Sold to the Mafia Boss

How could Father?

I left the attorney's office and headed directly to the diner for my shift. I couldn't believe my eyes when I entered the diner. We had a full house. Everyone was busy taking orders and trying to get the food out, and I stood there like a deer in headlights. Why were we so busy? There weren't any special occasions going on in town, so I was a bit confused. Elaine waved at me to get changed and come help. I quickly rushed to the back, threw my shi.t in the locker and put on my uniform.

The night was busy until thirty minutes till close. It was nice and quiet once we locked the door and started to clean. I cleared off all the tables, then I swept the floor. The new girl mopped and me and Elaine counted the cash drawer. We ended up recounting it three different times, and were shocked when we realized we made four times the normal amount than most days.

"Maria, thank you for jumping in the mess with us when you first got here. Did you count your tips yet?" Elaine said. I shook my head, I was too busy to count my stuff when my main focus was cleaning my section. I went and sat down, and started counting my tips and closing out my shift. I ended up making over $300 in tips, which was more than I was used to. With my mom's life insurance money and this, I could bury my mother properly back in Sicily and buy my cap and gown.

I close and lock up with Elaine. I say my goodbyes and begin my walk home. It still hurts going home to an empty house without my momma. I unlocked and opened my front door, and walked in. I went straight to my room, placed my bag down next to my dresser, and walked to the bathroom to shower. I heard the front door opening. It must be my father. I simply ignored it, finished my shower and headed to bed. I was thankful that I went to the bank and deposited the check into mine and my mother's account. First thing I would do in the morning would be to plan on bringing my mother's body back to her hometown, in Sicily.

I laid my head down on my pillow, closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep, in hopes that tomorrow would go as smoothly as I hoped. When my alarm went off, I contemplated getting up at all. My head felt heavy almost like I had been drinking, but I know I didn't. I slowly got out of bed, and made my way to the bathroom. I washed my face, and loaded my toothbrush with toothpaste and started to brush, but stopped when I noticed a bite mark. I looked closer, and there was no bite mark. Is that a puncture mark... on my neck? I would have to stop by the nurse's office this morning before I head to class to confirm it. I quickly finished in the bathroom, got dressed, grabbed my bag and left for school.

The nurse checked out the mark on my neck and didn't know what to think of it herself. She told me to keep an eye on it and that if it got worse, or I felt different to have it checked out by a hospital. I went on to class, taking notes and finishing up my thesis notes. At lunch, I made a list of all the things I would need to pack and bring to bury my mother. I would need my passport, clothes for at least a week and some other minor items. I would buy the plane tickets after class since I didn't have work today. It was the only day I had off. I had plans to get my nails done too. It was the only luxury thing I did for myself every month.

The last bell rang, and I quickly shot to my feet, grabbing my bag and rushed out the door. I walked to the nearest travel agent, which was a few blocks down the street. First thing on my list: buy a ticket to Sicily.

"Welcome in, how can I help you today?" The agent asked. She was around my age with short blond hair. She would be pretty if it wasn't for the lipstick stuck on her front teeth.

"Yes, hi. I need to book a round trip ticket to Sicily. It was my mother's last wish to be buried in her hometown," I said.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry for your loss. OK, let's get started then, shall we?" She said, motioning me to have a seat. I explained the date that I wanted to depart and when I would be returning.

"OK and will we be needing accommodation or will you be staying with family there?" She asked.

"Oh, I will need accommodation. I don't know my mother's side of the family. She said her parents died a long time ago.

"OK, no problem. So, with hotel accommodations and round trip tickets, your total will come to $3589.99. Will that be cash or a card?" Damn, who knew flying to Sicily would be expensive?

"Card." I took out my card from my wallet and handed it to the lady. She swiped it and gave a look of disapproval, then swiped it again.

"I'm sorry miss, but it seems it's been declined. I definitely tried it twice, but it's still declining." She said, handing back my card. That wasn't possible since the money was there in my account.

"OK, thank you. I'm going to stop at the bank and find out what is going on. I just deposited my mother's life insurance policy there just the other day, so maybe the bank has a hold on it." I said, getting up.

"I've been there. My father passed away last year. But one thing I can tell you is that the bank doesn't put holds on things like that." She said. She walked me to the door, reminded me of their times. I told her I would be back as soon as I knew what was going on. I headed for the bank. I needed to know what was going on. I made it to the bank in just under thirty minutes. I walked up to the teller, whose name was Jody, with a smile.

"Hi, I need to look at my account. I deposited money the other day and my card was declined." I said.

"I will need your photo ID and bank card, please," Jody said. I grabbed both and handed them to her. She typed something on her keyboard, scrolled with her mouse and paused.

"Hmmmm, looks like your mother's card withdrew all the money at eight this morning." Jody said.

"That's impossible, my mother passed away. Her card is here." I said, rummaging through my bag, but I couldn't find it.

"Does anyone else know your mother's pin code on her card?" Jody asked.

"No, just me and my mother, but like I said, she just passed away." I responded.

"We can look at the camera and see who came and withdrew the money if you would like," Jody responded.

"Yes, please."

Jody got up and went over to talk with her supervisor. After twenty minutes, the tall older gentleman came over to talk to me.

"Hi, Maria. My name is Howard, I'm the bank's manager. I hear you had an unauthorized withdrawal from your account. Is that correct?" Howard asked.

"That's correct. Only my mother and I were on that account. My mother passed away, and I deposited her life insurance the other day. I went to purchase my ticket to bury her back in her hometown, but the card was declined. That's over half a million dollars missing from my account." I said, in frustration.

"According to the surveillance, this man here (he pointed to a man on the camera) made the withdrawal." I looked close, and my mouth hit the floor. My father is shown with my mother's card, taking all of my money out of the account!

"I assure you, miss Cecil. Your father had all the necessary documents with him, including the next of kin and rights to her account." I looked at Howard with anger in my eyes.

"Mr. Howard, my father, is a well-known gambler. And this form here was put in place the day my mother and I opened this account, that he would not have access to it." I said, slamming down the form I took out of my bag.

Howard took the form and read it carefully:

This authorizes Maria Lynn Cecil and Carol Lynn Cecil as primary on account.

Do not authorize Robert Jacob Cecil.

All were signed by the CEO of the bank. Howard's mouth dropped. He dropped to his knees apologizing for his mistake. What was I going to do now? My mother's money and everything I saved was gone.