Past Lives Could Never Come Between Us

80

Luigi stares at her for a long moment, but thankfully he's saved from answering by his phone going off.

"Just a sec." Luigi says, going over to pick it up. "It's Clark."

He picks it up. "Hello?"

"Sorry, but this is urgent. The Trouble Center case went public. "

"What?" Luigi exclaims. "How?"

"We have no idea. The Don just announced his retirement, and Frankie's all set to take over. Francesca just informed us Frankie served her divorce papers. "

"I'm coming." Luigi promises, hanging up. "I'm sorry, but I need to leave. The Trouble Center case just went public."

"Wasn't it supposed to be hush hush?" Marilyn asks.

"That's what we thought." Luigi says. "Apparently Frankie just served his wife divorce papers and is all set to take over for the Don."

"So much for love." Marilyn rolls her eyes.

"Wait." Luigi realizes something. "The Don said he was upset at not receiving a wedding invitation. But now Frankie's divorcing his wife."

"Can you get me into a database for Rogueport?" Marilyn asks.

"Uh...sure." Luigi says slowly, taking her over to her computer. "What's this for?"

"Looking up all the marriage licenses issued in the past few weeks." Marilyn says.

"What does a school counselor know about marriage licenses?" Luigi wonders.

"More than you think." Marilyn replies simply. "I was a county clerk before I became a counselor.", then a window pops up. "Voila."

"Hello everyone." The Don addresses the crowd in Rogueport. "I've worked as the leader of the Pianta syndicate, but as was bound to happen, I can't keep doing it forever."

Luigi and Marilyn arrive right as they hear,

"In light of what's happened to our rival gang, in the midst of the allegations, I can no longer watch my business fail under my jurisdiction. And so, with a heavy heart, I hand over the reins to my right-hand man, Frankie. Any questions, you can direct to him."

"Gladly!" Luigi calls out and raises a hand, making everyone look at him. "Does your wife know your marriage license wasn't officially issued until today?"

"You're not the press." Frankie says.

"Answer him!" Marilyn yells.

"My wife doesn't need to know that." Frankie replies. "And I just asked my wife for a divorce a few hours ago. Our marriage license is null and void. No more questions."

"I don't believe you." Luigi calls. "See, your wife is the Don's daughter. Any marriage she would've gotten into would've come with a prenup, no? And this particular prenup said anyone she married would have to take over the business."

"I don't know where you're getting that information, but that is a lie." Frankie replies, face as calm as ever.

"You set up the Pianta syndicate, knowing the Don would eventually find out it was you, and order you to divorce his daughter." Luigi continues.

"This is slander--"

"All you had to do was bank on the Don's old age, making him forget about that little detail in the fine print, and you and Francesca could disappear under new names." Luigi cuts Frankie off.

"Except you failed to tell your wife that all this time, your marriage wasn't official. Meaning she can't testify against you, and the prenup didn't apply until just now, making her an accessory to everything you've done."

"Attack the Trouble Center and let the Don attack you to make you look like the victim." Clark summarizes.

"Then leak the story to Rogueport so the bad publicity forces the Don to retire." Luigi finishes.

"Frankie, you and Francesca are under arrest." Clark says, then leads him away.