Ignoring his son’s theatrics, Vito looks to Eduardo. “I assume you wouldn’t allow this to be brought to attention without proof.”
Eduardo remains silent. It’s Miguel who speaks. “We have word from someone we trust.”
Vito asks, “From who?”
A small voice by the door gains attention when it echoes into the silence. “Me.”
This is not a good idea.
Why did I think this would be a good idea?
My body trembling with fear, I hold my knees together, hoping to God that no one hears them knock together. “Me.”
The entire room turns its gaze to me, including that of my husband, looking stunned and deceived. I quickly avoid his eyes but hear his plea. “Ana. What are you doing?”
Rather than answer him, I step into the room to stand by my father, addressing everyone inside, “I, Alejandra Gambino, stand before you all today with a heavy heart. My husband, Dino, confessed to me that he killed Raul Mendoza in cold blood.” I turn to Vito and look him in the eye. “The Dino who stands before you is not the man I married.” I look up at Dino. “I don’t know this man. His jealousy over my previous relationship with Raul escalated on the night of Raul’s murder. He asked me questions and, not wanting to have secrets between us, I answered them. Needless to say, Dino did not like the responses to the questions he asked. The next thing I knew, Dino was throwing things in a rage before disappearing.” I look to Raul’s father, tears in my eyes. “He didn’t come back till morning, and when he returned, his clothes were rumpled and bloodstained.”
Dino lets out a humorless laugh. “What?” He looks around to the faces crowding him. “You’re not fucking buying this shit, are you?”
The somber looks on the men’s faces say they do.
Looking around the room, Dino turns to me, losing his fight. He whispers, “Why are you doing this?”
This time, I look him in the eye and lie, “I would defend you to the death, Dino. But things are different now.” I raise a hand to my belly protectively and utter a hushed, “I have a child to protect.”
His eyes lower to the hand on my stomach. “You’re pregnant.” An awe-filled statement.
Lowering my eyes in a show of surrender, I whisper, “I’m pregnant.”
I am going to hell.
As I keep my face to the ground, Dino speaks. “I can change.” He says this as a statement, but it comes out a plea.
When I look up at him, I shake my head. “No. You can’t.”
Julius steps in. “Anyone here that can vouch for Dino’s whereabouts that night?”
At this point, Dino’s face turns to panic. “I was at home, in bed with my wife!” He turns to his brothers. His youngest brother, Luciano, looks at Dino in disgust, while Gio smirks, shaking his head at me. Dino pleads, “Luc? Gio? Say something!”
My heart races. I can’t believe they won’t vouch for him. I expected that to be my one obstacle.
Dino blinks rapidly, turning to Vito. “Pops. Please.”
Vito speaks softly, but the silence in the room ensures he’s heard. “After the funeral, you called him feccia.” Vito looks up at his son, disappointment clear in his eyes. “You called him scum.”
An audible sob comes from Raul’s father, and in a show of solidarity, one of Gambino’s men comes to stand by him, holding him up while a grown man cries for his son.
The disbelief on Dino’s face would make me laugh if it weren’t so tragic.
Dino croaks, “Papa.”
That’s the exact moment that Vito Gambino cracks. Stalking forward, he stands foot-to-foot with Dino and, raising a hand, slaps him as hard as he can, so hard, Dino’s head snaps to the side.
The ultimate insult.
Leaning forward, Vito hisses, “You are not my son!”
Vito Gambino stands tall, straightening his suit jacket. He moves to stand in front of me, and taking me by the shoulders, he kisses both my cheeks in a fatherly gesture of support. Lightly touching the hand held protectively at my belly, he mutters a gruff, “Felicitazioni, bella.”
Vito approaches my father and they hug, then he leads the way out, followed by Luciano and Gio, while Dino falls to his knees and sobs. “Papa!”
Without further adieu, Julius says, “If anyone would like to speak on Dino’s behalf, now would be the time.”
Dino looks around the room, wide-eyed with hope, looking up at the scowling men from his knees. I’d bet my life that he wishes he were nicer to most of the men in this room.
As expected, no one speaks on Dino’s behalf. And not a moment later, Julius announces, “Dino Gambino, you are hereby found guilty of the murder of Raul Mendoza. Your sentence…” Julius mutters a cold, “Death.”
Dino suddenly stands and tries to make a run for me. I stand there watching him ascend, his lip curled, his voice raw. “You fucking bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!”
As his arms reach out to curl around my neck, fear holds my immobile. A loud bang sounds and Dino stills.
He clutches at his heart, looking up at me with tears in his eyes. Breathing heavily through his nose, he collapses in a heap at my feet, blood pouring out from under the hand at his heart.
I look to Julius to find him shaking his head at the sight of a fallen Dino, no longer moving.
My gaze finds hers and gun in hand, as the small Asian woman declares sassily, “Case closed, motherfucker.”
My eyes find Dino
’s. Still eerily open, I look deep in his eyes and mutter to myself, “I’m free.”
As if suddenly realizing my dead husband is lying on the floor, bleeding at my black Louboutins, I gasp, clutching a hand to my mouth. Within seconds, my father and brother are by my side. My father states, “It’s okay, Alejandra. We have you.”
Miguel holds me tight, walking me away from Dino. Away from my old life. He kisses my temple and coos, “I’m so sorry, Ana. So sorry.”
As we reach my bedroom door, I mutter, “I need time. Please… just give me time.”
Miguel nods, closing the door behind me.
On my own and no longer afraid, I grab my purse and take the long hall to the kitchen. I walk out the back door, make my way to the car and drive home.
The moment I walk through the door, I make my way upstairs. Once inside my bedroom, I pace. “Oh my God,” I whisper.
“Oh my God. Oh my God.”
Gathering some sense, I get down on my knees beside the bed and reach under to pull out Dino’s emergency duffle. Unzipping it, I check the contents. Money, guns, false passports. Opening the passports, I find one with my photo but a different name.
Perfect.
Taking the duffle across the room to the walk-in closet, I shift the clothes on the hangers to reveal the safe. I open it in record time and unceremoniously throw stacks of hundreds into the bag. Quickly walking to the drawers, I grab piles of clothes and throw them in beside the money.
This is it.
My life in one bag.
Sad.
That is so sad.
But I won’t dwell on the past. I’m going to leave the past where it belongs.
Behind me.
Without a backward glance, I walk out of my house, leaving the front door wide open, and get into my car. Once I start driving, I open the window and throw my wedding ring into oncoming traffic.
And as I do that, I laugh.
Living on the streets could be worse.
When I say it could be worse, I mean I could be doing worse things than sharing a blunt with a homeless guy, Joseph, down his alley. And when I say his alley, I fucking mean it. From the discarded, torn brown sofa to the small chest of drawers with his few items of clothes in it, this alley is his home.