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For some reason my mouth went dry and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Slowly my mind put together everything Emilio had done since he’d come to town. He hadn’t wanted Melody to die straight away because he wanted to torture her, by making the city unstable again, going after our children, promising the Italians protection—but he didn’t follow through. The night before we’d figured he didn’t think we would strike back at the Italians so soon or at the very least without being sure of who the traitors were…Melody had even suggested he couldn’t have enough men following him to protect them all…but what if he never meant to protect them? Maybe pushed them to turn away from Melody because he knew she would get vengeance.
But why kill the people that support you? The moment I thought it was the same moment the answer came to me. He didn’t want their fucking support; he wanted to destroy them.
“Orlando,” I whispered to myself.
“What?” the pig asked me.
I was about to turn away but asked, “Did Emilio ever talk about his father?”
The man flinched; I didn’t even think he realized he’d done it.
“What is it?”
“Nothing, just ease up on the father talk when you’re around him. He’s a good guy, but whatever his father did really effed him up.”
I nodded, leaving the flowers as I walked away, and reached into my jacket for my phone. That was it. He wasn’t trying to destroy Melody. The fucker was trying to get back at Orlando for whatever reason…and he had been planning this for a long fucking time.
He had created the drug Blphine to get in with the Chinese. He had used the Chinese to lift his profile and become mayor. To even be deemed fit to be mayor, he was already a lawyer. Once he’d become mayor, he’d used that platform to announce he was a Giovanni, knowing full well he’d get everyone’s attention. Bit by bit he was stepping closer and closer, all for the sake of destroying the two things Orlando had taken pride in: his people and his daughter.
TWENTY-THREE
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. A burn for a burn. A life for a life. That’s how all this got started. And that's how it's going to end.”
~ Jenny Han
MELODY
I rolled my shoulders back, taking a deep breath before stepping up to the podium of the state floor, the press once again like hounds on leashes, waiting to take a bite at me. All of them leaned in as I opened my mouth, as if the microphone in front me was only some sort of prop.
“It is with great sorrow that I stand here before you all once again, in the wake of the tragedy in Terni. Last night, unexpectedly, due to faulty, improperly installed furnaces, carbon monoxide seeped into over a dozen homes, killing the residents inside as they slept. The governor’s office, along with local police, is looking into this matter. As of now, it is known that these furnaces were installed by the now closed B&B Heat & Cooling. As governor, I’m requesting that all citizens within the state check their furnaces. If you find that yours came from this company, please leave your homes and call poison control.” Faulty furnaces? It wasn’t the best story, but it was possible and partially true. “I will now hand over any further questions to—”
“MURDER!” a woman yelled, gripping a photo of someone I could only assume was a late family member. The guards rushed up to her as she pointed at me. “You did this! You monster! You bitch! You killed them! I know it was you! YOU EVIL BITCH!” They begin to drag her out as she fought them, still screaming at me, saying in Italian, “May God have mercy on your soul, for I will have none!”
Who are you that I should ask for mercy? I wanted to ask her, and if it weren’t for the damn cameras, I would have. Instead, I smiled and waved. Those who bring hell upon themselves and then bitch about the pain have no excuse.
“There will be no further questions. Thank you.” Bruce, my secretary, was filling in for Mina since she had left with the kids.
“Was the governor’s office aware of the faulty furnaces?”
“Why did they fail now?”
“Governor Callahan, after all of the effort you’ve put into reshape this city, these recent events prove to be the worst of your career.”
“Will you still make a run for president?”
“Do the events of the last couple weeks once again put a cloud over Chicago?”
“Ladies and gentleman, we are in the wake of a tragedy, please show some restraint. As I said, no further questions.” Bruce calmly berated them; it was no secret he wanted Mina’s job, and though he knew he couldn’t have it, he still did his best to stand with his head tall.
Walking away from the podium, I headed out the side door, entering the hall.
“Fucking annoyance,” I hissed out when we stepped into the hall.
“This will pass. You’ve gotten through worse, ma’am. Everyone knows this city was on the brink of chaos befor
e you stepped in.” Bruce stepped in front of me, reaching into his ugly ass sweater vest for his phone. Ignoring him, I walked right past him and toward my office, my heels clicking against the marble floor. I couldn’t even think of them now; the most important thing was finding Emilio.
“Your husband, ma’am.” Bruce handed me the phone as I headed into my office
