Page 4 of Tainted Princess
Everything moved in slow motion after that. The federal agents swarmed the room, their black tactical gear standing out like ugly scars against my delicate ivory and green theme. They positioned themselves at all the exits, guns held at the ready, as the women and children huddled together. My father and his associates stood at the table directly in front of mine, hands raised casually as if having guns pointed at them was an everyday occurrence.
I guess it was.
Through it all, Elvis crooned on, ignorant to the chaos that was raining down around me.
One by one, the men were placed in handcuffs, all of them forced to their knees as the women and children watched, most sobbing as their husbands and fathers were shoved to the floor. The older mafia women, the ones that were more experienced in this type of thing, simply stood, watching the entire thing play out with bored looks on their faces.
They knew, like I did, that very few, if any of these charges would stick, but as my shock wore off, my anger came next.
This was my day, damn it. How dare they ruin this for Rico and me?
I turned to my fiancé, expecting him to comfort me.
Instead, I stared, horrified, as he reached into his suit jacket and withdrew a thin leather wallet. He met my eyes one last time, and I read the apology in them. But his next words were enough to render any apology useless.
“Giovanni De Marco,” Enrico said, his deep voice loud and strong. “You are under arrest for extortion, racketeering, and tax evasion.” Flipping open the leather wallet, I could see Enrico’s face on the FBI identification.
“No,” I breathed, shaking my head side to side, refusing to believe it. Enrico heard me, stiffening as I spoke. “No way, Rico. No fucking way!”
“Frankie, I’m sorry.”
“Fuck your sorries!” I shouted, moving away from him, racing around the table in an attempt to reach my father where he and the otherCapiwere lined up on their knees.
“Papà,” I called, but before I could reach him, my way was blocked by a woman in a black pantsuit, her blonde hair pulled into a tight knot on the back of her head. She glared at me, holding her own identification badge up in my face.
“Francesca De Marco, you are under arrest for accessory after the fact.” Grabbing my arms, the woman spun me around and yanked them behind my back, the cold metal handcuffs far too tight, but I suspected that was on purpose.
“What?” my father roared, his face reddening in his fury. The agent behind him yanked him to his feet and began to haul him out of the room. “This is outrageous. How dare you come in here, pulling this shit? Francesca,” he said, turning to me and shouting over his shoulder. “You say nothing! This will be handled. Say nothing to these bastards.”
“Yes,Papà.” I knew the drill. TheOmertàcame before all, and like any good Made Man, I would do my duty to the family.
The room started to quiet, as one by one, the men of the De Marco Family were led out of the hall, once again leaving their women to clean up the mess.
I kept my face devoid of expression, watching as my entire world fell apart. The female agent stood in front of me, her face full of evil glee as she watched me. Her gaze shifted over my shoulder, and her smirk spread into a full-fledged smile.
“Well done, Agent Morrison,” she purred, and my heart jolted as Enrico came into view.
Morrison? The name rattled around in my empty brain, clattering like a penny in a jar.
Morrison. Jesus Christ, I was such a fool.
He said nothing, just stared at me, while inside, my heart turned to ash in my chest.
My father had been right. There was no room for love in a world like ours. It had been my mistake for thinking I could have it all. Like a naïve child, I let a handsome man play me, and as a result, the entire Family had suffered.
“Frankie,” Enrico pleaded, his eyes begging me to talk to him. But I had nothing to say.
Squaring my shoulders, I refused to look at him, the liar who had stolen my heart.
And when the woman clutched my elbow, her claw-like fingernails digging into the soft skin of my inner arm unnecessarily, I lifted my chin, walking past all the federal agents with every ounce of dignity aprincipessashould have.
From now on, I would be focused on nothing but the Family. Love was a farce, a thing to amuse and distract lesser women.
I was destined to be Queen of the Mafia one day, and that started with getting my ass out of jail.
