Chapter 9 - THE BURIAL
The drive to St. Jude’s Cemetery was a silent, tension-filled blur.
The rain had stopped, leaving a heavy, suffocating mist hanging over the city. Cashion drove with one hand on the steering wheel, his other hand gripping mine tightly in the center console.
Leo was asleep in Eli’s arms in the backseat, exhausted by the trauma of the night.
"You don't have to do this, Mara," Cashion said quietly, his eyes fixed on the dark road. "I can drop you and the boy at a safe house. I’ll end this myself."
"No," I squeezed his hand. "She dug up my mother. This ends with both of us."
We arrived at the wrought-iron gates of the cemetery. The lock had already been cut.
Cashion parked the SUV behind a large stone mausoleum. He turned to Eli.
"Lock the doors. Keep your head down. Do not come out until I knock three times."
Eli nodded, holding Leo tighter.
Cashion and I stepped out into the damp, freezing grass. He handed me a small, cold handgun. "Safety is off. Point and pull."
We moved silently through the rows of ancient tombstones.
As we approached my mother's plot, a harsh, artificial light cut through the fog.
Three portable halogen lamps illuminated the defiled grave.
The earth was piled high. The heavy mahogany casket had been winched up, its lid thrown open.
And standing inside the grave, her white trench coat stained with mud, was Vivienne. She was frantically tearing apart the white satin lining of the casket with her bare hands, screaming in frustration.
"Where is it!?" she shrieked, throwing pieces of fabric into the mud.
"Looking for this?"
Vivienne froze.
She looked up out of the grave.
Cashion and I stood at the edge of the pit.
And in my hand, I held a thick, black leather-bound ledger.
Reversal.
I had lied to her in the breaker room. The ledger was never in the casket. I had kept it hidden in the lining of my own duffel bag for three years.
Vivienne stared at the black book, her eyes wide with desperate greed. She slowly raised her hands, climbing out of the muddy grave.
"Give it to me, Mara," Vivienne commanded, though her voice was trembling. "Give it to me, and I’ll let you and my brother walk away."
"You don't have the authority to let anyone walk away anymore, Vivienne," a new voice echoed through the mist.
From the shadows of the mausoleums, a dozen men stepped into the light.
They weren't Cashion's men. They were older, wearing perfectly tailored suits.
The Syndicate Council.
Vivienne backed away, her face turning chalk-white. "What is this?"
"I made a phone call while we were driving," Cashion said coldly, lowering his weapon. "I told the Council that you had orchestrated the hit on Silas five years ago. I told them you were stealing from the communal offshore accounts."
"He's lying!" Vivienne screamed at the older men.
The oldest man in the group stepped forward. He looked at me. "Do you have the proof, girl?"
I didn't hesitate. I walked forward and handed the black ledger to the Council leader.
He opened it, shining a small flashlight on the handwritten pages. He flipped through three pages, his expression hardening into pure granite.
He closed the book and looked at Vivienne.
"You stole from the families, Vivienne," the old man said quietly. "You broke the code."
"No!" Vivienne panicked, reaching for her gun.
She never even cleared her holster.
Four Council guards raised their weapons and fired simultaneously.
The sound echoed through the graveyard.
Vivienne collapsed into the mud, lifeless, right beside the grave she had desecrated.
It was over.
The Council leader looked at Cashion, nodding respectfully. "The Rourke territory is yours again, Cashion. You have our backing."
"Keep it," Cashion said firmly.
The old man frowned. "Excuse me?"
Cashion stepped beside me, wrapping his arm securely around my waist.
"I'm out," Cashion said. "I relinquish my seat. The territory, the casinos, the ports. Divide it among yourselves. I only want the legitimate holdings. The real estate and the construction company."
The Council leader stared at him in disbelief. "You're walking away from an empire?"
Cashion looked down at me, and for the first time in years, the heavy, dark shadow over his face completely vanished.
"I already have an empire," he smiled.
The Council accepted the terms and melted back into the shadows.
Cashion and I stood alone in the quiet cemetery. He pulled me into his arms, kissing me deeply, fiercely, beneath the moonlight. The fear, the running, the secrets—it was all gone.
We walked back to the SUV.
Cashion knocked three times on the window.
Eli unlocked the doors.
Leo was awake, rubbing his eyes. He looked at Cashion, holding up his arms.
Cashion easily lifted his son, holding him tight.
"Are we going home, big man?" Leo asked sleepily.
Cashion looked at me, tears shining in his eyes.
"Yeah, Leo," Cashion whispered. "We're going home."
But as we climbed into the car, I noticed Eli holding a small, intricately carved wooden box on his lap.
May you like
"Where did you get that?" I asked.
Eli looked up, his expression unreadable. "Russo dropped it off before he left with his daughter. He said Vivienne kept it in her safe. He said it belongs to you."
