(1 Year Later)

STELLA  

"Mmph, hmmm!"

Her cries are getting louder and I know time is running out. I'll have to end this soon. I stand behind her as I pull the black sack off of her head. She looks around frantically. Her chest and shoulders rise and fall quickly due to her rapid breathing.

Time for the big reveal. I kinda like this part. The shock or disbelief on their faces, when they see me, is a little satisfying.

I step from behind the chair to face her. Her mascara is smudged and running down her face, mixed with her sweat and tears. Her hair is frizzy and out of place. Her dark eyes widen when she looks up at me.

"Ramona Grecco, do you know why you are here?" She shakes her head vigorously and tries to talk with the gag in her mouth.

I click my tongue and shake my head, showing my displeasure with her answer. I pull my gun from my back holster and begin twisting a suppressor on the end of it.

Her eyes widen and she begins crying.

"Save your tears, Ramona. I'm not one much for games. You know why you are here and yet you still want to play dumb. You know what  I need, so we can either do this quickly or in a more unpleasant and painful way...for you."

I walk up to her and crouch down. "Before I take the gag off, know that no one will hear your screams. The people of this establishment, have an understanding of who I am and what I do. So, let's try this again, shall we?" I pull the gag down.

"Where is your niece, Arianna?"

"Why...why are you doing this? I...I've done nothing to you." She asks me, sniffling.

I take a deep breath. "You're really testing my patience, Ramona. I figured I'd give you a chance to redeem yourself, after everything you've done. But like most narcissistic assholes, you want to make this all about you. But..." I sigh dramatically. "I'm in a generous mood, so let's go ahead and list your colorful resume.

You've been operating a sex trafficking ring, with underage girls and most recently kidnapped your own niece, Arianna, to be auctioned off.  

Your other business has been targeting minors in low income neighborhoods, threatening them into selling and dealing drugs. And last but not least, breaking Omertà, corroborating with the Feds since they are onto your less than honorable business transactions .

Honestly, I don't really care about that last bit, but what your doing with kids and drugs and with your niece...I take personal offense to that. She's only ten."

Ramona scoffs. No longer am I facing a frightened, pitiful woman. She sit's up, straightening herself, rolling her shoulders back and lifts her chin up, proudly.  

Here is the cold-hearted, ruthless, underground crime boss I've heard about. 

"Please, I'm giving her a chance to get out of this shithole town and see the world. Yes, there will be some...uncomfortable things she'll have to do and be a part of, but the benefits outweigh the bad."

I backhand her to release some of the anger I have building within me. "You're disgusting."

"Says the girl who kills people for a living." She spits out, glaring up at me.

I begin circling her. "See, I don't see it as killing people. I dispose of monsters, rapists, traitors, people less than human. Real life boogeymen or women in your case." I say leaning down next to her. 

She laughs, then sneers at me. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweetheart. You think you're some kind of mafia vigilante?" She snorts. "There's no good or bad guys in the mafia, love. There's just choices. You think the choices you've made are different, better than mine? You think you're one of the good guys?"

"I never claimed to be good, Ramona. I think the mafia has a lot of grey in it, it's not a black and white world. There's a lot of grey in it. And I would argue that there are bad guys, and you have your evil guys but then you have your less than human types. I've seen all three." I come back to face her again. 

"The way I see it, honey, you and I are no different." She leans back, appraising me. "We're both trying to make a name for ourselves in a man's world. Doing what we need to survive."

"Hmm, interesting theory. Yet...I don't exploit young innocent children or claim to open their eyes to a world of opportunities, when in fact several end up losing their innocence, not to mention become drug addicts, raped and eventually killed. And all under your command."

She shrugs, "Small price to pay for living like a Queen." She begins cackling, throwing her head back, laughing loudly.

I cock my gun and shove it in her mouth, forcibly. She yells out and starts shaking her head, in attempt to stop me. 

I pull the trigger and the gun clicks as she whimpers. The dripping sound of her urinating on herself as it lands on the cement under the chair follows.

"That was close, Ramona." I pull the gun out of her mouth. "Last chance, where is Arianna?"

I load a magazine into my gun, then aim it at her. "Okay! Okay. Wait... wait. I'll tell you. I...I took her to a s-safe house, where the girls are prepped before an...au-auction." She stammers.

"Where is the safe house and when and where is the auction?"

Ramona keeps her eyes on the gun. "It's in the meat packing district, on the corner of Adelton and Belfast. The auction is tomorrow night, at the estate of Giancarlo Altieri."

I pull my phone out, pressing the contact number I need.

