HAND OF FATE
1169 Words
Ivy communicated with Sheila to take a breather, whilst she checked who it was at the door.
Sheila nodded, encouraging her to get ahead of it.
“Who is there!” Ivy called out, as she walked over to the door, and opened it. “Anna? Why didn't you just come in?” She questioned, lifting a brow.
“I didn't want to interrupt your conversation with your grandmother.”
“Oh. Kind of you. Is there something you need?”
“Not me, but the madam.”
“The madam? Who?”
“Madam Natasha.” She elaborated.
“Oh,” Ivy's face dropped. “What does she need?”
“You at the dining table tonight. She says it's a must. All family members, including the new bride, must eat dinner together.”
Ivy's heart skipped a beat. “But I don't want to. I want to be with my grandma tonight.”
Sheila, hearing her granddaughter's disturbed voice, walked over to the door.
“What is going on here, princess?”
Ivy sighed internally, beating herself up for coming off too loud, which had provoked her grandmother to interrogate.
“It's nothing, Grandma. I can handle it.”
“No, no, tell me. You? You're Anna right?” She sized her up and down.
“Yes ma'am. I'm Anna.”
“Good-good. My princess says you've been very good to her. Tell me what the problem is.”
Anna looked to Ivy for a sign that she could go on.
Resigned to fate, Ivy gave her the encouraging nudge she needed.
“It's madam Natasha, ma'am. She insists the bride must be at the table tonight for dinner.”
Sheila experienced a brief flashback as soon as those words left her lips.
She recalled how much her precious Rose never wanted to hear anything about Natasha Bratva.
There was always tension in the air when it came to both of them. Tension that never disappeared.
Now she wondered if the woman was transferring whatever aggression she had for her Rose, to her princess.
“Grandma, don't worry, I already told her to tell Ms Natasha that I would be spending tonight with–”
“No!” Sheila cut her off.
“Huh?” Both herself and Anna chorused.
“You heard me, princess. You'll go to that dinner. We'll go together. If she thinks she can intimidate you without anyone being there for you, then I'll be there to prove her wrong. I'm here now. No one, and nothing will harm you.”
Ivy's dull face suddenly stretched into a wide, glistening smile. “You heard the Queen, Anna. We'll be there for dinner.”
Anna bowed, and turned to leave with a happy smile on her face.
She couldn't be more happy if she tried, knowing her precious Bride had one more person on her side.
“I'm so glad you're here, granny. My granny, my gramgram, my queen.” Ivy continued with the flattering names, as she shut the door behind her.
Sheila just laughed over and over again, only too glad she was able to regain her Princesses trust in her.
“But grams, we aren't done with your story yet.”
“No we're not done, my precious Princess. Let's do this. How about we pick out dresses for us to wear tonight, whilst I continue the story?”
“Definitely yes! I don't know how it's possible, but I walked into this room to find a closet filled with clothes perfectly my size. Almost as if my entire life here was planned even before I stepped into it.” She shuddered at the mere thought of it.
Sheila didn't respond to that directly. However, she held her by the shoulder, and pulled her towards the closet.
“Shall we begin, princess?”
Ivy swiftly bobbed her head so hard, it almost rolled out of her neck.
“Now where was I again?” She asked, whilst Ivy was opening the closet.
“Uhmm, the ripple effect of something being felt to this day?” She said behind her shoulder, trying to press the proper buttons.
“That's right! So you see, Princess, remember I said something about the deal Cillian Greene made with the gangsters?”
“Yep,” she replied.
“Well he had just managed to fulfill it before his arrest. The only problem was that he gave everything to his cousin, Ian. Which meant Ian was the one to share it with the other families. There was a slight problem though. Maya Johnson and her perfect hawk eyes were on parole, so nothing could be done. In fact, the missing budget was being investigated. Everyone had to go quiet. I was very much tempted to go to Agent Johnson, and tell her everything I knew. I don't know why I didn't.” She shook her head.
Ivy pouted pitifully, as she observed the regret in her grandmother's eyes.
She could only wonder how hard it was for someone with a moral compass as strong as hers to watch the lawlessness from men.
“Well,” she cleared her throat and continued. “It wasn't in my place to say anything anyway. Because not too long after, it came out that agent Johnson had an insider. An insider from the Gambino family.”
Ivy gasped.
“Yes, my child. The Gambino's, a bunch of them at least sold all three families for the purpose of greed. They wanted to eat from the FBI, and also from the agreement.”
“Wow! That's real greed.”
“Yep, but that's the Gambino's for you. Never to be trusted. Even worse than the other two families. Not like that's saying a lot, anyway.”
“Let me guess. They found out and refused to allow them to share in the proceeds?”
Sheila's eyes sparkled with pride. “I raised an intelligent girl, didn't I?”
Ivy's face turned crimson, as she blushed shyly. “You sure did, Granny.”
“That's exactly right, my girl. When the dust settled, which is code for when agent Johnson magically turned up missing, the battle for the money began. The Gambino's insisted that since it was only a fraction of the family that sold them out, the rest of them should partake in the money. Naturally, the Greene's and Bratva's refused. A war brewed. Ian's era came to an end, and your father ascended. The war continued. Got even worse. All the while, the Greene's kept the secret of the payment that couldn't even be enjoyed. One day, your father and Vladimir's father decided they would end the feud. The only way to do that, and kick the Gambino's out of the picture for good–”
“Was to get me to marry Vladimir,” Ivy said, everything coming full circle in her head.
Sheila Greene sighed, feeling sorry for her dearest granddaughter, and the cruel hand fate had dealt her.
- Writer
