Grave of the Mafia’s Love Chapter 07
This was the first time I’d ever seen Julian Vance
truly at a loss for words.
His pupils contracted violently, and a choked
sound escaped his throat, as if an invisible hand
were clamping down on his windpipe.
“… No. It can’t be,” he said, then suddenly looked at
the photo on my gravestone and staggered.
“Don…” The assistant reached out to support him.
“No,” Julian closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
“Find those bastards.”
“I’d also like to meet Sylvia’s mother.”
I hadn’t seen my mother in three years. After she
regained her senses, she sold the house. The
neighbors said she’d found a new boyfriend. She’d
always been disappointed in me and in this family.
I kept telling myself that as long as Mom was
happy, my pain didn’t matter.
I thought she would be doing just fine.
So when Julian addressed a haggard, emaciated
woman as “ma’am,” I didn’t even realize what was
happening.
Mom. That person was actually my mom.
She had aged terribly and had suffered a nervous
breakdown. She lived in a cramped, cheap
apartment and ate the cheapest canned food.
When Julian revealed his identity, the vacant look
in her eyes grew slightly sharper.
“It’s you. Wasn’t it enough that you ruined my
daughter? Now you’re here to torment me too?”
Julian calmly pushed the police report across the
table.
“Sylvia Reed has passed away. Did you know?”
Mom took a sip of water, her expression
impassive.
“She worked at that toxic factory for so long; it
was impossible for her not to get sick.”
“Get lost. She was better off without me holding
her back.”
Julian clenched his fists.
“She was your own flesh and blood! She was hurt!
And yet you let those beasts get away!”
Mother narrowed her eyes, then she jumped to her
feet and slammed her hand down on the table. “I
locked her up to protect her!”
“But what did she do? She learned to climb
through windows for you! She knelt before your
and begged you! She even called the police after
she was defiled! She’s not my daughter! She’s just
like your mother! She’s a whore!”
“You don’t deserve to be a mother,” Julian said
through gritted teeth. “You don’t deserve to be
human.”
Mother laughed. “Great Julian Vance, who are you
to judge me?”
“You’ve ruined my daughter! You’ve ruined her
future! What gives you the right to think you’re
better than me?”
Julian opened his mouth but didn’t say a word.
“Now, get out!” My mother raised a vase. “Get out
of my house!”
The vase shattered on his head, blood pooling on the floor, and my mother screamed as she pushed
him toward the door.
“Get out! Don’t dirty my place! Go!”
Through the thin wall, I could see my mother scrubbing the floor frantically.
The harder she scrubbed, the weaker she
grew,
until finally she collapsed to her knees and began
to sob.
I walked through the wall to get closer and saw
the tears on her face.
“Sylvia… my darling…”
