“I don’t understand though, don’t these things take at least a year to prepare for? I think I recall your mom telling me once about all that’s involved.” Gianna looked at me as if embarrassed to brag, so I did it for her.
“She comes from a long line of debutantes; her mother’s family is practically royalty, I guess, so all it took was a word from her grandmother to get her accepted at such late notice.”
“As to preparation, she was born ready for stuff like this. According to her teachers, she’s naturally poised, and her manners, which I suspect she got from her mother before she died, are impeccable.” Out the side of my eye, I saw Victoria dig her nails into the arm of the chair. She was on her best behavior in front of Felix, I guess, in the hopes of keeping him blind to what she really is.
“By the way, Fontane, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about. Gianna, hand.” She gave me her hand after a questioning look, and I opened my little recorder and hit play with the other. Victoria and Becky’s voices filled the air. Gianna’s hand tightened in mine; Victoria became epileptic as Fontane glared at her with murder in his eyes.
The screaming started, and of course, everything was mine and Gianna’s fault. “That’s not me; that’s not what I said. You edited it, didn’t you? You put him up to it.” No one answered, just let her go on and on, digging her grave deeper.
“She’s always been jealous of me, dad, because I was better at everything; that’s why she’s doing this….”
“Don’t call me that. Don’t you dare call me that.”
“Dad, I… mom was right, can’t you see they’re doing this to get back at mom and me? Gia never liked us; she’s always wanted to get rid of us. Now she has him to help her. How could he have a recording of me saying those things anyway?” I rolled my eyes when Fontane looked like he was giving her words some thought.
Victoria looked pretty pleased with herself, so I guess she was accustomed to that look. Before she moved in for the kill and before my surprise arrived before I was ready for it, I got up from my seat and walked over to the oversized silk flower display where I’d hidden one of many little devices. “These aren’t even that good, but they did the job.”
I tossed the device to Fontane, who caught it. “That’s how I was able to record you. Through one of those.”
“That’s illegal; you can’t do that.”
“Gianna, it’s your house. What do you think?”
“I knew they were there, and like you said, it’s my house; I don’t need anyone’s permission.”
“So, dad, do you believe her? Did we indeed edit that recording?”
“No, I don’t think so.” He looked at Victoria with loathing and just shook his head.
“It was all mom’s doing; I was just a kid, you said so yourself. How could I be held accountable for any of this?”
“What about when you were older? All those times you told me things that Gia had done to you, the times I punished her for hurting you in some way. Was it all lies?”
“No, I promise, it wasn’t she did do all of those things.”
“I guess the fact that she’s a few months younger than you doesn’t make a difference. You’re the only one who gets to use youth as an excuse.” I wound her up until she was ready to spit in my eye.
“She didn’t have anything to complain about. I did. Do you know how I lived before we moved here?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. I heard it all from your father.”
“What’re you talking about, Russo? Her father died a long time ago.”
“Did he? That’s odd. Didn’t you tell your ‘dad’ about your father picking you up from the police station in New York a couple of weeks ago?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I removed my phone and scrolled through photos. “Gianna, give this to your dad.” She looked at it first before passing it on with a shake of her head in Victoria’s direction.
“What’s this? Where is this? Who’s that man?” Victoria peeked down at the screen from her standing position in front of Fontane and recoiled as if burned.
“That…is Jimmy. He’s Victoria’s father and Becky’s husband. That’s the night Becky got arrested and there, is a diner in New Jersey. I guess Victoria didn’t want to take the chance of running into anyone she might know and made him take her there before ditching him. Weren’t you told that her father came to pick her up that night?”
“I was, yes, but I thought there was some kind of mix-up. This is crazy. Where has this man been?”
“Prison.”
“Wait, you said Becky’s husband, present tense.”
“Yep! They never got divorced, which means you were never married, and since he never gave his permission, you never adopted this one. You have only one daughter.”
“Don’t smile at me, you bitch; I hate you.” I guess Victoria lost her mind because she charged Gianna. I just raised my leg and tripped her, making her sprawl on her face.
“I want you out of my house, same deal as your witch of a mother, you leave with the clothes on your back. Everything you have is rightfully mine, including your name. We can get that changed, can’t we, Gabriel?”
“Of course, anything for you, love. Fontane, you doing okay?” Not that I care, but if he was going to expire, I didn’t want him doing it in front of her. That’s a whole other kind of hell I don’t want for her.
Victoria wailed from her place on the floor. “Bet you never saw this side of her, have you, Fontane?”
“I have no words. It’s just… no matter what she’s done, Gia, we can’t just kick her out on the streets like that. She’s still a minor….”
“How many times must I remind you of the age of majority in this state? Never mind, you won’t have to worry about that. She has someone who’s more than willing to take her in.”
The doorbell rang as if on cue. Ah, my guest has arrived. As planned ahead, Ella was there to answer the door. I didn’t fancy leaving Gianna alone in a room with her at this juncture, not while Victoria was spazzing the hell out and Fontane was looking lost again. The man of the hour stepped into the room, and chaos ensued. “Hello, Jimmy! Welcome to the party.”
GABRIEL
“Mr. Russo, nice to finally meet you.” If Jimmy had a hat, he’d be turning it round and round between his fingers. He looked totally out of place, but the thief in him couldn’t keep his eyes from roaming around the room with excitement. They finally landed on his long-lost daughter, who was lying on the floor, having a toddler tantrum.
Now here’s the thing about Jimmy. Had he had any redeeming qualities, I would never have sought him out; why? Because I’m a vengeful fuck who thinks people should pay for the shit they do, especially shit done to women and children. I make no apologies for this stance, and anyone who doesn’t agree can pretty much get fucked.
So, when I was doing my little background investigation on Becky and found this specimen, it was like striking oil. I want Victoria gone, but I don’t want her going into something cushy, if you know what I mean. Had Jimmy been a well-off upstanding citizen, I would’ve kept him out of my plans, but seeing as he’s a piece of shit, just like his wife and kid, I opened the door.