by Jolie Damman
Thank goodness they also had umbrellas and were protecting her from the rain. I wondered if they fed her well, gave her milk, and calmed her down when she realized her mom wasn’t with her.
I wanted to strangle those men. They were nothing more than assholes who thought they could get away with anything. Well, not anymore. I was going to make sure dad found out who they were, and they were going to be hunted down.
They stopped, and the meeting started. I prayed for one thing only. I wanted the meeting to be a short one. No discussions, no funny arrangements, just straight up swapping the money for my girl.
They talked some more, and I wished I was there with them. Umbrella or not, rain or not, I wanted to be a part of it. But I trusted my old man. I thought he didn’t care about my daughter, but I was wrong. He did, and he was doing everything right to get her back.
I slammed the front panel of the car. I couldn’t wait for that to continue any longer.
“Calm down, Elsa. She is coming back. Look.”
He pointed at them, and I lifted my head, finding out he was right. My dad had her basket, and he was taking her back. Time slowed down for me. She was coming back. I could barely control myself when-
A shot cut through the rain and the air, killing one of the men who took my girl.
My eyes caught sight of a hand gesture from my old man, and another distant shot sounded again, taking down another of their men. I was far from them, but I was still able to hear their shouts and orders.
A shootout was killing the tense atmosphere and my baby girl was in danger. Those men were reacting, and they were shooting back. Trees and walls protected my dad and Regina, but anything could happen, and all I knew right now was that I had to do something.
I slipped out of the car quickly, avoiding the hand of the man beside me. He attempted to stop me, but I was too fast for him. My body was immediately soaked by the pouring rain as I ran to my old man.
His eyes found me, his mouth opening to say something when a shot cut through the air, and he was taken down. I should have stopped in my tracks, should have hid myself, but I continued to run to him anyway.
His hand clutched his chest, and blood slipped through the gaps of his fingers. Someone shot him, and it wasn’t one of the men in the vicinity. It was another person far, far away. I heard the shot, and it didn’t originate from the park we were in.
I got to him, and his men were still fighting their enemies, the ones that stole my baby girl. He gently placed the basket with my baby girl in it on the ground, and then stretched his hand to me.
“Elsa, I’m sorry, but I had to do this.”
“Shhhh, don’t talk right now. I’m going to take you to the hospital, and it will all be fine.”
Blood stormed out of his mouth, making me gasp. He was dying. I needed to do something to save him.
I was going to stand up when I heard a bullet hit the wall near me. My heart leaped. If I didn’t do something now, I was going to be killed, and all the efforts to save my daughter were going to be for nothing.
“Elsa, just go!” He shouted, gesturing with his hand for his men to do something. More of them rushed forward, their guns firing in all directions. He brought more of his men with him, and he planned this whole thing from the beginning.
Dad didn’t expect he would be shot. He thought he had it all under control. That was his plan. To get Regina back, and kill the people that thought they could get away without dire consequences.
I noticed a couple of their men running away, their hands taking the suitcases with the money in them. They were going to escape, and I knew that his money was important for my father. He needed it to keep his Mafia family afloat and without it, they were as good as dead.
But there was nothing I could do about the money, and so I focused on getting him out of there. I put his arm over my shoulder, and holding the baby basket in my hand, I lifted him up, his body feeling heavy, but not to the point of making me think I couldn’t make it back to the car.
When I lifted my head to look forward, my eyes caught sight of the driver of the car I was in running toward me, his gun firing in all directions as he killed our enemies. He got to me, and said, “I’m going to take the boss to the hospital. Stay close and keep her safe.”
I held the baby basket in front of me and ran with him, bullets cutting through the air, almost killing me and him. The shootout was an intense one, and even though the police didn’t come here often, I knew that, this time, they would.
Lights in the buildings and houses were turned on, and I was sure those people were scared shitless about what was happening here. And as for me, all I knew was that I needed to get the fuck away from Italy and never come back.
I’m goi-
And a bullet cut through the material of the basket, killing the cries of the baby. I looked down at it. Oh no no no no no.
Blood oozed from the hole made in the basket, and all I was praying for right now was for her to cry again. But when I looked at her, her beautiful, angelic face, I saw it, and my vision blurred.
I lost all the strength. This couldn’t be happening. Oh no no no no. Not right here, not right now. Not like this. I did so much to save her. What was happening here? This couldn-
And I lost the last ounce of strength I had, falling on the ground, my body becoming something I had no control over anymore. I heard someone shouting, but I didn’t care if they were worried about me.
