Chapter 1: Opening Night Tragedy

As children, there was always one question I would hear every new school year.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" My teachers would ask as a room full of kids all jumped to life wanting to answer the simple question 

You would hear the typical answers.

"A Doctor!" 

"A Vet!"

"A Firefighter"

Living in the big city I also heard the occasional kid talk about a family business—such as small restaurants, shoe repair shops, etc.

This is where I fell into place. My family owned the local theatre that had various musicals and plays throughout the year. We are also the head of a notorious Mafia that runs throughout the underground crime syndicate in New York. 

So when I was called on I couldn't say, "I want to be a Mafia Boss" I would be shunned from the family for ratting them out. But thankfully I always had my answer.

"I want to be a Director," I said as most teachers would nod their heads while others who knew my father would smile but their eyes held pity or sometimes fear.

Becoming director meant becoming the boss. The head honcho. My family had been running our theatre for generations. During the Starving Times, my family moved to this country and established themselves as lovers of the Fine Arts. They would perform in the streets, fairs, and parks.

Then during the 1800s, they built the Peacock Theatre. We helped grow our small community and expand our little part of New York. But even before the prohibition we had our mafia. 

Many immigrants in this country have been mistreated and our family saw it as disgraceful to hurt those who are only looking to better their lives. So we turned against their ways and found our justice. Due to this many other types of mafia had formed since then. 

Now let me introduce myself; My name is Irene Pavone daughter of Gianni Pavone.

The year is 1922 and I was getting ready for my first production of the musical; The Hotel Mouse. 

To keep it short, with spoilers, it's about a girl who liked to steal from the rich and was known to sneak into hotels after she did so. Until she meets a rich young man who changes her ways and they happily get married at the end. 

I was playing a minor role. My father didn't wish to have me in the limelight. But that was because I was getting trained to take on his role one day. Not many knew it but I was going to take my father's place when he retires. He knew I was safe in the theatre, as almost everyone who worked there was affiliated with our mafia. Some were people who had debts with us, owed a favor, or needed protection. Some worked directly with my father and carried out orders that needed to be dealt with promptly. 

There were Actors, Stage crew, Costumes, you name it, my father had eyes and ears everywhere. With having such a large front as this it paid to have such a large staff to help with 'other' matters. When this place was being built, we had built secret passageways behind the stages and walls to aid our business with hiding liquor, guns, and more. I liked to use them as ways to watch whenever my father didn't allow me to attend certain 'Black Box Rehearsals' 

When I wasn't eavesdropping on conversations I was in my usual spot, the Juliet wings. I would sit in them with my mother, Mary, my brother, Gian, and my little sister Isabella.

Together we all would watch various plays, and musicals Father put on. To me, they were the best seats in the house. They also proved a great way to escape in case the police decided to raid the place due to a high-profile gangster attending the show. 

But it's been a long time coming and I'm finally debuting in my first musical of the season. I have been in a few plays and one acts through the years but my father only said I could audition for a musical when I turned 21.

So after a few long years, tonight was my night. It wasn't all for me, but the musical has been highly anticipated in the last few months. The town had been buzzing since we first started to advertise the show and we had a full house. 

I was in the wings preparing for the show. I took deep breaths and made sure my costume was perfect. Alice, the daughter of our in-house seamstress, was adjusting the last few details on everyone's costumes. She was young but she knew her craft well. Just as she snipped off the thread to fix the beading on a dancer's outfit, the band started to play the overture. The whole backstage started to scramble to their spots in the wings and it gave me a sense of nostalgia. My heart raced and I heard my queue to get on stage.

The first act seemingly flew by as I exited the stage. My good friend, Carlos, was waiting for me with a glass of water. We had ended on a large dance number and I was out of breath. 

"You're doing great, only 2 more acts to go," He says as he checks his clipboard. 

"Yeah, hopefully, Ruby can remember her steps. I swear she was stumbling all over the stage. This happens when you don't rehearse" I whisper, rolling my eyes. 

I didn't care if she could hear me. I give credit to all who worked hard in the production, but Ruby was too obsessed with 'other matters' She had missed a few major rehearsals, and it was showing. 

Ruby was head over heels for the lead man, Charles Linwood.

Since Charles joined the troop, most of the girls in the musical were smitten with him. 

