“We have a lead,” I say and turn to Adria, who is, aside from Kat, my most trusted and closest family. She is part of the inner circle and my protection. Adria kills without question and regrets nothing. As far as I know, she has neither heart nor soul, not since what happened to her. Because Adria is Giuseppe’s daughter. The one he raped countless times and tried to murder on at least seven occasions.
“Yes?” she says.
“Kat is bringing her. Let us have the catacombs ready.”
“Can I have some fun with her?” asks Adria. She likes to play with her food.
“If it’s her, she’s mine. But I have something else for you,” I say, and get up from my armchair to get myself a drink. I pour my favourite whiskey in a glass, and only after I take a sip, I say to Adria, “On the counter.”
Adria, who has been spinning on a chair at the table like a bored child, gets up, jumps onto the counter and sits down there with her feet bumping into the counter. She opens the envelope.
“Who is the motherfucker?” she asks, skimming through the photos.
“The man your father employs to get the kids out and into the States,” I say. “He’s clearing the shipping in the Port of Baltimore.”
“Can I have him?” she asks, her eyes lighting.
“He’s yours,” I say. “I don’t care what you do with him. He’s currently in Monaco with one of his underage girlfriends. The last photo.”
She looks at it, hops off the counter and gets her things.
“Adria,” I say. “Make it slow. He’s done this for years now.”
She cocks an eyebrow. It was an unnecessary reminder, I know. Adria never kills fast, which is why I like her that much.
After Adria leaves, I walk outside onto the balcony of my Palermo villa to smoke a cigarette. I cannot say that I am calm. I feel some sort of anticipation, even excitement, knowing that I will finally get my revenge for Antonio’s betrayal. If it’s her. Fifty-five per cent is not the most promising number.
The sun's heat meets my wide black blouse. I always wear black; it is the colour that makes me feel alive. I am a creature of the night, a lover of the hours of the dark when the world is asleep.
I watch the street outside as I light the cigarette. I blow the smoke out of my mouth as I lean onto the railing of the small balcony, one of the many the villa has.
I enjoy being in the centre of Palermo, while I also enjoy the freedom of my residence in the countryside.
Today, I will stay here. Because the villa here has some very special perks, aside from its one-of-a-kind courtyard with palms and handmade tiles from a Sicilian artist, the historic brickstone piers,and the minutely carved sandstone arches. The best of it is the underground catacombs. The ones I use to torture those with debts and misdeeds. I take what they took, with interest.
They usually scream and beg, but a debt does not vanish from spoken words. It vanishes from payment—and I collect that payment.
Although we are in the middle of Palermo, no one will ever hear their screams, I made sure of that.
I kill the cigarette and push myself off the railing. It did not help. A certain degree of restlessness spreads through me—something I am not used to.
I decide to take a walk through the lonely alleyways.
I can walk the streets without fright. Those who know me do not dare touch me. And those who fear me do not know what I look like.
My heels resound on the mix of pavement and cobblestones. I am used to walking the rough ground, literally and figuratively.
A ball runs past my feet.
I stop it with my foot, pick it up and throw it back through an arch into a courtyard. The children nod a thanks. I nod back. I am known here. Not by name, however. I am the woman in black, the one no one knows about, and it scares them. I am silent and distant; the only time we meet is at church. Otherwise, I am a nobody, whilst I am everybody.
I was born here, daughter of the most feared man in the entire country and beyond. My father killed, trafficked and dealt in everything underground. He controlled the ports and major shipping routes and had businesses worldwide.
When I was a girl, he always taught me my job was to do nothing, appear pleasant, and be nice. I learned to do what the men requested. His friends. Powerful friends.
When they used me, I planned. I watched in silence, learned in solitude, and organised in the shadows.
And then, I killed them all.