Vendetta (21 page)

    
“What? That’s your plan?” Lucy sounded let down. “I’ll kill him if you want me to do it.”

    
Leo quickly stood up and embraced his sister, lingering for a moment.

    
“You know I love you, right?” Leo said sincerely.

    
Their embrace was quickly broken off, as Lucy heard the swish of the double doors and the sound of someone entering the kitchen behind her.

                                    CHAPTER 17

                           
      SNAKE EYES

     “Dom,” Lucy looked terrified. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

    
Leo cautiously stepped away from Lucy and took a few steps back towards the end of the metal table.

    
Mark listened intently. Waiting for the right moment to come out of hiding, he noiselessly removed the tile and set it off to the side, remaining silent.

    
Dom slowly walked into the kitchen. He kept his eyes on Lucy as he grabbed a nearby stool and propped the door open with it.

    
“Well, hello! I was looking for you, my dear,” Dom said, in a matter-of-fact way.

    
“You weren’t home, so I drove by the restaurant to see if you had come to work, perhaps. And… here you are,” he smiled and bowed his head.

    
“You seem surprised to see me, in my own restaurant nonetheless,” Dom chuckled.

    
Leo calmly stood and stared at Dom with reverence in his eyes.

    
“I thought you were with Anita. I wasn’t expecting you to be HERE all of the sudden, that’s all!” Lucy said disgruntled.

    
With a much softer tone, Lucy regained her composure.

    
“Well, it’s about time that you two meet, face to face. Dom, this is my older brother, Leo. Leo, this is my husband, Dom Angelo,” Lucy said respectfully.

    
Leo nodded his head courteously toward Dom.

    
Mark inaudibly descended from the ceiling in the storage room, quietly landing with a soft thud as his rubber soled boots hit the ground. No one heard a thing, as they were deep in they own discussion, completely unaware of his presence. He gently unsnapped his holster buttons, and withdrew his two guns. He was ready. He hadn’t felt the instinctual sign, but his heart had told him that the time had come.

    
Dom knowingly looked at Lucy, and said, “Yes, darling. I know who he is. We have come to know each other, very well, these last few months.”

    
Lucy looked suddenly perplexed. She was confused.

    
“I should have known,” Mark said loudly as he slowly walked out of the dark storage room with both guns drawn. The gun on the left was aimed at Dom’s head, with the gun on the right, pointed at Leo’s. Everyone was extremely surprised to see Mark suddenly standing there. Lucy backed up and reached out for her brother, who instinctively put his arm around her. They held each other with fear in their eyes.

    
“Marko, put the guns down,” Dom ordered adamantly. “Please.”

    
Mark glared at Dom with such hatred in his eyes. “You are in NO position to tell me, what I should or shouldn’t do,” Mark spoke slowly and clearly. Dom took a step back, astonished.

    
“We need to have a discussion, you and I. It’s very important that you trust me right now,” Dom responded.

    
“The only person in this room, that I trust right now, is me,” Mark spoke through clenched teeth. “And even I don’t fully know what I’m capable of doing right now.”

    
Mark shifted his glare to Leo, who stood motionless with a frightened Lucy. He looked at Mark, like he had just seen a ghost.

    
Leo gives Dom, a confused look and tightens his grip on Lucy, holding her now, to the side of him in a protective stance.

    
“Now you know how it feels, Leo… to shield your sister, from a lunatic with a gun,” Mark said with a sinister grin.

    
“Please, Marko, I beg of you to put the gun away. You need to listen to what I have to say,” Dom said firmly.

    
“No, YOU need to listen to what I have to say! Why don’t YOU give me the answers I want to hear, Dom, since your so fucking chatty! We all know you had a hand, in all of this!” Marks rage was unyielding. All he wanted was for Dom to say ONE incriminating thing on that tape, so he could put a bullet in his head.

    
Dom shook his head in disagreement. “No, Marko. You don’t understand, you’re wrong about me,” Dom’s eyes pleaded with him.

    
“Listen to him, Mark,” said a familiar voice, just outside the door.

   
Williams was suddenly visible, just inside the door. He stepped in slowly around the stool that Dom had propped the door open with. Williams had his gun drawn also… and had it pointed in Lucy and Leo’s direction.

    
“Williams? What in the HELL are you doing here?” Mark asked abruptly. Mark became increasingly alarmed.

    
“Forgive me, my friend, I couldn’t let you do this alone. Mark, don’t do anything you might regret. You need to seriously keep your wits about you… because shit’s about to get crazy,” Williams’ gaze shifted from Mark to Leo.

    
“Someone needs to start talking and tell me what the fuck is going on,” Mark yelled, “NOW!”

    
“Wait, you know what? I want to hear you say it, Dom. Tell me how you helped kill your god-daughter! I want to know every detail of your devious plan,” Mark demanded.

    
Mark had no more self-control left. The tension in that room, was only adding fuel to his fire. He didn’t want Williams to ever be a part of this, or to see him this way. Mark had come too far… so he wasn’t going to stop now.

    
“I wouldn’t do such a thing. I love Allie,” Dom said diligently.

    
Lucy scoffed loudly. “Oh, my God! He doesn’t know a thing you stupid imbecile!” she spat. “It was all me!” she yelled proudly. “You think only HE is capable of such orchestration?” Lucy seemed offended.

    
Mark quickly glanced at Dom, who watched Lucy with disgust.

    
Lucy tried to step towards Mark, but Leo had a good hold of her. Williams flinched.

    
Mark focused on her again.

