Always, Darling

Chapter 35

~ Ｓ Ｉ Ｍ Ｏ Ｎ ~

The atmosphere in the car was tense as Zio Sandro drove the three of us back to his place. The bad feeling I had back in India had only grown since then, especially now that we were going to our uncle's place rather than our respective homes.

I knew Dad would want to talk to us about our "poor decisions" in private, so why wasn't he the one to pick us up? Plus, none of my family except for Dad and Nadia were supposed to be in Miami at the moment since everyone else had traveled out of town. What had driven them to fly back all at once?

My cousins sat in the back just as confused as me. We were all still processing everything that had happened, from the truth about Parth's past to those threatening messages, and then the news of the fire that had killed Malika and Ramya. It all made me wonder if the consequences of ignoring those warnings were even worse than we could imagine, and Zio Sandro's strange behavior added to that.

He could barely look me in the eye, and when he would, it looked as if he wanted to say something to me but was holding back. He was keeping something from me.

"Zio, what's going on?" Parth asked. "You're really not going to lecture us?"

Zio Sandro raised an eyebrow. "When have I ever lectured you kids? I stopped parenting the minute Teddy turned eighteen."

"True," Imani said. "But you haven't said a word. Are you mad at us?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "No, tesoro. I just have a lot on my mind. But your mom is super pissed, so expect a lengthy lecture from her."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Si, I promised Ava I'd let her tell you. Just wait until we get there; she'll explain everything."

I groaned but nonetheless stayed silent for the rest of the ride. My uncle pulled into the driveway and then turned to the rest of us. "I have to go to Nonno's, but I'll be back by evening. Good luck."

After we grabbed our luggage from the trunk, Zio Sandro left, and the three of us reluctantly entered the house. On the couch was Zia Ava with Nadia, whose face was pressed into our aunt's shoulder. Once she noticed though, Nadia rushed towards me, wrapping her arms around my torso. I could feel her tears falling onto my shirt. I held my sister tightly but looked towards Zia Ava with a puzzled expression.

What the fuck happened?

"Imani," Zia Ava said, "can you take Nadia with you to the kitchen and get her a glass of water? Parth, you go as well and get her some food. Zio Sandro said he had some leftover lasagna in the fridge."

My cousins gave a brief nod of acknowledgment before guiding Nadia back to the kitchen. My aunt patted the cushion next to her, and I took a seat.

"Simon," she said, "I don't know how to break this to you, so I'll just come out with it. Your father was arrested last night."

I didn't know what I expected her to say, but it wasn't this. My heart stopped, shocked by these words.

"What? On what charges?"

Zia Ava pursed her lips together. "Murder."

A lump rose in my throat. No, this couldn't be true. Dad, my best friend, would never do that. He wouldn't do something so stupid and risk separating himself from me. From me and Nadia.

"Murder?" I whispered. "Who are they saying he murdered?"

"Joseph Cruz, Henry Augustin, and Maria Cadet. Which is absolutely bogus. Your dad wouldn't hurt a fly."