The Mafia Wife's Revenge novel · Chapter 23 of 24

Chapter 23: The Anniversary

The deed to my mother's plot came on Friday, in a plain envelope, with no note.

I knew who had sent it.

The old boss in the cardigan had returned the one thing of Damian's he had the power to give back.

On Sunday I drove to the cemetery in Westchester alone.

It was a cold bright morning, and the maples along the path were red.

My mother's stone was small and gray, with her name and two dates.

A man in a dark shirt knelt in front of it, with his head bowed and his hands on his knees.

I stopped behind a tree, and I did not mean to listen.

"Ma'am," he said.

His voice was low and rough, and it carried on the still air.

"It's the third year. I'm sorry."

"I don't have a better word. I've looked."

"She's all right. She sees colors. She hears birds. She's the bravest woman I ever met."

"She knows I come now. I'm done hiding it from her."

I stepped out from the tree.

He heard the gravel and went rigid, but he did not turn.

"You can stay," I said. "I'm going to talk to her too."

He stood up slowly and moved aside, and he held his hands where I could see them.

I knelt in the grass and laid my palm on the cold stone.

"Hi, Mom."

"I'm sorry I didn't come last year. I couldn't see you."

"Damian is in a cell. Camilla too. I took the Maison back, and the women sew for me again."

"I made a dress with your blue stitch in every hem. A whole room full of them clapped."

My voice broke, and I let it.

"The man behind me has been here every year," I said. "I'm not sending him away."

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