Sergio

'Chief. We got a little situation!' John growled at me.

'Yes. I am aware of that!' We met on an abandoned balcony, out of sight. Night.

'You owe me 50 mil man! You said I'd have it by today. Tino wants his cash like – yesterday'. Squashing his cap deeper onto his face, he was about to have a nervous breakdown. 'What we gonna do?'

'Firstly, we're going to relax', I prompted, whispering in contrast.

'Easy for you to say! If I don't meet the deadlines, I'm a dead man!' Like a dart, he pushed his hard finger into my chest, 'you! You're insane –'

'Hey – HEY!' I threw his finger off, then grabbed his collar and pushed him against the balcony bars. 'Now listen, punk-ass wannabe! If it wasn't for my strategy, you wouldn't be a free man and milking money today. I saved you years of jail time. Trust me, this is not your career path'.

'Says the magic man who made 50 million vanish!' John retorted, 'besides, where did it even go?'

'That doesn't matter now. What matters now is that we're going to make it back'.

That evening I checked up on Maria, who was temporarily staying at Priscilla's flat for her own protection... from Selena's wrath, besides Valentino. Upon arriving, I found both the women in robes doing facials, nails and other women stuff.

'Hey!' Maria squealed like a little girl, jumping from her spot to give me a big hug, 'Are you hungry? Priscilla and I made some good Italian'. Conserved on her couch, Priscilla winked at me.

'Thanks for letting her stay', I whispered to Priscilla, while we watched Maria eagerly prepare food which I didn't ask for, 'seems like you've done some quality bonding'.

'We have. But when do you plan on taking her back?'

'Maria's a helpless idiot. She's not coming back'. Priscilla scoffed at my remark, 'I told her to leave the city. She won't leave'.

'She's your helpless idiot... chief', Priscilla interjected, unenthusiastically, 'who's intent on having your baby so she can have an excuse to keep running back to you. Congratulations'.

'Here it is!' Maria suddenly appeared in front of us with a tray of Italian cuisine, with a variation of dishes. Priscilla and I glanced at each other.

One by one, the women took turns feeding me their own respective dishes until I was so full, I couldn't move. About an hour later, Priscilla dozed off on my shoulder. Just looking at her made me sleepy.

'Alright!' I forced myself up, while Maria fed me grapes from her fruit platter, 'no more, please'.

'One more', she giggled, 'don't go'. Even my impending food burps couldn't keep her out of my face. 'Sergio wait!'

'Yeah?' I moaned, half asleep.

'I know about the 50 million...'

'Maria, no. The last thing I need is you getting involved'.

'What if you got them to sell the purple stuff... abroad?' she suggested, but I shook my head, 'if you sold to my connections in Spain and Morocco, you could make back your money twice as fast'.

'Wha – Maria?' I stared at her, lost, 'how the hell do you even – know that?'

'Because I've done it before. I'm a distributor, remember?' she sassed.

As part of my money recovery plan, John and I went with Maria's strategy.

First of all, I made sure Maria worked from home to keep her out of sight. Then John arranged the logistics, ensuring that police officers who helped us were properly vetted, and remunerated.

And in no time, we were back on track! A week and a half later, we made 100 million.

It felt great to be on top again.

'I must say, that was some great work you did at McCagne's. Well done, Amy', I congratulated her, 'I still wonder how you got all the locations of Valentino's distribution bases...'

'I have my ways...' she replied, mysteriously. We were in the board room, were she rocked on the board chair, feet on the desk, while I studied her.

From afar, it felt like I was talking to the same mischievous teenager I spoke to during our earliest encounters. Forging her own path in an unclear future, Amy still functioned as an opportunist... like me.

'Well personally, I don't think you should leave us. You'll never get paid more to babysit anywhere else – or do my assignments', I lectured her, right before preparing to give her my final cheque.

'I've never felt more excited to leave', she retaliated. 'You? And Selena and all your detectives – drive me crazy!'

'So if that's the case, why do you stay?'

'Because of Layla', she responded, sharply.

'That's right. You're her favourite friend'.

'Yeah. We're besties', Amy affirmed, 'I'm only afraid in a new world of superhumans, she'll want to imitate me'.

