Sixty-Four

Hatred bubbled inside Melina, and she wanted to wipe that smugness out of his nasty face, but she couldn’t give in to her wish since he would squash her like an insect, but she could make him talk and see how deep he was involved in the chaos of her life. Something in her soul told Melina whatever he was about to tell her it would be excruciating to hear, so she breathed and braced herself for his confession.

“Franco was supposed to land the left district of New York to me, but because of the success of your kidnapping under Hank’s command, he was the one getting what the boss had promised me. I had always been loyal to Franco, did everything he asked of me, but Hank was his son’s best friend, even though Matt was a wimp, always worried about his stupid sister, but in the end the boss got rid of both of them, only keeping the smart sister.” Tadeo laughed as if the entire tragedy amused him. It probably did.

“I don’t get how you kept tabs on me all this time?” Melina asked, frowning and massaging her neck. It felt stiff, and a headache was threatening to make its way to her, but she needed to keep her cool, and not fall hostage to the situation. She needed a rational mind to determine her next steps.

“Simple, after your kidnapping. Hank started following you around and paid people to monitor you, since he was afraid Franco could put his hands on you again, if your old man decided not to help with the shipment of gems anymore. My mother died, and I’d end up with the burden of having a useless sister on my back.” He stared at Gabriella with disgust, and the blood flushed out of her face. “I had to put her to good use in my favor. So I shipped her off to college, and with a help here and there you two finally met. With that out of my way, I just needed to call her once in a while like a good brother and extract from her the info I needed. Besides, I cloned her cellphone. How did you think I always got your number and sent you those messages, even though Hank tried to change it weeks ago?”

“You bastard! I hate you! I hate you!” Gabriella flung herself at Tadeo, punching the soul out of him. His only reaction was to grab her by the hair and throw her against the wall, knocking the air out of her. She slid to the floor with a muffled thud, sobbing hard.

“Don’t move!” Tadeo growled at Melina when she tried to go to her, but she didn’t care. She swung out of bed to the floor, to cradle Gabriella in her arms.

Her heart was in shreds for her friend. Gabs was a wonderful person, never left her side all these years, helping with Eve and nursing both of them back to health. She didn’t deserve this treatment from her brother, but if Melina thought about it, she also didn’t deserve all the shit she had been through. Maybe that was how life around a mob worked. The good people who belonged to the mobsters’ families also got the short end of the shit.

“Your old man was a stubborn son of a bitch! Every time giving me a hard time to sign those damn shipment papers, but once I mentioned his little princess would get hurt, he quieted down and made my life easier until the day Hank walked into Franco’s office with a confident smirk, telling the boss it was the last time old Karagianis signed anything, and if something happened to you, every cop in the state would know who he was. And he presented him with a flash drive with all the info on the business his damn brother had hacked.”

Although the situation didn’t call for it, Melina couldn’t help but smile. It seemed Henry was ahead of them in their game, but it saddened her that father had always spared her from all this. She should have known, so she wouldn’t be so oblivious to all the crap going around her family. They were messing with her life, and she had the right to take part in their decisions, mostly her father’s. Melina wouldn’t be able to do anything about it, but she wouldn’t have lived in a bubble and hurt the very man who protected her all this time.

“I wish I was there to see your shitty faces!” She felt bold enough to talk back to him, fixing her eyes on his cold ones. Gabriela had calmed down in her arms, and she helped her to sit them back on the bed.

“Yeah, it would be fun if you had been there. You wouldn’t be sporting this winning grin. Did you see Hank’s back?” Tadeo’s eyes sparkled. Something dark passed through them, as satisfaction crept on him. He opened a wide smile before he said, “My work of art. It was a pleasure to burn him over, and over, and over and hear his agonizing screams throughout the warehouse. That’s what he got to turn on his boss, for a puny woman like you.”

“You’re a monster!” Melina yelled at him, and he slapped hard on her right cheek. Her head moved to the side as her hair flew all around. Pain burnt her skin as tears pricked in the back of her eyes. “MONSTER!” she screamed full lungs, rendering another slap from him. Then he bunched her hair in his hand, pulling hard at it, tipping her head to him. Melina whimpered in pain.

“Do you know what else, kitty kat?” He brought his mouth closer to her ear, smelling her perfume and Melina gagged. “Is that how he calls you, kitty kat? When Hank went to see your old man and opened his heart to him, getting his blessings, it was my chance to get rid of your lover boy.” Evilness dripped from his tone, as he whispered to her, then nibbled on her earlobe, making Melina’s face cringe.

Her father knew Henry? It was the only question hammering in her brain, and Melina wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around her anymore. They knew each other and were together in all this. Just how much more would she discover about all this crap! She never owned the reins of her life. Everybody took her as the naïve, fragile daughter of the renowned jeweler. The stupid girl who knew nothing about her parents’ business. Melina felt the world caving on her. Tears streamed down her face unchecked at the realization her entire life was a lie. Melina was so engrossed in her thoughts she didn’t even see Gabriella hitting her brother.

“Stop it, Tadeo! You’ve made your point. Let go of her!” Gabriella cried, pushing at him and trying to make him get away from them, but he didn’t even budge. Laughing and mocking them. How did he make a fool of her all this time and she never once realised what a sleazeball she had for a brother? Gabriella could see he was having a great time verbally torturing them, upgrading to physical. Tadeo punched Gabriella so hard, knocking her out of bed to the ground. “You son of a bitch!”

Gabriella’s brain flipped. She jumped back on him, but he didn’t give her the chance of anything. Tadeo let go of Melina, grabbing Gabriella from his back and throwing her against the wall as if she was a weightless rag-doll. She fell to the floor, out cold and in an awkward position, extracting a squeak from Melina. Did he kill his sister? Tadeo turned to her. She had a horrified expression, and he had murder written all over him. Melina dragged herself closer to the bedpost, making herself as small as she could, but he was already on top of her, and she had to muffle a scream.

“She’ll sleep for a while.” He grinned at her and the image of a Cheshire cat came to her mind. “Where are your claws now, kitty kat? But my plan to get rid of your lover boy back then backfired. He was always a step ahead of us, and he had someone on the lookout.”

“Maybe he always got the best of the deal because of his intelligence.” Melina trembled from head to toe. Her stomach churned in violent waves, and she felt sick, but she didn’t care anymore. Tadeo grabbed her by the hair again, forcing her to face him. He was so close to her, she could see all the thin scars marking his brute face.

“But as I was saying, I enjoyed killing your parents. Surprised? Messing with Hank's life was my preferred pastime. You were so stupid, you always fell for the shit I sent you.” He chuckled and the sound of it got into her bones. “Your mommy begged so much for their lives it was funny to watch!”

The psychopath threw the bomb without a stitch of remorse, paying attention to her reaction to the news. Melina’s throat clogged, and her heart stopped beating. When her pupils dilated, and fresh tears flooded her eyes. She couldn’t understand how someone could be so evil. His grin got wider, and Melina’s only reaction was to spit a mouth full on his face. Next second, her entire world fell into darkness.