I shook my head in dismay. “Am I not able to keep anything secret?”
Alessandro gasped. “You are… Aren’t you?”
“Shh,” I hissed. “You’ve completely spoilt it. Now, you know before Luca does. Can you imagine how pissed he would be?”
Alessandro shook his head. “You really think I would do that? I’m very attached to my anatomy.” He smiled, but then it became brighter as he saw mine. “You’re really pregnant?”
I bit my lip and vigorously nodded my head. “The doctor thinks seven weeks.”
Alessandro wrapped his big bear arms around me and gave me a warm hug. “I’m so happy for you. Both you and Luca deserve this after everything you’ve been through. Congratulations.”
Tears welled in my eyes. “Thank you.”
He pulled away, noticing my tears. “Please don’t start crying. I hate to see a woman cry.”
“They’re happy tears,” I reassured.
Alessandro took in a breath. “Well, Mrs. Belatoni, where do you want to go next? Because I was under the impression you had already gotten Luca a gift for his birthday.”
I grinned, remembering the watch I bought him with our wedding date and initials engraved on the back. I couldn’t wait for him to see it. “Yes, I have, and I think you know where I want to go to next.”
Alessandro grinned. “David, back to The Castle. Mrs. Belatoni wants to see her husband.”
“Sure thing!” he chimed with a cheeky smile.
I was pretty certain that I was grinning like an idiot, but I so didn’t care. No doubt I would never hear the end of it from Luca, though. He would be the typical macho man, beating his chest and banging on about how super strong his sperm was.
As we neared The Castle, my excitement grew to new levels. I was looking out the window, watching the world go by, and wondering how I was going to cope with being pregnant and the prospect of motherhood. I was determined, like Luca, to be the best parent I could be. Our child would never have to suffer and would never want for love and attention because he or she would have it already in abundance. He or she would always have it.
Once we got to the gates, I was surprised to see Luca coming out in the back of one of his cars. He saw me and obviously asked the driver to stop. He got out of the car, and so did I. I didn’t want to wait for Alessandro and the others to let me out. I was too excited.
“Clara, what in the hell are you doing?” Luca shouted. He was pissed at me for being impatient, but I thought he would forgive me once I told him the news.
I was grinning as I ran to him, desperate to get into his arms and tell him the news he had always been longing to hear. I was about to become a mother to his children and nothing and no one could take that feeling of euphoria away.
“Luca!” I cried, as I kept on running. But, suddenly, a car screeched in close by to us. It seemed to have come out of nowhere. At first, I thought it was someone who had just lost control, but when the driver wound down the window, I saw his evil grin staring back at me.
Everything seemed to go in slow motion. I could hear Luca screaming at me to get down as his men seemed to run towards me from all directions.
And then I felt something in my stomach. At first, it didn’t register, but as the car screeched away, I found my hand placed on my belly. I could feel wetness as my hands started trembling. I looked to Luca, who was running towards me. His face was a mixture of anger, pain, and anguish. Then, I looked down and saw it. The blood. Lots of blood was forming on my white blouse. It was like a sea of red spreading at all angles. “No,” I whispered, as the pain gripped me like nothing I had ever experienced before.
As I collapsed to the floor, my eyes met the sky. I could swear I saw an angel floating above me, and I watched as it disappeared into the clouds above. Luca was screaming at me—begging me to be okay—but it almost felt distant. He was with me, but he seemed miles away.
I had news for him. I needed to tell him something. Luca had to listen. I went to shout out, but no words seemed to come from my mouth.
The baby!
Oh my God, our baby! Please tell me our baby is okay.
It was like my mind wanted to shut off. I wanted to scream, but the darkness was coming instead. Luca was shouting “Don’t close your eyes. Please, baby. Open your eyes for me.”
I tried to fight it. I tried to will my eyes open at Luca’s command, but no matter what, my mind wanted to shut it all off. Shut out the pain, shut out the noise, and shut out the world from harming our baby.
Despite all the will in the world, nothing could keep my mind from closing down. So, I let the darkness come. I let it take over with one final thought in my head.
Please save my baby.
Luca
“Drive fucking faster. Shit, there’s so much blood!” I screamed. “Clara, open your eyes for me, baby. Please open your eyes. Don’t you dare fucking die on me!”
Shit. I was losing it. I had never in my life felt so desperate and weak. Clara was lying in my arms, motionless, with blood coming from her stomach. That fucker Antonio shot her.
He fucking shot her!
“We’re almost there, boss. Hang in there,” Alessandro screamed. He looked just as panicked as I did.
I looked down at Clara and stroked her face. She looked like a sleeping angel in my arms, but I knew better. Her face was pale, and her lips were dry as I planted a kiss on her forehead. “Please don’t die on me, baby. I’ve only just got you. Please don’t do this to me. Please.” This was the first time in my life I had begged. I would crawl on my hands and knees and beg to my worst enemies if it meant bringing Clara back to me.
Looking up, I saw us approach the hospital. I had the door swung open before we came to a full stop, but once I knew we had, I got out with Clara in my arms. Alessandro shouted for someone to come and help us, and pretty soon a few hospital staff came running out.