"Check the location of Adelton and Belfast." I wait a few minutes before I get confirmation of the validity on the information she gave me. I hang up, tucking my phone back in my pocket. 

"Thank you for you honesty, this could have been a lot worse." I tell her.

"I never meant—" the muffled, clapping sound of the gun firing, cuts her off.

Her head hangs back with her eyes frozen wide open. I quickly unscrew the suppressor and place my gun on my back holster. I pull my phone out and take a picture then make another call.

"Buonasera, Stella." Cristian greets me.

"It's done. The girl is in a safe house on Adelton and Belfast. Mateo confirmed the location. The auction is tomorrow night at the Giancarlo Altieri estate."

"This was your quickest one yet, cara." He almost sounds proud. "I'll send a team over to extract her. I'm sure her parents will be relieved, you did good, Stella. Until next time."

"Ciao." I hang up the phone. Then send a quick text to the clean up contact, Cristian has in Detroit.

"All set?" Ace, the owner of the bar, questions when I sit at the counter. I nod telling him I have a clean up crew on the way and hand him his payment for his services.

" Your usual before you go?" I nod watching as he pours a Disaronno on the rocks. He slides it over to me as he pours himself some whisky and raises his glass to clink against mine.

"Where you headed now?"

"Home."

A couple of men walk in and nod at Ace as they head towards the back of the bar. The clean up crew.

"How are the grandkids?" I ask Ace, sipping my drink.

"Good, good. Getting bigger everyday. Little Clara calls me pop-pop now." He smiles fondly at the mention of his granddaughter. He tells me her second birthday is next weekend. Her brother is turning five next month, if I remember correctly.

I finish my drink and thank him again. "Take care Stella." He hands me my bag from behind the counter. Once outside, I get in the waiting car that Cristian arranged to take me to the airport to head home.

Home.

It's strange to say that so easily. Chicago, has been the base of where I live when I'm not traveling on assignments.

Mateo and Rocco went back home to Italy, to get back to their Fratellanza duties. They left after my first job was completed. Which was a freaking disaster, but I've come a long way since then.

Topo asked Cristian to stay longer, which I was grateful for. He has become a good friend and has helped out a lot with not only mine but Annalisa's recovery.

Cristian berated me when I finally told him about Annalisa. He informed us that Annalisa's leaving caused a huge panic and there was a rift between Annalisa's father, Rico and Timo because of it.

Enzo also informed me that JP had woken up the morning after I was in his room. I remember feeling a huge sense of relief to know he had come out of the unconscious state. I've asked Enzo about him a few times since then, during our conversations, but he keeps it at a minimum. Telling me he's fine. Doing better.

My insubordination, according to Cristian, brought my cut of the profits down to ten percent. After he calmed down, he went on to tell me I was the perfect reason why he never wanted kids. I was more trouble than I was worth. I responded by telling him I was growing on him, to which he hung up.

Later that same night, I discovered Cristian has a sense of humor, when he sent me a link with over 40 memes on how great it is being childless.

The first few weeks were rough with Annalisa. She'd binge watch TV, which isn't necessarily horrible, but I realized it was because she was avoiding sleep.

Her nightmares have lessened significantly but are just as intense. They increased right after she made the decision to end the pregnancy. I had gone with her but I struggled being there, holding her hand during the procedure, but I pushed past it for her.

We got matching tattoos on our wrists, afterwards. Her's says keep me safe and she added a star next to it. Mine says keep me wild with a sun next to it. She's also covered up the scar of the carving on her stomach, with a white ink tattoo.

It's an intricate cherry blossom tree. The branches travel up more on the right side of her torso. She's added color to it since she first got it, with pale and dark pinks for the flowers and a pale brown color for the base and branches.

I've added a few more tattoos since then as well. I have two small ravens behind my right ear, honoring Dominic and Serena. The word survivor, is written on my inner bicep, of my right arm in light cursive. Behind my left ear is a small tattoo of lady justice with a trail of small stars going down behind my neck.

I also have a small phoenix above the scar on my stomach. The tattoo artist had asked me if I wanted to cover the scar, but I didn't, I wanted it to be realistic of the bird rising above the scar and what happened.

While Annalisa and I both have made progress we still had set backs in the last year. There's been a lot of good days, some okay days, and bad days and then really, really bad days.

Annalisa was still cutting herself for the first little while, too. We had to keep razors, knives hidden or out of the hotel room. It got to the point where I told her I needed call her family because I didn't know what else to do, and I couldn't keep watching her hurt herself. 

