Twenty-FIVE   To say that she was speechless was a major understatement.  Florence Taggert leaned heavily against her open front door and just gaped at Michael Corinthos, Jr. “May I come in?” Florence stepped aside and allowed the mob boss to enter her home.  She watched Sonny's dark eyes dart about the room.  “I am sorry about what happened to your father,” she offered somberly. Sonny considered Florence carefully.  He felt no animosity toward this woman before him.  While it was true that her affair with Mike had occurred while the man was still married to Sonny's mother Adela, Florence Taggert did not deserve the label of home wrecker.   Mike had taken care of that all by himself when he'd walked away from his wife and child. “Thank you.”  Sonny politely accepted her condolences and her offer to sit.  “I hope that you understand my reason for coming here.  I need some answers,” Sonny said, cutting directly to the chase. Florence slowly sat down on the opposite end of the couch.  “What do you need to know?” Florence Taggert so easily agreed to answer his questions that Sonny was momentarily caught off guard.  He had originally come for the answer to one question only.  And after the overwhelming and constant animosity he'd encountered with the older woman's son Marcus, Sonny had prepared himself to be politely rebuffed and sent on his way.  “How long did Mike know that Taggert was his son?” he asked, deciding to dig more deeply into Florence Taggert's relationship with Mike. Some protective instinct urged Florence to shade her response to the young man's question.  But just as quickly she reflected on all the anger and hurt that her own son had experienced due to her lies.  “I told your father I was pregnant with his child the day after the doctor confirmed it.”  She felt an enormous sense of sadness for the lack of surprise on Sonny's face.  “That is when he told me that he was married.” The older woman's words last words were like a punch to the solar plexus.  Sonny had known that Mike had no reservations about cheating on his mother.  But hearing the proof of his disregard for the vows he had taken with Adela upset Sonny more than he thought possible.  He stood abruptly.  “You didn't know?” “No. ”Florence started violently as the front door of her home seemed to just explode inward.  Detective Marcus Taggert came flying through the door and made a beeline for the spot where Sonny stood. “What the hell's the matter with you?” he screamed.  Before Sonny could react Marcus grabbed him by the neck and began to cut off his air supply.  “Isn't it enough that you got Mike killed?  Now you wanna lead them to my mother?”   Back | Next