'There's no possible way. Amy?' I got up and sat closer to her, 'how does it feel to be the only one where people would go so far as to consume a sub-standard drug, just to imitate the powers only you have?'

'Is it supposed to feel... good?'

'Well maybe a bit special'.

'I was injected with this stuff by force because of my blood deficiency. You know that. I never asked for the side-effects'.

'Fair enough', I concluded, 'although you can't undo the way you've fuelled Layla's fantasies. She really looks up to you'.

'She looks up to you more. You know that?' Amy removed her feet from the table and rolled her chair over, 'she loves you. Keep it up'. She grinned, patting me on the shoulder.

Then it hit me. Being around us for so long meant that Amy involuntarily absorbed all the little family feuds, secrets, highs, and lows we had. Amy proved that she didn't regard my sense of morality, because she knew the extra cash I gave her was drug money. As long as she got a cheque from me at the end of the day, she never heard or saw anything.

And if it felt this good to finally be celebrated, why would I stop? I was no longer hated by the media, my team of detectives loved me, I was favoured by police commissioners and politicians.

For the first time ever, Bluebridge PD had unprecedented amounts of financial success, and was the most envied department ever. We could afford renovations, the latest technology, better training, and the best detectives in the city.

I was praised at press conferences, news interviews, public forums, and neighbouring police departments. Fame and fortune was a far-fetched achievement where I came from, but closer than ever now.

After an evening of drinks with my loyal Bluebridge comrades, I brought the after-party to Maria, who was my key to attaining this success in the first place. Priscilla's steaming balcony pool was the perfect point of relaxation.

Lucy Ortega called to thank me for the success of her campaign, just before Priscilla and Maria joined me in the warm pool, wearing topless bikini's, and popping the bottle of champagne I brought them.

Then I decided to go home.

To my surprise, I was greeted with the smell of luxury candles in a dim lit house, and my wife... Selena. In a fine grey silky robe and night gown, with pampered skin, dark and shimmering, she looked like the goddess of the night.

'Wow', I whispered, 'did you... do all this for me?'

'For our anniversary, remember?' she beamed. I completely forgot, 'now, blanco or rojo?' with a charming smile on her face, she danced with the bottles of red and white wine in her hand.

'Errr, red', I chose.

'Sexy choice'. Selena proceeded to pour two glasses of wine, then handed me mine. This was unexpected. 'To a great year of success, and... to us'.

'Cheers'. At this point I was still bewildered at all she was doing. Nervous, I drank until my cup was empty, while she just took a sip. 'Where's Layla?'

'Asleep'.

'You... didn't have to do all this for me'.

'Why not? You're my husband', she grabbed my cheek and caressed it, 'and I haven't given you much love lately. I've never told you how kind... loyal...' Selena quickly choked on her words, and started crying, '... and faithful you are... and I love you'.

'Selena, I...' fiercely confronted by the paradox, I was undone. With each word of affirmation she spoke to me, I sunk deeper into the abyss of guilt, and shame. I hadn't been kind, or faithful.

'I just wanna know, do you still... love me?' she asked, breathing heavily. I felt hurt by her question.

'I never stopped'. In that moment, we grabbed each other and kissed. Selena unveiled her robe of silk while I gradually unzipped her night dress. Then, she unbuttoned my shirt.

Our sex had never been more passionate than now. We were reconciling every broken piece of our long-neglected relationship. And it felt like healing.

Twelve hours later, I woke up alone in bed, a sweaty mess. The first thing I did was run to the toilet to relieve myself. I never slept twelve hours straight.

'Shit! I'm late!' I grumbled to myself, late for a 2:00PM police meeting. After throwing all my clothes on, I ran to the kitchen. There, I had a bite of the breakfast Selena prepared, now cold.

Just before I dashed out of the house, I called Selena's phone. Voicemail. Come on woman! Frustrated at her, I called again. Then I froze and walked backward into the kitchen.

Selena's ringtone came from one of the drawers. I opened it up and picked up her phone. Next to it... was her wedding ring.

Then, my daughter's phone... Layla.