บททั้งหมดของ Innocence Interrupted - A Mafia Story: บทที่ 81 - บทที่ 90

MadeleineDespite how things ended between me and Angelica on the night of the cook-out, she has been oddly pleasant and staying away from the booze whenever I'm around. Most of the time, she behaves like my older sister, not the evil stepsister type I expected, and Regina phones me at least twice a day with new plans. She's like a clucking mother hen, and wants to know every detail.Rafael, Betsy, Ethel, and I settle into a kind of domestic routine where everyone’s happy. Rafael goes to work at night and comes home in the early morning hours. We talk, we make love, and we get up to have breakfast with Betsy.I have no idea what he’s up to, he won't tell me, and when I ask questions he shuts me down. All I know is that he's relaxed and he stopped smoking. The secrecy annoys me. Simultaneously, I have no time to worry about it, because Angelica and Regina make sure that I stay occupied. More and more wives start to join us for various outings, and the women who were at the cook-out s

MadeleineThe shame comes and goes. Sex, in any form, still feels wrong to me. Not just because we’re unmarried, but because I remember my mother’s lectures about it so clearly. I remember how she’s come stumbling into a room, her eyes red and watery. “Remember, girly, men only want you for one thing.” Then she’d hiccup and fall on her favourite, sagging couch. “Men don’t want sluts, Madeleine. They want good girls who saved themselves for marriage.”The moment the blindfold slips over my eyes, I hear her - loud and clear. As if she’s standing right next to me. “What kind of normal person wants this? Where did I go wrong with you, girly? No good man will ever want you.”Rafael moves behind me. I hear him. Feel his heat. Then smell his musky, woodsy cologne. “Relax your shoulders,” he says, drowning out my mother’s voice. “You are too tense.”I exhale softly, my breath breaking from my lips in stuttering little moans, but I can’t relax.“What’s going on, cara mia?” he asks in my ear.

RafaelI lock the bedroom door from the inside and rush over to wake Madeleine. As quickly as I can, I tell her what’s happening.She doesn’t look surprised or afraid, just resigned. As if she had been waiting for the other ball to drop, and it finally did. “Clarissa always did say she’d phone the police on me.”“She wouldn’t have done it if Bruce didn’t put her up to it. Go shower, quickly, and get dressed.”She nods and hops off the bed. I follow her to the bathroom, and stand inside the door while she takes a quick shower. “Remember what I taught you. Say nothing. Right after they’ve processed you, they’ll read your rights to you. Invoke your right to speak to an attorney immediately. He’ll keep asking you questions, but don’t say a word.”Madeleine steps out of the shower and I grab a towel from the rack. “Won’t staying silent make me look more guilty?”“I’ve seen the police twist innocent people’s words against them. Don’t say anything, Madeleine. Harris will suddenly turn into t

MadeleineThe moment Rafael leaves, everything starts to happen really fast, and I don’t have time to think about what will happen next.A female officer escorts me to the holding cell. She doesn’t say anything - not even when I stumble because the canvas shoes are too small and I can’t feel my toes. She just pushes me forward like I’m a stubborn cow who won’t get in the milking machine.A steel door opens with a loud buzz, and a metallic clack. Suddenly we’re not alone anymore. The air is filled with the noise of dozens of women screaming and talking at the same time. We walk past two crowded cells and three guards before we stop.“Get back!” the guard hollers, and the cell door swings open on rusty hinges.There are six women already inside. One’s pacing like a caged animal. Another is curled up in the corner, whispering to herself. The others are louder - laughing too hard, talking too fast, swearing at no one in particular.The officer places her hand between my shoulders and giv

Rafael“Bail is set at a hundred thousand dollars,” the judge declares and drops her gavel.It’s about what I expected. I take Leah by the elbow and nod at the bailiff who leads us from the courtroom.“Well thank you for trying,” Leah says as soon as we’re in the corridor that leads back to the holding cells.“What do you mean trying?” I ask. “With your rap sheet, you’re lucky that I managed to get you out on bail.”“I don’t have a hundred K, Mister.”“I’ll post your bail. Just make sure you check in with the pretrial officer every week, and for God’s sake stay away from your husband. I don’t want to waste my money on someone who can’t follow simple instructions.”Leah’s mouth drops open. “No. I can’t let yah pay my bail.”“Would you rather sit in jail for the next year?” I glance at my watch. The argument went on for quite some time, and by now Madeleine will be waiting for me. I’m more concerned about her than I am about Leah. “See it as a token of my gratitude. For taking care of