Chapter 11 - THE FINAL STITCH
The ride to Michigan Avenue was a blur of flashing hazard lights and roaring engines. Nico drove like a madman, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might shatter. Three SUVs full of his best men followed closely behind.
"She won't hurt her," Nico said, though he sounded like he was trying to convince himself. "Bianca is petty, but she's not a killer. She just wants to terrorize us."
"She lost her family, her fortune, and her pride in one night," I countered, my hands shaking as I clutched my phone. "People with nothing left to lose are the most dangerous."
When we pulled up to Collins & Daughter Bridal, the front doors were locked, and the open sign was flipped to closed. The lights were still on inside.
Nico didn't bother checking the handle. He stepped back and kicked the heavy glass door right at the lock mechanism. The door shattered inward with a deafening crash.
"Mom!" I screamed, rushing inside.
"Clear!" Paulie yelled as the capos flooded the showroom, checking behind the rows of expensive wedding gowns.
I ran to the front counter. The picture Bianca had sent was real. My mother's heavy steel shears were buried deep in the wood, pinning down the scrap of Lucia Bellini’s torn lace veil.
"Back room!" one of the men shouted.
Nico and I bolted toward the fitting rooms.
My mother was sitting on a velvet ottoman, looking perfectly calm, holding a cup of tea. Mrs. Alvarez was sitting next to her, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Mom!" I cried, throwing myself at her. "Are you hurt? Where is she?"
My mother hugged me back, patting my hair. "I'm fine, Emma. We're both fine."
"She came in five minutes ago," Mrs. Alvarez huffed, adjusting her glasses. "Stomping around in that ridiculous cashmere coat. Demanded we give her the deed to the shop or she'd burn this one down too."
"What did you do?" Nico asked, staring at the two older women in disbelief.
My mother smiled serenely. "I told her that if she wanted the deed, she’d have to take it up with the owner. And then I pressed the silent panic button you installed under the desk last week, Nico."
"She saw the flashing light on the alarm panel and ran out the back door like a frightened rabbit," Mrs. Alvarez chuckled. "Left her lace on the counter to be dramatic."
Nico let out a long, heavy breath, running a hand through his hair. "Paulie. Take them back to the mansion."
"Where are you going?" I asked, grabbing Nico's arm.
"Bianca is on foot. She couldn't have gotten far. I'm ending this right now."
"I'm coming with you."
Nico opened his mouth to argue, but he looked into my eyes and saw the absolute refusal to back down. He nodded once.
We ran out the back door into the labyrinth of alleyways behind Michigan Avenue. The winter wind was howling, biting at my face.
We found her three blocks away, huddled near a subway entrance. She didn't look like a mafia princess anymore. Her makeup was smeared, her hair was a mess, and the white cashmere coat was stained with city grime.
When she saw Nico approach, she didn't run. She stood up, her back against the brick wall, a bitter smile twisting her lips.
"Go ahead," Bianca sneered, shivering in the cold. "Call the Commission. Tell them I broke the exile."
Nico stopped ten feet away. He didn't pull his gun. He just looked at her with profound pity.
"I'm not calling the Commission, Bianca," Nico said quietly.
Bianca frowned. "Why not? I threatened your precious maid's mother."
"Because you're already dead," Nico replied. "Your father is penniless in Colombia. You have no money, no soldiers, and no name. The Commission doesn't care about a ghost."
Bianca's eyes filled with angry tears. "I was supposed to be a Bellini! I was supposed to have the mansion, the respect, the power!"
"You had a choice," I stepped forward, standing beside Nico. "You could have just been a good person. But you chose to destroy innocent people to get what you wanted."
Bianca glared at me. "You took everything from me."
"No," Nico corrected her softly. "Emma saved my family. You destroyed your own."
Nico reached into his coat pocket. He pulled out a thick envelope and tossed it onto the freezing pavement at Bianca's feet.
"There's ten thousand dollars in there," Nico said. "And a fake passport. The same price you sold my mother's legacy for. Take it. Get on a train out of Chicago. If I ever see your face again, I won't call the Commission. I'll bury you myself."
Bianca stared at the envelope. Her pride fought a brief, losing battle against her desperation. She snatched it off the ground, gave Nico one last venomous look, and disappeared down into the subway station.
The threat was finally, completely gone.
Nico turned to me, the tension leaving his shoulders. He reached out and wrapped his heavy wool coat around my shivering frame, pulling me tight against his chest.
"It's over," he whispered into my hair. "I promise, Emma. It's really over."
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I looked up at him, the man who had terrified a city, but who had risked everything to protect a housemaid and her mother.
"Take me home, Nico," I said softly.