    
“You would FIRST, have to understand what you have done to me and my family to truly appreciate all the time and effort I have spent, waiting, and planning… to see you just like this!” She pointed at Mark. “So lost, scared, and broken…”

    
Lucy smiled maniacally, as she reveled in her self-justifiable madness.

    
“After Leo was sentenced and sent away to prison for the murders he didn‘t commit, my father had a massive heart attack and died! I watched my mother struggle. She had to sell the restaurant to pay the mountain of debt that she accumulated!” Lucy screeched.

    
Leo’s face contorted. He closed his eyes and held on to his trembling sister.

    
“Staying home and caring for her wasn’t enough. There was nothing I could do to help her. She told me she lost both her sons that night,” Lucy turned and looked at Leo, speaking directly to him now.  “She slowly sank into depression… and ate a bottle of pills for dinner one night, and never woke up,” Lucy admitted.

    
Leo was stunned. He had never known that this was how his mother had truly passed.

    
Everyone remained silent listening to her ranting.

    
Marks grip became tighter on the gun he aimed at Lucy. “Say the wrong thing and you’re dead, bitch,” he thought to himself.

    
Lucy turned back around and faced Mark once again. “I alone had to avenge my families dishonor. I knew then, that I needed to exact revenge on you for taking all our hopes and dreams, and throwing it away, like garbage. It was because of YOU, that Alice and Joey died… It was because of YOU, that Leo had to pull a gun to protect him against you that night. YOU who set him up with your dirty cop friends that protected you in court! YOU, who put him away with your lie’s!” She was shaking uncontrollably, her eyes wild with fury. “The judge sentenced us all that day… to a life of hell… and some of us… to uncertain death!”

    
Lucy was choking on her words now, crying uncontrollably. “I wanted to show my brother, that we can have our honor back and start over! All I wanted was to make him proud of me!” Lucy turned quickly into Leo and sobbed into his shoulder.

    
Mark saw how fragile Lucy’s mental state really was. She was a psychopath at best… but he had no idea how delusional she was. She was pointing the finger at the wrong person. It was Leo who needed to come clean to his dear sister, who spent a large chunk out of her life, fighting for his lost integrity. All of her devious efforts were because of his lies.

    
Mark glanced at Dom who now stared at Lucy with sympathy in his eyes.

    
Tears fell from Leo’s eyes as he whispered into Lucy’s ear. No one could hear what he said over her crying and carrying on.

    
“I’m so sorry… it‘s the truth. Look at me Tina!” Leo said loudly. He continued to hold on to her as she struggled to get free.

    
“No! It can’t be… you wouldn’t have done that!” Lucy exclaimed.

    
“It was Mark, not you that killed them!” Lucy’s reality was beginning to spiral out of control.

    
“It’s true.” Leo looked at Mark with sincerity. “I killed Joey and Alice…. and their unborn baby, that night.”

    
Mark didn’t want to hear this. Whatever Leo was trying to accomplish by telling him the truth… it wasn’t going to work. Nothing was going to soften his anger. It was too late for retribution.

    
“I could care less about your stupid ideas, or sympathy’s…. I know for a fact that my daughter is DEAD because of all of you! Only Lucy has the gall to fess up to it! My innocent baby, that did nothing wrong to deserve any of this, is gone!” Mark squeezed both of his guns. He wasn’t wasting any more time. There had been enough talking.

    
Williams’ gun arm was shaking now… but his gun remained pointed at Lucy and Leo.

    
“Mark, don’t do it! PLEASE, let Dom explain,” Williams could feel the situation crumbling fast.

    
“Why don‘t you just let me do, what I have to… remember that part of our agreement? This is that time when you were supposed to walk away, and you didn‘t, so shut your mouth and man up!” Mark grumbled under his breathe.

     “To hell with our agreement
, I’m here to keep you from making a terrible mistake. You’re not a cold blooded killer, Mark. Not like them. Are you capable? Yes. Is it necessary? NO,” Williams’ arm shook as he kept aim on Lucy, who now stared blankly at Mark.

    
Mark remembered what Julie had said earlier, “Someone could get hurt, or worse, killed. Enough innocent people have died already.”

    
Dom spoke just then and broke Marks concentration.

    
“I had nothing to do with her horrible game. I did not kill Allie, nor did I have anyone do it for me,” Dom said truthfully.

    
“Leo, put the cuffs on her now, please,” Dom ordered. Lucy turned and looked at Leo with unbelieving fear in her eyes. He took out a pair of handcuffs, and clapped it across her left wrist. He twisted her hands quickly behind her back, and fastened the other to join her other wrist.

    
“What are you doing, brother?” Lucy was awestruck. “Leo, answer me! I demand an explanation!” she cried.

    
Dom spoke loudly over Lucy’s pleas.

     “
Three months ago, I was contacted by Leo Vanzetti. I went to see him, and that is when he told me that his sister, Tina, was my Lucy, and she had a deadly plan in effect. He couldn’t let it happen. He wanted her to be put into a place, where she could be taken care of properly for her severe mental issues. I believed this man to be telling the truth,” Dom quickly, yet precisely explained.

    
“I immediately started investigating the accusation, and discovered her affair with Nick. The rest of the design unraveled quickly. I had to act fast, and discreetly. I couldn’t tell you a thing, Marko. Lucy’s plan had to be thwarted, but she couldn’t think it was in any danger. She had to believe that it all went off without a hitch,” Dom spoke directly to Mark. “Leo has cooperated fully and willingly.”