Chapter 1
He had heard rumors that the heads of mafia families were going underground, that the FBI was closing in. Richard had called him late, later than usual, to give him an update.
“Sir, they’re shutting down the Italians tomorrow. You need to move out in case they talk.” No. He finally had everything he wanted. He had a family, he wasn’t alone. He was a good father, a better one than he ever had. Richard must have senses his hesitation, "If you don’t leave tonight, the FBI could be at your door before the week ends.”
“Yes, I understand that. I’ll tell Julia to pack what she can. We’ll be out before sunrise.” He was trying to steady his breathing. He had tried to distance himself from his profession since Julia became pregnant. He’d kept on only one staff member, Richard, because he had a son to look after.
“No sir, just you. Currently, nobody but me knows about your connection to the Seabournes. You take them to the safehouse, that all changes.”
“Very well. Julia and Juniper can stay. But transfer funds to Julia’s account. Enough to hold her over for a while, I don’t want her worrying about money with the baby.”
“Why would I be worrying about money?” a soft voice spoke out from behind him.
“Go back to bed Julia, I’m on a business call.” He tried to keep his voice as steady as possible, but Julia saw through him. She saw the packed bags. She saw the notes that were displayed on the table.
“You’re leaving us, aren’t you?” She didn’t look at him, she couldn’t move her eyes or her body enough to see his face.
“I just got a tip, it's likely that the Italians will turn me over to cushion their sentences. I can’t have you and Juni getting wrapped up in it too. Please, stay with a friend for a few days until this all blows over.”
“You know that if these men find out you have a daughter, they’ll stop at nothing to find her. Right?”
“There’s a reason she took your last name and not mine.” He smiled softly at the thought of his daughter, but the smile dropped when he realised that he could never raise her. He could never be the loving father that he needed growing up. “I really must be going. I’ve left enough money for Juniper to get through university. I’ve also written her a letter for when she turns eighteen. I request that you wait until then to give it to her.”
He didn’t wait for her reply. He walked out the front door, stepped into a car, and left his family behind. Julia never looked for him. She may have loved him, but he made his choice and she wouldn’t take that away from him. Juniper would be her whole life, all she needed was to raise Juniper to be a caring woman that would put family first.
A few years later, Julia brought a man home for the first time. Juniper was three, but she was old enough to see the way that they looked at each other.
“Hey there kiddo. My name is Jack, and I am in love with your mom.” His smile was contagious as he spoke, and Julia broke out laughing.
“I like you.” Juniper answered, and from there everything was history. Julia and Jack got married in October of 1988, and their son Oliver was born in August of 1989. Jack may not have been Juniper’s father, but he was her dad. Oliver was her brother, and she loved him. Jack raised them with Julia, and they were the perfect family. Jack worked at a law firm, and he had a lot of late nights researching cases at the office.
July 1995
This night was different. The streets of Hell's Kitchen were silent. In a busy city, it was never this quiet unless something was about to happen. Jack was running later than usual, but Juniper was still awake. She could never sleep on the quiet nights. Having been raised on the city noise, it was hard to sleep without it. The time was ticking dangerously close to one, and Jack was still out. Suddenly, the silence broke. A car door slam, loud footsteps, and a single gunshot.
Juniper was raised better than to run outside when the sun was down. She knew better than to leave her apartment after a gunshot. But right now, the only thing on her mind was finding her father. She went to push the door of her apartment complex, but the door hit a stop. She was able to push it far enough to squeeze through, and the street lights blinded her. She looked around, and her eyes fell on a man laying in front of the door. He was faced down, and there was blood pooling around his head. 'Oh god' She thought, and went inside to use the landline to call the police.
“911, what’s your emergency?” The operator's voice echoed through Juniper’s head, “Hello? Is anyone there? If this is another prankster, know I gotta send someone anyway.”
“I’m here.” She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, “There- there’s a man laying outside my apartment building. Looks like he’s bleeding out but I couldn’t hear any breathing.”
“Okay ma’am. I’ll send someone your way, what’s the address?” You rattled off your address, “Perfect. The ambulance and police will be there in five minutes. I’ll need you to stay at the scene to give a statement.” So she sat there, outside her building at one in the morning, with a dead man next to her. She never dared to flip him over, she didn’t want to see the eyes of a human shell. After five minutes, the ambulance pulled in front of her building. She waved them over, and the paramedics turned over the body. Lying in front of her was her father, Jack Williams, with a bullet in his skull and a missing ring finger.
“No no no no no.” She whispered, her whole body started shaking.
“Declare dead on arrival, I’ll grab a trauma blanket for the girl.” She could hear the voices of the paramedics, but their words didn’t mean anything. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped backward. She met the eyes of a worried woman holding a blanket, who slowly wrapped it around her.
The rest of the night passed in a blur of tears, cries, and questioning. Julia took care of all the legal work, but soon the case ran cold. Juniper thought that the police weren’t trying hard enough to find the killer, but what did a ten year old know about the justice system? And more importantly, what could a ten year old do about it? So she let it go, and hoped that one day the killer would be held responsible.