his mum, feeling his blood boil after hearing her say what she has just said to him especially since she knew his position with his ex wife, Camilla. “Don’t even think of it, I can’t let her be with that woman, that good for nothing, she left, don’t you remember? She left her daughter to go away from here, what sort of woman is she, she left her daughter to be with her boyfriend…” Lucio said again, standing up on his feet again in rage, unable to continue to sit still because of how angry he was right.

“you and I know that was not the way it happened, Lucio,” grandma Rosa said, in a very shaky tone, trying to remind her son the way things had been when Camilla left just in case her had forgotten or pretend to have forgotten about it.

“You can’t keep them away from each other for ever, she is her mother for Christ’s sakes and besides she is of age now, I know I didn’t approve of her as your wife but she is still Lora’s mother.” Grandma Rosa said, trying to sound as calm as she could, taking her gaze away from her son.

“She’s not going to live with that woman Mama.” Lucio snapped, now pacing up and down the room. “why are we on this topic again, I have more important things to worry about.” He added and ran his palm through his thick dark hair, hating his mum’s words as he felt it was the wrong time for her to bring his ex wife up.

“Why should I not talk about her, she was your wife, was she not?” his mum asked, lifting her brows a little as she spoke to him. “I was the one, who did not like her for you because of her background, you loved her so much and it’s not like I am asking you to marry her again, I am only saying you should let Lora go live with her for her own safety, for your daughter’s safety.” Grandma Rosa added, shaking her head.

“I will ensure my daughter’s safety if it means moving her out of this country for your own peace of mind but I am not letting her live with her mother, it is her punishment for leaving me the way she did.” Lucio said sitting down again his burning gaze on floor. He cannot accept for Lora to go and live with Camilla even if it were just one day, he said inwardly, recalling how she left him without him knowing and how he had thought that she would come running back to him after a while but she did not, it hurt his ego so much and he knew that some of his business rivals mocked him because of that, saying he could not even keep a woman even though they did not say it out rightly, he could still sense it in their attitude towards him, he heard the gossips too and that pain was still in him so to make Camilla suffer, he would not let her have the feel of her daughter, even though Lora became old and gray, he said inwardly, still puffing his cigarette, ignoring the smoke that filled the air as a result of his smoking.

“Have you ever thought about your daughter’s feeling? How she felt about not having to spend some time with her mama?” grandma Rosa asked rather calmly, wishing she could make her son Lucio see reasons with him why he should allow Lora go and stay with her mum, even if it were for the sake of Lora. She was getting very old herself and was not as capable as she used to else Lora would never have left the mansion for any reason because she would make sure she was protected and it pained her most of the time when she saw Lora and the pains she has carrying with her even though she wore a lovely smile on her face and pretend like all was alright with her, she could see past her smiles but decided to let it be as it hurt her so much to see her live her life like that, her only grandchild living like that broke her heart more each day that she thought about it.

“my daughter is fine mama, she is not complaining,” Lucio said after a while of silence, “I am enough for my daughter and I will give her whatever she wanted except for going to see that good for nothing mother of hers,” Lucio said spitefully, lifting his gaze a little to peer at his mum furiously,

His mum just peered back at him after she heard the rage and hate in his tone when he spoke just now “How is Marta doing?” Grandma Rosa asked instead after a short silence, she did not want to go on about Lora and her mother since she already knew the outcome. This is not the first time she had tried in vain to make her son agree to let Lora live with her mother, but she would let it be for now and would talk about it some other time, she decided to stick to what had brought her to his room in the first place and that was Antonio.

“She has been crying her eyes out.” Lucio answered without looking up to look at his mum’s face. Recalling how Marta, Antonio’s wife has been crying since they broke the news of her husband’s death to her.

“Poor Marta,” grandma Rosa muttered, knowing the pain she must be going through at the moment as she recalled the time when she was also told about her husband Lucio’s dad’s death, it was a very ugly experience for her but she managed to pull through because of Lucio and pretended that she was strong at that time even when it was very difficult for her. “What are you going to do about her and her children?” Grandma Rosa asked this time looking at the floor herself.

“I will make sure she and her kids never lack anything.” Lucio answered after a while, blowing out smoke from his mouth.

“You better do.” Grandma Rosa said, as she stood up slowly and left Lucio’s room, getting tired of the cigarette smoke in the room.