Valentina
Learning about my life through someone else’s eyes is… really weird.
After breakfast, Bradley brought Diego and me into a smaller room with a long wooden table, several high-back leather chairs, and a large screen where my name and face were displayed like some kind of presentation.
The awkwardness of it all had me clutching at Diego under the table and I still haven’t let go.
Raven is here, and the man I presume to be Cassian, judging by Diego’s brief description last night. Both smile pleasantly but focus mostly on the screen where Bradley stands.
He really does take up so much space.
The picture of me on the screen is clearly me, and yet it’s like I’m looking at a completely different person compared to what I see in the mirror. She’s smiling, but there’s something cold about her that I can’t put my finger on.
“Your name, your full name, is Valentina Greko. You’re the only daughter of a deceased Italian Mafia king, but despite being his heir and primed to take over his role in the Estate and all attached businesses, you were only sixteen and much happier in the role of assassin.
So, you handed over the family and all businesses to your father’s long-suffering right-hand man.
A move that has kept the Greko family steady and powerful ever since. ”
Diego suddenly chokes beside me as if something hit him in the throat, and everyone glances at him.
“Sorry.” He raises his other hand. “I’m sorry, it’s just… Mafia? Are you serious?” His gaze wanders around the table. “You’re talking about organized crime as casually as someone talks about cuts of steak. You can’t be serious?”
“This is New York,” Cassian replies. “Even those living under rocks know who controls the city.”
“I…” Diego’s eyes meet mine and there’s a soft hopelessness to his gaze. “This is insane.”
“Not the royalty you were expecting, huh?” I tease quietly, eager to soothe him the same way he soothes me. Then I turn back to Bradley. “I have to agree. What you’re saying is insane.”
“Is it?” Bradley clicks something in his hand and the screen display shifts. Pictures of a young woman at various galas and events, along with training photos and more. She’s younger, but there’s no doubt that woman is me.
Another click and suddenly, the CCTV footage from Diego’s office flickers on the screen. My heart rises into my throat watching that bastard attack Diego, and I clutch his hand tighter. Moments later, I burst in and we watch an eagle-eyed view of the smooth way I tackled that man and took him out.
“Hold on.” Diego shifts in his seat. “If you had that, why the hell did you accuse me of hurting Valentina? You can see she saved my life and we left together.”
“We only recently recovered this footage,” Bradley explains. “The man who attacked you did an excellent job at wiping the hard drives before he left, which is why tracking you, Diego, was limited to the descriptions we got from your staff.”
Diego’s eyes narrow but he sits back in silence.
“I don’t know how I did that,” I finally say.
“It was instinct,” says Cassian. “You saw someone in danger and you reacted because you’ve spent your entire life doing that. Your mind has forgotten the steps, but your body still knows.”
“So you’re telling me I’m a Mafia princess?”
“No.” Bradley clicks and the screen changes. This time, there’s a collection of five cards—Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and a Joker. “You’re the Queen.”
“The… Queen?”
“You spent a few more years working as a freelance assassin for any Mafia family with enough money to hire you. Your lack of loyalty to any one organization and your cutting ties with your family made you the perfect candidate to become the new Queen. You were voted into the Suit with the fastest vote ever recorded.”
“There’s a theory.” Cassian chuckles. “That most families were so afraid of your skills that they thought they’d be safer with you in the Suit than on the streets.”
“I’m sorry.” Leaning forward, I press my palm flat to the cool table. “The Suit? What are you talking about? What Suit?”
“Us,” Bradley says. “We are the Fifth Suit. We’re a secret organization that manages New York from the shadows.”
Diego snorts again but this time coughs to cover it up.
“This city is a tinder box. Between more rival Mafia families than anyone can ever count, outside career criminals doing what they can to make their mark, and a government that doesn’t have as much power over the city and the people as they’d like, all it would take is one spark, and this city will blow.
Before the Suit, the city, the state—no, the entire country—was flooded with organized crime fighting to be the top dog.
Everyone was killing everyone else, businesses were suffering, those who weren’t dying for their craft were getting arrested and overflowing prisons, which allowed the real cunts to walk free.
It was a complete and utter bloodbath. Until several families came together to form the alliance of the Suit. ”
“The Fifth Suit?” I repeat softly. Something about this is familiar, something buried deep down, like the ache that rises from hearing a song you just can’t remember the name of.
“Exactly. They form the Suit to act as the top of the pyramid, a group with absolute power and trust to ensure that every single family remains relevant and able to work without the threat of mass war. Greed is a powerful deterrent for all-out war because the one thing every single Mafia family has in common? A desire for power and money. None of that can be obtained if everyone is constantly trying to kill their way to the top.”
“So… you’re like a Mafia government?” Diego remarks.
Cassian snorts in amusement. “Exactly.”
“Sort of,” Bradley corrects. “We keep the peace all over the state, and we liaise with the cops and the government. Our line of work is good for everyone because, despite what most believe, we have the people's trust. Trust that will never be placed in the government.”
“So the government, the actual real government, just lets you all commit crimes all over the city for free?” The disbelief is heavy in Diego’s tone. “You can’t be real.”
“It’s a delicate balance,” Bradley remarks.
“We keep the peace with the Mafia families, we keep the peace when the lawyers and the corrupt senators want to take a bigger piece of the pie, and in return we help the government run smoothly while throwing them a bone every once in a while to make them look good.”
