Chapter 33: Thirty-Three

Henry squeezed his eyes shut, his body going rigid in place. A few mutterings left his mouth as he inhaled a lungful of air, preparing himself to face Melina. She wasn’t supposed to listen to that part of the conversation, or any other part, for the matter. But he got so happy having her with him, he let his guard down.

It wasn’t how he envisioned their morning to start. He had planned a nice and romantic breakfast while they sorted their lives. He didn’t count on Ella’s call, much less Melina eavesdropping on the conversation.

“I have a situation here, Baby Girl. I’ll call you later, take care.” He didn’t even let her say anything else, shutting the phone off and putting in the back pocket of his jeans.

Melina was by the kitchen door, staring at him, when he turned and faced her. She blushed scarlet, and a lot was going on in those chocolaty eyes. Embarrassment, remorse, and uncertainty. Everything he didn’t want to see in them anymore. But doubts were the worst. He strode to her, and she stepped back, averting her eyes.

“Who was your friend? What shouldn’t I know?” The bite of jealousy sounded unreal, even to her ears. She wanted to disappear, for showing weakness in front of him.

“You heard half of a conversation, Melina.” He held her chin between his fingers, forcing her to look at him. “Don’t jump to conclusions!”

Those pools of honey looked at her with so much fire in them, her mind wandered to the passionate moments they shared. A warm wave washed over her body and she knew she was red as a pepper by the burning on her face. She wanted to give him a chance, and he had told her he would clear everything with her, but that was how he would handle it? She wouldn’t tolerate half truths. They needed to find a common ground and if Henry would make a fool of her, she would be better gone.

“What I heard doesn’t leave much room for hasty conclusions. You said you won’t tell me.” Melina gritted out. “I’d better check on Eve.” It was a whisper, and she shied away from him.

“No Melina, you’re going nowhere. Your grandmother will cover for us so we can talk.” Henry pulled her to him, his arms closing around her in a tight embrace. “You came yesterday to give me a chance, but you’re running away at the first opportunity. Come, you need to eat.” Without giving her the chance to refuse, he pulled her to the table as both sat in front of each other.

The table held a bit of everything on it. Melina checked each item, but her eyes settled on the pancakes. How long has it been since the last time she ate them? It was an easy dish to prepare, but without maple syrup it was no fun. Her eyes sparkled at the sight of a bottle beside them. She raised her eyes and met two honey ones observing her, and she felt her cheeks burn. Why was she reacting this way, she wasn’t shy a few hours ago, so why now? Since she didn’t move, he served her the pancakes and squeezed a good amount of syrup on top of them. Then filled her mug with coffee.

“I wouldn’t mind feeding you as well.” She blushed harder and glared at him. “Are you going to say something, or will you give me the silent treatment?” His eyes didn’t leave her face, waiting for a gesture from her.

“Thank you for the pancakes.” The truth in her tone went straight to his heart. At least he got something right.

“I remembered you telling me it was your favorite breakfast. I wanted to surprise you.”

“You did. Thank you, Henry.” It shocked Melina of so many details he recalled about her from two months of conversation. “Who’s Claire?” She asked out of the blue, catching him by surprise. He almost choked on a bite of pancakes he had just put in his mouth. Coughing, he stared at her, and she busied herself pouring orange juice into a glass for him.

“How… how do you know about her?” He gulped down the entire content before meeting her inquisitive eyes.

“You said a lot of things while you were burning with fever. You called her lots of times and said she died along with your brother. So, if you want to make things right, I’m listening.”

Time has come. There were so many things he needed to tell her, he didn’t know where to even start. It was a conversation for days, not one breakfast. He needed to think about what he could tell Melina, but she didn’t need to know every sordid detail right at this moment. It was better to ease things out.

“Henry?” She called him. His mind was far away and maybe the silence stretched a bit.

“Sorry, there are so many things, I don’t even know where to start from.” He was being sincere, and she could see it. “How about you ask, I answer?” He smiled at her when she nodded.

“How did you get yourself messed up with the mafia?”

“Matt was my best friend in middle school. He was one of the best kids there, and helped me when the others picked on me. I didn’t know his father was the mobster that ruled Manhattan. One day I woke up and was already inside Franco’s cartel. Things just happened. I was fifteen.” A loud sigh resounded in the kitchen.

“Why did you decide to get out?”