Hell, I'll give them credit he was easy on the eyes.

Charles was tall, had dark hair, and green eyes, and was exceptionally talented in singing, dancing, and acting. From what I have heard he can be quite the charmer. I hadn't seen it first hand but one of the boys must have told him about my family. Most of the boys who didn't know me tended to avoid me like the plague. 

However; My father was very pleased to hear Charles was auditioning, and already planned to have him in the lead role. 

Charles's father was notorious for making promises he couldn't keep. Due to this, his family is in a great amount of debt. Charles did not know this, but my father did. He pulled Charles aside one day and told him about his father's financial difficulties. Charles was horrified to hear this and asked how he could make amends to my family. So my father cut him a deal, he would work in the theatre until half of the money his father owes is paid for, with an actor's salary that would take years.

According to my father's words, he gladly took the deal. 

I shook my head with the thought and downed the rest of the water. I quickly ran back to the dressing rooms and changed into my second-act costume. I noticed everyone starting to race back to the stage and I took that as the intermission was coming to an end. I gave a few nods to a couple of people I passed including my little sister who had made her way down from the Juliet wings. 

"Irene!" she waved to me as I ran up to her 

"Isabella, what are you doing back here? The second act is about to start" I say watching the people race by me. 

"I just wanted to tell you to break a leg," she pouts, putting her hands behind her back. My heart sank. 

"I'm sorry I didn't mean it that way. Thank you, but I have to go we're about to start, now get back up there before it starts." I explained as she nodded a little sad I couldn't talk more with her 

I took a moment and thought of a great idea. 

"Hey, chin up. After the show, I'll take you out for ice cream. How does that sound?" I ask as she lit up with a huge grin

"Sounds delicious!" She says as she races off to the stairs back to the wing. 

I turned back and made my way to the stage again. I got there just in time to hear the band start up again. This time I was a background character as a hotel employee. I looked to the dark audience and all I could see was the light booth, and a little window that was my father's office.

 I saw his shadow and oddly another one in his office seemingly talking.

I was puzzled. I knew he didn't plan any meetings tonight since it was my first musical. I exited off-stage and ran to watch my father's window from the back wings. 

Carlos and Alice noticed me and came up behind me. 

"Hey, what's happening?" Carlos whispered to me 

"Look, my dad is talking to someone in his office" I whisper back as the pair watch with me

"And? It could be a meeting," Carlos says as I tell him my father's schedule 

"That is odd," Alice said as I kept an eye on the window.

Suddenly the other shadow stood up and started to get in my father's face. My heart dropped. I ran to our stage manager, he had the headset on and could get my message out.

"Vincent, get men to my father's office, somethings going on I don't like'' I say as he nods without any words and orders some of the men below my father's office to go check on him. 

Just as I raced to watch the window again, a shot rang out in the theatre. I looked and saw the police chasing the scene on stage. I looked up at the window again and my blood ran cold.

There in the shadowed light was a figure with a gun and I knew it was not my father. Just as another shot rang out on stage a flash of the gun went off in the window.

I ran off the stage and went through the secret halls to get to my father's office.

Just as I barged in I saw our men swarming my father's body. Blood was splattered on the walls, and through the crowd of people, I saw my mother cradling my younger sister. I fell to my knees and began to weep. The sound of sirens caught my attention as I was ushered out of the room. I looked out the window and saw everyone was getting escorted out of the theatre. I made my way to the top of the stage on a platform that was my little hideout from the world. I sat on the blanketed floor and the tears kept coming. 

I felt like I couldn't breathe, the space around me was getting smaller, and I started to hyperventilate. I felt arms wrap around me and I quickly looked up to see some of my friends who knew of this place. 

There was of course Alice and Carlos but Red joined, and even Vincent. 

"What are you guys doing here?" I hiccuped as we all sat together 

"We know what happened, Irene," Red says as she rubs my back. I'm not usually one to show a lot of emotion in front of others but they were a small exception. 

We all grew alongside each other. Well for the most part. Alice and Vincent's families had always been affiliated with ours since the theatre was formed. Carlos and Red had joined up not long after I was out of primary school.

This was one of the many spots we had to talk, play, and spend time out of the eyes of our families. We sat there in silence as the theatre went quiet.

All that could be heard was the sweeping of a broom on the stage floor.