She agreed to see a therapist and has been seeing one steadily but has also found different ways to cope, including learning self defense and keeping a journal. 

She works through her triggers as they come, ranging from birthdays of her family members or certain sounds and scents.

Birthdays have been triggers for me since I lost both Serena and Dominic, including their death anniversary's. 

JP's birthday was just last week and I had a flood of memories hit me. Feelings and emotions I had a year ago swarmed me. It was rough but I made it through the day with only one meltdown.

But it's not just dates that set me back but also certain scents, songs, TV shows, movies that remind me him. 

As far as the memories and the emotional pain from being assaulted from both Jimmy and Alfonso, I found different ways to cope. 

That's around the same time I found a gym to not only workout at but also work part time at. Topo didn't like the idea of me working, because he didn't want me to be out among the public so much. But the owner of the gym, Zeeko, didn't ask many questions and paid me cash.

With our time being drawn out in Chicago, I eventually convinced Cristian to let us get an apartment. It's definitely run down, but in comparison to some of the hotels we've stayed at, it was a luxury. It has two bedrooms, and one bathroom.

I negotiated with the landlord to be on a month to month basis rather than sign a lease. In case we have to pick up and go for any reason, we wouldn't be locked down on a lease.

"Would you care for the radio, Miss Bracco?" The driver asks me as he gets on the highway heading towards the airport.

"Yes, that's fine, Raul."

I sit back listening to the soft rock music, removing my leather gloves. I pull my phone out and bring up the file on the recent job. I delete the information as well as the picture that I took, per Cristian's protocols.

Yes, I've definitely come a long way from the first job. It feels like a lifetime ago. The target was a man who was also found to be working with the FBI. 

The file Cristian sent me, had detailed information of his home in New York, and a timeshare in Chicago, too. He was scheduled to go on a business trip to Atlantic City. If I couldn't finish the job there, then I had the information on his home and where he worked.

During my training, Rocco had told me most female assassins—which he made clear I wasn't really one—use their body to lure their targets in, most of the time. So I decided to try my hand  at playing a seductress. I even wore a blonde wig. 

I should have known it was too soon, though; only four months after everything had happened.

I played the part of a jilted lover, left stranded, crying near the lobby of the hotel. He approached me as I ran out calling out for my pretend boyfriend. He had just stepped out of car he rode in, asking if I needed help.

I cried telling him, I didn't know how I'd get home being left by my jerk of a boyfriend. I remember how his eyes raked down the tight cocktail dress I was wearing. He invited me to have a drink with him at the restaurant inside the hotel, "to help settle me".

I took the opportunity to slip him a dose of a sedative in his drink when he stepped away to use the bathroom. Having never done anything like that before, I found out later, I didn't use enough.

Once we were in his hotel room, the flashbacks that flooded through me as he started kissing and touching me, was beyond overwhelming. Bringing back the horrible moments with Jimmy and Alfonso. I excused myself before I lost control, telling him I needed to use the restroom.

After I recovered, I  came up quietly behind him and hit him over the head with a whiskey bottle. Nothing happened like what you see on TV or in the movies. He didn't pass out, he didn't even fall on his knees. Instead, he fought back. Hard.

He kept asking who I worked for and who sent me as we fought. Again, the flashbacks of fighting with Alfonso rushed back to me. Only this time, I unleashed everything.

I ended up driving my stiletto into his neck over and over again, until he stopped moving. I can still picture his vacant, lifeless eyes staring back at me.

I sat next to him, holding my knees, crying. The sound of my phone ringing, snapped me out of my moment of despondency. It was Rocco, asking if it was done. 

He wanted a picture so he could confirm for Cristian. He didn't hold back from telling me how sloppy of a job I did after I sent it to him.

Apparently, it was so messy, Rocco said it was pointless to make it look like a robbery gone wrong, which was the initial plan. Instead, that's where he introduced me to a "cleanup" crew.

There are people Cristian pays to clean up after a job is completed when necessary. He has contacts for this type of work, in almost every state.

When I returned to Chicago, Cristian called me, admitting he didn't think I'd go through with it, let alone survive. He laughed at my less than enthusiastic thanks in his confidence in me.

I remember thinking, I didn't know if I could continue. Cristians' idea of bad people and mine were completely different. But then Topo showed me detailed information on the guy I killed. 

The reason he was working with the Feds was because he was bargaining against the charges they had on him, for being a pedophile. Even though it helped to alleviate the guilt I had, I also felt disgusted that he had touched me and kissed me.

I've had thirty eight other jobs since that first one. Thirty nine, now.

