FIVE: "JER"

Jeremy's POV

"Did you find anything?" I ask X. He's my assistant and the highest-ranking officer. In the Mafia, if anything happens to me and my Mama is indisposed, he is the one to carry on the business until a biological replacement is found.

"No clues, boss. It's like she vanished then reappeared again".

"Well, if she was at the club that night of the raid, what was she doing there? She knew we would come".

"It seems that way, boss".

I don't like this. How she acted at the party when Mama mentioned the wedding, how she recoils whenever I try to touch her… something is beginning to feel off. At first, I thought it was fear—fear of what she thinks I'd do to her for running off. But I won't hurt her; I would never. I have made that part clear to her a million times.

So what's going on? My guts tell me something is off, but I can't think of anything. Still, I haven't transformed Cali Mafia into a global force without listening to my guts.

"What do you think, X?"

He and I grew up together. His Dad served my Dad in the same capacity. Loyalty matters more than anything else in my line of work, so we try to keep the circle as tight as possible. I value X's opinion very highly.

"Boss, it's hard to say. Except this is some new sort of sorcery I know nothing of, then it seems she's the one. How she managed to escape this mansion, escape our eyes and ears at the Italian borders, and remain hidden only to show up at the exact club we picked her up from last year is a mystery to me".

"I don't like mysteries, X", I say quietly.

"I know, boss".

"Mysteries keep me on edge. She already knew we would get married. In fact, I was going to propose to her that night she disappeared. So why did she act so—"

"Bizarre?"

"Exactly, X. Bizarre. You weren't at the party, or you'd better understand what I'm saying. And everyone saw how she reacted".

"Anyone who was at the party has been paid a visit. If they saw anything, they were instructed to forget at the risk of losing their lives. We just started some sh*t with the Russians, now is not the time for petty rumors to start flying around".

He's right. I recline further into my seat and stroke my beard absentmindedly. Maybe nothing is wrong, and I'm just misinterpreting things. It's her, she's mine again, so what could go wrong?

"About the Russians, any reactions yet?"

X shakes his head. The thick thunderbolt scar on his upper left cheek is visible even in the dim light. The scar makes him look more fearsome. Not that X needs mundane things like scars to instill fear into anybody.

"We just hit their biggest club in America. And three days later, they still haven't reacted?"

 X shakes his head again.

What the hell is going on?

"Well, you know what to do, X. Make sure the men are ready whenever the sh*t storm comes. I don't want surprises".

I proceed to unholster and clean my favorite handgun, a Korth revolver I bought for 9000 dollars some years ago. Uncoupling and cleaning it calms me down. My father always said that if you must take a man's life, then your gun better be clean. I'm not sure if a dead man cares if he was shot with a clean or dirty gun, but I've grown to love the habit anyway.

X watches me in silence.

"Boss", he finally speaks.

"Hmm".

"I think we should march the brakes on these club raids and auctions. Times are changing, and cops are getting wiser. For all we know, Serena may have been abducted by them and convinced to be their mole. She could be divulging our location to them as we speak".

"Don't be ridiculous, X"

"Think about it, boss. I'm just saying. Enough with the raids and auctions. We can send messages to rival mafias any other way. As for the auctions, what more women does the Mafia need?"

I keep cleaning my gun methodically.

"I can't stop the auctions; it's a tradition."

"There's nothing you can't stop or start, boss. Not even traditions".

I smile. Trust X to pander generously when the need arises. It'll be unwise not to give some thought to what he just said.

I'm about to reply when Mama's wheelchair whirs in. It's past 1 am, way past her bedtime. What is she doing up?

"Mama, I was going to see you in the morning about a serious matter. Announcing the wedding that way wasn't your responsibility. You were out of line".

If looks could kill, she would have torn me apart with the acid look she just gave me.

She sucks air through her teeth and says loudly:

 "I'd like some room with my son. Leave us, Jeremiah".

I quickly rise to my feet, rage blinding me immediately. I have warned her several times to stop using the actual names of my men when we are in the mansion. There are so many servants and porters and whatnot living here. A rival mafia can buy any one of them over, and just hearing an actual name is enough to cause trouble for me.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Mama! Stop calling anyone's actual name within these four walls. It's enough that the world already knows mine!" I thunder, not minding that it's past midnight.

"Oh, please," she clicks her tongue. This world is a strange one now. Anyone can find out whatever they want if they have the time and resources to do so."

"Be that as it may, I'd still like to have some control over what anyone can easily find out".

"Whatever. Now, leave us, Jeremiah".

There's no use arguing with her when she's determined to defy me. I signaled to X that it was okay for him to leave.

"What is it that couldn't wait till morning, Mama?"

 *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

 Elena's POV

I scurry back to my room when I hear footsteps approaching the door. I hadn't been able to sleep since the party ended, so when I heard the wheelchair sound, I tiptoed to find out where she'd be going at such an hour.

Now, my heart is threatening to burst out of my chest. My legs are suddenly too stiff and heavy to carry my weight, but I manage to reach my room.

She called the other man Jeremiah. I have seen him around, but now I remember that he wasn't at the party. Back at the auction house, he was the one to whom Jeremy gave direct instructions. And if he was meeting with him by this time of the night, then I can deduce that he must be the second in command.

I quickly went through the notes I made on my phone about the Mafia. The name is not mentioned anywhere online. It's like Jeremy kept everyone except himself anonymous.

I rush back to my sister's letter.

"Elena, he made me do this. Jer…"

All these while, I assumed Jer was her starting to write Jeremy. But now I've just heard Mama call the second by his real name: Jeremiah.

Both begin with the same five letters.

Oh my goodness! 

What if I've been wrong? I mean, it doesn't make sense that someone who was about to marry her did all those vile things to my sister. He may be a brutal Mafia boss, but with me, he's been nothing but sweet. So I'm very certain he was the same way with my sister.

Why didn't Serena explain all these in her letter? What else don't I know?

 Sh*t! Sh*t! I scream into my pillow.

Now, I'm just realizing how much deep sh*t I'm in.

Both names begin with "Jer."

So, who did my sister want me to go on revenge for? Who drove her to suicide?

Jeremy, the brutal-sweet Mafia boss?

Or Jeremiah, the second-in-command I have never bothered to research?

I scream again into my pillow.