Nicky was sitting in his office, leaning back in his leather armchair. He stared blankly, thoughtfully, with a cigarette dangling between his fingers. From the outside, one could hear a fine rain pouring into the city of Las Vegas.  Three knocks echoed from the door. 

"Come on in", Nicky said, being torn from his thoughts.

Rosaleen came in and closed the door behind her. Nicky had asked her to come. He stood up and greeted her with a hug. Then she signaled for her to sit down and offered her a drink. 

"Rosa, did you hear about the case of that little girl that is missing? Everyone is talking about it."

Rosaleen sits back and takes a sip of her vodka and tonic.  @NicodemoManganaher knew exactly what she liked to drink.

Yes, Nico, everyone is talking about it.  I remember the headline in the newspaper.  Las Vegas girl missing, 'endangered' after her father found dead in the home, police say.   The poor little girl might have witnessed her father being killed.  Word on the streets is the killers are looking for her.  It's terrible but I pray that she is safe that no one knows where she is.  Unfortunately, she can't hide forever. 

Nicky nodded.

"Una disgrazia. A little girl witness things like that..."

He shook his head in disapproval.

"The good news is that I have her under my protection. The girl and her mother, both."

Seeing Rosaleen's surprise, Nicky explained.

"The maid who works for me is an old friend of this woman's...like best friends. The woman was not home when her husband was murdered. She was working. The little kid was, poor kid. She saw everything...but managed to scape and went after her mother, ovviamente."

Nicky paused for a moment and took a sip of whiskey.

"Her mother was desperate, of course. How could it be different? She looked for her best friend, my maid, Martina, and told her the whole story. Martina said she would try to help them and took them to my house. The mother and the little girl. I sent them to a safehouse, out of Vegas. I have some good guys with them." 

He took another sip of whiskey and thought for a moment before speaking again.

"What I know so far, Rosa, is that the little girl's father was going to testify in Jim McKay's trial. The mother told me he was not going to say anything incriminating but even so, all this shit happened."

He shrugged and moved closer to Rosaleen, leaning over his desk.

"Now, Rosa, we have to dig deeper into this. I want you to talk to this little girl, show her that you are a friend. She'll trust you, I'm sure. Then, you need to get her to talk and extract as much information as possible. Capisci?"

As Rosaleen nodded, Nicky stood up, finished his drink and led her to his car. They had a long journey ahead of them.

The ride was long to the safe-house where @NicodemoMangana had taken Carlotta Ricco and her daughter Adelaide.  Nico did the small talk because he knew that going to talk to a 13-year-old who just saw their father murdered played heavy with me.  As we were arriving he gave me some words of encouragement, that he knew I could handle it. I just didn’t know what to expect from a child who witnesses their father being murdered and are then left to deal with the emotional ramifications.

When we arrived I spoke to Carlotta first.  To my surprise, she told me that Adelaide understood her father was dead and spoke freely of the people she saw that killed him.  We went to the room where Adelaide was playing and she introduces us.  Adelaide was a beautiful 13-year-old girl, with jet black hair and the biggest brown eyes I’ve ever seen.

We got acquainted playing with a few dolls and stuff animals in the room.   It almost broke my heart when I finally asked her what happened and she told me “some bad men killed my father and now he is in heaven”  We talked a little more and after she was comfortable with me and knew I would keep her safe I started to find out exactly what happened.

Adelaide                                                                   

Adelaide told me she was in her bedroom when she heard someone yelling at her father.  She left the bedroom and came down the hallway to see what was going on.  She would see them in the kitchen. Two men and a lady were standing by the door.  She said they had guns and one of the men hit her father with the gun and he fell down.  When he fell down he saw her and yelled for her to go to Aunt Bea’s now.  She ran to her room, locked the bedroom door, opened the window to get to the fire escape when she heard shots.  She went down the fire escape and ran.  As she turned in the back alley she heard the man yell “she got away, go find her”  She said she ran down the alley as fast as she could to her aunt’s house.  She banged on the door and told them what happened and she Uncle Ricky told her to stay there and he went to see what was going on.  She said she waited a long time and knew something bad happened because her mother was crying when they came back to the apartment.

I was so relieved to hear she didn't actually see her father die, had only heard the shots.

 I told her with her help we are going to find these bad guys.