I felt the hands of someone on me, dragging me somewhere, but at this point, I didn’t care who was taking me, and where to.
I just wanted to die.
Chapter 3
From Now On…
Elsa
My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself inside a cold, bland hospital room. I turned my head to the side, and found my dad.
Wait, my dad was alive?
Oh, and if that’s the case, then I must have dreamed of what happened. But then, my eyes caught sight of the bandages that were put around his torso, covering the spot where he was shot. How did he survive?
My baby girl.
I sat straight up on the bed quickly, and my heart leaped. “Hey hey, Elsa. Calm down,” he said, his hands trying to make me feel less nervous about this.
“Where is my daughter?!”
His eyes looked down, and he didn’t say anything. That was all the answer I needed. It happened. They killed her. They fucking killed her, and I lost the only thing that mattered to me.
I felt a huge, painful feeling around my heart, as if someone was squeezing it with both hands. It couldn’t have happened. Not to my baby girl. Not to her. She was the only reason I was still alive and not thinking about committing suicide when my husband was killed.
I felt my eyes watering, and my father looked for my hand. But I slapped it away. I couldn’t talk to him right now. After what happened, there was nothing more I could do. It was all lost. My baby girl was now gone.
And it was due to his actions. He shot them when he didn’t need to. He put the well-being of his Mafia family over mine and that of my baby daughter. He thought he could kill them all and pretend they didn’t have enough guns to harm us too.
“Elsa, let me explain…”
“No. Get out of here. I don’t want to talk.”
Slowly, reluctantly, he stood up and walked away. I heard the door being closed, and then buried my head in the pillows. My baby girl… dead. What am I going to do with my life now?
✽ ✽ ✽
I found myself on the tallest building in Milan, the wind blowing and throwing my hair in all directions. The night sky was a clear one, and I could see the stars as I had never seen them before. There were some peace and tranquility about this, about what I was doing.
I remembered my Regina. She was not even 3 when they took her from me. It wasn’t enough they kidnapped her, they had to kill her too. Right when I was taking her in the basket, when I thought I was going to be able to escape that terrible shootout…
But t
hey had to do it. Well, to be more honest with myself, it was probably a stray bullet that got her. They still thought little of her well-being, though. Their target was my father, who luckily survived.
I went to her burial, and I couldn’t even hear the description of her death when they attempted to tell it to me. It was horrible, but at least, it was painless. Just one shot, and it killed her quickly and without making her feel anything.
That was the only thing that comforted me right now, but I had given up already. I couldn’t live this life of mine anymore. I needed to die, to find some peace and not exist anymore. I didn’t believe in religion and didn’t think I would go to heaven.
More likely, I would go to hell. That was a suitable place for someone like me. I should have been braver. Should have escaped my father and gone with my husband where he said he was going to take me to.
But I didn’t do that. I couldn’t abandon my father, even though I hated him. The truth was a very simple one. I loved him.
Well, that was back then. I had nothing but resentment for him right now. He was majorly responsible for the death of my Regina, and he got lucky and survived.
How unfair was this world, and why should I continue to live in it?
I looked down on the street below, and a tempting thought crossed my mind. I could end my suffering right now. Just needed to make sure my head would hit the ground first, and I would feel no pain.
Well, even if I did feel pain, it wouldn’t be for very long. That I was sure of.
And so, I made a decision.
Eduardo
The familiarity of this road and the city in the distance assaulted my mind. I hadn’t taken this road to go anywhere in years. It was the kind of road that not many people used anymore. I knew why that was so. They built a freeway not too far from here, and one could go much faster on it.
As for me, I preferred taking this road sometimes. It was rural, and there was some tranquility that came with driving on it that I couldn’t find elsewhere easily. In this place, I could think about my life.
I broke up with Ileana, and that still consumed me. I never thought I would become infertile, but I couldn’t continue being her boyfriend. She thought we were going to have a great life together. Married, with kids and all, but the last thing was one I couldn’t provide for her.
I had the money, and I strived in the Mafia life. I was quite good at what I did. For a long time, I kind of hated being hunted down and having to kill so many people, but I eventually learned that this life was for me.
I had more than enough money now, though not enough to say ‘fuck it’ to the Mafia here in Milan and find a better place to live in. I would need to find a place where the Mafia would never be able to find me.
