I’m Matteo. I grew up believing in our warm, loving family in Borgo San Vito—my dad, Clara and Mom, Lorenzo. But everything fell apart when Dad lost his job. Money vanished, arguments erupted, and our home turned quiet and tense. Then Mom’s affair came to light, Dad left, and our house became a battlefield of screaming and slammed doors.
One day, Mom said we were going to the sea. At the station she left me “just for ice cream”—and never came back. I ended up with Dad and Giulia, a kind woman who eventually became my real mother. With them, and my sister Sofia, I found trust, safety, and real family. Mom briefly reappeared years later, but I rejected her—choosing the people who raised me over a blood tie that had abandoned me.
Don’t abandon your children. You chose them—they deserve love, protection, and presence. I carry that lesson with me every day.