Ghost City

57

I took a seat beside Sagacity and she offered a faint smile before looking at her father and nodding for him to continue.

"Lantana is an escort group ran by an old friend of mine," Carter said before his wife flashed him a glare. "Uh...an old acquaintance....someone I knew. That's not the point. Evita, who I called last night, is the person who owns the group. When we saw Josephine, your dad, and Miles at Starfish Lakes, Josephine was there seeking clients, hence her giving your dad the card. She said that your dad wasn't interested, but that Miles was, but for reasons other than escorting. He wanted to know about a tat from a client she had dealt with before. This client was Mikey. Josephine said that he offered to pay her triple the amount that he was supposed to for pictures of Mikey's tattoos."

Titan intervened saying, "Cute story: this second encounter between Josephine and Mikey is what led them to actually date and for Josephine to quit escorting."

"Anyways," Junior rolled his eyes, causing a few chuckles to go around.

Carter continued, "That's how Miles got the tattoos. Was he the one who killed your dad? Nope. Was he an accomplice? Yes. Josephine said that the same night she turned over pictures of the tattoo, Miles got a call from someone he called Greene, and on that call he confirmed getting the pictures. She said she knew there was something bigger going on but that she didn't care because she had already gotten paid. We wanted Rico to check if your dad knew anyone called Greene, but your mother spared us some time in that department."

"Greene," I frowned. "Didn't my dad have a friend he called that?"

Mother nodded, "Exactly. Anthony Grayson-Greene. Brian and Anthony grew up together and even joined the gang together. They were best friends."

"I thought all of the members of the gang died though..." I frowned.

"Like your mother, Anthony had a real doctor sign off his death certificate, so it came up legit in the systems," Nathan chimed in. "Here's where everything gets juicer."

"I'll take it from here," Uncle Rico said. "Try to keep up, lil man. Remember Mikey? Mikey said that a customer that he had around the same time your father died resurfaced a month ago. Now, the way how the Mafia works is that you can have your own side job as long as it isn't interfering with the effectiveness, efficiency, or prosperity of the organization. For that reason, Mikey didn't have to tell us that he was selling to people off the books. That's his revenue and business so long as he's still doing his job. The person that Mikey sold to was, indeed, Anthony. Mikey identified him and everything. Now you're probably wondering: how does Emily wind up with the drug?"

I nodded, waiting for the answer.

Titan explained, "Emily was having an affair with Anthony. She wasn't keeping track of you because she wanted to avenge her husband. She was keeping track to make sure you didn't find out that she helped murder her husband. I don't think Sierra knew that part though. While Sierra was away for college, Emily was staying in Cali. Wanna know who facial recognition picked up over where Emily was staying? Anthony."

"Why didn't the person in your house have to break in? Because he knew the setup of the house already. Who was it that we saw in the photo? Anthony," Rico added.

"Why show his arm and the fake tattoo?" Junior asked. "That was all Miles, who had been wanting to take down Mikey for a minute. Miles planned on even framing Mikey to get dirt on Carter, but Anthony and Emily had other plans. How do we know about this? Anthony."

Carter chuckled, "Who's been tortured for five hours straight until he confessed and is still in my basement?"

Junior, Rico, and Nathan chuckled, "Anthony."

Titan chuckled to himself while shaking his head, and Sage flicked his ear before scolding, "Not you condoning this!"

"Your husband and other brother is," Titan shrugged while chuckling, and Sage rolled her eyes.

I frowned, "What about Katy though? Emily just allowed her daughter to die like that?"

"Her condition had exacerbated over the years, and she had only a few months or less to live at the time when her father died. Her mother made the decision to pull the plug probably to stop Katy from suffering. All of the dirty money that Miles made went into Emily's hands, and was thus also in Anthony's hands. That money, in combo with the money Anthony stole from the members in the gang that he killed, was enough for the entire family to get new identities and change their locations when needed," Rico informed.

Mother then sighed, "Brian was killed because he refused to help Anthony take down the members in the gang. Anthony said that your father knew too much, which is why he teamed up with Miles to make sure his steps would be covered. Originally, he was planning on just running off with Miles' wife. Brian's death...made everything easier for Anthony. He was the one casualty that both Miles and he thought would help them get everything they wanted. Miles thought he'd finally have a lead on the Mafia through Mikey, and Anthony knew that Miles would cover both of their footsteps. Once Miles wasn't needed anymore, Anthony killed him and ran off with Emily and Sierra. Marquees was also set up by Anthony, who basically killed three birds with one stone." A tear trickled down my mother's cheek, and City placed her hand on mine to try and comfort me.

Carter shrugged, "I thought you and Diane should have a say in the way Anthony would go out. It's the only reason why he's alive right now."

Angry wasn't even the word to describe how betrayed I felt. I remembered seeing Greene around a lot. My dad trusted him, and that trust got him killed. Greene, his best friend for so many years, betrayed him in his own selfish pursuits. I became fatherless because of him, and I wanted nothing more than for him to suffer. However, I didn't want to live knowing that I had taken a man's life when it wasn't out of self defense.

"I don't care what happens to him," I answered. "I want no parts in this."

Carter looked at me with a surprised look before nodding. "Like I said, Damien, you remind me of the good parts of me...the parts of me that are a bit corrupted now," Carter said. He then turned his attention to Diane before saying, "You did right with him. Do you have a preference for Anthony?"

Mother shook her head before saying, "I just want him to suffer. Let him live with what he's done."

"I know the perfect place then," Carter nodded.

Rico, Junior, and Nathan looked at each other and smiled, "The Pit."

"The Pit?" I frowned.

"Hell on Earth is all you need to know," Carter replied. "He'll live, but he'll be tortured everyday. Trust me, Anthony will wish we had just killed him."

Rico chuckled, "And this is why you don't mess with a Mafia member or his family," and Carter smiled with an affirmed nod.