And here's what I learned: No job is the same from the next. Some were easy and quick, others not so much. I learned I would use my body only as a last resort. The flashbacks are still too much for me to handle.

Men are easier marks to approach than women. Women are less trusting and tend to be more suspicious, taking longer to gain trust. I usually opted to take them out while they are out and about, rather than make actual contact.

My nightmares have increased but I work through them. The memories of my mom's and dad's death, weigh heavily on me. The guilt of basically being no different than the men who took their lives eats at me.

I remind myself, I'm doing this to ultimately gain my freedom, away from all of this. But Enzo's wise words come back after each job, I'm losing pieces of myself with each kill I do.

Writing down my thoughts and feelings in my journal helps a little. Even talking to Topo and Annalisa helps. But there was still this simmering, underlying pain and bitterness deep within me. 

I knew some of it also had to do with the fact, I haven't had the time to do anything towards Sofia and Jimmy, like I'd hope, but I was close. 

The memory of the night, I told Topo about my plan, comes to my mind. He laughed long and loud. I sat there, eating the Chicken Piccata pasta I had made for dinner that night, waiting for him to stop.

Normally, when I hear his boisterous, unrestrained laughter, I end up joining in with him. He has one of those laughs that makes you smile, it's a little high pitch and I think his large stature, just adds to the comical sound. 

You don't realize you're laughing a long with him until you're in the middle of it. He wiped at his eyes, chuckling as he calmed down.

"Okay, but seriously. What's the plan, Stella?" He asked as he took another bite of the pasta.

"I am serious and that is the plan." 

Annalisa was quiet, watching our interaction, chewing her food slowly. Her hair has grown out, down to her chin, since she hacked it off but wanted to keep it short, and dark for now.

"I don't think you should involve any outsiders into this." He cautioned. "And even if you did, who the hell would agree to do it?" He sat back crossing his arms over his broad chest.

Annalisa and I shared a look. "There is someone I think would be willing and wouldn't ask too many questions." I glanced up at Topo; he was watching me with an eyebrow raised.

"There's this tenant in the building..."

"No, absolutely fucking not." Topo stood heading towards the sink. "You're breaking too many rules as it is, Stella. You don't understand how important our anonymity is and I get it. You weren't meant to be in this line of business but you've made the choice to immerse yourself in it. And in doing so, there are rules that have to be respected..."

I remember grinding my teeth at his words. There are always reminders of what Cardinale shared with us. The words are the same, but the implication of the words vary on who says them and how they actually live by those words.

"I get that Topo and I know you have more experience but trust me. It will work."

He didn't say anything for a moment, as he leaned against the kitchen counter. "I'll think about it."

The next day after coming home from going out drinking and I'm pretty sure getting laid, he said we could try it but, if the plan failed, he'd have to stop any effort made on going after Sofia and Jimmy.

With the green light, Annalisa and I introduced ourselves to the tenant I had in mind. We said we were sister, but we did give her our real names because we felt we had to be somewhat genuine.

Her name is Samantha. She's the first Transwoman, I have met or come across. She's beautiful, friendly and open about her life. We learned that she was born and raised in Georgia but her family turned her away at the age of sixteen, when she told them about her plan to transition.

She's lived in the building for almost two years and she works at a diner during the day but she's not shy about moonlighting as a 'lady of the night' in her words, which is why I thought she'd be a good asset to my plan. I kinda figured that was what she did based on her outfits and the sounds coming from her apartment next door.

She asked about Topo. We told her he was our cousin, using one of his aliases of Paolo. Ever since that day, we've made time to hang out and even invited her to eat dinner with us regularly.

I'm brought out of the memory as the car pulls onto the tarmac next to the waiting jet. "Here we are Miss Bracco."

"Thanks, Raul. Say 'Hi' to Angel for me." Referring to his wife. I hold out my hand to shake his.

"I will, safe travels."

I head up the staircase through the opening of the plane. "Welcome aboard Miss Bracco."

"Good to see you again, Captain Rossi." I make my way into the plane and settle into a seat. I text Topo and Annalisa letting them know I am on my way back. 

I smile, remembering Topo said that Cristian never let them use the jet unless it's an emergency. To be fair, this is only my third time using it and I didn't even ask to use it, technically.

I just said I wanted to be back in time for Annalisa's birthday and he said he'd arrange for me to get back in time. The captain's voice comes in through the speakers letting me know we will be taking off shortly.

I pull out my book that I brought with me and begin to read and relax as the plane begins to ascend into the dark sky.