by Anna Widzisz
INNOCENT
Omertà
Anna Widzisz
Copyright © Anna Widzisz, 2019
All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any matter whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, business, events and places are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.
Book design by Anna Widzisz
Cover design by Michał Widzisz
Edited by Zuzanna Raczyńska and Miruna Popescu
Cover photo by Engin Akyurt (pexels.com)
To my best friend and the biggest supporter Zuzia. It’s amazing how one day you walked into my life and now I can’t even remember how I ever lived without you. Lucky are those who find a true, loyal friend in this fake world. So really - lucky me. I love you with all my heart.
Important:
Omertà - (among the Mafia) a code of silence about criminal activity and a refusal to give evidence to the police.
Capo (or Capo di tutti i capi or Capo dei capi) - the boss of all bosses. The head of the mafia family. He rules by himself and has the right to protection money from every operation led by the family.
Consigliere - right hand of the Capo. He talks with the families and soldiers.
Figlia (eng. daughter)
Famiglia (eng. family) - mafia family
Made Man - inducted soldier for the mafia.
Underboss - is the second most important person after the Capo. There is usually one underboss, however it sometimes differs in the mafia.He can get the position of Capo if the boss goes to jail and become an acting boss. He usually takes care of daily routine tasks, and gets a percentage of the money.
Capodecina (eng. Captain)
Lynette (Anglo-Saxon. bird)
Cognato (eng. brother-in-law)
„Tutti colpevoli, nessuno colpevole”
„If everyone is guilty, no one is guilty”
PROLOGUE
An angel doesn’t have to be fragile. It can be one hell of a strong warrior.
She drew in a ravenous breath as if she was a baby that had just been born. Something was happening to her but she didn’t know what. Looking in front of her she wasn’t certain whether it was real. The whole world had just stopped in a matter of seconds.
She saw him falling down to his knees, covering his face so that no one could see him crying. But she knew how he looked like with tears in those beautiful brown eyes that she loved so much. He was fighting with his emotions. They were pouring out of him as if he had been touched by a magic wand. He was trying not to let the reality of the situation sink in because he was scared of the inevitable consequences. There was a strange certainty that adapting to reality had been a struggle for him before, but at that very moment, he realized that it had been nowhere near as hard as it was right now.
She wanted to come up to him, put her hand on his shoulder and whisper in his ear that everything was going to be alright. For the last time. However, she wasn’t sure if it were true. No one could guarantee happiness and the lack of sorrow. She wasn’t any exception.
Instead, she observed him in silence. She watched the threads holding his life together break. That system of opposing values, which had been extremely stable so far, began to wobble when the individual zones started disappearing. She could almost hear his heart breaks and comes apart in millions of pieces. And along with his, so did hers. As if someone ripped it out of her chest and threw it into the deepest abyss without the possibility of ever getting it back. She felt like dying while he was struggling to hold on. To him, she was disappearing, leaving him completely alone.
And now the time had come for them to say goodbye. Without feeling guilt or shame. However, they had stayed true to their own hearts. And his will always be with her.
CHAPTER 1
It was a cold December night. The sky was painted a dark navy-blue color. It looked like the bottom of the ocean, only made out of clouds. From it, as from a ripped pillow, snowflakes had been falling down and the wind had been blowing them right into people’s faces. The fog had risen in the air making everything further than three meters completely invisible. Because of the sub-zero temperature, even the street lamps had stopped working and the only streams of light came from the moon.
Taking a short-cut, he ran through the park gate. It was only a few streets away from his father’s house. He tugged at the collar of his black jacket trying to hide from the merciless gusts of wind. Tucking away his cold hands back in his pockets, he walked down the gravel path as fast as possible. All he wanted at the moment was to be in a warm place with a cup of hot chocolate.
Passing by the benches he heard a quiet whimper. His eyes darted around searching for whatever was making the noise. What he saw made him stop at once, shocked.
There was a girl sitting alone, her legs hugged to her chest. She was wearing a grey, thin sweater with a pair of jeans. Her boots incompetently hit one against the other, trying to preserve the warmth of her body through such a flimsy gesture. Her hands were joined so as to keep from shaking and her long hair was soaking wet.
Even in poor light, he could still discern her red cheeks. He shivered terribly just by looking at the girl. She didn’t strike him as mentally unstable which prompted him to come closer and find out whether she needed help.
He couldn’t leave her alone. Not when she was bound to get really sick or worse.
What’s more - today was Christmas Day. Not exactly the best time to be sitting in the park, completely alone and in such conditions.
”Is everything alright?” he asked.
As the words left his lips, he started regretting them. The answer was obvious, and even if the girl responded she was well, he would recognize it as nothing more than a lie. After all, it was one of the most common lies that people said.
