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“You can hardly blame your parents for securing their daughter’s—”
“Whose side are you on?”
I sighed. He really was upset by this. “Yours, like always. Which is why I’m glad your sister’s ambition was what made her almost coup seem so believable. She needs her own crown, her own place of power or else your life will be very difficult because I sure as hell will not tolerate her bullshit as you do. Nor would she tolerate me besting her. You want me to care about your family? I will try. The only way that is remotely possible, the only way I don’t kill her is if I can treat her as an equal. The only way she can be my equal is if she isn’t in Chicago. Who knows, if she becomes the supreme princess maybe we could be friends. Unless you want to see me destroy her in a war she wouldn’t be able to help but start if she remained here. I already have one named bullet, should I make another?”
“Donatella is stronger—”
“Than most women but I am not most women and you know that. Do not try to dodge the comments by trying to make me upset over your sister. I know what she’s capable of…and it’s still child’s play to me. Hopefully real power and responsibility will make her grow up a bit.”
“Are you sure you both are the same age?”
“Let her go, baby. For her sake, your sake, and mine.”
Silence.
So I was silent and returned to my cleaning.
“My greed…I don’t know when it became so bad.” He chuckled to himself. “I want everything, Calliope. It’s not just a joke. I want to be king of the damn world. I want things that contradict each other. This greed, this thirst for more, for power…”
“We are free to be greedy, Ethan, so long as we are not blinded by that greed.” I leaned back on my chair. Who didn’t want to be all powerful? “I know…because I’m exactly the same as you. Which is why I’m glad she’s going. The last thing I want to do is hurt the people you care about, but my greed…I’ve held it back for years. I’ve swallowed my pride, I’ve allowed you to indulge, I’ve dedicated my life to your greed, and I did so because one day I’d demand half of everything. That day is here and I’m not letting your sister, or anyone else for that matter, get in my way. Play the big brother role, threaten him a little, maybe even knock him around while he’s still pretending not to be a prince, do
what you must. And then say goodbye. You gave me a deadline and I plan on meeting it.”
“As you wish,” he said and hung up.
Taking off the ear bud and placing it on the table, I ran my thumb over the 3 letters engraved on the silver bullet. IVY.
Monday, September 29th
Chicago, Illinois
There was an ache that coursed throughout my body. I didn’t hurt me. It didn’t make me feel ill. It was odd. I’d never felt anything like it before. But I couldn’t stop it. I had to concentrate even more than normal because my hands were shaking. I could feel my heart, it was going wild within my chest, and everything was so clear. I felt as if I were in one of those scenes in the movies where everything slowed down, like I had somehow stepped out of reality and was going beyond it. I could see everything: every bird, every rustle of the leaves, each and every strand of her blonde hair as she spun, cheerfully speaking to Wyatt on the runway.
“Now.” His voice was like lightning to my soul and without hesitation I fired. Her head jerked back and her body fell to the ground like a marionette without its strings. It was quick and it was beautiful. It was so good it needed Italian opera music in the background.
“You’re up, boss.” I said and through the scope I saw him give his best performance yet. In another life he could have been a world-famous actor.
Looking over, I watched as the man I’d hired to kill her escaped from the roof a few hundred feet in front of me. The bullet I used was light and shattered after impact. No one would be able to guess the true trajectory of it. Anyone who looked would think it was him.
I’ll kill him later.
I got up from the floor of my hotel suite. Closing the balcony door, I walked over to the table beside the couch and picked up the bottle of wine, pouring myself a glass and taking a seat.
I looked at my hand again, seeing it shake. I squeezed it shut before I drank. I tried to relax but I couldn’t help it. That ache came back and this time it came with tears, but I wasn’t sad. In fact, before I knew it, I was laughing. I laughed and laughed until my side hurt and I had to put my hand on my chest.
It was only after my emotions passed that I realized…I was happy. I was happy and excited and finally, fucking finally, able to say I won.
Nineteen years, almost five of which were shrouded in secrecy while I watched him with two different weak, insipid women, and a daughter later…I was finally Mrs. Callahan.
Chicago was mine.
The Callahan name was mine.
Ethan was mine now for the world to see.
I won.
“Veni, vidi, vici.” (I came; I saw; I conquered)
