Lahat ng Kabanata ng Who Wants to Steal the Mafia Donna's Rose Garden?: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

The next afternoon, I was watering my grandmother's roses in the small bed I'd set aside for them. The anise scent of wild fennel drifted in from the cliffside, just like it did on the hillsides of Sicily.Then the doorbell rang.I set down my watering can, went to the gate, and looked out through the iron bars.It was John, the property manager who'd sucked up to Evelyn in the group chat the day before.Two security guards in navy uniforms stood stiffly behind him, their sharp eyes sweeping the area.They didn't look friendly.But I couldn't start a fight.The moment I opened the gate, John pushed his way in. He looked over my rose garden as if he were appraising it. Unease crept over me."Ms. Mancuso," he said, clearing his throat theatrically as he took a document from his black briefcase. "On behalf of the community, I'm formally notifying you that, effective immediately, you must make the rose garden available for campaign events for the next three months, as tradition requires."

The place was a wreck.The bamboo fence had been knocked down and trampled to pieces. A dozen or so rose plants had been ripped out by the roots and tossed aside, their new purplish-red shoots scattered all over the ground.Someone had scrawled "Fucking bitch, get out!" across the dirt in huge red letters.I stood there, shaking with rage.I pulled out my phone and called the community's emergency line. "This is Isabella Mancuso at the end of Rose Lane. Someone just broke into my garden, destroyed my roses, and ran off along the cliffside path. Send people now to watch the main gate and the path exit!"The dispatcher spoke slowly. "Okay, got it. But we're short on patrol staff at night. I'll send someone over to take a look in an hour.""An hour?" My voice shot up. "Won't they be long gone by then?"The dispatcher paused for a second. "I'm really sorry, ma'am. We're all busy. Please wait a little longer."Then the dispatcher hung up on me.I stared at my phone, seething.An hour later,

The screech of tires on pavement was ear-splitting.Bang!Someone kicked the side gate open."Who the hell laid a hand on my wife!"The shout came out like a strangled honk. A man burst in, his suit straining at the seams and his tie crooked. His eyes were bleary and his cheeks flushed from drinking.This had to be James, the county supervisor.But when he got a good look at the garden full of men holding guns, his face froze.He was about to say something when he spotted Stefano, who'd just gotten to his feet.James's bleary eyes cleared at once.He scurried over to Stefano, all fawning smiles, his voice pitched high and sweet. "Mr. Marino! You came in person?"Stefano said nothing. He stood rigid, staring at James as if he were looking at a walking corpse.James hugged Stefano hard, then turned to Evelyn. "Honey, this is my good friend."Evelyn's expression was strained.She clutched her shawl with both hands and kept shaking her head at James.But James didn't catch her hint at all.

A sound came from the path. One of Stefano's men caught his eye, and Stefano turned to me. "Donna, do you want to see the two who ran off down the path now?"I nodded, and Stefano's men forced the two vandals to their knees in front of me.They cowered on their knees, hands braced on the ground, dirt smeared across their hands and packed under their nails. One of them was still clutching a pair of pruning shears.Stefano's threatening voice rang across the garden. "Talk! Who put you up to this?"The man with the pruning shears spoke up right away. "It was John!"He paid us $500 each. He said the money came from Mrs. Langford. The one who showed us the way in was the guard on duty, Derek."The other man quickly added, "Derek turned off the cameras in the security room on purpose so you couldn't identify us and there'd be no proof."So it wasn't just Evelyn and that guard. That lapdog John was in on it too.I let out a short, cold laugh.I glanced at Stefano. He understood. "Somebody, br

Three days later, Channel Five in Los Angeles broke the news: the FBI had arrested County Supervisor James Langford, ending his reelection campaign.Enzo stood ramrod straight beside me, a tablet in one hand, his voice low and unhurried. "After the investigation and financial review, John Hall was sentenced to 20 years and Derek Green to 15. Before Derek went to prison, I had someone make him eat that filthy, rotten uniform of his."He leaned forward and set the tablet in front of me. "These are photos of Evelyn picking through trash in the slums."Because of the loan in her name, she scavenges by day and works the streets at night."Some neighbors saw her going into cheap bars with men and posted pictures. I've had them all taken down."And everyone who insulted you in the group chat has been kicked out of the community. You can live here in peace."I nodded and opened the community group chat.Only one neighbor, a woman named Peggy, had posted anything. "How are the roses?"I stared