Hearing his voice, she raised her head. Her face didn’t show any particular emotion. She didn’t even look at him. Her eyes were glued to the nearest tree in front of her, as if she couldn’t even see him. She shrugged.
”Does it look like it?” she asked.
Her voice was weak but mysterious at the same time. There was much more hidden behind it. Chills travelled up his spine hearing her speak. She was barely able to form full sentences because of the cold which had apparently got to her and made her throat tense up.
He sat down carefully on the other side of the bench looking at the girl to gauge her reaction. She whined observing his behavior from the corner of her eye, though didn’t say anything. She lowered her legs and tugged at the sleeve of the sweater.
”You’re going to be sick,” he tried again.
She shrugged yet again making him realize that she didn’t care about it at all. The boy shook his head, wondering what he was still doing there. He didn’t even know her but remained on the wet, wooden bench, trying to talk to a person who didn’t want help despite very clearly being in need of it.
He cared. That was the only possible explanation.
”Why are you here?” he heard himself ask again.
Nothing. Another shrug.
He cleared his throat and got up, about to go back home, as he’d intended before seeing the girl. But he couldn’t. When he tried to take a step, his feet seemed frozen, unable to move. His heart, as never before, worked in total sync with his mind and didn’t deem leaving a good idea.
”You should be at home with your family,” he said but this time not expecting to get an answer.
”Not only me,” she whispered.
For the first time their eyes met and he could see pain and sadness reflected in hers. He shr
ugged mocking the girl’s behavior and smiled slightly. She didn’t return the gesture.
”Why are you talking to me?” she asked brushing her hair out of her face.
”I don’t know.”
It was the truth. He had no idea why he was trying so hard. That wasn’t like him. He’d never been heartless but still, he didn’t pay much attention to people outside of his friends and family. He should have already been at home, though for some reason he was still standing in this goddamned park, musing about his unusual behavior.
Was he pathetic? Probably.
”Should I leave you alone?”
She didn’t say anything. The boy sat down on the bench not caring about his wet clothes. For another couple of minutes, they looked at each other without speaking. But the silence wasn’t awkward. He had the feeling that she wanted to say something to cut through it. He didn’t even feel cold anymore.
The girl unexpectedly got up and without a word made her way to the exit gate through which he’d entered not long ago.
”Who are you?” he yelled after her taking a few steps in her direction.
She stopped and turned around to face him. Still emotionless but in a different way than before. He couldn’t put his finger on what had brought on this change, or even if it was for better or worse.
”Nobody,” she answered and a minute later she disappeared from his line of sight, leaving the boy completely alone.
CHAPTER 2
Lynette
Standing on the balcony, Lynette was looking at the rising sun. It was reflected in the Washington lake. The warm wind added to the autumn scenery that still preserved a small piece of what was left of summer. She hadn’t been able to experience summer in the city this time.
She’d spent the holidays in her family house in Sicily where she’d lived for ten years. The enormous villa in Palermo with an even bigger garden full of different, colorful flowers had become her peaceful spot throughout the past three months. Her family had been living there for as long as she could remember - her grandmother with her aunt, uncle and their two daughters. They were important to Lynette, however, their contact was limited to calling with birthday wishes, flying for Christmas, and truthfully, that was all she needed.
It was always a great thing to go to Europe and get away from the chaos that was a part of the United States, but when she’d found out that she was to stay in Sicily for more than two months she’d been anything but happy. She agreed to it knowing there was no other choice. Whatever her father decided, his word was law. It was final and she would have to leave no matter what - whether it would be after a long, heated discussion or without any complaints. At that moment she was glad to be back. She talked to her housekeeper Rosalia every day, but it was not the same as to see her in the kitchen smiling widely, cooking while singing a song.
She also missed her father even though he hadn’t had time for her because of his job. While her days were filled with reading books, Severo Selvaggio stayed in Seattle going from meeting to meeting, taking care of the important and pressing issues and ordering his people around.
It was seven-thirty in the morning so the girl started to prepare for school. Her first class was supposed to start in half an hour and she didn’t want to be late on her first day back.
Grabbing her bag, she put on a hoodie and looked in the mirror for the final time to check if everything was alright and whether she’d forgotten anything.
Lynette Selvaggio was a girl of unexceptional beauty. She was five foot three with a dusky complexion that worked well with both her brown eyes and long, auburn hair. Despite a few freckles on her face, her skin was flawless so she didn’t feel like using a lot of make-up. Her appearance could make for a very controversial topic, as no one would put her looks down to being a Sicilian. However, with her bad temper, there could be no mistake in that aspect.
