The Alpha's Property

*** Salma ***

The strained silence echoes throughout the Suarez’s dining room. As I let go of Alejandro’s hand, I see the panic and confusion on his face, and I know it in my heart. He would never betray me, or us. He would never betray my father; it doesn’t make sense.

Alejandro would have benefitted from my father’s death regardless of whether we were together or not. Any scheming would have put the whole arrangement in jeopardy, and I don’t believe Alejandro, Raul, or Matteo would be stupid enough to throw that opportunity away.

“Who told you this, mami?” I ask as I keep my voice and expression as neutral as possible. I have my poker face on display, and no one will know what I am thinking until I deem it time for them to know.

“The coroner called me just now and told me. He said they found traces of ‘The Kiss of Goodbye’ in Jose’s blood work and that he never had a heart attack.” My mother is teary, my mother who has always been a tower of strength, annoyingly so at times. It breaks my heart to see her like this.

At once, all of the Suarez family start to pull out phones and attempt to contact people.

“Wait!” I yell. “I haven’t finished yet. Put your phones away. NOW. Mami, please sit down with me.” Everyone sheepishly puts their phones away and Alejandro vacates his seat so I may comfort my mother.

“Firstly, Penelope, can you tell me everything you know about ‘The Kiss of Goodbye’ poison, please? Secondly, Mami, what phone did the ‘coroner’ call you on, and Matteo can you trace that call, please? Raul, please tell me everything there is to know about our enemies, their knowledge of us and their usual tools of attack. Ale, baby, please can you massage my shoulders, I am really stressed here.” Seeing his smile, I know I have sufficiently reassured him.

“That’s my wife, ladies and gentlemen, and no one, absolutely no one can doubt her ability to lead.” I see their nods of agreement as Ale leans down and kisses me. “Come on, Chula, let's show them how it’s done.”

“Mami, I know you’re not feeling yourself and you are upset about papa, I am too. But you cannot come in here accusing our allies and family of betraying us. We need to follow papa’s lead and have faith in his decisions. Alejandro is my husband now; he is my whole world and I know he would never ever betray me.” When I look at my mother, she is a shadow of her former self and I see her hurt and confusion and how vulnerable she must feel now papa is gone.

“Who would benefit from the Morales and the Suarez families distrusting each other and falling out?” I ask Raul, who quickly outlines the other firms and mobs in the area. He tells me of existing feuds and simmering differences that could boil over.

“I have traced the call, Salma, and it did not come from the coroner’s office; it came from a burner phone that was tracked to the east district. That is where The Lombardo Family is located; however, we must consider that this could be another double bluff.” I nod to show my agreement and notice that Matteo’s chest swells with pride.

“Excellent, Matteo, that is exactly what I was thinking too. You know what to do, can I leave that with you and your team?” I see his excitement at the challenge.

“Yes, of course, Salma. Oh, I almost forgot, congratulations on your wedding and welcome to the family!” He winks at his brother as he says it and I see Ale’s pride at me being accepted.

“Ale, can you and your father debrief the teams while us girls talk shop, please.” The insinuation is clear, as always. Poison is a woman’s weapon and men always underestimate the usefulness of it. This is our business to sort out.

“Of course, mi amor, anything for you,” he replies.

I have been training my whole life for these moments, and marrying Alejandro just ensured that I will fulfil my destiny. He kisses me hard before he leaves and I thank my father again for his insight, for his good judgement and for most of all for his forward thinking.

“Firstly, mami, I think you owe Penelope an apology.” However, Penelope stops me.

“There is no need, Maria, I know you are hurting and feeling lost, I know I would feel the same if it was my Raul. But we need to stick together. Remember Jose’s lessons, remember what he told you about the rats trying to pull us apart from the inside. We have no reason to betray you. As Salma says, we are family now.”

My mother openly weeps as she nods to her friend. I rest my head against her shoulder as Penelope hugs us both.

“Now, ‘The Kiss of Goodbye’ is a poison I made with assistance from a scientist back in the 80’s. This would not show in blood tests for at least three weeks, it is a mix of organic and synthetic material making it almost undetectable and although the remedy is quite simple, most people die before they figure out what it is. Maria is right, it is my poison of choice because it is my poison, I made it. However, I never used it on Jose, but our enemies would love for us to turn on each other by leading you to believe that I did.”

I ask her for a list of ingredients and cause of death by this poison and she quickly writes the information down.

Alejandro and his father return, and he takes me to one side. “How are you holding up, Chula? Is your mami okay now?”

I shake my head. “Ale, when can we go back to your apartment? I need our little cocoon back,” I tell him as he holds me close to him.

“I cannot wait to get you all to myself again, but I think we should stay with your mother while she is so vulnerable.”

As much as I don’t want to, I know he is right. So much for us enjoying our honeymoon period; we are now officially cock-blocked by mi mami!