The Tailor's Daughter - Tommy Shelby

3: The Deal

On Monday, Marcie was the first to wake up. Her mother followed shortly after and they moved around each other in the kitchen silently.

            Marcie noticed her mother giving her side glances but Fiorella didn't speak. Finally, Marcie had enough. "I'm worried about papa." She said upon sitting down for breakfast.

            "The doctors are taking care of him as best they can," Fiorella responded, turning her back to her daughter so she could start the kettle. "Some things can't be cured overnight. It takes time."

            "That's all well in good but I think I'm old enough to know what's going on. I don't think it's fair that I'm kept in the dark about this." Marcie insisted, her jaw tight with frustration. "He seemed to think things weren't going well."

            "Your father worries too much, you both do." Her mother answered tersely.

            There was more to Marcie's suspicion than just her father's health. "It seems the store is doing well though. At least we can rely on that." She decided to make the innocent-sounding statement to test the waters.

            "We're managing, every new location takes time to adjust."

~~~~

            It was enough to point Marcie in the right direction. And she knew exactly where she needed to look next.

            After ringing up a regular customer and wishing them well, Marcie ducked behind the counter and found a locked box. In all the years Marcellus and Fiorella were married, she kept the financial records. She made sure the store was in functioning order money-wise and kept a detailed record of the years they'd been in business.

            Marcie had swiped the key for the box before she went downstairs. Inside were stacks of documents. Bills, receipts, everything to track the business and the family's finances. But she didn't have to look long to see the problems were piling up. At the top of the stack were dozens of notices, late payments, and expensive medical bills. There were no records of the family attending to their debts anymore. They had clearly fallen behind, something Marcie never knew her parents to do. The Potenzas paid their debts, they were honest, hard-working people.

            Her father's words echoed in her head. This was a financial hole that no one could dig their way out of. And her parents had kept it from her the entire time.

            Kneeling behind the counter, with the box of evidence in her lap, Marcie felt like a fool. No matter how hard she worked, no matter what she did, it would never be enough. She felt useless.

            In her dumbfounded state, she barely registered the sound of the bell above the door chiming. When she felt the floorboards creak, she finally realized there was a customer in the shop.

            She stood up. "Can I...oh, Mr. Shelby."

            His cold blue eyes only added to her burden. "Morning, Miss Potenza." He said in his usual deep voice.

            After every meeting, she knew their dealings were left with loose ends. What he even wanted from her was still left up in the air. So, Marcie felt it was pointless to ask why he was there but asked out of mere habit. "What can I do for you?"

            "I came to warn you to stay inside tomorrow. Would be best if you closed up for the day."

            The warning was ominous, but nearly everything Tommy did was in some threatening manner. "I'm afraid we can't afford to close for the day." She replied curtly.