Jim McKay

I pulled out the photo of Jim McKay, the person we perceived to be the mastermind behind the hit.  When I asked Adelaide if she knew this man she told me yes. That it’s Mr. McKay.   I asked how she knew him and she told me she had seen him a couple of times in a restaurant her Uncle Vinny owned and went to a party at his house.  I asked her if she could describe the house and she said the party was outside but she did go inside to use the bathroom and describe some of the things she saw inside.  She told me he was not one of the bad guys but the other Mr. McKay was.

 Johnny McKay and Margo Long

I pulled out the photos of the McKay family and Adelaide quickly identified Johnny as the one who hit her father with his gun.  She had also seen him a number of times. She picked out a picture with Johnny and his girlfriend Margo Long and identified her as the woman who was standing at the door.  She had seen the lady with him before.

Joseph "JS" Sica

She went through a few more photos and finally she ID Joseph "JS" Sica.  She remembers him because he had his hair in a ponytail,  his shirt was opened and he had a lot of hair on his chest just like the picture.

Rosaleen got the positive IDs she needed.  She hugged and kissed Adelaide, thanked her for all her help.  She told her how brave she was and how proud her father would be of her.

On the drive back she shared the experience and information she obtains with Nico.

Nicky listened to Rosaleen very carefully while they came back, paying attention to all the details. When she finished, he sighed.

"Madonna..."

He remained silent for a bit, pondering the situation. After a long moment, he finally said:

"We have no choice here, Rosa. We have already chosen a side. You know what to do...take care of these farabutti."

After giving the order, he lit a cigarette and started thinking about the situation again, quietly.

Rosaleen got on it right away.  Her first step was to contact @GarrusSykes.

@GarrusSykes arrived at the NEAT, INC office to met with Rosaleen. Garrus was one of the best in the business and she had worked well with him in the past.  They sat down in the lounge.  Rosaleen had ordered some sandwiches.  As they ate and had a drink she started telling him of the case that @NicodemoMangana had presented to her.

He was familiar with what was going on for he had also seen it on the news and in the paper.  He was surprised that Nico actually was hiding the young girl.  He said it was awful that the young girl had to experienced that and the men shouldn't have done that in front of her. 

I told him that Nico wanted the men responsible and looking for her taken out.  

I handed him the file on Joseph Sica.  We saw that he usually has dinner at Libo's Restaurant on Saturday evenings.  He took the file and told me not to worry.

We finished eating and had another drink and he left saying I got this. 

Joseph Sica

GarrusSykes parks his car outside the restaurant where Joseph Sica is having his dinner, he received a task to eliminate the man because he had killed a man and was hunting his 13-year-old daughter, who was a witness. He gets out of his car and reaches for his pockets; takes out a lighter and a pack of cigarretes and lights one. He walks around looking for a better view of the guy he is supposed to kill, finds a bench near the restaurant and sits down, waiting for Joseph to finish his meal and get in his car.

After 30 minutes Joseph Sica gets out of the restaurant, as GarrusSykes sees him going for his car, he goes for his own, an old black Chevy Impala, he gets in and starts the engine, then follows Joseph.

It is a beautiful night for Garrus, it's cold and raining, the perfect weather for him. He is nervous, it isn't his first job but he always get this feeling before taking someone else's life. As he follows Joseph on the road to his house, keeping a safe distance to not get spotted, he sees the back lights of Joseph's car blinking ; he was stopping.

Garrus slowed down his car, he thinks he was spotted, but if he was, it was a dumb choice for Joseph to stop the car and confront him. He stops his car as well and tries to see what Joseph is doing, he turned off the lights of his car in case he didn't got spotted and waited for Joseph to get out of his car.

Garrus sees Joseph leaving his car, he was writing something in some sort of note book. When he finished he puts away the note book in his pocket, then starts to take of his belt. Garrus leaves his car and thinks to himself: "What? He is taking a piss? Well this is going to be easier than a thought". He approaches Joseph slowly to not get noticed.

As he gets closer, Joseph finished what he was doing and reached for his car door, as Garrus sees it, he says: "Heya pal. We both know why i'm here. The name Adelaide Ricco rings a bell?". As Joseph hears that and turns around to face the strange man. He see Garrus unarmed and charges at him. The assassin swiftly dodges Joseph's first punch but he was to slow to dodge the second one. Garrus falls on his knees but gets up quickly as Joseph pulls a knife from his boot.

Both mans stare at each other, Garrus took an ugly hit in the nose and was bleeding a lot, but enraged with the pain he was feeling. Joseph starts pacing towards the assassin with a crazy look in his eyes and asks him: "Who the fuck are you?! Do you know who i work for?". Garrus just keeps staring at the armed man, in silence, waiting to defend himself and fulfill his contract.

