“They are my cousins,” Rosa said. Samuele’s brow furrowed in a deep frown.
“Cousins? What kind of cousins hold such a bitter grudge, and why?” he asked, his voice laced with frustrated confusion.
“Not every cousin, uncle, or aunt is caring and loving,” Rosa replied, her voice hardening. “Some only want something in return, and that isn't love—it’s a transaction.”
Rosa took a deep breath. Seeing the confusion in Samuele’s eyes, she finally let the wall crumble just a little. She told him everything: how they had snatched her father’s publishing house so cleverly, how she suspected her uncle and aunt had orchestrated the accident that killed her parents, and the legal petition she had filed against them.
Samuele looked at her with unmasked pride. He was floored by her strength—to fight a