“Because there were a lot of good people being hurt. Franco wanted power, and he didn’t care what he needed to do to get it. Matt had twin sisters, Chloe was evil as her father, but Claire was sweet and suffering in the hands of Franco. Besides, my brother Tom was also working for him and he was in love with Claire, but her heart belonged to another. It was then, Matt came to me with a plan for all of us to get out. Franco decided to expand his business to precious gemstones after he saw the priceless piece of jewelry around Claire’s neck on her wedding day.”

“And my father was a renowned jeweler in the city…” she mused, lowering her gaze. Sadness filling her soul.

“Yes. Franco wanted your father to smuggle precious gems into the country and also work on stolen pieces. Your father didn’t agree, but he also knew what could happen to him if he declined the offer. He was once a gangster himself.”

“His careless teenage daughter would make an easy target, right?” A humorless laughter came out of Melina’s lips as her hand flew to her mouth. Her voice shook when she stated, “It was then Charming happened… I’ve been so stupid.” Tears burnt in her eyes. She squeezed them shut, but warm trails made their way down her sorrowful face.

“Don’t talk about yourself like that. You’re far from stupid or careless, Melina. You were just a teen acting your age. They knew what they were doing, and like I said after spending those two months talking to you, I went along with it so you wouldn’t get hurt.” Henry reached for her hand over the table and pulled from her seat to his lap, kissing her face dry, and she relaxed in him. “It was also my turning point. I went to Matt and said I needed out. He wanted his sister safe. I wanted my brother safe and a chance on you.”

“It’s all my fault. If I had obeyed them…”

“Stop blaming yourself.” His tone came harsher than he intended, but she wasn’t getting the point. “None of this is your fault. If they didn’t get your father through you, they’d have found another way. Franco was ruthless, what he wanted, he got it, Melina.”

“Where is he now?”

Shit! He thought to himself. The conversation would come to that eventually, and there was no way around it. She was staring at him, waiting for an answer. He never thought what she could think of him, but on the other hand, if she thought he was the one executing her parents, she had an idea of what his job asked from him.

“I killed him about four years ago,” he said at once, forgetting even to breathe. When Melina stiffened in his arms, he cursed himself. “I’m not gonna lie to you. I’ve done a lot of bad things while under Franco’s orders, and I can be as dangerous as him, but with one difference, I don’t mess with good people.”

“What you don’t want to tell me? What about my parents?” She didn’t want to acknowledge he had so much blood on his hands. It didn’t matter if it was from other mobsters or bad people. She didn’t care and didn’t want to hear about it. Melina tried to get off his hold, only for him to tighten his arms around her even more.

“That day, Claire decided life was too much, and she jumped from her husband’s rooftop office building to her death.” He laced his finger with hers, looking for comfort, because just to remember it was painful enough.

“Jesus, Henry.” Melina gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. “What makes someone so hopeless to think this is the only way out?”

“You don’t know what that girl went through. But one day, she can tell you herself.” He smiled at Melina’s puzzled face, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“But… didn’t she die?”

“Tom and I were at the hospital, making everything possible for Claire to survive the fall. She was lucky to hit an awning, then fell into the garden area, but still it was a five-story building. It was then I got a message from my insider, telling me Franco’s men were moving onto your parents. I tried my best to get there as soon as possible.”

“But they were…” She trailed off, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

“Yes, but it was a setup. No one was moving onto them, and when I got there, they had been executed hours before. Someone wanted to frame me. Noises came from upstairs, but I didn’t have the time to check. I heard the sirens of the police farther down the street. I barely had time to get away from the house.” He stood up, leading her to the table and going to get her cell phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking the video again.” He was in silence for a few minutes, analysing what he was seeing. “Look at this, it’s the balustrade from the stairs, and the angle. The person was upstairs recording the entire scene while I was there.”

Henry’s cell phone buzzed, but he didn’t pay attention. His focus for now was to clear his life with Melina, make her understand his side in all this. The phone was insistent, and suspicion crept into her face.

“Are you not gonna get that?”

“It’s Darryl. I’ll call him back when we’re done with our conversation.”

“You were talking about Claire?”

“Tom and I came up with a plan, and we wiped all her data and gave her a new identity. Months later she woke up from the coma as Ella, and when she had no memories, everything worked for the best.”

Suddenly, Giagiá barged through the door, screaming for Melina with a desperate look on her wrinkly face, and followed by a man resembling one of those security guards. Melina’s blood went cold in her veins, and dread came over her, making her knees go weak. Only one thought in her mind. Evangeline.

“Boss, I was trying to reach you. Little Eve is nowhere to be found!”