"Answer me, boy!". yells Joseph. Garrus looks at him and says: "Don't know, don't care. Defend yourself.". and then immediately lunges at Joseph's arm which was holding the knife. Joseph is slightly stronger than the attacker, but Garrus knew where to hit, where it hurts. As he holds Joseph arm he delivers a knee to the man's rib, he screams in pain and shoves Garrus away from him with great force, making him lose his balance and falling on the ground again. The knife flies from Joseph's hands and into the woods.

Garrus gets up and finds Joseph on his knees, with his hands on the damaged ribs. He approaches the man and delivers a powerful kick to the head that makes he fall on the ground. He approaches the man lying down and mounts on him and delivers various punches to the head, knocking Joseph Sica out.

Garrus searches Joseph's knocked out body for something to finish the job. He finds a pack of cigarettes and the note book he was using earlier and place both items in his pockets. He gets up and searches for the knife but it was lost, he gets in Joseph's car and start searching for a evidence. He finds nothing and gets out of the car to find Joseph sitting down on the floor, bleeding heavily from the punches he received. Joseph looks at Garrus and says: "At least let me die standing.". Garrus opens up a bloody smile, pulls his weapon from his belt, points the gun at Joseph's head and pulls the trigger. Joseph Sica died.

The assassin stashes the revolver in his belt and reaches his pockets for a cigarette, lights it and heads for his car. 

It had been a long time since Rosaleen had seen @Ilaria_Santoro.  The last time was in Philly when she saved Fox’s life, They had talked on the phone a number of times when she was seeking advice on how to handle the situation with little Adelaide Ricco and Ilaria prepared her on how to talk with the little girl creating the least drama for her. 

Rosaleen was excited about finally meeting her good friend for lunch and make arrangements to take care of this bad guys, as Adelaide called them that killed her father.

As we placed our order and was waiting for our food, I explain to Ilaria that I had made arrangements for her to pay a visit to Jim McKay in jail.  He was a devoted Catholic and had the resources to receive a visit from the church.  We were able to place Sister Harriet Butler on his visitor’s list.  She will able to have prayer with him and offer him communion.  Ilaria just needed to develop some type of concoction that will give him an delayed heart attack and disguise herself as a nun.

Ilaria laughed so hard she made me laugh with the idea of her being a nun.

We laughed hard again when I explained to her I needed another shampoo concoction to take Margo's hair out, never to grow back again. That bitch will never have a bad hair day again. 

Ilaria laughed as she picked up her cup of hot tea, enjoying the opportunity to spend time and scheme with her friend.

"A pregnant nun. Who ever heard of such a thing!"

The plan was fool-proof, as long as the prison guards didn't get too handsy when they searched her. Then again, who frisks a nun?

Sitting back in her chair, Ilaria takes a slow sip and runs a few ideas through her mind.

"I think I know exactly which concoction of mine will work for this. It takes 12-24 hours to take full effect, but mimics the exact symptoms of a run-of-the-mill heart attack. Even if they bother to autopsy the body, there will be no traceable evidence of foul play."

Oh my God, Ilaria you're pregnant, as Rosaleen went to the other side of the table to give her good friend a hug.

Congratulations why didn't you tell me before now. @Adonis must be so excited.  It is his baby? Rosaleen gave Ilaria a wicked look and laughed.

Just kidding I know it's his.  You love that man. 

As she sat back down her looked turned concerned.

If the guard searching you gets too frisky you just slap his face.  They both laughed again.

So what are you going to create for little Miss Margo Long?   We really want her to have some terrible bad no hair days. 

Ilaria smiled wide as Rosaleen hugged her.

"Thank you, dear! Yes, Joe is thrilled. He's going to be a wonderful father."

Grinning, she put the cup down and picked up her spoon, giving the warm drink a casual stir.

"You know, I made a very similar formula when I was in boarding school. My roommate was an awful little twit, and extremely vain. So, one day, having been completely fed up with her, I created a powder that I mixed in with her make up. Oh my, it gave her a rash that lasted for weeks."

It had been Ilaria's first real experiment with formulas, and was the whole reason she became interested in toxins and poisons in the first place. 

"All I need to do is create something similar, with a slightly thicker base that will permanently clog the follicles. Her hair will fall out from lack of nourishment, and more than likely won't grow back at all. Though, if it does, it'll be terribly thin and brittle."

