JOSEPHINE

"Don't cry, snowman, not in front of me. Who'll catch your tears if you can't catch me, darling? If you can't catch me, darling." sang Matteo as we rolled out the dough. "Don't cry, snowman, don't leave me this way. A puddle of water can't hold me close, baby. Can't hold me close, baby."

"You can sing really well," I said in surprise, sprinkling more flour on the surface. "Is that something all of you can do?"

Matteo laughed. "I'm afraid not. Maybe Valentino, but you can only hear the rest if you wear hearing aids and take the batteries out first. What about you? Can you sing?" I looked at him skeptically. "Just asking. Is the dough thin enough?"

We both looked down at our work while the song continued to play in the background. It was warm in the kitchen, and although we were careful when kneading the dough, our aprons were already white with flour. "I think so. Shall we try it?"

He reached for a cookie cutter and handed it to me with an important expression on his face. My goodness, did he have flour in his hair too? "May I ask you for the first cut-out?"

"You may," I answered, nodding majestically as I took the cutter. It was a Christmas tree. "We used to bake cookies too, although Dad and I mostly just ate the dough when Mum wasn't looking."

"Riccardo and I did that with Maria too, but nothing escaped her eyes, and in the end, she always scolded us, saying it gave us stomachaches." Matteo smiled. "And one year, I had to throw up so much in the evenings that I never ate dough again. Good old— What are you doing? You can't use two different cutters!" Surprised, I paused and looked at him. Was he serious? He looked like he was serious. I slowly put the snowman back and raised my hands in the air apologetically. "Really. You're going to plunge us into anarchy!"

"Because the cookies look different?" I still wasn't sure if he was serious or if he was about to laugh. Sometimes, I thought Matteo tended to exaggerate. "What kind of butterfly effect could that trigger?"

He took a deep breath, but before he could begin, the door closed behind him, and Riccardo came in. "The bigger ones won't be fully baked; you'll give them away, our gardener, who also works for the mayor, will get food poisoning, and we'll be in trouble." I wanted to ask how food poisoning could lead to anarchy when none of the gardens needed a gardener in the snow, but it was Riccardo, and I remained silent. "There was also a package for you outside the gate. Has Valentino ordered you some clothes again?" I shrugged. It wouldn't be a surprise if he did since he was determined to help me find my 'style.' His ambition, not mine. "Well, anyway, I put it in your room."

"Thanks, Riccardo." He waved me off and then looked like he was struggling with himself before he took a piece of the dough and put it in his mouth. Without saying anything else, he disappeared again. I looked back at Matteo, who just shook his head briefly, and picked up the Christmas tree. "So we're only going to make Christmas trees?" I asked again to make sure.

"Good idea, Josie," grinned the youngest Marini and watched closely as I pressed the mold through the dough. "Have you got all your presents yet?"

Now I had to laugh. "Valentino asked me too. Almost, and you?" I carefully picked up the finished Christmas tree and put it on the baking tray.

"Nah, not one, but there's still plenty of time. What gift are you giving me?" 'Nice try,' I thought and sealed my mouth with my fingers. I think he had already tried five times in the last three weeks to find out what we were going to give him. It got to the point where I had hidden his present with the dogs because it was the only place I was sure he wouldn't look. Domenico had even threatened to set fire to his present if he continued to pester him about it. "It was worth a try. Do you know what's going on with Domenico and Vito? They were both really strange when they were eating. I mean more than their normal strangeness."

I had noticed that too, but I tried not to think about it. "I don't know. Maybe something went wrong at work."

"Yeah, maybe. We should ask them if they want to come; maybe a little sugar will do them good." Matteo put his tree on the tray and looked at our forest of cookies. "Have you thought about the things to decorate?"

My face fell in shock. "No! Oh crap, I knew I forgot something! But I'll ask Riccardo tomorrow if we can go shopping again after therapy. I'm sorry!"

