Page 81 of Bastard Prince
Personal notes, written in Caroline Anderson’s own hand, about how Silvio had sent someone after my father’s car that night, thinking it would be him driving Antonio to his tutoring session. How the man he’d hired—the same one he’d had chase me around Las Vegas in that black van—had run the car off the road, intentionally ramming the driver’s side door over and over, wanting to ensure the job was done.
My uncle had wanted to remove his brother from the position he thought was rightfully his, and instead, he’d ended the life of an innocent woman, stealing her from the family who loved her, the children who needed her.
“Your mother was a weak bitch who needed to be put down,” Silvio barked, his hands shaking as he spoke. “Gio was distracted by her. She was a liability to the Family. If it wasn’t that night, I’d have killed her some other time.”
My hatred raged inside me, but I wrestled it down once more.
This was not how tonight was going to play out.
“Speaking of liabilities, I spoke to the Commission earlier.”
Silvio scoffed. “You? Had a meeting with the Commission? Bullshit. They’d never speak to you.”
“Why? Because I’m a woman?”
“No, because you’re a mouthy cunt!”
“Hey!” Enzo cut in loudly, causing Silvio to jump back. “You watch your fuckin’ mouth, you fuck.” I smiled at his eloquence. “You’re not leaving here alive; we both know that. But I can make your last moments a fuck of a lot more painful if you don’t start treating my wife with some respect.”
Silvio eyed the gun in Enzo’s hand but said nothing.
“Anyway,” I sighed. “The Commission was very eager to hear what I had to say. Turns out, they were just as triggered by a male rat as they were a female. Go figure.” I shrugged. “However, regardless of all that, we were able to come to a satisfactory conclusion that, I believe, will be mutually beneficial for all parties involved. Right, darling?”
“Right,” Enzo said, his free hand resting on my shoulder.
It was true; the Commission had been pissed that they were so misled, not that any of them apologized for casting me out of the Organization, costing me my family, and basically wanting me dead.
No, they had simply looked at the evidence I had of Silvio’s betrayal, agreed that he had to go, and asked what I wanted in return.
My answer was simple: Enzo and I wanted out.
He and I had spent the weeks we recovered from our mutual beatings talking about what we wanted to do moving forward, and in the end, we both agreed. The Families in New York were rotten, their old-fashioned ideals and incestuous ties making them a disaster waiting to happen. There were new organizations moving in all the time, groups of young men and women, crews that weren’t afraid of change or compromise or even letting a woman have a seat at the table with a gun in her hand.
It wouldn't be long before the Mafia in New York found itself on the outside looking in when it came to crime and profit out east, and Enzo and I wanted to cut ties while we still had the chance.
We were ready to strike out on our own, our people prepared to bring Las Vegas organized crime into a new era, and frankly, I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.
The second thing I had asked for was for the Commission to allow me to confront Silvio myself. They knew he had to die, but I wanted to be the last person to look into his eyes and for him to know it was me who brought his whole house of cards tumbling down around him.
And sitting here tonight, at the table that no man would ever welcome me at, I had to admit that it felt pretty damn good.
“So that’s it, then? You’re here to kill me in revenge for your mommy not being there when you grew up?” Silvio tried to look unaffected, but the sweat running down his temples told a different story.
The man was scared shitless.
“Oh, I’m here for revenge, alright.” I held out my hand once more, and this time, Enzo handed me a gun. I smiled as Silvio’s eyes widened when he recognized it, because it was the very gun that he had handed my seventeen-year-old cousin when he sent her on a bus across the country to kill me. “But not just for myself.” Flipping open the cylinder, I checked again that there was only a single bullet loaded inside, then I closed it up and spun it, ensuring the next shot would be the one that mattered. Reaching into my top, I pulled out the silk handkerchief I had tucked in my bra earlier and began to wipe the weapon down, removing any evidence that Enzo or I had ever touched it. “I’m here for revenge for all of us. For all the people whose lives you ruined with your bullshit games.” I eyed Silvio as I spoke, watching as he silently counted down the seconds until his life ended. “I’m here for Rosa, who you sold into marriage like chattel, then held it over her head until she agreed to do your dirty work for you. I’m here for my mother, who never hurt a soul and still ended up dead, thanks to you.” I stood from my chair, slowly, relishing the fear on my uncle’s face as I did.
It was about time he recognized me for the danger I truly posed to him.
Too bad it was far too late for it to save him.
“I’m even here for Eric Morrison, who only ever wanted to do good in the world, and had his life altered and his career ended by your bullshit.”
I heard Enzo snort quietly at that one, but I kept on, knowing that Eric was safe from the wrath of the Commission thanks to my negotiations as well.
“But mostly, I’m here for my father, who is suffering every day for the rest of his life because you were a jealous, petty bitch who couldn’t take his losses like a fucking man.”
I was breathing hard when I finished, staring at the uncle who had destroyed so much with his actions, and for whom death was going to be far too light a punishment.