Ilaria couldn't help but snicker at the thought.

"I can have it delivered to you in two days. And, as for the other matter, I'll await your call."

Margo Long

@ NicodemoMangana decided he didn’t want Margo Long to meet her demise but rather be taught a lesson.  We found out that Margo goes to the Paradise Beauty Saloon on Paradise Avenue every other Saturday at 11 am like clockwork. 

A friend of a friend patronizes the same saloon and knew one of the hair washers that usually shampooed Margo's hair.  The shampooer didn’t flinch at the idea of receiving a large tip for using a special shampoo on her hair.  

@Ilaria_Santoro, as promised, had the formula delivered to my office just in time for me to schedule an appointment.  I made the appointment for 10:45 giving me enough time to give the shampoo to Jean, the shampooer.

As I arrived Jean shampooed my hair and I slipped her our brand of shampoo.  Margo Long arrived just as expected.  She waited while Jean finished me up and sat down, she was next.

As the beautician was drying and styling my hair I watched as Jean switched the shampoos and watched her was Margo’s hair. 

She was finishing up with me when Margo was beginning to have her hair dried and styled. 

Oh shit from the surprised look on the beautician's face at the amount of Margo’s hair coming out, Rosaleen knew the formula was already working.

She walked over to Margo and whispered in her ear.  “You should n’t be a bystander,  witnessing a child losing their father" and quickly left the building.

With a content smile on her face, she left the beauty salon knowing a lesson had definitely been taught and a beautiful hairdo.

Within two weeks she learned that Margo had lost all of her hair, was now wearing wigs and traveling all around to get help for her problem. 

Jim McKay

"Right this way, Sister."

A prison guard got Ilaria's attention and waved her through the steel door of the prison's lobby.  "This is it" she thought to herself as she padded softly down the hallway.  Since the conception of this plan, she'd held out hope that no prison guard in his right mind would have the courage to frisk a nun, as the loose and flowing robes she wore were the only way to hide her four month pregnancy- a dead giveaway that she was no nun.  

She carried with her only a small black case.  The inside was lined with soft, blue velvet, and contained a glass communion cup, a small vial of "blessed" wine, and a tiny, round tin that held communion wafers.  As she approached the central guard station, she gave the four guards on duty a warm smile.  The guard escorting her stopped and looked her over, then glanced at one of the others.

"Uh, you know, Carl, I'm not real comfortable with this. Can't we just skip this part?  I already looked over her case."

Carl looked up from the desk with a dry, stoic look on his face.

"Everybody gets searched."

Another guard scoffed and shook his head.

"Ah, come on, Carl.  She's a nun for crying out loud.  She's married to Jesus- or something.  Ain't you, sister?"

Ilaria dipped her head slightly.

"I am but a servant of Christ, and it is to his work that I am wholly dedicated.  But please, do not forsake your duties on my behalf."

It was a bluff- one she hoped they wouldn't call.  She stood firmly, a pleasant look still on her face.  Carl rolled his eyes.

"Whatever.  Just do what you need to do and be on your way."

The other guard let out a sigh of relief and took a heavy ring of keys from his belt.

"This way."

Ilaria followed him down a hallway with cells on either side. There were whistles and cat-calls, but Ilaria didn't move her gaze from the end of the hallway.  When they approached, the guard slid a key into the lock.

"'ll be right outside, sister.  He's shackled at the ankles and wrists, so he won't be any trouble.  But you call me if you need me, ok?"

She didn't reply, just nodded her head and smiled.  The door opened, and she walked inside.  In the center of the bare, concrete room, sat Jim McKay.  He was, indeed, shackled by his wrists and ankles to the floor.  

"I have come to hear your confession, my son, and to give you Holy communion."

The man was not as rough as she expected.  He had soft eyes and a charming voice.  Ilaria stood beside him, not facing him directly, as he made confession. Nothing out of the ordinary, Ilaria thought.  Lust, fornication, drunkenness- if this is what was sending him to hell, Ilaria wouldn't be far behind.  She had to stifle a chuckle at the thought.  Soon enough, he could take things up with his Maker himself.

After he confessed, Ilaria came up with some kind of pennence for him to perform on his own time, and then took the case and opened it.  She'd practiced the appropriate prayers a hundred times, knowing an Irishman would be able to tell if she was off by just a bit.

