CARLOS“If there's anything we should be doing, Nonna,” I got on my feet. “It's thanking Seraphina for risking her life to be in a room with the most dangerous Sam Giancana just so she could get that recording. And can you stop crying?” The older woman wiped her eyes. “Thank you, my child. Thank you.” Finally, she said the right words to Seraphina who was scared of meeting her from the onset of this meeting. “Thank you, ma'am. It's nothing.” “I'll be right back—” I walked towards the stairs with the bag that had guns in it. Then I stopped in my tracks and turned around to look at Vito who was relaxed on the couch. “Come with me, Vito.” After a short while, we stood in the space of a room. “I'm sure this is a better place—” I gave the man the bag and walked to a corner of the room. “Bring that for me—” I ordered and the man walked closer, handing the bag to me. “Thank you.” I opened a small place where I used to hide my stuff when I visited Nonna—long ago when I was younger. “Thi
SERAPHINA I woke up from my sleep with a slight headache. One that made me want to puke. Sitting up on the bed, I looked around the room while trying so hard to recall where I was. Then, I noticed I was in my room—a place that shouldn't align with where I was supposed to be. Shouldn't I be with Carlos? In his car or something. A sigh ran out of my mouth as I picked up my phone from the bed so that I could look at the time. There and then, I saw a message from Carlos who announced a meal waiting downstairs in my dining space. He brought me home. It dawned on me. A smile from nowhere came on my countenance. The smile faded moments later when I noticed the time on the screen. It was another morning. I slept from yesterday afternoon up till now. How was that even possible? There was no strength left in me to react, and I was standing up and walking to the closet so that I could grab my towel before bathing. Did I need to make it to work? It was my shop and I had the right to n
CARLOS“Welcome to my home.” “Thank you, Mr. Carlos—” the man greeted and took a seat on one of the couches. What do I do next? “What do I offer you?” “Water, please.” He begged and I relaxed on the couch as well. “Water is enough.” “Jenny?” “Yes, sir.” Jenny opened the kitchen door and walked out. “Mr. Carlos. You called me.” “Yes, Jenny. Serve my guest a bottle of chilled water. The weather is not good for the ordinary or would you like the ordinary, Mr. Matthew?” “No, Jenny. Chilled please.” When Jenny was gone, I looked at the watch I was wearing on my wrist and then heaved a sigh. “I'm so sorry for the delay. I'm waiting for Vito. He was the one who reached out to you on my behalf. Thank you also, Mr. Matthew, for coming.” “No, don't say that. It's the least I could do.” The front door opened immediately. “Gentlemen,” Vito led his way in. “I'm so sorry for coming late.” He took a seat on a couch and let out. “I needed to fix something permanently before leaving my ho
CARLOSThe day had finally come. The day when a few out of the many bad eggs in the city will be arrested.The thought of it alone made me smile and I could not help but jump off the bed with so much excitement running around inside of me. “Vito?” I called when he picked up his call. “You're sure there's nothing we're forgetting, is it?” A smile pulled on my countenance and I led my way to the closet so that I could grab my towel. “Yes, Boss. Everything is in order.”“Good.” I ended the call since there was nothing else to say, and now I led my way to the bathroom door with the same smile that plastered on my countenance with hopes of not leaving soon. When I was done, I got ready for the show itself. My phone was beeping. I rushed to the screen to take a peep and there was a call from Seraphina who had been trying to reach me long before now. “Don't scare me like that again, Carlos.” “I'm sorry, baby. Good morning. I just got ready. Waiting for Vito to get here so we can leave
CARLOSThe way the man looked at me almost made me question if he was the one sent all the way from the station by Matthew who had not yet come. “Good morning, gentlemen.” “Good morning to you, too, mister.” He took out another tool and commanded. “Raise up your hands so the machine can do its job.” I did just that, waiting for the machine to make a noise, and just as I counted down from three, it stopped at one. “Take that out, Mr. Carlos. You must be Mr. Carlos and I'm not surprised because my boss warned me about you.” I took out the gun. When I turned to look at Vito, the same thing was happening to him. They took a gun out of his pocket and pushed him towards me. “He's free. Only his phone can go in with him. Those were the words of Mr. Frank. Let them pass.” The stubborn-looking man allowed me. We turned around to get the car but one stopped us on his way, leaving me to wonder when it became a crime to take my car with me into the compound. “You can't drive in.” “And why
SERAPHINA “Yes, I'll be the one in charge of serving drinks. My best friend here will assist me as well.”“You heard that right—” Frank said to Carlos who didn't stop looking at his best friend and secondhand man. “Do you have an issue with that, Carlos? Is there something you want to tell us?” “And why is that question directed at me?” Carlos walked away after this question. He then reached the diner table and looked at me once in a while, while serving himself a glass of water before settling into one of the chairs. “The party is about to start.” “No,” Nonna looked at Frank who made that statement. “I shifted it to three hours later, but I may have changed my mind already. Thank you so much for this beautiful cake, Frank—” Nonna winked at the worst human she would ever know. I could not help but think of Nonna as an actress. For a moment, I believed she would not do a perfect job like we imagined should be done. But this woman was doing more than a good job. More than one woul
