“What’re you talking about? What poison?”
“You won’t find it or mention of it anywhere. The closest you’d probably come is the Magun charm, but if you know anyone in East Africa, they can maybe tell you more.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I’m saying that you killed your husband, and you’re going to be in jail for the rest of your life. And once I release this to the media, your life, even behind bars, will be worthless.”
I got up and left with her screaming after me in a mix of Sicilian and broken English. On the way back to the car, I called the nun on the phone I’d sent her months ago. “Since you protected my grandfather, I am giving you a heads up; the story is about to break, your voice may be recognized by some; run” I hung up.
I got to work on the last phase of my plot against Carlo, Michele, and Bruno. Although I’d sent the evidence to Carlo, he hadn’t made a move. I guess he was waiting for something more concrete. I’d already sent the two lovers’ messages to meet at their favorite spot, other than Michele and Carlo’s marriage bed. They should be there by now since the messages had been sent as if from one to the other. Now to give Carlo a heads up.
I needed a break after the morning and afternoon’s happenings; now, I’m just biding my time, waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. And so I’m lying here wondering what the rest of the day would bring. I hadn’t seen Sal all afternoon since he'd been locked away behind closed doors with his business lawyers. I’d only had to listen in to the very beginning of their meeting to learn that things were going just as I desired.
Soon it was time to head down to dinner, something I was not looking forward to. Martin was there, having arrived sometime during the day, I guess. We greeted each other, and I took my usual seat. “Why don’t you sit there?” He pointed to the seat next to his, Alonzo’s seat. But it was his tone more than the words that told me what kind of mood he was in.
“What are you trying to say?”
“It’s going to be yours soon, isn’t it, this seat? Papa has finally found the right Ricci for the job.” I didn’t bother answering since I didn’t know where he was going with this. There was no malice in his voice, no venom that I could detect, but you never know with this King Lear bunch.
He sipped on his wine while studying me over the glass while I pretended not to notice. If good old uncle Martin tried anything, I could snap his neck before he even saw me move, so I wasn’t bothered. I had no defenses for what he said next, though, as it was totally unexpected.
“So, do you think your sister deserves to die?”
“What?”
“She’s also Alonzo’s daughter; should she not be unworthy of love like you?”
“What’re you getting at?”
“You hate yourself so much because of what you came from, so I’m asking. Should Natalia also hate herself? Should she blame herself for what her father did?”
“She isn’t planning to kill him; there’s a difference.” What was the point of hiding shit when it seemed like he knew it all?
“You wanna bet?”
“How do you know what I plan to do?”
“I was contacted by someone on the computer. He told me some things that made sense. It wasn’t a hard sell, I suspected since the first night we met after you told me who your mother was. Papa still believes that it was a coincidence that you met, and I would’ve continued believing it too if not for the messages.”
“You do not have to be afraid of me knowing. Your friend already made it very clear that if anything should happen to you here, my family, starting with myself, will not survive.”
Who is it? The hacker? Pop? What the hell is going on?
“And you believe him?”
“Oh yes, he’s very persuasive.”
“Where’s Alonzo?” A sudden thought hit me.
“That I do not know. I just know that he’s somewhere where you can’t find him.”
I left the table not long after that and without telling him anything more. I was pissed beyond measure, so instead of waiting for the hacker to find me, I went searching for him. I’d deduced that it wasn’t Pop; he would’ve told me if he was planning on taking Ricci. It took me less than five minutes, but it wasn’t so much that I found him, but more that he was waiting for me.
Before I could say anything, he started typing, and I was surprised into silence for the second time that night. “I’ve found Gia!” I read the words twice while feeling like something had wrapped itself around my chest. “What did you say?”