Finally, the time came to give him the elements.  Being that he was shackled, she had to do it by hand- which guaranteed that he would receive the poison completely.  Jim McKay opened his mouth, and Ilaria said the blessing of the wafer, and put it into his mouth.  After he chewed and swallowed it, she poured the vial of wine into the tiny glass.  Again, the man obediently opened his mouth and tipped his head back.  Carefully, she poured it into his mouth.  When it was finished, she silently put everything back into the case and turned back to the doomed man.

"Anima Christi, sanctifica me.
Corpus Christi, salva me.
Sanguis Christi, inebria me.
Aqua lateris Christi, lava me.
Passio Christi, conforta me.
O bone Iesu, exaudi me.
Intra tua vulnera absconde me.
Ne permittas me separari a te.
Ab hoste maligno defende me.
In hora mortis meae voca me.
Et iube me venire ad te,
Ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te
in saecula saeculorum. Amen."

She made the sign of the cross over him, then leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead.  With that, she walked to the door and knocked so the guard would let her out.

-----------

Over breakfast, Ilaria chatted with Joe as they usually did.  It had been a day since the visit to the prison.  As she chewed a bagel from Arturo's place, she skimmed the newspaper.  One particular article caught her eye.  A picture of Jim McKay with the headline "Prisoner Dead from Apparent Heart Attack."  Ilaria smirked and sighed with satisfaction.  Le Strega was becoming more and more familiar.

Rosaleen had one last person on her agenda and that was to take care of Johnny McKay.  From what little  Adelaide Ricco had told her she knew he was the one who hit her father with the gun and knocked him to the floor.  She felt that Johnny was actually the triggerman but her father had received several gunshot wounds. 

@Casinova had arrived back from Seattle and was staying in the apartment above the office. He had already gone over the files concerning Adelaide Ricco and was sickened by it.  He also thought Johnny McKay was the triggerman and already had plans on how to take him out. 

Johnny McKay

Johnny had been having a bad day.  And when Johnny had a bad day, others did also.  Waking up the sound of sobbing coming from the bathroom, Johnny walked into see Margo Long standing in front of the sink and mirror, hands covered in hair.  As he watched, she ran her fingers through the hair that she had adored and bragged upon to friends.  As he did, more of the long locks pulled away and entwined her fingers.  With a gasp, she let out another cry of anguish, mascara running down her cheeks.

"What the hell?" said Johnny and she turned and screamed "Get the FUCK OUT...I Don't you to see me like this!" and walked over and slammed the door.  With a flash of anger, Johnny was ready to knock the door down and set this broad straight, but then he thought about the hair.  Reflexively, he runs his hands through his own hair and then looks down to verify he's not also having a hair loss issue.  Satisfied, and with a deep exhale, he decides to leave Margo be for now...He's deal with her later.

Later that morning, while still in a fowl mood from that disrespecting bitch of a girlfriend, he headed down to one of the massage parlors, just two blocks off the strip.  Feeling the need to take his frustration out on someone, he walked into the parlor with pain on his mind.  So focused on his anger, he didn't notice the tall man tailing a half block behind.  The tall man had been watching him the entire day, but in Johnny's blind anger, he might as well as been invisible.

As Johnny walked into the Parlor, he saw the owner behind a counter, Mrs. Chen.  Always polite, Mrs. Chen greeted Johnny "Hello Mr. Johnny, I normally don't see you this early in the month.  Are you here for a massage from one of the girls".  Johnny considered a massage with a happy ending for the briefest of times and then his anger returned and he said "No you squat Jap, I'm here for the payment.  And since I think you've been holding back on me, you will pay me double!"  

With a look of horror, Mrs. Chen stammered and said "But Mr. Johnny, it's only been two weeks.  And I don't have that type of money.  Plea......." Before she could finish, Johnny kicked out and hit Mrs. Chen directly in the stomach, knocking her back into the wall and with a large "thud", her head hit the wall before she fell to the floor.  Grasping at her stomach with one hand and holding the back of her head with the other, she began to cry "Please Mr. Johnny....I never hold back.  Please don't hurt me."  Just then, one of the massage girls came out from the back room, having heard the loud noise.  As soon as she saw the situation, he inhaled quickly with a squeak and covered her mouth before backing out of the room.

