The Evil Stepsister (Fairytale Killers #2)

Te Rog Frumos

Alina Walter stood behind her home desk, smaller than Franco's, a lot more lived-in. Late nights of hiding her husband's money from the authorities kept her on the uncomfortable two seat sofa. Carmela knew it was also a way to avoid Franco, but the girls didn't comment on it. Their mother had a way to make her wishes known, if they could help her. If they were out of the loop, she had thought it necessary, the girls needing no further explanation.

"So, you and the driver," her mother's tone pierced through her. Not disappointed, just mocking. "I always thought Caterina would be the one who'd lose her head."

Carmela just stared at her feet, while her mother continued, "It's fine, I'll get rid of him. Smoothly, no drama."

Carmela exhaled in relief. 

"Now, as a Twin Soldier," her mother got up, exposing a well-fitted dress over a toned body, maintained by hours of daily workouts and shakes, "I have a task for you."

"Oh no," Carmela already knew.

"I need you to get rid of our driver. Smoothly, no drama."

"Moooom!" Carmela reverted to her ten-year-old self.

"Te rog frumos!" It was the tone that silenced Carmela: same as 'Shut up!'.

Her mother continued in English, her plan to leave Franco meant she would have to use it soon. Alina Walter would only roll out her English skills when they were perfect. 

"This is not the time, at the end of my years-long scheme," her mother yelled up from her five feet height, "To start being flaky. And unfocused!" Luckily the coarse dark hair added some inches. Not that the woman in front Carmela needed them to be scary.

"This is what you do to me, after twenty-three years of sacrifices? Making me explain to Franco how in a world where people wash dishes for five dollars an hour, my daughter couldn't keep it in her pants for a million dollars!"

"Mom, the... virginity thing was long off the table when you finally announced us you were planning to leave Franco. I just didn't have the heart to tell you."

"Maybe I could've planned better, but it was your decision. I never was one of those mothers who cared about the how," Carmela's mother staked her again. "I just told you what was expected of you, and let you choose on your own. You were expected to go along with Franco until I told you otherwise. Now, because you failed at that simple task, and because we risk Tattoo Tower to remember you..."

Alina stopped, her dark eyes, a copy of Carmela's, thinning, "You were that unmemorable?"

Carmela would've been red, but intrusive and sexually charged conversations were dinner talk, at the Walters, so she just swallowed her discomfort, as usual.

"The club was full with our lookalikes..." Carmela explained to her shocked mother, "Whenever Jack's there, there's like a swarm of them, all over the club. He lives mostly there now so they're always on call."

"Charming," her mother sat down. "How did you find out about this?"

"It's kinda a known thing on the Riverside party scene. People keep tagging us in pictures we never took. We wanted to see it for ourselves." The more complete truth was that Caterina wanted to see Jack Rawlings in person, to determine if he was worth waiting for or if she should also take her Shame Franco campaign all over the city.

"This could've been a regular thing for our driver, like for a lot of Riverside men with money to spend," Carmela tried to underplay the affair.

"Or he's a stalker and now has access to our house. I will investigate further about him. What do you know? Not life events, I have these on file. But personally? Maybe we can use him somehow."

Carmela opened her mouth a few times, closing it, not knowing what to say. 'Good in bed' would only annoy her mother further.

Her mother just waited for her prey to trap herself, like a spider would. Seconds passed.

"Anything?" The same eyebrows Carmela saw every day on Caterina, relaxed and poking her with crazy ideas, were now raised in disbelief.

"We... didn't talk much..."

Her mother dismissed her, "You have until Sunday. No more hairy driver, clean break. No loose ends. Enlist Caterina, make her see what consequences look like. If you need help planning, let me know, but I expect you to pull this off effortlessly. Remember: Happy Franco, Happy Life."

How could she forget, as Carmela had been educated ever since meeting him, age five, to ignore his rants and accept his orders, never contradict or challenge him. 

"Anything else I should know?" her mother wrapped up their status meeting.

There was a sex tape. Caterina had a crush on Jack Rawlings that made their escape futile. Carmela might be too far gone with the driver to fix it.

"No, mom."

Exiting the office, Carmela needed a moment alone. Forty-five question mark texts, all Caterina. She circled through ways to postpone going up to their room.

At the end of the hallway, a known large frame walked towards her, dragging his feet. The driver stared at her until he reached the door to her mother's office.

"Got a message from your mother," he said, and he looked unnerved, like waiting for her to explain why. Seeing her scared him, because of what she could've said about him. Carmela held his gaze by keeping her features in a mask, consuming all her considerable acting talent.

"Complained about me?" he asked, winking. Carmela stared at him in response, so he marched on, "Was I being disrespectful again?"

"You are, now," Carmela finally answered, "But I don't know what she wants from you."

His eyes went over her, clearly not used to seeing only one of her. Wondering what everyone else did, when meeting the twins. 

"Which one of you are you?" he asked.

"Carmela," Carmela said. "It's the name we use when alone and getting introduced to someone." When both of them met someone new, they used their names randomly, whoever talked first -- usually her -- choosing one for herself, the other playing along, then switching over the course of the night. "Caterina, we use for social media, reservations to hotels, official stuff like that. We both get to star in our own way," she made him put his hands in his pockets, like defending himself from her weird vibes.

Carmela was about to celebrate her success in making him uncomfortable, but his smile spread, "You're... uneasy, when alone. Both of you," he said. "It's because your attack strategies all assume you're both in the same place. Or is it a defense, the whole 'Same Person' approach?"

Silenced, Carmela showed him the office door with a side-eye.

"I'm gonna know which is which," he was unfased, almost flirting. "There must be a tell."

Carmela hoped there wasn't, only their mother could tell them apart. Franco thought he did, but he didn't.