The statement comes less than a week after the infamous Eden nightclub brawl, where a member of a rival Sicilian mob, Calvino Falcone, lost his life. Donata Marino, the club’s owner, was taken into custody but was later released without charge. CCTV footage from the event was unavailable due to a systems malfunction in the nightclub. Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
Neither family has been forthcoming with statements. The FBI have pointed to the murder of convicted murderer Rico Falcone at Stateville Correctional Center earlier today as a possible sign of Marino retribution, raising further suspicion that a war is brewing in the criminal underworld.
The Marino crime family, known colloquially as the Black Hand Mob, is among the five largest Mafia families in Chicago. The hostility between the Falcones and the Marinos was famously brought to public attention during the Chicago crime spree of 1987, which was marked by the Falcone murder of Don Vincenzo Marino, boss of the Marino family, and his wife Linda Harris in their family home. Their sons, Vince Jr and Antony, disappeared after the attack. Over the course of the feud, many Falcones and Marinos lost their lives, while just three arrests were made. The blood war was reignited several years later with the suspected Marino murder of Don Gianluca Falcone outside Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Though recent times have seen a tradition of peace between Chicago’s foremost criminal families, the events of this week point to the resurgence of their violent rivalry.
Sara Marino was the youngest of five children. Her brothers include Marco, Libero and Franco Marino, who is currently serving life in prison for murder. Her sister, Zola Marino, was recently released from prison after serving a six-year sentence for manslaughter. Sara was active on the Eden club scene and had recently deferred a course to study music at the University of Chicago. She did not have a criminal record.
Funeral details have not been released.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
RAGE
Those lying bastards.
I laid the newspaper back on the table. My mother was bustling around behind me. Grease crackled in the frying pan and the kitchen smelt like bacon. I excused myself and went upstairs two steps at a time. I locked myself in the bathroom and threw up.
I brushed my teeth and re-tied my hair, blinking at my pale reflection.
Why did you believe him?
You stupid girl.
Inside my bedroom, I stuffed the edge of my pillow into my mouth and screamed and screamed and screamed.
Those black-hearted, cold-blooded killers.
I could have wrung Nic’s neck. How could he lie so cavalierly like that? He was poison; him and his entire family. No one was safe from their crazed quest for retribution.
I rejoined my mother in the kitchen. She had made eggs to go with the bacon. She was humming to herself, her voice tripping over a melody I didn’t recognize.
I sat down with shaky legs, the after-effects of being sick still stinging in my cheeks. In my mind, I pictured a blank white page.
On the far corner of the table, half-sewn piles of fabric competed for space. A ripped envelope peeked out from under the pile.
My mother set the plates down and sat beside me.
I pulled the letter towards me, scanning it. ‘Our mortgage payment is overdue.’
She plucked the letter from my hand and refolded it inside the envelope. ‘I’m working it out.’
‘Are we out of money?’ I asked, keeping my attention trained on her profile as she crunched on a slice of bacon. ‘Is the diner in trouble?’
‘It’s just a misunderstanding,’ she said, chewing through her words slowly and deliberately. ‘Eat your breakfast. Don’t worry about this boring grown-up stuff.’
Boring grown-up stuff. The newspaper was face down where I had left it, but the headline still pulsed against my brain. I blinked the words away, putting up that blank white page again. I forced myself to eat a forkful of eggs.
‘I should go back to work,’ I said.
My mother passed me the salt shaker. She had painted her nails again. Coral: summery and bright. She had forgotten to do her pinkie. ‘Don’t be silly. You should be out in the sun, having fun.’ Her face relaxed in a placid smile. The crow’s feet by her eyes seemed deeper.
‘I should help out with money,’ I said. ‘I don’t mind …’
‘You don’t need to put the weight of the world on your shoulders. I’ve got it under control.’
Have you? I wanted to ask, but I didn’t. There was too much fear and anger raging inside me. It was a struggle to keep it in.
She tapped the side of my plate. ‘Your breakfast is getting cold.’
I chewed on a slice of bacon, trying to ignore the restless feeling in my stomach, the thoughts pushing against my brain. I swallowed the headline and the image of Sara Marino’s lifeless body pulled from a lake, and told my mother how spectacular the food was.