With an evil grin, Johnny bent down and once he was close to the crying woman said "Double the money or your not the only one that I'm going to hurt!" before he glanced back in the direction of the girl.  Sobbing, the woman slowly gets up from the floor, struggling to stand from the blow to the stomach and being disoriented from the blow to the head.  She says "Mr. Johnny, this is wrong.  Please don't hurt anyone.  This is absolutely all I have and now we don't have money for food" Then she reaches under the counter and pulls out a hidden bag .  Pulling out all the cash, she hands the money to Johnny.  Not bothering to count, he looks at her and with a big grin on his face says "See you in four weeks!"

Walking out the door, Johnny feels much better.  As he struts down the street with a pocket full of cash, he doesn't notice the tall man trailing behind once again.

After a quick meal at the dinner, Johnny decides that it's time for him to treat himself to a nice long bath.  One of his favorite treats for himself is a long hot bath, smoking a cigar, and listening to music on the radio.  Arriving at home, he heads in to the bathroom and starts the hot water.  Minutes later, he slowly sinks his way into the tub and feels the hot water relax his body.  Lighting up a favorite cigar, he leans back and closes his eyes to the sounds of Tommy Dorsey on the radio.  Taking a long draw on his cigar, he holds the smoke in his mouth for several seconds.  Just as he's about to exhale, he hears the click of a trigger.  Eyes opening quickly, he looks up and sees a tall man, standing over him with a pistol pointed at his forehead.  

"Hello Mr. McKay.  I'm here to settle a score.  Does the name ADELAIDE Ricco ring a bell?"  Waiting for the recognition to pass over Johnny's eyes, he continues "Good, always important to know why you died"  BAM, BAM  Two shots at close range to Johnny McCay's face and his limp body slowly settled down into the water as his cigar fell to the floor beside the tub. 

The tall man walked out of the room, leaving the radio playing and disappearing into the night.

Nicky was sitting in his office. He was busy, with a small reading glasses, analyzing some numbers from his bookmakers. The strident noise of the telephone interrupted him.

"Yeah?" Nicky answered.

"Don Nico...it's done!" he heard Garrus's familiar voice say.

"Ok.", and hung up.

Nicky leaned back in his chair, putting the book and the glasses on the table. He thought for a moment and nodded, satisfied. Obviously, that call was about the case of Adelaide Ricco. He still had some things to do, though. So, he got up, put on a coat and left his office, accompanied by a bodyguard, who would take him to the safehouse where he kept the child Adelaide and her mother.

(...)

Sometime later, Nicky's car got to the city of Henderson and parked outside the safehouse. There were some bodyguards there as well. Nicky greeted them and entered the house, only to find Rosaleen inside. Nicky had asked her to meet him there. They both hugged each other as usual.

"Good job, Rosa", Nicky said in acknowledgment. He never demanded to know the details. Rosaleen nodded. "Now, let's see the child."

They headed for the upper floor of the house. A bodyguard opened the bedroom door for them. There were the mother and daughter, hugging each other tightly, sitting on the bed. Both stood up as Nicky and Rosaleen entered.

"Oh, please, sit down!" he said gently.

There were a small study table and a chair beside the bed. Nicky took the chair and sat facing them. Rosaleen stood behind him. Nicky began to speak, looking at the child. He used a calm, soothing voice.

"Adelaide, my little girl. This nightmare is over. Ok? Those evil men will not do evil anymore. You do not need to worry."

As the little girl did not answer, Nicky smiled benevolently as he pulled a lollipop from inside his coat and handed it to her.

"You can believe Uncle Nicky, ok dear?"

The girl shook her head slowly as she took the lollipop. She forced a smile. It was obvious that she was very traumatized and would take time to readapt herself into the daily life of a normal child. The mother, Carlotta, started to speak, while Rosaleen took the child by the hand, trying to cheer her up, and walked out of the room with her.

"Don Nicodemo, I can't say how grateful I am."

"Oh, do not worry. Don't worry. It's ok. Now, for obvious reasons, you two will be reallocated. It's all arranged. You will live in a new neighborhood, your daughter will change schools, but you will get used to it. I already have a job for you, if you want."

Carlotta, with tearful eyes, rose and hugged Nicky, who stood up as well.

"Sure, sure! Thank you, Don Nicodemo!"

"No problem, no problem. I am so sorry it all happened, but now its over. Oh, and of course, you and your daughter should do some therapy. You know. Rosaleen will explain everything. It's all arranged, do not worry. We will take care of you."

With a smile, once again he accepted the woman's thrilled thanks. They both left the room and found Rosaleen and the child. Nicky hugged the child affectionately, telling her to stay calm. And then he said goodbye to them. Rosaleen would continue to take care of everything from that moment on.