Chapter 15

Gloria stood by the window, coffee in hand, her gaze fixed on the street below. The room had fallen quiet after our conversation, but I could practically hear her brain working overtime.

Finally, she turned around, her lips curling into the kind of smile that always meant trouble. "I've got an idea," she said, her voice full of purpose.

I frowned. "Oh no. What now?"

She ignored my tone and gestured toward the note on the table. "I know it says not to ask questions or investigate, but hear me out. What if that's exactly what they want you to think?"

I raised an eyebrow. "The note was literally a warning, Gloria. I'm pretty sure whoever left it doesn't want me digging around."

"Exactly!" she said, snapping her fingers. "Which is why we have to dig around. Think about it, Cat. If someone's trying this hard to keep you quiet, it means there's something big they don't want you to find out."

I shook my head, leaning back on the couch. "And what, you think we're just going to magically figure out whatever this is? I don't even know where to start."

Gloria's smile widened as she walked over and sat beside me. "We start with the past," she said, her tone serious now. "Your aunt Silvia mentioned the community back in Maryland, right? That's where the Mangione family was. That's where you were when you were a kid. There's something there, Cat. Something you don't remember."

I stared at her, my chest tightening. "You think this has something to do with the community?"

"It has to," she said confidently. "Your aunt practically spelled it out. The Mangiones were part of it. Your dad brought you there. And now, years later, you're Luigi's prison guard? Come on, Cat. That's not just a coincidence."

I hesitated, her words hitting too close to home. "Okay, but even if you're right, how are we supposed to investigate a community that doesn't even exist anymore? It's not like we can just Google it and find all the answers."

Gloria smirked, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "Watch me."

"Gloria," I groaned, but she was already typing away.

"Relax," she said, not looking up. "I'm not going to hack into the FBI or anything. I'm just going to see if there are any records of the community. People talk, Cat. If it was as tight-knit as your aunt said, there's got to be something, old forums, social media pages, maybe even an alumni group for kids who grew up there."

Her words sent a chill down my spine. I hadn't thought about it like that before. The community wasn't just a place; it was people. People with memories, connections, and maybe even answers.

Gloria let out a triumphant noise, waving her phone in the air. "Bingo! Look at this."

I leaned over to see the screen. She'd found a thread on a local Maryland history forum, titled 'The Forgotten Italian Community of Baltimore.'

"Baltimore," I said softly, the name sparking something faint and distant in my mind.

"Yeah," Gloria said, scrolling through the thread. "Apparently, it was this close-knit group of Italian immigrants and their families. They had their own events, their own traditions. Kind of like a little Italy in the suburbs. But then—" She paused, frowning at the screen.

"What?" I asked, my stomach sinking.

She looked up at me, her expression grim. "It just...vanished. There's no clear explanation, but people on this thread are saying it fell apart almost overnight. Families moved away, some of them just disappeared. No one knows why."

I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening. "Do they mention the Mangiones?"

Gloria shook her head. "Not yet, but I'm still digging."

I leaned back, staring at the ceiling as a wave of unease washed over me. The memories I'd buried so deep were starting to claw their way back, blurry and incomplete.

"Cat," Gloria said softly, pulling me back to the present. "You okay?"

I nodded, though I wasn't sure if I was lying. "Yeah. I just...I don't know if I'm ready for this. Digging into the past, into my dad...It's a lot, Glo."

She reached over and squeezed my hand. "I get it. But maybe finding out the truth will help. Not just about Luigi or the note, but about everything. Your dad, the community, all of it."

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. She was right. As much as it scared me, I couldn't ignore this anymore. The past was calling, and it wasn't going to let me go without a fight.

Gloria and I sat side by side, the glow of her phone screen casting shadows across our faces

But as we started searching, it became clear that the place was like a ghost town , online at least. The first few results were all about old Italian restaurants and family-owned delis that had been around for decades. It was like scrolling through a menu of nostalgia, but no answers.

Gloria clicked on another link and let out a sigh. "I'm beginning to think this community doesn't even exist anymore."

"I wouldn't be surprised," I muttered, feeling my frustration build. "I mean, I barely remember it. It's all a blur. Maybe it did fade out. Or maybe it was just some weird, short-lived thing."

She scrolled down, her eyes scanning the page. "Well, if it's gone, it sure left nothing behind. Like a ghost community."

I groaned. "I can't believe we're not finding anything useful. There's nothing here."

We clicked through a few more links. Some of them were just old social media pages. There were a couple of photos of community gatherings, people holding up trays of pasta, kids playing in the street. But there were no current events. No mention of Luigi. No trace of the life that had existed there when I was little.

"Hey, check this out," Gloria said suddenly, pointing at a post from 2005. " This person posted about some huge picnic at the park, like a community fundraiser. The comments are full of people saying it was 'the best year yet.' That's it. There's nothing after that. Just... silence."

I leaned closer. "Weird. It's like they all just disappeared after that."

"Yeah," Gloria said, squinting at the screen.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "I don't get it. If the community was this important to us, why isn't there more about it? There should be some kind of record. Some trace. But it's like they erased it all."

Finally, she closed her phone with a soft thud. "Okay, I've had enough of this. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack."

Gloria wasn't giving up that easily, though. She looked over at me, her expression softening. "I mean, hey, we learned something. At least we know this community's basically... a memory now. But the bigger question is, why?"

"I don't know," I said, leaning back in my chair. "Maybe we're looking in the wrong place."

Gloria gave me one of her pointed looks — the kind that said she was about to throw out an idea I couldn't refuse.

"What if we ask your family?" she said, like it was the most logical next step.

I blinked. "Ask my family?"

"Yeah. You know, your mom, your aunts, whoever." She shrugged, leaning back in her chair. "They lived in the Baltimore community too, right? They'd know something."

I paused for a second, considering it. "You know what? You're right."

Gloria's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, really? No argument? No 'Gloria, that's insane'?"

"Nope," I said, surprising myself with how steady I sounded. "It makes sense. They were all there. Someone's got to remember something."

She narrowed her eyes at me, skeptical. "You don't think your mom's gonna freak out? I mean, if she's weird about that time—"

"I'm not starting with my mom," I cut her off, shaking my head. "She's... not my first choice. I'll start with someone else. My aunt, maybe. She's more likely to talk, and she was around back then too."

Gloria gave a satisfied nod. "Good call. Your mom doesn't even have to know we're poking around, at least not yet."

"Exactly," I said, feeling a small spark of determination. "If my aunt remembers anything, it'll give us a starting point. Then we'll see where it goes from there."

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere," Gloria said, grinning. "Look at you, ready to play detective."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips. "Don't get too excited. This might still lead to nothing."

"Or," Gloria countered, "it could lead to something huge."

I nodded, trying not to let my nerves show. The idea of digging into my family's past still felt a little surreal, but I knew it was the right move. If anyone could help unravel this whole Baltimore mystery, it was my family.

"Well, I guess I'm calling my aunt tomorrow," I said, standing up and stretching.

Gloria clapped her hands together like a coach hyping up their team. "Now that's the energy I like to hear."

"Don't get used to it," I teased, grabbing my empty coffee mug and heading to the kitchen. "But yeah... I'm ready. Let's see what we find."

For the first time in days, I felt like I had a direction. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Gloria grabbed her coat and threw it on dramatically as she walked toward the door. "Alright, boss, keep me posted."

She gave me a wink as she opened the door. "I'll keep my phone on me, so text me if anything comes up. And don't chicken out!"

I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling as I waved her off. "Drive safe. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

When the door shut behind her, the apartment felt unusually quiet. I stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where Gloria had been, letting her words sink in.