Haunting-Adeline

Mark finishes off his drink before refilling. “You know, now that I think
about it, I remember overhearing a par cular conversa on. My father told
him that he needed to quit with the gambling, and John wasn’t listening.
He said one of the men he owed was Angelo Salvatore—who was a pre y
notorious crime lord back in the day. But turns out Angelo’s righthand man,
Ronaldo, convinced Angelo to hire John instead.”
It takes monumental effort to keep my eyes from blowing wide. John
was working for Ronaldo’s boss? There’s no way Gigi knew about it. I
imagine that’s something she would’ve men oned if she had.
“Why would he hire him? Why not just kill him?”
“He almost did,” Mark counters. He then opens a drawer in his desk and
pulls out a cigar. Ligh ng the tobacco, Mark leans back in his chair, the
leather creaking beneath his weight. A woodsy scent fills the air as he
puffs.
“I’ll never forget the way my father ripped into him over it. Calling him
names and telling him he could’ve go en himself killed. John said Angelo
had a gun to his head, ready to pull the trigger before Ronaldo stepped in.
Said the man asked Angelo to consider hiring John to pay off his debts by
working for him instead.” Mark sucks in deeply and then coughs a few
mes as smoke puffs from his mouth. “Guess it worked.”
So, Ronaldo saved John’s life. I don’t need to have been there to know he
only did it for Gigi. But it’s not like he could’ve told Angelo his real reasons
for bartering John’s life, which means John had to have been useful in
some form—that would’ve been too risky of a move otherwise, and
possibly could’ve go en him killed if John wasn’t valuable.
“Do you know what he did for Angelo?”
Mark’s brows raise, and a small smile curls his lips. Almost as if he finds
my ques on amusing. “John was an accountant back then. Real good with
numbers. Pre y sure he helped Angelo launder his money, but that was
never proven.”
I blink. “If he was so good with numbers and money, why did he suck so
bad with gambling? The man could’ve just counted cards or something.”
Mark bursts out into laughter, his plump stomach shaking. “You’re a
funny girl, Addie. You’re right, I think if John was in his right mind when he
played, he might’ve won big. But he couldn’t stop with the drinking. Angelo