Chapter Fourty Two

Chapter 42

“Crying won’t solve anything. Let’s just try and see how we can salvage the rest of the situation,” Jay uttered with a clipped tone from where stood by the vehicle. His hands were tucked in his pockets as she squinted his eyes against the sweltering sun.

Jemima nodded her head, not even feeling offended by Jay’s snide remark. Alan handed her a handkerchief to wipe off the tears from her eyes. Jemima nodded her head slowly as she got up and collected the handkerchief from Alan’s hand. She wiped off her face.

Alan skeptically stared at Jemima as she walked to the car. “Are you okay to drive?” Alan questioned, eliciting a positive nod from Jem. She made her way to the driver’s seat and exhaled deeply.

“It’s okay Jem, it’s not your fault,” Vanessa empathized, stretching out her hand to pacify her. The entire ride home was silent, the atmosphere in the air thick with tension.

A few minutes after they had arrived at the house, they all ventured into the emergency unit, trying to curate the next line of action to take.

“So we know Vance is sly and he’d stop at nothing to get what he wants but what we do not know I why he has chosen to take it personally,” Jemima declared as she suited up. She stuck a dagger into her thighs and a gun at the back of her trousers.

“Keep your emotions in check, make sure you see Jon first and know he’s alive, then you get questions from him,” Alan stated, placing wires around Jemima.

“Aren’t you guys coming along?” Jemima questioned when she saw that they weren’t suiting up as well.

“It’s too dangerous Jem,” Dimitri pointed out, causing Jemima to scoff.

“Everything is dangerous in the Mafia world Dimitri,” Jemima remarked with a chuckle that did not reach her eyes and an eye roll.

Vanessa handed a bottle of water to Jemima, “drink it, you haven’t had anything to eat or drink since last night,” Vanessa commented, eliciting a nod of appreciation from Jemima.

“What Dimitri is trying to say is that Vance might feel threatened once he senses that there a people surrounding the building and who knows what he might do to Jon when he feels threatened,” Jay elucidated, eliciting a slow nod of comprehension from Jemima. Her gaze fluttered to Alan and she observed how he isolated himself in a corner, his head buried in his palms and her expression softened.

Jemima had been so wrapped up in her own emotions, that she hadn’t stopped to think how Jon’s kidnap must be affecting Alan. Alan was very close to his father so she couldn’t imagine what he must be going through. She walked up to him and sat beside him, prompting Alan to raise his head and glance at her.

“I know this must be difficult for you Alan,” Jemima acknowledged, attempting to send some form of solace to him. Alan’s gaze shifted to Jay and they shared a knowing look. Jemima tried to decipher what the look they shared meant but shrugged it off instead.

“It’s alright Jem, let’s just get this done and over with,” Alan mused as he stood up, prompting Jemima to mirror his actions as well.

As Jemima left the house, she heard Alan murmur, “I feel bad.”
She intended to query him but decided against it. Alan walked with her to the car, his lips pursed as he held her hands.

“I love you Jem,” Alan stated, engulfing Jemima in an embrace. She momentarily closed her eyes, savoring the sweet musk of his scent as he hugged her. She kept quiet, enjoying the tranquility that engulfed them. The sun was beginning to set and it cast its beautiful orange hue across Alan’s face, illuminating the contours of his face and enhancing the colors his eyes held.

Jemima departed from him and drove straight to the proposed location. She didn’t know the exact location and found it difficult to locate the place.

After a long while, she finally discovered the place. Jemima shivered at the icy air that blew around her as she alighted from the car. She leaned her back against the car and observed the building from outside, enjoying her sojourn.

Jemima eventually walked into the building, carefully scanning the areas for unforeseen dangers. She held up her pistol in one hand and walked into what appeared to be a well-furnished and dimly lit room. On the floors were scattered daisy flowers and scented candles were placed around the room.

“What sort of mind games is Vance playing?” Jemima asked herself aloud as she struggled not to let her guard down but it was difficult. The decorations in the room were beautiful. In the middle was a cake and she daintily walked towards it, fearing that a bomb might be planted inside and it might explode.

She read the writing on the cake aloud, ‘Happy birthday SK!’

