Page 74 of Mafia Maiden


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I ignored the ache in my chest as I spoke. There was no use crying over a woman I didn’t even know. Maddy could give her her sympathy, but I never would.

“Why did you want to meet?” I asked. “And don’t say it’s because you wanted to get to know me because we both know that’s bullshit. You’ve known about me for years, you could have looked for me long before now.”

While I didn’t fault Maddy for the sins of our parents, I wasn’t naïve, and she wasn’t either. I suspected I knew why she was determined to see me, but I wanted to hear it from her.

“I needed to know if you planned to tell anyone that I was alive?”

Leo had been standing off to the side, and he moved closer. “Maddy—”

I held up my hand never taking my eyes off of my sister. She came here to ensure my silence.

“I need to know that you aren’t going to tell anyone what you know.”

“That you’re alive?”

Maddy nodded. “Among other things.” She looked over at Leo. “I know that you are hoping to become Pakhan, and this information could help you get there.”

I could sense Leo shifting around uncomfortably, but he remained quiet, and I appreciated that. Though for a moment, I wondered if I should let him talk. What would he say to her comment because in some ways there was truth in it.

Knowledge was power, and I was in possession of a great deal of knowledge that could help me.

“I can appreciate that ambition,” Maddy said. “But I am begging you to reconsider that if that is what you are thinking.”

I crossed my arms together and leaned back. “And why should I?” I asked. “I don’t know you, and I don’t owe you anything.”

“That’s true,” Maddy conceded. “But if you were to tell your father, he would kill Leo.”

I tried not to flinch at the thought. Leo had been there for me in a way that no one else but Natasha ever had.

“And I know you don’t know me, but I have a son.”

She pulled out a polaroid photo and slid it across the table. I made no move to take it, but I felt my eyes looking down. There was a photo of a little boy. He looked as though he were maybe four or five, and though I could see some resemblance to Maddy, one look told me that he was Andrea Blanchi’s son.

“His name is Matthew,” she said, a small smile on her face. “He’s amazing. His favorite thing to do is color, and he’s been begging me for a dog. He’s started to read, and all of his teachers tell me that he is very bright.” She laughed. “Not that I was ever worried about that.”

I said nothing. I kept looking at the smiling face of the little boy who was staring back at me. “What is the point of this?” I asked. “I don’t mean any harm to your son.”

“But you could harm him. You are holding his future in your hand. Because if you decide to tell your father that we are alive, it is only a matter of time until Andrea knows where we are, and if that were to happen, he would take Matthew.”

“He is Matthew’s father,” I reminded her. “Don’t you think that he should know him?”

Maddy’s face didn’t break from the mask that she was wearing. “No,” she said. “Andrea would want to groom Matthew to take over for him as enforcer. Matthew would never have a normal life. He would not be able to grow up safe and happy.” Maddy leaned forward, taking my hand in her own. “I’m a mother,” she reminded me, as though I would forget. “And I want nothing more than to protect my child. He deserves to grow up better than we did.”

I tensed and slid my hand out from under hers. “I grew up just fine.”

“Did you?” she asked. “Or did you have to beg for everything that you got? I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but I can tell you that my childhood was horrible. I feared that I was going to become a victim of circumstances outside of my control.”

For a moment, we just sat there looking at one another, and for the first time in my life, I really did not know what to say. Maddy slid the picture closer. “Here,” she said. “Keep it. After all, Matthew is your nephew.”

I made no move to take the photo, and Maddy released a sigh before she turned to look at Leo. “I can’t stay much longer.”

He nodded before walking over to grab an envelope that I did not notice before. He handed it to Maddy. “Here,” he said. “I put extra in there for you. Just in case.”

Maddy nodded. “Thank you.”

I watched their interaction. There was friendship there, but I didn’t sense anything romantic between the two of them. From what Leo told me, I suspected that part of the reason that he was so determined to help her was because of her son. He’d given up his own chance at freedom for her.

“It was nice to meet you, Katarina,” Maddy said. “I wish it could have been under better circumstances.”

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