In front of the house was her driver, Ricci Trabucco, waiting for her. He was also one of her father’s soldiers. A cigarette in his hand and a familiar, bored look on his face. He drove Lynette to school every day which he hated without a doubt. But he wasn’t the only one because Lynette didn’t like him either. She would be more than happy to drive herself everywhere. However, it was close to impossible considering her father’s, paranoid at times, behavior. She was condemned to be driven by the man who used to be one of the best street racers not long ago. He had taken part in many illegal races and word on the street was that he’d never lost a single one of them. That was the main reason why Severo had chosen him as his daughter’s driver. He’d hoped for her to be safe with such a man.
She cleared her throat making the man aware of her presence and got in the car closing the door. Lynette hadn’t ever belonged to the category of rude, obnoxious people. Yet, she might have come off as exactly that right then and there. Ricci rolled his eyes which didn’t escape her attention. He had never been disrespectful towards her but it could also be easily seen that he despised driving the girl around.
They didn’t talk at all during the ride. Neither of them was anywhere close to wanting to speak and start a conversation which could only be an awkward exchange of meaningless sentences at best. They had no topics to discuss.
After fifteen minutes the car stopped in the school lot. Lynette took her bag and got out without bothering to utter any goodbyes, making her way towards the main entrance. She was attending a public school which she owed to her mother. If it had only been up to her father, he wouldn’t allow his daughter to spend time in such a place. He believed that she should be homeschooled or, in the worst-case scenario, go to a private, all-girls school. However, valuing his wife’s opinion, he signed the girl up for the public school for both girls and boys. It was the only small glimmer of something resembling freedom that she’d got; the few hours spent in school every day.
She still had a little bit of time before the first class. But she needed to go to the school office to confirm her arrival, as well as take the books that she would need throughout the year. The principal had been made aware of her long absence, but as soon as she came back she was bound to check in with the office.
Going along the corridor, she tried her best to ignore the shocked expressions on the students’ faces. They were all focused on her. This behavior was to be expected. The girl knew that probably no one thought she would return after such prolonged vacations. She hadn’t been here during the first month of classes.
There were a lot of rumors when it came to her. One of which suggested that her father was a mafia boss and that he had a lot of people working for him. Soldiers that were as dangerous as he was. He was also an extremely successful businessman, as well as the owner of numerous locations, including casinos, night clubs, and hotels. In addition to this, he worked in many illegal undertakings with other families.
The problem with those rumors was that they were one hundred percent, absolutely true.
Severo Selvaggio was a man of a strong, stable reputation, having gained much respect from everyone. When he’d turned fourteen, he’d started learning about the family business knowing that he was to take over in the future, after his father. As irrational as that sounded - he loved it. He relished the power that he was to get, opportunities combined with it and a huge amount of money. That’s why, after the rather tragic death of his father in a sabotaged car-crash, he became a Capo dei capi in Palermo.
However, businesses started to fall apart in Sicily, with the police even hotter on their backs, so close to catching them. Thus, he’d decided to move to Seattle, where he continued making profits from illegal ventures more effectively but also gained numerous enemies. It ignited many issues with other families operating in the United States. Especially with the Triad, from which he took over the city, but also the New York Famiglia. They were far from happy to hear about another family making their way to the top. It hadn’t been easy ever since.
Lynette made sure that she took all the necessary things for her first class and closed the schoo
l locker. When she looked away from her schedule, her attention almost immediately went to the group of boys who were standing on the other side of the corridor. Isaac Henderson, Francisco Díez and one other boy, whom Lynette didn’t recognize, were obviously looking at her and talking. She could only imagine what the main topic of their conversation was. Once they saw that they’d caught her attention, they turned their gazes away as if it were subtle to do so. Far from it.
Always adored by everyone.
§ § §
She looked at the clock hanging above the classroom door. The last class was dragging mercilessly. Checking the time every few minutes, Lynette could swear that the hands of the clock were not moving at all. An idea came to her to ask the teacher whether the clock was broken, but decided against it since it would be rude and appear as if she was bored out of her mind. Which she really was.
When the bell finally rang, the girl dropped all the books into her bag and almost immediately ran out of the room. Her phone started vibrating. It was her father calling, so she didn’t waste any time and picked up because the man certainly was not famous for being patient.
He’d decided to pick her up from school today which was unexpected. He had never done it before. His job kept him busy enough not to do so. The only time Severo ever paid attention to his daughter was during dinner. And that wasn’t always true either. He was rarely at home, so Lynette was bound to spend a lot of time with Rosalia and the soldiers who were there to keep them safe.
But Severo’s control over Lynette had always been a part of her life. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the one to actually take over the surveillance, the guards were enough. It made the girl crazy, yet she was not one to quarrel most of the time. It would be disrespectful. Even though the man was her father, he was also a Capo. And a dangerous one at that with many rules, none of which allowed his child to talk back to him whenever something was not going according to her plan. And it usually couldn’t be further away from what she truly desired.