“She’s been shot!” I screamed as a bed appeared, and I rushed to place her on top. I tried to keep hold of her hand, but I was soon pushed out of the way by the doctor and nurses who were trying desperately to get to her. “Please, help her.” They rushed her in, and I followed quickly behind.
“What happened?” one of the nurses asked.
“She got fucking shot! That’s what happened!”
“Okay, calm down, sir. Can you tell me her name and who you are?”
I wiped my hand over my face unable to believe what was happening. “Her name’s Clara Belatoni. I’m her husband, Luca. Please, save her.”
The nurse nodded. “We will do everything we can, sir, but first can you let me know her medical history? Is she allergic to anaesthetic? Or anything else we need to know?”
I shook my head and was about to answer no, when a voice from behind interrupted me. “She’s pregnant.”
At first, I couldn’t move from shock. I saw the nurse nod, and before long, Clara had disappeared with the nurses, who were shouting that her BP was low. It was like the world had stopped.
She’s pregnant?
As the halls fell silent, I turned towards a distraught and timid looking Alessandro. “Did you just say she’s pregnant?” He nodded. “But, how did you…?”
“She went to the doctor’s, and I got suspicious. When she looked so happy, I thought there was only one reason she would be.”
I moved forward, anger seeping into my spine. “Why didn’t you tell me where she was? You should have called.” I lunged for him, but Tony held me back. “Let go of me, Tony, or so help me God, I’ll fucking break your face.”
“Boss, listen to me,” I fought against him, but he held on tight. “You’re hurting. I understand that. But, do you really think Clara would want you like this? She needs you now, and she’s going to need you later. Don’t do something you might regret.”
I took in a deep, angered breath. I wanted to kill someone, but Tony was right. Clara needed me. And, I needed to make sure she was going to be okay.
So, to Tony and Alessandro??
?s surprise, I nodded. They expected me to lash out. It’s what I did. But right then, all I wanted was for Clara to be okay.
“She’s carrying my baby,” I whispered as Tony let me loose. It was only just sinking in what it all meant. Clara would not only be fighting for her life; she would be fighting for our baby’s life too.
I felt a squeeze of reassurance on my shoulder, but no amount of that could help me now. I felt helpless. All I could do was sit and wait for some news from the doctors. As the minutes passed, I swore a couple of times that the clocks were mocking me. Time seemed to stand still, and my world went right along with it.
I gripped my fists together as I waited, thinking about everything that had gone down. I knew Antonio was back in the UK again, and I knew at some point he would rear his ugly head. Never in a million years, however, had I envisaged he would do something like this. No family—not even his own—would disagree with the need for his punishment. I was going to find that son of a bitch, and when I did, it wasn’t going to be pretty. By the end of it, Antonio would be begging me to kill him. Pleading with me to put him out of his misery, but I wouldn’t. His death would be slow, agonising, and I was going to enjoy every fucking second of it.
My phone rang, so I pulled it out of my pocket. It was one of my men, Charlie. I knew why he was ringing. I had sent him out on a little errand to plant drugs and pornography at the Murphy’s residence. I promised Clara that I would never hurt them physically, so I was keeping to that promise. I was just making sure I sent a message. It was about time they knew just who they were dealing with.
“It’s done,” he simply said as I answered.
“Good,” I answered. Then, I promptly hung up; I had no time for this. I needed to be there for Clara, and everything else would have to wait.
“Mr. Belatoni?” a low voice whispered in the waiting room.
I looked up and saw a doctor standing there in scrubs. “Yes?” I said, standing up, eager to get some news on Clara and the baby.
“We’re still operating on her, but she’s stable for now…”
“Oh, thank God.” I could have almost cried from relief. But when I looked back at the doctor, I could tell there was more.
“Unfortunately, due to the significant damage she sustained, she had a uterine prolapse. As a result, she lost the baby, and we will have to remove her uterus. I’m so sorry.”
My world caved in. I could feel myself going, and Tony and Alessandro had to help me to a seat. As I sat there, confusion, anger, pain, and despair gripped me from all sides. I tried to gain composure. I was a fucking Belatoni after all. But all I wanted to do right then was curl in on myself. Antonio may not have killed my Clara, but he would definitely have killed her spirit.
How will she ever overcome this?
As I swallowed hard, questions surrounded me. Questions to which I knew full well what the answers would be, but I didn’t want to believe it. “She will never ever feel what it is like to carry a baby?”
The doctor winced at my choice of words. “No, she won’t. I’m sorry. We can save her eggs, and in the future, you could try for surrogacy, but she will never become pregnant. In the meantime, I need to get into surgery, but I just wanted you to know the outcome so far.”
I nodded my head. “Just do what you can to save her.”
The doctor nodded, and I closed my eyes, wishing this was all some fucked up nightmare. Surely, we wouldn’t have been given this gift of life just to have it all ripped away from us? Surely, life wouldn’t be that cruel?
I managed to thank the doctor, before he quickly walked away and left me in a world of shock. Alessandro, Tony, David, and Roberto were there with me, but I may as well have been on my own. No amount of comfort could help me. I was worlds away from that.
