Page 91 of The Killer Cupcake
Everything, Sandy thought.They revealed everything.But the words lodged in her throat. Not here. Not yet. The car rolled to a stop among weathered headstones and overgrown grass.
"Awesome!" Christopher declared, oblivious to the tension. "A spooky wedding!"
Junior held the door, his expression grim. "Let's go watch them make it official—again."
Sandy emerged from the limo and reached for Christopher's hand. Though he was only fourteen, he looked much younger—he'd inherited the petite build of his mother rather than the Ricci height, his thin frame making him appear barely ten.
Together they approached the priest, where Aunt Debbie stood radiant as a movie star. Her white Chanel suit was impeccable; the tailored jacket and pencil skirt highlighted a figure that defied her forty-eight years. Her platinum blonde hair, swept into Marilyn Monroe waves, caught the light like spun silk. Every step in her white heels spoke of refinement. She was so beautiful that Sandy couldn’t look away from her. And neither could Matteo.
Beside her, Matteo was pure controlled power—six feet of hardened Sicilian muscle, his deep Mediterranean tan making his dark sunglasses seem even more impenetrable. The black suit couldn't disguise what fourteen years in the penitentiary had carved into him: the tattoos snaking up from his collar, wrapping around his neck, spreading across his hands like aroadmap of survival. But it was the two figures at the graveside that made Sandy's breath catch: Nicolas and Nina Ricci.
The twins were from the funeral, and she had suspicions about their shared past, thanks to the diary. The ones whose existence had sent her pregnant mother running from her father, Carmelo, straight into her father Ely's arms. Looking at them now, Sandy felt the crushing weight of three generations of deception at Matteo’s mother’s gravesite.
Nicolas Ricci stared at her. She could feel his eyes through his dark sunglasses. She tried not to notice.
"The sun's brutal, baby. Let's do this," Debbie murmured against Matteo's shoulder. But he was lost in communion with his mother's spirit; the obsidian rosary beads, sliding through his scarred fingers, soothed him. The prayer ended with a kiss to the cross—tender, final—before he buried it deep in his pocket alongside his other secrets.
She caught Father Angelo's furtive glances and read the disapproval in his rigid posture. A priest blessing a mobster's union to a Black woman violated everything except the one law that mattered in their world: Matteo Ricci's word.
The church bowed to the famiglia, just as everyone else did. Debbie threaded her arm through Matteo’s, her white Chanel against his black suit, creating their own language of defiance. She led him from the grave with practiced ease, and Father Angelo, trapped between heaven and the Ricci family’s earthly power, began the ceremony his conscience protested, but his survival demanded.
In one smooth motion,Matteo scooped under Debbie’s legs to bring her up into his arms, cradling her against his chest asif they were newlyweds leaving a chapel instead of a cemetery. Daphne and Christopher fell into step behind them, their faces bright with genuine happiness for their mother. But Junior stayed where he was, watching his family walk away without him.
Sandy noticed Nicolas Ricci approach Junior before she turned away and paused. The two fell into an immediate, intense conversation. And Nicolas kept glancing Sandy’s way.
“Sandy. Hey? Remember me?” Nina asked.
When she turned, Sandy found herself face-to-face with Nina's striking beauty. Ink-black hair poured like silk from a razor-sharp center part, creating a dramatic frame for her porcelain features. Her eyes were the most transparent green Sandy had ever seen, like sea glass, and her smile had the calculated perfection of someone who'd learned to weaponize charm.
The tailored blue suit she wore transformed her into something between a fashion model and a femme fatale. Both twins had dressed in dark colors—a choice that seemed deliberate, as if acknowledging the morbid setting of their uncle's wedding in a cemetery.
“I don’t really remember. But I suppose I do, to some extent. Nice to see you again. Thank you for coming to my mother’s funeral,” Sandy said.
Nina nodded. “We all loved Aunt Kathy. Can’t believe she and Pops are gone. Strange coincidence, huh?”
Sandy frowned. “It’s not a coincidence. Your father was murdered and my Mama.. She had a car accident.”
“But the timing, it’s just weird. Even the feds think so. It’s on the news. And Uncle Nino is gone too. Pretty odd, huh?”
“I’m more concerned about losing her than any strange coincidences,” Sandy said in a flat tone.
“Of course, that’s what I meant. Weird coincidence, same thing,” she smiled. “Nicolas said he invited you to our house out in Staten Island. Looks like Uncle Matteo and Aunt Debbie will be moving in with the kiddos, so… uhm, will you come visit?”
Sandy glanced back over to Junior and Nicolas. It was Junior who walked away from the conversation, his face pinched with anger. He marched over to Sandy, grabbed her hand, and yanked her to walk with him. She glanced back at Nina, who stared at her with a sly smirk on her face. And Nicolas, of course, approached his sister, watching them leave.
“Stop it, Junior! Let my hand go!” she yanked her hand free.
He blinked at her. “Don’t talk to them.”
“Why not? What’s the matter with you?”
“Because I said so, damnit. I have to protect you and Debbie. You both are too stupid to know how to protect yourself,” he stormed ahead of her. Sandy glanced back at the twins. They stood together side by side, watching her as well. There was something odd about their interest. And it felt unwavering.
She turned back and joined the family at the limos and got inside the car with her cousin. They all drove away.
"Have your people located Janey yet?"Debbie's fingers drummed against her thigh as they rode toward Staten Island, the children's limo trailing behind them. Her new wedding ring caught the light with each nervous tap.
Matteo's jaw tightened. "She showed up right after we collected Sandy. She's waiting at the house with Coffey."