He laughed. "It's all good. Maybe it's better to do it when they've completely cooled down. You can also bring bags for them because I forgot them." I nodded quickly, glad that he hadn't gotten mad, and watched as he put the first tray in the oven.

It took until the sixth tray for Valentino to stick his nose through the door. After he had apparently made sure that there was no immediate work for him, but cookies, he came right over to us. By now, we had made Christmas trees, Christmas trees, and, surprise, Christmas trees. Once I had tried to suggest something else, but Matteo hadn't heard me. The poor guy unfortunately had very selective hearing.

"Should we tell the others too?" I asked. "I could imagine that they would like some too."

Valentino looked at me, offended, and put a hand on his heart. His nails were painted red. "What are you trying to imply?"

"That you're a greedy dog. How about chewing now and then? If you choke and suffocate afterwards, there is a risk that you will haunt us as a ghost. Be assured, nobody really needs that." Matteo ducked before Valentino's hand could hit his head and quickly got to safety. While the older brother began to list what an enrichment it would be for everyone if he were a ghost, Matteo put a few of the cookies on a plate and pushed it towards me. I understood what he meant. Looking at Valentino, I grinned and made my way to the door.

"I wouldn't leave through that door. Riccardo is walking around there, and his mood is expandable," Valentino warned me as he provocatively popped another cookie into his mouth. "You'd better take the servants' corridor."

I turned on my heel. There was no need to push my luck, I thought, as I walked to one of the hidden corridors. Who had hung Christmas garlands here? Maria, surely. With what she had done here in the last few weeks, the house could easily be used for a Hallmark film. Even in my room, there were garlands with Christmas balls, and I had seen Domenico removing some from his room.

'I hope everything is OK,' I thought as I pulled myself into the small gap that led to the office. Considering how long they had been in the office, a little snack would do them good. I was just about to knock on the back of the painting when Vito's excited voice made me pause. He sounded clearly tense and worried, and I tried to understand what he was saying. It seemed to be about some kind of break-in. I breathed a sigh of relief until I heard my name. "Why would they just take Josephine's file? It doesn't make any sense. If they wanted to target us, they would have a thousand other ways to do it!"

My file? There was a file on me?

"But how else could it be? Do you really think she has any enemies who were just waiting for her to go to therapy so they could get her file?" Domenico sounded ironic, but there was no denying that he was pissed.

A shrill sound started to ring out in my ears. That couldn't be. I had everything— that couldn't be!

My body suddenly lost all tension and slumped against the wall to my left. Coldness began to spread through me. Numbly, my fingers felt for the edge. No, there had to be a misunderstanding. There were many reasons, and the two of them certainly had more powerful enemies. Besides, how would they know where I—

"You look like you're not enjoying it."

The custody transfer.

No! No! No! My heart was beating so loudly that I was afraid they could hear it. The package! I ran blindly through the hallways, taking several stairs at a time and ignoring how everything around me began to blur. Breathlessly, I opened the door to my room.

"Show me how good you are."

The shrill sound grew louder, but I didn't actually hear anything. My fingers trembled as they began to open the package. They literally ripped open the box. That couldn't be. That shouldn't be. I had done everything that was asked!

There was a pile of dresses in front of me. Dresses that I knew all too well. My pulse started beating faster and faster as I fanatically started pulling the clothes out of the package.

"Oh, don't cry, what will it look like afterwards?"

There it was, lying at the bottom. The camera. I would never forget what it looked like.

But he had said that he would keep it in case I—

But if he sent it to me, it meant—

"Smile for the camera, my most precious thing!"

Everything suddenly stopped. My heart, my lungs, my head—nothing seemed to be working anymore. As if from outside, I saw my hand reaching for the card that was lying next to the camera.

Remember the fun we had. With regards.





Hello there, I'm not happy at all with the chapter, but the longer I work on it, the worse it gets. I'll rework it when I know what I want.

See you soon 🌹