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My father wasn’t thrilled about Lorenzo’s indictment for the murder of his wife, especially when he could be easily linked back to our family. But at least he would never know who was responsible for bringing down our next mayor. In some ways, Sonny and I were traitors for helping Gia. No one would ever know we were involved. Gia had taken all the proper precautions to ensure she didn’t leave any fingerprints.
Ten days had passed after Gia mailed the package to the Philadelphia Inquirer before the police arrested Lorenzo for murder. He’d just been elected the Mayor of Philadelphia, the ink
barely dry before he was hauled off to jail. Every newspaper in the country covered the story of a local politician who had his wife murdered for the life insurance money. The judge made an example of him, handing down a substantial sentence that promised he would never leave jail alive.
It wasn’t the first time a man had stooped that low to make a quick buck, and it wouldn’t be the last. But today was the last day Lorenzo would ever see Gia. I promised Gia I would let her handle things her way, and I did. Except now that Lorenzo was inside, all bets were off. He deserved to suffer the way Gia’s mother had. And he would. I’d made sure of it.
Sonny waited in the car with Faith while I accompanied Gia into the prison to see her father. A former politician hanging out with gang members made me laugh on the inside. When we sat at the table for visitation, I wasn’t surprised to see his left eye was swollen, with small gashes marking his cheeks. The worst had yet to come.
I sat next to Gia across the table from Lorenzo, who looked as though he wanted to cry. He begged my father for protection on the inside, and I convinced the old man to let him rot. Lorenzo was of no use to him in jail, making him dispensable in my father’s eyes. I kept him alive for each year Gia had to suffer because of him and made sure each day was more unbearable than the last.
“Gia,” he managed to choke out, his eyes watery. “I’m surprised to see you.”
“This is the last time,” she informed him. “Please don’t contact me ever again. I can’t pretend like we have a relationship anymore. What you did to Mom is unforgivable. You’re dead to me. You might as well have died on the same day as her because as far as I’m concerned, you did.”
He reached his hand across the table, his fingers making contact with Gia’s hand. She recoiled from his touch. “Please, Gia. I’m a bad man, but I am still your dad.”
She couldn’t even look Lorenzo in the eyes. He made her sick to her stomach. We were only a few months away from our wedding. My mother helped Gia plan everything, and the old man paid the hefty price tag for the mansion in the suburbs Gia fell in love with a long time ago.
“Not anymore,” she muttered. “At least not to me.”
“If this is the last time, can I at least see Faith?”
“No,” I answered for her. “This is goodbye, Lorenzo. For good.”
His jaw clenched in anger. “I always knew you would ruin my daughter. Gia has always been too good for you and your low-life family.”
I leaned forward, digging my elbows into the table. “For a man who had a hit ordered on his wife, you have some nerve disrespecting my family and me. Gia’s better off without you in her life. Who knows what you would’ve done the next time you needed money.”
“I wouldn’t have needed it if not for your dad,” he shot back.
Ignoring his comment, I grabbed Gia by the arm and helped her up from the table. She looked over at her dad and shook her head, her top lip curled up in anger. “Have a nice life, Lorenzo.” Her voice lacked any emotion. “Whatever is left of it.”
Gia knew I would have her father tortured and mentally shattered until the day I decided he was allowed to die a slow and painful death. But she didn’t want to know about it. That was the deal.
“Gia,” Lorenzo called out, as we started to leave the room.
She angled her body to listen to his next words.
“I tried to be a good father. Even if I failed you in some ways, I’d like to think I did okay in others. I’m proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished.”
She gritted her teeth. “I wish I could say the same about you. You’re the biggest disappointment. The last person I expected was you. All along the clues were right there, under my nose. I will never forgive you for taking my mother from me. I can’t. No matter how many good things you did for me over the years, I can’t absolve you of your sins. I hope you rot in hell… where you belong.”
Gia ran out of the visitation room so fast I had to power walk after her to catch up. We left the prison hand-in-hand and met Sonny and Faith outside. Sonny was pushing Faith’s stroller across the parking lot as if he were in a race. His stupidity not only pulled a smile from Faith but Gia as well. He was the perfect choice for her godfather.
That day, Gia closed one door and never looked back. We only looked toward our future together and stopped living in the past.
Even if the sins of our past could one day catch up with us, we still had our happily ever after. Because we had each other.
Epilogue
Gia
Sitting behind my desk, I typed away at my computer on the latest contract I prepared for a huge construction project downtown. My company was in the running for the project. It had taken me months to convince our vendors I was not like my father. His conviction did some immediate damage to Carlini Construction. I did everything in my power to keep the company my father risked everything to hold onto.
Even though I hated him, the company was still part of me. I was the CEO, the one person everyone looked to when they needed confirmation they would still have their jobs at the end of the year. Most of the time, Angelo operated on the wrong side of the law. But I was determined to make Carlini Construction a legitimate company, one that didn’t have mobsters on their payroll.
They were the first people who got the boot, whether Angelo Sr. liked it or not. His happiness meant nothing to me. No more free rides for anyone. If they wanted a paycheck, I told Angelo Sr. they would have to work for one. A few of his men did, which shocked the hell out of me.