Tony tried to offer comfort, but I shrugged him off, and I left them all in the waiting room. I wandered aimlessly, following the signs for the chapel on the first floor. Once I got there, I walked up to the front stall where Jesus was watching me from his cross. What I wanted from Him, I didn’t know, but He was the only entity I could cling to. I was going to beg and plead… Anything for Him to save my Clara and tell me that everything was going to be okay.
But instead, as I approached him, I clutched my hands together, sinking to the floor. And, for the first time—ever—in my life…
I cried.
Luca
Never in my life had I experienced pain quite like that. I was a pathetic, broken man kneeling in front of Jesus… Seeking solitude, help… Anything to stop the aching feeling in my gut. I cried until there were no more tears left to shed, and I begged and pleaded that he spare my Clara. Once I was done, I picked myself off of the floor and went over to the candles. I lit one for our baby and said a little prayer for the angels to keep him or her safe. He or she may have only been the size of a grain of rice, but our baby had existed. Clara had been carrying another soul … another life. A life that had been torn apart before he or she was even able to experience it.
As I stood there in front of the candle, I watched the tiny flame dance. I tried to blank my mind from all that was happening around me. All I wanted to do was concentrate on that flame and nothing else.
But no matter how much I tried, flashes of Clara running to me with her big, huge smile lighting up my heart came running through my brain. Then the car came, and I knew who it was before he even wound down his window. In that split second, he took everything from me, and I knew nothing would ever be the same again.
Blinding anger boiled through my veins, making me grit my teeth. I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout. I wanted to face the world and bellow out all my pain… Bellow out all my suffering.
That was the only emotion I could hold on to. I had to be there for Clara, but I also had to set the wheels in motion. In no way would I let him get away with what he had done. I would rather die myself than let that fucker live for another second.
As I stalked out of the chapel and made my way down to the waiting room, I called my mother and told her what had happened. After shedding a tear, she told me she was jumping on a plane as soon as she could. I then made the biggest, most important call of all. To Adamo Cavelli. One of the heads of the Cavelli clan. He answered the call, and there was obvious surprise in his voice that it was I who was calling him. I gave him no time to speak.
“Your nephew shot my wife. She is in surgery having her womb removed. A womb that was carrying our baby. Our. Fucking. Baby.” I grimaced, gripping my chest. I needed to hold it together. I needed to try and stay calm, so he wouldn’t think I was losing it. But, deep down, I was. Deep down, my whole fucking world was falling apart.
The phone fell silent for a moment, and I knew full well he would be angry. “You know for sure it was Antonio?”
I sucked in a breath. “I was there. I saw him with my own eyes. He aimed a gun at my wife and shot her.”
I heard him take a frustrated sigh. “Okay. I guess I don’t need to ask why you’re calling.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “No, but I’m not ringing to ask your permission. I’m telling you now that I’m going to do it with or without your permission. I made this phone call out of pure courtesy, but I do expect your full cooperation.”
The phone went silent again, and at first, I thought he was going to refuse me my deserved right to revenge. “Okay. You do what you have to do. I appreciate that rules are set in place, and Antonio has clearly disregarded those on several occasions.”
“Yes,” I said, with gritted teeth. “It’s just a pity this wasn’t dealt with sooner.”
“Don’t push this, Luca. I know Luigi’s gone missing, and so does Antonio. He knows you had something to do with it, and quite frankly, so do I, but I chose to ignore it. Our families barely tolerate each other as it is, so don’t think you can call me to tell me you’re going to kill my nephew and then insult the way I run things. I appreciate you’re grieving right now, but I won’t be fucking insulted. Do I make myself clear??
??
“Yes,” I answered through gritted teeth.
“Good. Now, do you want us to deal with him?”
I shook my head. “No fucking way.”
“I thought not, but thought I would offer. The rest of the family will not be pleased with this news. Setting aside our differences, I want you to know that the family does not and will not tolerate harm to women and children. Antonio does not speak for this family. They will want retribution just as much as you do.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Because of what he’s done, I will grant you your choice of punishment. Just let me know once it’s done.”
I nodded again. “I will.” I was about to hang up, when I heard his voice.
“You have our deepest sympathies and condolences for you and your wife’s loss. I hope your wife pulls through and makes a full recovery.”
I closed my eyes, knowing that physical wounds would soon heal, but her heart would ache forever. “Thank you,” I whispered before I hung up.
I made my way back into the waiting room where all four of my men were waiting for me. Once Tony saw me, he got up. “Has there been any news?” I asked, sounding cold.
Tony saw my indifference, but I knew he would know it was an act. Inside, I was dying, but I needed to cling to the hate. Hate was my new best friend.
He shook his head. “No. No news as yet.”
“I need you to get onto finding Antonio, and for fuck’s sake, be quick about it.”
Tony gave me a timid smile. “Already did that when you disappeared.”
I nodded. “Thanks. My mother is flying over. Can one of you make sure she’s picked up at the airport once she arrives?”
Roberto and David stood up. “We’re on it,” David replied before they both disappeared.
I sat back down at the opposite end of the room from Tony and Alessandro. I knew they were wary of what to say … or whether to say anything at all.