“Yes, sir.” He nodded, moving to open the door.
“Everyone out,” I said once I was inside the dining room where both my uncles were sitting across from Fiorello, who seemed to be really enjoying his cup of coffee. “Mr. Orsini and I will be speaking privately.”
Once they left, he looked to me and grinned. “So you’re the bastard that knocked up my granddaughter.”
“I know who my father is thank you,” I said as I walked to my seat at the head of the table. “Just like I know you aren’t the one who killed Ivy.”
Because I killed Ivy.
Chapter 1
“Now this is not the end
It is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
* * *
~Winston Churchill
CALLIOPE - AGE 7
Chicago, Illinois
July 28th
Everything sparkled.
It was like the movies.
“Your coat, Miss?” the butler asked me with a smile. I took it off, giving it to him. “Thank you, Miss.”
Another butler, who was tall and stood proudly but didn’t smile looked us all over. “I’m Mr. O’Phelan, please follow me.”
I walked on the left of my sisters, they were arguing about something stupid again. I wanted to tell them to shut up, but Daddy told me not act up or else I wouldn’t ever be allowed to come to a party again. The hallway we walked down was made of all marble, the floors were so shiny I could see my face in them. But I really liked all the art on the walls. It was like a museum.
I wanted to stay and look more because it was so pretty, but we got to the backyard and it was so big. The green grass went on so far, I couldn’t even see a fence. They even had lights and balloons on the trees all the way in the back. There were so many kids, some of them trying to go up the rock-climbing wall, and others played in the water park.
“Calliope. Calliope?”
“Huh?” I looked to my mom and she pointed to the side of me. “Go put your gifts down.”
I looked over, but I couldn’t see the table. There were so many presents, it looked like they ate the table and were becoming a mountain. I looked down at the two small boxes in my hand. I walked over and a man dressed in black appeared in front of me.
“Gifts?” he asked, looking to my hands.
I nodded and lifted them to him. He took them from my hands and I turned to walk away but before I did another man waved a wand over the packages. One of them snickered and then bent down, and I saw a gun on his hip as he just dropped them on the grass. When he looked back to me, I looked away quickly, running back to my mom.
Everything was so…rich, even the people. All the moms were covered in jewels and the dads had their best clothes on. I looked at them and then my parents. They looked nice too, they had their best clothes on too…but it was
n’t the same. They didn’t look the same. Why? And why was no one coming to talk to them? I thought people knew us. Right? I watched my parents and they only spoke to each other. They smiled and laughed together; seeing them made me smile.
They don’t have that. I grinned, looking over at the other parents. None of them looked as happy as my parents. How sad. They sparkled but they didn’t have love, so it was all right.
“Mommy,” I tugged on her dress softly.
“What?—”