Chapter 8 - The Family You Choose
The police never found David Sterling.
The papers reported that a vagrant matching his description had fallen into the icy Chicago River, swept away by the freezing current. Nobody asked any further questions. In Vincent Kane’s city, some mysteries were better left unsolved.
That night changed everything between my mother and Vincent.
She realized that while he was a monster to the rest of the world, he was our shield. He had taken a life to save hers. You cannot go back to simply paying a twenty percent tax after a man kills the demon that haunts you.
Years passed.
I graduated high school at the top of my class. I played the cello at my graduation ceremony, the rich, deep notes echoing through the auditorium.
I looked out into the crowd.
Sitting in the third row, looking wildly out of place among the cheering, crying suburban parents, was Vincent Kane. He wore a sharp three-piece suit, flanked by Marcus and two other guards who looked incredibly uncomfortable in the folding chairs.
When I finished playing, Vincent didn't clap. He simply nodded, a slight, proud smile touching the corners of his mouth.
I am twenty-two now.
Mom owns three locations of The Starry Crumb. She is a millionaire in her own right. She still argues with Vincent about business, and she still refuses to let him dictate her life, but they have dinner together every Sunday.
As for me, I didn't go into the bakery business.
I went to law school.
I wanted to understand the rules of the world so I could bend them, just like the man who taught me that power isn't about being the loudest in the room; it's about being the one who makes everyone else stop and listen.
Today was my first day at a prestigious corporate law firm in downtown Chicago.
As I walked into my new corner office, overlooking the sprawling, glittering city, I found a small, wax-sealed envelope sitting in the center of my mahogany desk.
I smiled, breaking the seal.
Inside was a single, wobbly purple star cut out of construction paper.
And a handwritten note.
I am very proud of you, Rory. If any of the partners refuse to pay you... let me know. — V.K.
May you like
I laughed, tucking the purple star into my suit pocket.
Some things never change. And some monsters, if you look closely enough, are just men waiting for a little girl to ask them for help.
