The Mobster's Girl

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

The next twenty-four hours after getting married were an absolute whirlwind. Stella and Jack had put down a deposit on a cute little studio apartment for Stella, which was located near the theater, and was thankfully fully furnished. The last thing Stella wanted to do was go shopping for furniture considering everything else that was happening. Stella would be moving into the apartment within the next week and a half, that was, if she wasn't held up back in Chicago by the police. Jack still wasn't sure how much they would question Stella, or if Rosenthal had found a way to pin something on Stella.

All of the officers who had been on his payroll and had been feeding him information suddenly cut off contact, knowing that Jack was going to be a convicted man. He couldn't get any additional information other than what he'd already been given by his lawyer.

Stella had also managed to get an entire week off from rehearsals and had told them that there was an emergency back home. She was certain that she'd have to explain to Daniel and Christopher the entire situation, but they'd simply accepted her excuse and didn't ask any further questions. Christopher was certainly annoyed that she'd be gone, and he'd made sure to tell her that if she wasn't back in a week, they'd replace her with her understudy. She'd also had to promise that she would work on memorizing her lines while she was away.

Jack had reached out to Vincenzo, the man who would be taking things over while he was away, and informed him that he and Stella had gotten married, and also told him where to find the cash he'd hidden away. He'd then given him instructions to find the cash before Jack and Stella returned to Chicago so it would be ready for Stella when she returned home.

One of the hardest things she'd had to do though, was tell Kate that she and Jack had gotten married. She had gone to Kate and Hazel's shared hotel room to share the news with her friends, who both reacted quite differently. Hazel was excited for her, of course, and Kate, who Stella thought would be upset, simply said nothing. She just stared at her friend, blinked a couple of times, then stared down at the wedding ring on her finger, which immediately made Stella feel guilty.

She had wanted to pry and make Kate speak to her about the news, but didn't want to make her friend feel any more upset than she needed to, and she also had limited time to tell them the plans for the next couple of days. She and Jack had purchased tickets to return home and had also purchased tickets for Kate and Hazel as well, but let them know that they could change the date on the tickets if they had wanted to stay longer. Both women agreed that it was time to go home, where they could be in familiar surroundings and take care of arranging Peter's funeral.

Hazel had tried to convince Kate to stay with her and Henry for a time, that way she didn't have to live in her and Peter's empty house and grieve alone, but Kate had refused, and convinced Hazel to come stay with her instead.

After all the loose ends in New York were tied, Stella, Jack, Hazel, Kate, and Cesare and Angelo were all on the train back to Chicago, where Stella and Jack had an entire train car to themselves. The two were speaking with each other, Jack trying harder than Stella to continue conversation, as Stella was still cross with Jack. She was also upset about the fact that they were returning home, where Jack would immediately turn himself in to the authorities.

Stella spent most of the train ride telling herself that she likely only had a little over 24 hours left with him, and was trying to convince herself to simply forgive him, but was finding it hard to do so.

Stella sat in one of the armchairs by the window and stared out at the landscape that sped by, wishing more than anything that she could turn the train around and hold Jack hostage so he couldn't take himself to the police. She was still coming to terms with the fact that her marriage was starting off with her husband being imprisoned for a decade, when most women would be looking ahead to the future they would build together.