Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 51 - Chapitre 60

The drive to the village was really quiet. The only sounds I could hear were the trucks engine and the gravel under the tires. I had my laptop on my lap. It felt like I was holding something that could hurt me. This laptop had secrets inside secrets about my father and Claire Sterling.We did not go to the bistro or the square. Instead we went to the post office. They have an internet connection there. The post office is a room that smells like old books and wax. Tonight it was the important place for me.Stephen said my name, "Hannah" when I got out of the truck. He grabbed my arm. Looked at me. "If you send this information to the people in London and Nairobi you cannot take it back. The Vane name will be in trouble. You might lose all your money."I told Stephen "The Vane name is not clean. It is time we faced the truth. If I have to give up my money to be free I will do it."I went into the post office. The clerk, Pierre knew me when I was a kid. He looked at me. Saw that I was se

The walk back to the truck felt like I was floating. The weight of my dads secrets that had been on my chest for long was finally off.We drove back to the villa in the dark. When we got to the driveway I saw the lights on at the Rossi familys cottages. They were still up celebrating the end of the press. They didn't know about the Black Wing or Claire Sterling. All they knew was that the grapes were in the vats and the land was theirs now.Stephen stopped the truck near the well. He turned off the engine and the valley was quiet."Is it over?" Stephen asked me quietly."The war is over " I said, resting my head on the seat. "Now we have to rebuild. There will be trials, Stephen. People will ask us questions about the money and how much I knew about it.""We will answer them together " Stephen said.I looked at the villa. It looked different to me now. It didn't look like a fortress anymore. It looked like a house that was waiting for a family to live in and make it their home. I thou

The sunshine we had during harvest time was slowly fading away and a cold wind started to blow from the mountains. This cold wind changed our green vineyard into a grey and empty place with frozen ground. Winter in the valley was a time when people had to work to protect what they had while others tried to take it away in courtrooms that were very far away.The problems that came after the big fight were not one big problem they were many small problems that came one after another. Every morning the mailman would bring envelopes to the village post office and these envelopes had papers like summons and depositions. The book that showed all the things Claire Sterling did had worked it had taken away her power. Now the people who were affected by her actions were trying to do something about it.I was sitting in the library of the villa, which was now a room where we planned our steps. The walls were covered with papers that showed what was happening in the court case. I said to Stephen

When I walked out of the hearing the city air felt awful compared to the vineyards smell. A black car waited by the curb. It wasn't the sedan I expected. There was no police car with it.The window rolled down. It was Julian.He didn't look tired anymore. He looked like a man free from something that had been bothering him."You did a job Hannah " he said, but I had to strain to hear him over the city noise. "The Black Wing is finished. The people who lent them money are now fighting.""I didn't do it alone Julian " I said, leaning on the door. "You gave me the paper that showed who owned the place. You helped me get started with this."He looked away watching some pigeons fly away in the plaza. "I gave you what you needed to get started. You were brave enough to see it through. I just wanted to tell you... The money in Nairobi is safe now. Sarah has it and the women don't owe the Vane family anything anymore.""What, about you?" I asked. "Where will you go now that the Tower is gone?

The first sign of spring was not the green on the vines. It was the sound of water. The mountain runoff started to rush through the stone channels an insistent sound that meant our winter was ending. For months we had been waiting to see what would happen. Half of our time was spent in the vineyard and half in the courtroom. As the ice started to melt the people who were owed money by the Vane family finally gave up.I was in the kitchen with Sofia and the smell of garlic was around us when Stephen came in with a big envelope. It was not the kind of paper that we got from the court. It was paper from the High Court of Florence. I looked at the envelope. I felt anxious and worried."Is this another appeal?" I asked Stephen.Stephen did not say anything. He just put the paper on the table. Pointed to the bottom. There was a stamp and a signature from the Chief Magistrate. It said that the Rossi Trust is now a thing and that the Vane Estate and the people who were owed money by them coul