Page 67 of Malevolent Secrets

“Thank you,” I reply, I don’t know if he knows that Maria and I have a budding friendship and if that’s why he sent her here, or maybe I’m just reading too much into it.

“I appreciate the help.”

Maria enters the living room and takes a look around. “This is a lovely home,” she says, her voice filled with genuine admiration.

It is the first time anyone apart from Jeremy, Renee, and I have been inside it, and of course Lorenzo, but I’m taking great pride in the fact that she finds it lovely.

“Thank you! I lived here with my fiancé before…” I cut myself short before I say too much, but instead of looking at me with curiosity, she just smiles and gives my shoulder a squeeze.

Maria nods, understanding. “I’ve been there. Sometimes the places we live in hold more than just our belongings; they hold pieces of our hearts.”

She gives me a moment and then forces a cheery smile onto her face.

“Where do we start?”

We start in the living room, carefully wrapping each item in bubble wrap and placing it in a box. As I pack the cushions from the couch, I remember the countless nights Jeremy and I spent here, watching movies and laughing.

My fingers linger on the fabric, and I have to blink back tears.

As we move to the bedroom, the weight of the memories becomes almost unbearable. I open the closet and start packing Jeremy’s clothes.

Each shirt, each pair of pants, brings back a flood of memories. The shirt he wore on our first date, the suit he wore to a friend’s wedding.

I hold them close, letting the memories wash over me.

Maria continues packing quietly, giving me the space to grieve. After a while, she breaks the silence with a soft confession.

“Lorenzo told me to take good care of you,” she says. “He’s a complicated man, but he has a good heart. He saved my life, you know.”

I look at her, surprised. “He did?”

“Yes,” Maria says, her eyes distant as she recalls the past. “My husband was involved in some...questionable things. He betrayed Lorenzo, and when the truth came out, he knew it was only a matter of time before everything unraveled. Lorenzo could have punished me and my daughter for my husband’s actions, but instead, he saved us. He set us up with a new life, away from all the danger.”

Her words leave me even more confused about what kind of person Lorenzo really is.

On one hand, he’s a powerful, intimidating man with connections to dangerous people. On the other hand, he’s shown compassion and kindness, not just to me, but to others as well.

"Tell me more," I find myself saying, needing to understand the man who now holds so much power over my life.

Maria smiles softly. "I was married to one of his men. But you should know that before that marriage, I was born into this, the Visa Nostra life is the only family I've known. My husband was one of Lorenzo's dockmen. He was in charge of monitoring the loading and unloading of goods as they arrived, and it was a job he took great pride in. Lorenzo also paid him very well. But my husband was a greedy man.”

She pauses and folds some clothing to put them into a box.

I nod, urging her to continue.

"We weren’t yet married when he started working for Lorenzo, but I had very little say in the matter. Now, don’t look at me with such pity, I’ve had a good life.”

She smiles, and I smile back at her.

“When I found out about his involvement with the Duretti family, I was terrified. He assured me that we were safe, that Lorenzo valued loyalty above all else and would protect us as long as we remained faithful. But then he started skimming money, thinking he could outsmart Lorenzo. I know that he owed Lorenzo millions, but they would never tell me exactly what he did with the money."

Her voice falters and I can see the pain in her eyes.

"When Lorenzo found out, he was furious. My husband knew he was a dead man walking. I begged him to go beg Lorenzo for mercy, but we both knew the code every member of the Cosa Nostra lives by. It’s injected into their blood from birth. He tried to run, but he couldn't escape. I thought we were doomed, my daughter and I."

She pauses, taking a deep breath. "But instead of punishing us, Lorenzo offered me a way out. He gave us money, arranged for a safe place to live, and made sure we were taken care of. He told me that he didn't blame me or my daughter for my husband’s mistakes. You need to understand that if it had been anyone else, my daughter and I both would have been sold, or kept on as playthings to entertain the sick fantasies of men."

She shudders at that, and I fight back a shiver too.

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