Page 80 of The Bonventi Rise
39
ALINA
These past few weeks have been chaotic, to say the least. I scheduled Marco to do some big pushes across the state. We covered every voter demographic we could—and I mean all of them. He went from speaking at city halls to kitchen tables and then ending with TikTok and Instagram live events with popular influencers.
Yes, we're still riding the wave from when Marco blew up on social, but we had to be delicate about it since the man in the video who harassed me disappeared. When I asked Marco about it, he smiled and said, "the fishes." So, yeah. But people forgot, and his social events have been great.
During all this, I've been working with some sources I've made at various press offices and some of Marco's contacts at theTribuneand other high-profile news outlets to slowly leak the incriminating evidence we have on Sandra.
The beautiful thing about all this is that when we first started our attack, she fired back with some stuff about Marco. And while it was true, she'd been lobbing so much crap our way that people didn't really bite, unlike the stuff we sent back.
A woman whose entire campaign platform is built on anti-corruption and cleaning up the state ends up being corrupt herself—that's the better news story. That's the sensational headline, and boy, did it work.
Sandra Reeves: As Corrupt as They Come
If Sandra Reeves Is Cleaning Up Chicago's Corruption, She Better Start Packing
And my favorite:
Sandra Reeves Cleans Up the State by Throwing Herself in Jail
I played chess with the information Marco gave me, and our sources leaked everything according to plan. It was perfect.
This all leads up to tonight. Mrs. Reeves has scheduled a press conference, and we're all here to watch it. Our sources say she'll resign. If she does, she'll also be handing Marco the nomination and securing his position as Senator.
I can't fucking wait. It's been a long road to get here, and while I would have liked to have won a bit more above board, all that goes out the window when you try to kill me.
I stand from my desk and make my way to the others. It's almost time.
I enter the conference room where our campaign team is sitting around the large glass table, pizza boxes scattered across it with red plastic cups. The smell of pepperoni pizza fills the air, but my stomach churns at the thought of food. I can barely keep anything down.
Marco's noticed, but I told him I'm just in the zone since we're at the end of the campaign and elections are approaching. More recently, I've said that I've been full of anticipation for Sandra's announcement.
However, the truth is—I'm pregnant.
Last week, when we were up north in a small town doing some PR, I stopped in a little mom-and-pop shop and picked up some tests.
I took one, then another, and another.
At first, I was relieved and happy. Then scared. Terrified, actually. What the hell do I know about being a mom?
I'm going to tell Marco. In a few more weeks, on election night, when he wins and we celebrate and after everyone's gone and it's just the two of us, wherever we are, I'll let him know. It'll be the perfect end to the perfect day.
I take my seat next to Marco. He smiles at me as he finishes talking to Gio.
"Shh," one of the staffers yells. "It's starting."
"Sarah, could you turn it up, please?" I ask, and Sarah quickly increases the volume.
Marco grabs my thigh, and we both lean forward to listen.
"Good evening, citizens of Illinois," Sandra begins, her voice steady but strained. Her smug look is gone, and I can see sweet defeat in her eyes. "I come before you today with a heavy heart and an important announcement."
I grab the top of Marco's hand as it tightens on my thigh.
"After much-needed soul-searching, reflection, and consultation with those closest to me, I have decided to withdraw my candidacy from the Illinois state Senate."
The room erupts in cheers. I start clapping, a prideful smile spreading across my face. Gio whistles sharply, and Marco laughs with excitement.
