Chapter 3

• "Name?" a woman asks, getting my full attention. When I see her, I swallow hard. She is beautiful and elegant, her gaze scans me from head to toe, examining me completely, in fact, making me more nervous. She has that same look as that man who I'm sure is still looking at me. I can feel it. I feel small in this place.
• "I asked you a question!" she adds, taking the words away from me with my treacherous nerves.
• "So-sofía... Mangano," I answer, fixing my gaze on the wooden floor. I feel like I can't breathe and I want to get out of this place.
• "You're hired!" the woman says firmly, causing shivers throughout my body. "You start right now, there's no time to lose." She approaches me and extends her hand to introduce herself. "I'm Minerva Di Napoli." I didn't want to be rude, so I shake her hand and I really want to see that man, so I look up to see him, but he's not there, and that makes me curious.
• The lady lets go of my hand and stands in front of me, making me look at her. "My grandchildren are twins, who I'm going to introduce to you shortly. Don't worry about my son. I suppose you already know who he is."
• "No," I answer with total sincerity, although I sense that I had seen him before.
• "Leonardo Di Napoli, the multimillionaire, the most powerful and desired man."
• "Di Napoli?" I ask, astonished because I had heard of him. In fact, many say he is related to the mafia.
• "I'll only tell you one thing, Sofía. If anything happens to my grandchildren under your care, you will be a dead woman. This is not just any job."
• "I understand... But I didn't know I would be working for a man like your son," I reply firmly, looking back to where that man was. I don't understand my need to see him, especially now that I know who he is.
• The woman's laugh echoes in the room, getting my attention. I see her turn and walk to a table, where there is a brown folder, and she takes it and then turns to look at me. "Don't look where you have nothing to lose. This is not a game; if you make a mistake, you lose. Have you regretted coming?" Sofía looks at Minerva with concern. "There's no turning back, if you leave you'll die, and not just you, your little friend too."
• "Are you forcing me?" she looks at Minerva with strangeness. "You can't say something so cruel to me."
• "Do you want me to send your friend six feet under?"
• "Fine! Don't hurt my friend, please!" I snap with anger, feeling like I'm between a rock and a hard place.
• "Perfect." She smiles. "Lucifero, bring my grandchildren, please."
• "As you order, ma'am." He leaves quickly.
• "Sofía, this job will be short, until my grandchildren are teenagers. Don't look at me like that, dear. Instead, think that life is smiling at you. You will have many benefits, you will be a millionaire and you will lack nothing. Is there anything I can do for you? Any problem to solve...?" She takes the documents out of the folder and then the pen. "Come closer." She orders her, and Sofía nods.
• "I..." She remembers the debt she has.
• "You...? Tell me and sign quickly. Whatever you want, I will grant it to you. I will come to visit as many times as necessary."
• "People with money do as they please. What you are doing is called manipulation. I regret having come."
• "I like your honesty and strength to tell me what you think. Now, sign and leave your bank details so you can immediately receive your first payment."
• Minerva places the document and the pen on the table, and Sofía approaches angrily. She wants to know many things. She needs to know the truth of why she was threatened into accepting this job and why the lady was the one who spoke and not the father of the twins.
• "Sign." Minerva is impatient, and Sofía had no choice but to sign that document that she didn't even have time to read. If something happened to her friend, she would never forgive herself.
• "Perfect." She says when she sees that Sofía signed and lets go of the pen to then regain her composure. "One more thing, darling. Change the way you dress. Here, I am the lady, and I am more fashionable than you." She smiles maliciously. "Be careful not to look at my son with other eyes. You are here only to be the nanny to my grandchildren. And one more thing. Call your friend and tell her to leave. My grandchildren need a lot of attention. As for when they ask you about their real mother, just tell them she is saving the animals in Africa."
• "What? Why lie so much?" Sofía gets a headache with so much information she has to process.
• "In time, you will know. And because I like you, I'll warn you, don't set your sights on my son Leonardo. He is out of reach and only hurts women..." She was going to tell her something else, but she was interrupted by a sweet voice.
• "Grandma!" The girl stops when she sees her near a completely unknown woman. "Has my mommy arrived?" She asks, playing with her little hands and her small heart beating with excitement.
• "My little Chiara." She speaks to her, being literally another person. She no longer has that strong, malicious character. Now she is gentle and loving.
• "And where is she?" Michelle is the other twin and asks with arrogance.
• Sofía looks at Minerva and doesn't feel capable of lying like that, not to innocent children who need their real mother.
• "I can't, ma'am," she whispers, and Minerva gets worried.
• "You already signed, just be a good girl. Do you want to hear them cry?" she asks, and Sofía shakes her head.
• "Are you our mommy?" the girl asks, causing a jolt in Sofía's heart, who turns slowly with her nerves on edge and looks at those two little ones who are watching her with intrigue without blinking.