“Think about it,” Cassian says. “There’s always going to be crime. This way, the city doesn’t ignite every single night. No government asshole wants that any more than a Mafia Don wants to risk getting shot every night.”
“And everyone just… agrees?” Diego glances around the table. “You’re telling me all these organized crime families just… agree?”
“The benefits outweigh the restrictions,” Bradley replies. “And those who step out of line are safely pruned. After all, you’ve obeyed the laws and the government from birth, haven’t you?”
“Well… yeah. Mostly.”
“Why?”
Diego glances at me and shrugs. “Because they’re in power? The boss? I dunno.”
“Exactly. We’re in power. And you, Valentina, are part of it. That’s why you have the tattoo. The card you carry is your identifier, which is why it is only activated for you. That’s why we’re here.”
My head squeezes slightly and it’s like I’m caught in a dream. I’m being told things I feel like I should know and yet it’s all brand-new at the same time.
“I-I don’t know what to say,” I choke out eventually. “You all sound insane.”
“But it feels right, doesn’t it?” Cassian leans forward. “It feels like we’re telling the truth.”
I lock eyes with him and nod slowly. “Yeah. Sort of.”
“Just as well you didn’t judge me for being a drug dealer,” Diego snorts suddenly, and the snap of the joke somehow breaks the tension I didn’t realize was building in me. I laugh, despite the raised brow of alarm from Raven across the table.
“That would have been embarrassing,” I admit, and I give him a warmer smile.
Thank you.
“There are five of us,” Bradley continues. “I’m the King. You’re the Queen. Cassian is the Jack, Ruslan is the Ace, and Raven is the Joker. Each person is voted in unanimously and the only way to join or leave is if one of us dies.”
“And Ivy?” I ask.
“An outsider,” Bradley replies. “She and Ruslan… connected and she became one of us in the sense that without her, we wouldn’t have him.”
Love.
Isn’t that romantic?
“Wait…” I turn back to Bradley. “You said you liaise with law enforcement? What does that mean?”
“Anyone breaking the rules, disturbing the peace, or any criminal that’s really fucked, we hand them over to the law.
We help them as much as they help us. This system is very much a balance of give and take.
On one hand, we’re powerful enough to overthrow the government and the police, but no Mafia King or Queen wants to be a president.
And on the other side, they could try to wipe us out, but no one wants to return to the carnage that came before. ”
“A balance,” I repeat softly. “So that man, that cop who tried to kill Diego, you really sent him?”
Diego’s hand twitches in mine.
“No,” Bradley replies firmly and he glances over at Cassian, who rises from his seat.
“Raven and I have been leading the search for you,” Cassian says.
“The cop trailing you isn’t a cop. Not anymore, at least.” He takes the clicker from Bradley, and the screen fills with the man’s face alongside some old employment forms and an older ID badge.
“He was a patrolman several years ago but couldn’t hack it when he tried to arrest someone who would disturb the balance.
Most cops know how the world works, but this guy decided to change sides and now he’s a hitman.
He was the one who put the bounty on your head and it’s still active. ”
“Why?” My stomach knots. “Isn’t that something you can take down if you’re so powerful?”
“It is. But this guy is working for someone else and until we track down who that is, we don’t want to let anyone know that you’re home safe with us. Not until we can work out who is after you and who would be stupid enough to take on the Suit.”
“A common stupidity,” Bradley remarks.
Another click and a map of the city appears with several red dots.
“Here is where you were seen last by Zira, Bradley’s girlfriend.
You two had lunch together to discuss finalizing wedding plans for Ivy and Ruslan.
After that, no one heard from you. Here is where you were supposed to meet Ivy to get ready.
” He taps another dot, then reaches across the map to another.
“Here is where you got into Diego’s car.
We’re still tracking who cleaned up the crime scene and what happened to the men you killed. ”
Diego jolts suddenly. “You know about that?”
“CCTV,” Raven replies. “They wiped footage, but there’s always a way.”
“Am I in trouble for that?”
“No,” Bradley replies immediately. “You’re not in trouble for anything.”
I glance at him and he flashes me a relieved smile.
“We’ve been piecing together your journey, including where the bounty hunters were when they received news of you. Unfortunately, after that chase, all activity on your bounty has gone quiet.”
“And they found us because of Mindy?”
“Yes. She put out the call and everyone, us included, traced Diego’s phone.”
“This is a lot.” My grip tightens further on Diego’s hand until he winces. “I’m sorry. This is just all… you all have to understand how insane this all sounds.”
“We do,” Raven says gently. “We’ve never… never had to reeducate someone before, but we have pictures and videos and so much more to help you believe.”
“Before that, though,” Cassian remarks. “Valentina… everything that’s key to understanding this and what happened to you is locked in your mind.
It sounds terrifying and overwhelming, but it all already exists within you.
Before we overload you with pictures and things, there’s something I want to try. ”
“What is it?”
“Meditate with me. Calming the mind and reconnecting with yourself might help unlock a thing or two that could show you that not only are we telling the truth, but also, everyone here is as important to you as Diego is.”
I glance at Diego. This has to be some sort of trick, but this is also too elaborate for a lie. Does the truth really exist locked in my mind?
“Okay,” I agree. “It’s worth a try, right?”