“No,” I said.
My uncle’s eyes hardened on the side of my face as I bowed my head.
“I won’t see him again,” I said.
“You have to trust me, Julia. If meeting with you is doing this much harm, then I can step in and try. But I can’t simply approach him. The opposition would view it as a hostile act. He has to reach out to me, and that means you need to plant a seed.”
“Why can’t you reach out to him?” I asked.
“Because there are circumstances surrounding your father’s death that would make my phone call seem like a set up for retaliation.”
I slowly panned my gaze up to my uncle’s eyes.
“My father’s death?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“You said he died in a car accident.”
“He did.”
“Then why would you talking with the Martine—”
I scurried off the bed as my heart rate began to accelerate. I felt that apple juice creeping up the back of my throat.
“Are you telling me?”
“We have no proof, Julia. Only whispers. The coroner we hired to do the autopsy said your father died instantly in that car accident. And that the driver was drunk.”
“But you don’t believe him,” I said.
“I have my doubts. There are whispers in the Martine family that we lashed out at Romeo’s father and killed him in retaliation for the supposed death of your father.”
I put my head in my hands as tears crept up the backs of my eyes.
“When will it stop?” I asked.
My back fell against the wall. I slid down to my ass in exasperation.
I felt my Uncle sit down next to me before his hand settled on my knee.
“You have to see the bigger picture here, Julia. You have a son to take into ac
count and a very serious task ahead of you. I can’t do this without you. I need you to cooperate with me and not allow your emotions to get the best of you.”
I dropped my hands from my face and scooted away from his grasp.
“You won’t bully me into this,” I said. “I’m not ever standing in the same room with that man again.”
“Listen,” he said, finally losing his patience. “Your father’s death affected all of us. We’re all grieving. We’re all hurting. Even after two years of him being gone. But this is a chance he never got. A chance to stop the bloodshed the last fifteen years has brought. And you owe it to him to try. You owe it to that little boy of yours to try.”
My eyes hardened on my uncle as I scrambled to my feet. I watched him get up and tower over me. Looming. Like my father used to do whenever I’d stepped out of line.
“Eventually, Romeo is going to come for his son. And if you burn bridges because of your stubbornness, you're going to lose him. You don’t stand a chance against the forces Romeo has at his disposal.”
“Are you saying you won’t defend your only nephew if I piss you off?” I asked.
“I’m saying you were born into a circumstance you got away from once. Your father dragged you away, but you came back. And you came back for a reason. I believe that reason was to unite your family. To see if Romeo could be the father you know Matteo needs in his life. And if you’re not willing to fight for that, then you don’t deserve the man you’re searching for.”