Jemima scrunched up her nose, wondering how Vance knew her birthday. She had not celebrated her birthday in the last twelve years not because Alan and Jon didn’t want to but because she didn’t want to without Marcus.

Suddenly, the lights turned on. “Happy Birthday!” The screams of people startled Jemima, causing her to shoot sporadically.

“Woah Jem! Relax! It’s us!” Jay uttered, walking up to her and grabbing the gun from her hand. Jemima clutched her chest, looking at everyone all dressed for a party. Her gaze shifted from Jay to Dimitri, to Vanessa, and before finally resting on Alan. She also saw him holding Jon in a wheelchair who smiled faintly.

“What the fuck is going on?” Jemima screamed, taking a step back from them. Her mind was spiraling with different thoughts.

“A surprise party for you, the birthday girl!” Jay declared, a smirk dancing around the corners of his mouth as he glanced at Jemima.

“Jon! You’re alright?” Jemima mused, relief flooding through her veins as she walked up towards him.

“I am!” Jon exclaimed, coughing gently. Jemima walked up to him and knelt beside him, placing her head on his legs. Jon’s smile lit up his face.

“What the fuck is happening?” Jemima reiterated, abruptly standing up and she glanced at everyone. Her head was spinning and it felt surreal.

“We planned a surprise for you Jem,” Alan explained, walking towards her but she took a step further away from him.

“What happened to Vance and the mission?” Jemima asked, glancing up at Jay.

“Vance Wokowski was once a mafia leader in Italy and was murdered during a raid in the nineteen hundreds,” Jay elucidated, causing Jemima to sit down heavily on the chair.

“So that’s why I couldn’t find a record of him in the archive,” Jemima mused out loud, taking her fingers through her hair in exasperation.

“Yes, we had to make sure it was someone you are not conversant with,” Dimitri voiced out, causing her to turn her head to glance at him.
“You guys had to use Jon to plan a stupid party?” Jemima inquired incredulously, her temper rising. Her gaze fluttered to Vanessa who just shrugged.

“Hey! Don’t look at me. I only found out about this today and I told them I’ll give you the knife to cut their heads off with,” Vanessa muttered, claiming innocence.

Jemima’s gaze shifted to the three men who stood before her. She shut her eyes temporarily, attempting to not let her anger get the best of her.

“That was a sick joke!” Jemima exclaimed, abruptly standing up to confront them.

“Don’t blame them Jem, it’s my fault. This was all my idea,” Alan confessed, eliciting an indignant scoff from Jemima.

“How? You were not in Rome. I watched people get shot! Now you tell me it was all a fluke?” Jemima quizzed, her head spinning uncontrollably from the amount of information she was getting.

“Quick confession, everyone in that restaurant was a paid actor and no one died. We had to take months to plan it,” Jay revealed, causing Jemima’s eyes to widen further in disbelief.

“That was why I sent you to Rome in the first place. Of course, Jay could have handled Dennis but I needed you to be there. We predicted everything except your kidnap,” Jon muttered, remorse lacing the edges of his tone as his gaze bore into hers.

“Wow! Oh My God!” Jemima exclaimed, plunging herself back to the chair. She tried to breathe out slowly in an attempt to still her racing heart.

“Is Godfather aware of this? How did you get him to play along?” Jemima questioned, her voice barely above her whisper as she tried to control her emotions.

Jay and Dimitri shared a knowing look, the realization dawning on Jemima. Everything began to make sense now, the side looks, the skeptical glances. Jemima closed her eyes momentarily as she allowed the realization to wash over her.

“Well Godfather is the orchestrator of this plan,” Alan commented, causing Jemima to raise her head to glance at him.

“What do you mean? He doesn’t even know my birthday!” Jemima queried, standing up again. She looked at Vanessa who was just sipping a drink. From peripheral vision, she could see Jon gazing at her.

“Happy birthday Jemima!” Godfather’s voice resonated across the room as he came into view. Jemima whipped her head as she turned to face him. She observed him in his full regalia.

“Godfather?” Jemima inquired, a quizzical expression planted across her face.

“No!” Godfather responded, taking off the mask from his face and revealing his identity which caused Jemima to gasp in pure disbelief.

“Marcus!”