Page 98 of The Devil's Secret

We’ve been so consumed with Robby and seeing Matteo that I haven’t been inside her since the barbeque.

Grabbing my hand, she practically throws me down the stairs with how hard she drags, and I meet her enthusiasm with a chuckle.

As soon as we’re back with everyone, we take the same spots we had before.

“Shit, put on the TV,” Dante says, staring hard at his phone. “Hit the news channel. It’s on.”

Raquel grabs the remote, bringing the screen to life. After a minute of the female newscaster talking about a robbery gone wrong, the story shifts to one we know well. After all, we were the ones to tip them off.

Once Matteo left, we went to the basement of that warehouse, finding even more cages than we had before. Women, kids, both boys and girls trapped in them, some crying, others as sick as Robby was when we found him.

We wanted to take them all, but instead, we decided to document every photo, every file, then call a good friend from the FBI who handles shit like this. We told him everything that those motherfuckers had done and left the evidence with him after taking photos of it for ourselves.

Once he got his unit down there, we left. But not before we emailed one of the biggest news channels, knowing with the proof we shared, they’d run the story, exposing the Palermo crime family once and for all.

Not only did we expose them, but we exposed all the celebrities and politicians who frequented that place. The Bianchis weren’t stupid. They kept their names, along with photos of them doing sick things to those kids and women. We hid the faces of the victims when we sent some of the photographs. Only the authorities have all the originals.

We don’t know if any of the other crime families had knowledge of what the Bianchis had been doing, but I sure as hell hope not. If they did, we’ll kill them all too.

My attention draws back toward the television as the story begins to unfold.

“Today, we bring you aChannel Threeexclusive. This story and the images that go along with it, may be disturbing. Viewer caution is advised.”

The screen changes to the shot deep in the heart of the city as the woman continues. “Deep in the city, in the middle of nowhere, is a horror like no other. We don’t want to imagine things like this happening, but every day they do. Human trafficking. Women, young children as little as seven were being abused by dozens of faces at a secret club run by the notorious Palermo crime family.”

The clip switches to the warehouse, yellow caution tape around it, men and women with badges now walking inside it. “Some of the faces you’ll see in these photos,” the newscaster continues, “are people you’ll recognize. They’re your favorite quarterback.” A photo of a football player flashes on the screen, a household name, a little girl we know to be no more than ten on his lap, her face blacked out by us, body blurred. “Your favorite talk show host.” Another photo slides down, this time a man has a woman in a chokehold, a whip in his hand.

“The people involved have been wanted by law enforcement for decades, but they’ve finally been caught in one of the biggest victories of our time. The FBI has arrested over three dozen people who had a hand in this awful tragedy.” The video cuts back to the newscaster. “Many of the children were taken from families who owed a debt to the Palermos and have since been reunited by the tireless efforts of both the police and the FBI.”

We managed to reunite Serena and the rest of the people we found the day we found Robby with the help from the authorities too.

“I’m glad it’s finally over.” Jade sighs, rubbing away the tears tumbling down her cheeks. She smiles with sadness seeping from her eyes, but relief, it’s woven within them too. I can see it.

And every day, I’ll fight like hell to find the pieces of her they tore away and build them back up again. I may never be able to undo what’s been done, but I can make it so that she no longer lives it. Her life,ourlife, it’ll be beautiful.

“Do you think I could play your piano?” she asks sweetly, those eyes cast with a glimmer.

“You play?”

“I used to.” Her face falls. “My mom loved to hear me play.”

“She was amazing,” Elliot adds, coming toward us. “Mom was sure you’d be accepted to Juilliard. She was saving money for you to go.”

“What?” Her gaze overflows with tears. “But she knew I was going to eventually go to medical school.”

“Yeah, but she knew you were doing that for her. She told me years later that when you came back from your trip, she was going to talk you into applying so you could follow your passion, instead of doing what you thought was right.”

“Oh, Mama.” She lets out a cry.

“She loved you so much, Jade. I’m sorry you lost all these years with us.”

“Me too.” She looks up at him, tears swimming down like a heavy stream.

“Wait, I’m sorry to interrupt this beautiful moment,” Chiara bursts out. “But who the hell is Jade?”

That gets Joelle—Jade laughing. Fuck, even I’ll need time to get used to it.

“That’s my real name,” she explains.

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