I looked at her hand and couldn't help but sneer. She had the audacity to keep wearing the wedding band. Her face met mine and my smile slowly widened.
Valentina, Valentina... A slow death awaits you.
The session was over. Mario and Lorenzo were led out of the courtroom, but I was surprised when Alessandro Lombardi announced that Senator Jones and my dear wife, the Assistant District Attorney, had requested to meet with me in private.
I accepted.
We entered a small room that looked like an office. There was no sign of Valentina's superior, District Attorney Salli Moore, which could not bode well. I then looked at the women in frontof me, my gaze clouded by hatred. Valentina was standing across the desk, to the senator’s right.
If I weren't escorted by guards and handcuffed, I would rip every piece of flesh from her pretty face.
“Mr. Camillo Vicari, thank you for agreeing to this brief conversation.” I didn't respond, fixing my gaze on the politician's lethal blue eyes. "As you are probably aware, my mission is to put a stop to all criminal activity. I believe in American justice above all else. Valentina has shared my vision since she took office and allowed me to closely monitor the investigation that dismantled your family's illicit business." I smiled without showing a single tooth. A deep, slow smile, and my gaze rose to Valentina's face. “No one is to blame for the environment in which they were born, and it is clear that you were a victim of your circumstances.”Victim?"Your wife always believed in you, and the lack of evidence of any involvement on your part in your family's business is clear proof of your character. Therefore, Mr. Vicari, honor your wife's efforts. Choose the right side of history and give us names. Tell us where to look, who to look for, and you could avoid a year behind bars."
Alessandro Lombardi scrutinized me, but said nothing. His famiglia was part of the Cosa Nostra in New York, so it wasn't hard to imagine what he thought of that and what he feared I might do. If I opened my mouth, a lot of people would fall. Including me.
I laughed, leaving the women wide-eyed and making the police behind me shift uneasily. Then, compiled whatAlessandro Lombardi had told me about the senator before speaking.
“Is it worth it?” I asked maliciously. “I mean, is it worth being the good guy? The hero of the people?”
The blonde straightened her shoulders, disgusting pride overflowing from her facial expressions. “It's always worth doing the right thing, Mr. Vicari.”
I laughed again, clicking my tongue.
“Maybe. However, it won't bring your son back, will it, Senator Jones?” The pride drained from the senator in a fraction of a second. Horror and hatred filled her eyes as she stared at me. “So, unless you discover a miraculous solution to resurrect the dead, I'll have to decline your offer. Although, I must say, even if I accepted, I would have nothing to tell you. I don't know anyone.”
“Camillo, please—”
“I want a divorce.” I cut Valentina off without hesitation, looking forward to the prison cell that awaited me. I turned to Alessandro Lombardi, who was clearly fighting a smile. “Signor Lombardi, can you take care of the paperwork for me?”
“With pleasure.”
Chapter 11
Camillo Vicari
January, 2017
32 years old
Jackson, Mississippi, USA
Eight years ago
Alight rain darkened the night just enough to keep me unnoticed as I sat in my car. I waited until the house lights went out, then slipped on my leather gloves. In early December 2016, Camillo Vicari had officially returned to Italy. His passport, tickets, and even airport surveillance recordings could confirm it. A performance well-orchestrated with a helping hand from the New York families.
There was something Valentina would never understand. In what she described as themafia, as criminals, as bad people, friendships were honored even when one of the friends passed away.
Putting on my black hood, I prepared myself for the moment. The job could have been outsourced. I'm sure the famiglia's connections would have even offered the service. However, I was a keen believer that when you wanted something done right, it was best to do it yourself.
I got out of the car and had no trouble breaking into the house. Valentina still believed that the love I once had for her incapacitated me, so much so that she hadn't even bothered to move house or change the lock code. I lingered as I walked through the place, realizing that almost everything was still the same even after our divorce.
I savored the moment.
During the year I was in prison, she visited me constantly. Telling me how much she loved me, how she never wanted to kill anyone, that all she had done was an attempt to get me out of the organization. She even recalled how she protected me by leaving out parts of the evidence she gathered. And insisted that I should reconsider our separation, that there was a future for us.
For one of us, without a doubt.
I stopped in front of the office where I uncovered the truth, entering through the open door. She had turned it into a nursery. Another reason Valentina tried to use to dissuade me. She found out she was expecting my child shortly after the sentence, and I must confess, my heart tightened and wavered, but I quickly came to my senses, because every time I looked in the mirror, I saw my mother's eyes and remembered her warnings and her love.