CARLOS“Tada!” I laughed in victory. Another person who laughed was Vito who I knew waited so much for this day to come. “What's going on here?” That was Frank's voice. He was shocked and I could see that. In the same way, there should have been a shocked Isabella who had started shaking from the very moment. So she wasn't strong. I should have known. I knew, but was surprised. “You're saying you don't know what's going on?” A chuckle escaped my mouth. I looked at Isabella before facing them. “Why not tell me what you two were up to a while ago? No, for months. Why don't you want to start talking?” “I don't know what you're talking about—” Frank did not agree. He looked me in the eyes and told that lie that made me burst into laughter again. “I was only coming to save you from dying. Why would you think I was up to something?” “Oh, my bad, brother.” I got up so that I could face him well. And then, I recalled at that moment Nonna was in the same room as us. “Call me the maid,
SERAPHINA I shouted at the top of my voice. Not because I was held captive by Frank, but because a woman who should be but wasn't my best friend had been shot in her leg. Was I supposed to be mad at Carlos? No, I couldn't be. Why did Isabella try to run? I looked at the man who pointed a gun at Frank. But he could not shoot or make the mistake of shooting because I could be shot in the process. Either by Vito himself or the man holding me. “Ask your boy to drop his gun or I shoot your girl,” Frank ordered with a triumphant laugh running out of his mouth. “For a moment, I thought my own was done for. Well, I guess it isn't. Ask your stupid boy to drop his gun. Don't you value the life of this woman here? I thought you loved her.” “Vito—” Carlos looked at him. “Drop the gun.” “Boss—” “Drop the gun!” Without thinking twice or hesitating like before, Vito dropped the gun to the floor. He looked up to look at me, making a reassuring sign I had no choice but to nod. “I have droppe
CARLOSI looked at the entrance of the church. My wife was on her way, dressed in the wedding gown we've always wanted to see her in. A flower in her hand, and of course, Jenny behind. It was strange but the two had developed a bond I could not explain, a bond I approved of long ago. Their friendship was far better than the one Isabella thought she could offer to my woman. “She's so beautiful.” Someone whispered. He was behind me. He was none other than Vito who said these words. “Lucky man that you are.” The people who came for the event were on their feet, singing as the woman I love caught up with me, the smile on her countenance unfading. “You look responsible.” I chuckled. “You leave me with no choice, Seraphina. I must look like a responsible man whenever you're involved. Don't you think so?” A smile was on my face and I took her hand. “How are you feeling?” I looked at my legs. They were strong. I was a strong man and gunshots could not have anything on me. Not once or
CARLOS“You'll get your ass down here if you know what's good for you, flyboy.” A voice I recognized sounded in my eyes, from the phone. The call ended and I jumped on my feet. It all made sense now. It made sense now why Sera shouted and I didn't hear from her any longer. It was an hour ago and it felt like forever. I had tried so hard to reach out to the people living in the same house as her but I couldn't and I don't know why, even though I knew they were asleep. According to the words of Seraphina. What should I do? I was alone in the whole house. With the men who were watching over me. My legs led me down the stairs again and I looked around with a sigh, many sighs running out of my mouth. What do I do? I reached the living room entrance. It was almost late in the evening but this was a matter of life and death and I could not miss it for anything. I reached for my phone and dialed Vito. “Yes, boss?”“Come over to the house and be as fast as you can. I was talking to Ser
SERAPHINA It was a blast!Starting off from the wedding gown, down to the suit Carlos showed me at the end of the day. We were on our way home but stopped by a restaurant to get some food. There was no time to cook, maybe there were, as a matter of fact, there were more than enough meals in that fridge at home. And I didn't forget that Jenny cooked something this morning, long before now. “Is this necessary?” That was Jenny asking. She looked at me from where she was seated so that she could ask. “Maybe we should cook something when we're home. You know fully well that there's food in the fridge or have you forgotten so quickly?” How could I forget? Of all things, not what went on in my house. “I want everyone to eat something from a restaurant, is there something wrong with that?” As I opened the door and hopped down, Jonathan did the same. “You two can remain in the car. Myself and Jonathan can handle the purchase.” “Alright.” On their behalf, Nicholas announced. Myself and
