Page 54 of Wretched Choices

We walk toward the back; I look behind me, not wanting to waste a second of the time she has.

“You went to the school with a boy called Richard Williams?”

“Ah, yes. Those were the times. Richard was a handsome guy. My friend Linda and I were head over heels for him, but he had only eyes for one girl. Kelly. They were so in love. Or at least we thought so. We could see church bells ringing for them. Until one day he disappeared, and she was left pregnant and all alone in this place. No one knew why.”

“Where can I find Kelly?”

“Oh, honey, she died soon after she gave birth, leaving that poor baby all alone, moving from foster home to foster home.”

“Where is the kid now?”

“Her name is Hope. Hope had a rough life. She ran from her last foster home. She will be eighteen in a few months. She hangs with other homeless kids down the street in an old factory.”

“So, Hope’s father is Richard Williams?”

“Yes. Everyone here says that Kelly died from a broken heart.” She looks over my shoulder. “Sorry, honey, but I need to go. Hope I could help you.”

“You did.”

And you don’t know how much.

I exit the diner and walk back to where Salvatore is parked. “We need to drive down the street to an old factory.”

Salvatore starts the car and drives down the street.

If what Darcy said is the truth, then there is a big story here that will keep me busy for a few weeks.

“What’s there?” Salvatore asks.

“It’s who is there. If I find who I’m searching for, I have a great story.”

A shadow of a smile crosses his face. “You love what you do, don’t you?”

“Yes. It brings me pleasure. To get pieces of a story and patch them together. And I aim only for truth, something that is important for others to know.”

“Why journalism? Why not law inforcement?”

“Too much corruption.”

“Why does that bother you?”

I look at him, trying to figure out if he’s mocking me somehow, yet the genuine look on his face tells me he really wants to know.

I lean back in my seat, exhaling.

“I lived my whole life in a lie. Don’t read that wrong. I knew who my father was, and that he was important. My sixteenth birthday was a show for his men and their wives. I heard and saw things that night that left me confused.” He says nothing, but I can see the clench of his jaw and how his knuckles turn white from the grip on the steering wheel. “The next day, I was informed that I would be married when I turned eighteen. Just a few months before my graduation. From that day until the day I ran away, I was groomed to be an obedient mafia wife. I saw them for who they really were.”

I didn’t even realize we had arrived. I take a look at the old factory in front of me. There is no way people can live there. I should go and look for the girl, but talking about my past and childhood always takes my mood down.

“What happened between your birthday and the day you ran away?” There is demand in his question.

“I was seventeen when Federico took me out on a first date. My mother dressed me up and put makeup on me to make me look older. He took me to places where he could show me off to people, people who knew who my father was, just to make a statement.” I can feel the burn of Salvatore’s gaze on my face. I turn and meet his eyes. “I never had a choice not to go with him.It was expected of me.” I shake my head and look through the car window. “Sometimes, he would have to deal with Carabinieri. He would use his name and mine, a connection to my father, to get what he wanted. He used our names for extortion, even if it meant to get a seat in a famous restaurant. I remember one time I asked him why he treats people like that. He just laughed and said, ‘Don’t ask stupid questions.’ It was one of our first dates, and that was when I started to pay attention to things happening around me, asking questions and finding the answers. I found out he killed a guy my age. I don’t even know what he did. He just took his gun and shot him between his eyes. While I was panicking and crying, Carabinieri came. I thought Carabinieri would arrest us, but he just gave a man a stack of money and we drove away. That was when I learned about corruption and how dirty people can be.” I turn to him. “You think you’re the monster? You haven’t seen what they did.”

His eyes darkened. “And you haven’t seen what I’m capable of.”

I lean in so we are just inches apart. “True, and it will be satisfying putting all the pieces together.” I pull away with my hand on the door. “I need to go inside. We can continue this heart-to-heart later.” I exit before he can say anything and walk toward the rusty door of the factory, looking around for the side entrance. If someone was inside, there was no way they would walk through that door every day.

Footsteps catch up with me, and I turn to Salvatore. “Where are you going?”

---