Page 93 of Empress of Savages

Now she turns to look at me. I say, “Are you happy now? Did you get any of what you wanted? You know that I can have you sent to jail. Forever. For. Ev. Ver.”

She remains still and silent. “Who’s Pino?”

Her face melts. With a sharp breath in, she tells me, “He’s my boy. He needs help. More help than I can give him.”

“Did you send all the money to him?”

“To the people who are caring for him. Yes.”

I want to ask if he’s the Don’s son. But I don’t. Maybe Alessio would have a right to know.

I say, “You didn’t even get all the money. Right?”

“No.”

“How much did you get?”

“Four hundred.”

“I could put you in the lake.”

“I know.”

“Is that why you came here?”

“I don’t know. I did want a confrontation. With you.”

“Are you armed?”

“No.”

“So you won’t win.”

“No.”

“Tell me where to send the rest of the money.”

EPILOGUE

Now I know what it means, to protect the family. Protecting my family is everything to me.

In bed with Alessio, I take the chance to talk.

Bruno was adopted, and Carlo was the son of Ester and her first husband. Don Fortuna was Alessio’s father.

I tell him, “I know that what I told you must be hard to take. So, there’s something special that I want to give you, to show you that I understand.”

He props his head up, leaning on his elbow to listen.

“You decide what it’s worth, Alessio. Maybe you want to kill me. And maybe this won’t make any difference to you at all, but when I lost my memory I was carrying another secret with me.” the look in his eyes deepens.

“The morning that all of that happened, I took a test.”

“What kind of a test?”

“The kind you get from a pharmacist. The kind with a little blue line on.”

It takes him a moment. Honestly, men are so dim. Then his eyes light up.

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