SERAPHINA After several plans and arrangements, the wedding was in two weeks. But before then, myself and Carlos needed to go shop for the things we knew we needed on that big day. With Jenny on my side, and Vito on his, we were ready to go shop for my wedding gown as well as the suit we'd both agreed on. I woke up to the beeping sound of my phone. Sitting up, there was a call from Carlos who promised to call at this time in the morning. Without any hesitation, I picked up the call. “Good morning, boyfriend. How are you today?” “Boyfriend?” He laughed. “You're forgetting I put a ring on your finger. It's something no one would do, I mean, no Boyfriend. I'm fine, baby.” He laughed. It was genuine and I felt happy for him. A man like Carlos who was worse than ever, finding peace, all of a sudden. “How are you?” His next questions cut short my thoughts. I was on my feet, leading my way through to the closet so that I could grab my towel. “I'm fine. I believe I am. Are we getting re
CARLOSI didn't know what to expect. The look on her face told me she might reject me. Seraphina wasn't smiling. How could she smile? The woman was shocked and needed time. Time to process this. “Are you joking with me?” She cried. I stayed on my knees, unmoving. I cast her a stare and shook my head. “This is never going to be a joke and you know it.” I winked and now she smiled. Seraphina smiled! She looked at the whole room before facing me. “I love you, Carlos Gotti.” Now, that was it. I didn't expect her to say such to me. I no longer felt tense but relieved. “I love you, too, Seraphina. What do you think? Take my ring and become my wife, or take your time to think about this move I have made. I know I haven't been a perfect man for you. I know. Hiding my identity at some point, I recall it, but—” “But nothing, Carlos. I'll be your wife.” Nonna, Jenny, and the others with us in the room cheered. They laughed and clapped while I got on my feet so that the ring could be fi
SERAPHINA It was the weekend. The day went well and I was ready for what would come in the evening. Tonight. Myself and the men got back from work an hour ago. We were almost ready to leave, not really, but after our bath and a meal, of course. I had barely dropped my phone and bag on the bed when it beeped. There was a call from Carlos. Without any hesitation, I picked it up. “Yes? Good evening, Carlos. How are you doing?” “Good evening, baby.” The sound of that made me feel good. I didn't know why but I felt good. “Good evening,” I said again. I didn't know why and when but I was seated on the couch not so far from my bed in a short while. “How are you?” “Never been better,” Carlos said. I nodded, patient but impatient. There was a lot to do before the call would end. More than a lot. A sigh ran out of my mouth when I looked at the clock hanging on the wall. “I'm doing well, Sera. I wanted to know if I should expect you at the house soon. I know we talked about it this m
SERAPHINA It was a week after everything that happened. Life went back to normal. The fear of being hurt, according to the words of my enemies who were currently dining in jail, did not disturb me as before. Not any longer. This morning, I woke up on the right side of my bed. The smile on my countenance all morning could not be explained. And with this energy, I was getting ready to leave the house for work. My life did not remain the same. Not any longer. Not when the loneliness and boredom I used to feel didn't exist. Not with Nicholas and Jonathan by my side all the time. “Good morning, guys.” I walked into the living room and looked at both men. “Are you two ready? Or aren't you coming with me to work?” “We'll be ready in an hour.” “Perfect.” “Good morning, Seraphina.” They greeted me and I nodded, heading to the kitchen only to perceive the aroma of good food, a meal I didn't cook. “What's happening here?” I walked out of the kitchen at that same instant. “Do you two
CARLOSEveryone, including me, adjusted on our seats. This was the time we were waiting for. I wanted this to come and go. It had come, now was time for it to go and I could not wait. “They are guilty, all of them.” I heard Seraphina sigh loudly. She looked at me, and relaxed her back now on the chair. “They shall all serve jail terms. Since nobody was killed in the process, I'm saying the three of them will be sentenced to jail for thirty years. Sam Giancana will be sentenced to jail for forty years.” “Yes!” That was my voice. How could I not be happy with what I heard? A smile came on my countenance. I looked at Frank, then Sam before Isabella. Maybe this would not be happening to them. If not because of anything but because they joined Sam Giancana in trying to hurt me. Only Sam would have been in this shoe, but no, so what happens to the money? The many money they've made off him. “Court!” A young man got up. The meeting had come to an end. What was there to talk about?
SERAPHINA I sat in a large room where many others were gathered. So many thoughts ran around in my head and I didn't know what to do or even think. But whenever I looked to my left, there was more than a reason to smile. “Relax, okay?” Carlos would say. And I would relax. I would feel better and my nerves would be relaxed the next moment. After a long time of waiting for this day to come, it was the day of their final trial. A day when their fate gets to be decided by the court. I watched a door open. Then three people were pushed out like animals. There was Isabella, Frank, and Sam Giancana. It was as though they planned to look in my direction because until now, I didn't understand why and how they all knew I was seated there. The thoughts I had about being kidnapped or put in trouble came running into my head. I thought about what Isabella could do to me. “Welcome!” Someone's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see the clerk, and then the judge nodding. “