Either way, that was the kind of thing I wouldn’t do right now. I liked this life, and I wanted to serve my boss. Romano was a good man, and he knew what it took to make it in this world.
I turned at a corner and was going to continue driving down this road when my eyes found a car pulling over. A woman - and a beautiful one at that - got out of it, and she looked distraught, her foot tapping the ground.
I pulled over next to her and got out. She noticed me, and after putting her fists on her waist, she said, “Hey, can you help me with this?”
“Sure thing,” I said before opening the front of her car, a cloud of white smoke coming out of it.
“Doesn’t seem like anything good happened here,” she said, checking out the engine.
“No, I think not, but I should be able to fix it.”
“For real?” She asked, her eyes wide.
“For real,” I responded, smiling.
She was a striking woman, and I thought about asking her name, but that I would leave for later. I said I was going to fix her engine, and I meant that.
I worked on the engine for a couple of minutes, reaching a point where I had to wipe the sweat off my forehead. The sun was really hot. Should thank Summer for that, I thought before resuming my work.
“You sure this won’t take long?” She asked.
I smirked and said, “Yeah, it won’t take long.”
Minutes passed, and I eventually fixed her engine. I closed the hood, and with a smile on my face, I said, “I think that should be everything.”
She walked to me and said, looking a bit ashamed of something, “I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Elsa.”
She offered her hand, which I took and shook. “I’m Eduardo.”
Chapter 4
A Nice Surprise
Elsa
Imade the handshake last bit longer than I should. This was no normal introduction. I hadn’t felt something like this for a man in a long time, and there was something about him that made him different from the other men that lived here.
We ended the handshake, and I said, “Thanks for helping me with this, but I can’t let you go now. How about a drink? It wouldn’t be right not to do something to properly thank you.”
He rubbed the back of his head. “There is no need.”
“But I insist. Come with me. I know a good place here.”
He looked somewhat hesitant, but agreed anyway. I got into my car and drove with him to a nice, small restaurant a couple of blocks from the road we were on. The place didn’t have a romantic atmosphere or anything of the sort. It looked very friendly, though. It was one of the few things I still enjoyed about Milan.
Ever since I was convinced not to end my life, I grew less and less jubilant. The only reason I didn’t try to kill myself was because my father looked so worried that day. He cried before me, and that was something I hadn’t seen him do in a very long time.
I had to look happy for Eduardo. He pulled over and fixed my car when he didn’t have to. He had no reason to help me, other than being the gentleman he was.
Even though I was depressed, I couldn’t help but admit he was handsome. Eduardo wasn’t only an educated man who knew how a woman should be treated, he had the looks as well. Despite that, there was something in his eyes that told me a different story.
We all had our wounds, our problems, but his appeared to be very deep. Maybe that was something we could share, but him being a stranger made it impossible for me to talk about my past right now.
I ordered the drinks and sat down in front of him. We got a nice table with two chairs only, and he tried to look happy. I knew it was a façade, though. He just didn’t want to appear sad when we were supposed to be sharing a nice, friendly moment together.
“So, you live here?” I asked.
I didn’t know where this was going, but I wasn’t going to talk about anything serious with him. I was curious - nothing more than that.
“Yeah, I do.”
We talked for a little while, until I got to know him a little better, but he avoided some subjects that appeared to hurt him too much. I didn’t make much of it, and decided to stand up and say, “It was good meeting you, and thank you so much for helping me out with my car.”
He smiled, dusted off his pants and said, “It was nothing. I will be going now, but you take care of yourself.”
“Likewise, Eduardo.” I gave his cheek a kiss, which lightened him up a bit.
I felt different with him around, I thought as he walked out and got into his car. There was something about that man that made me think-
I shook my head. I shouldn’t be having this kind of thought. I was long over thinking it was ever going to work out for me again.
I sighed and walked out too. I got inside my car, and while driving out, I thought about this one thing I needed to do. I didn’t kill myself, but my old man was going to have to realize he couldn’t keep doing what he was doing.
And I was going to make sure nothing here could ever hurt me again.
Eduardo
I was driving back into the city, thinking about that unusual meeting I had with her. She was a good woman. There was no denying that. Still, there was something about her she didn’t tell me, which made me ver
y curious about her life.
I should have asked her what was going on. Should have been braver, but she was nothing but a stranger. Maybe I would see her again, but that was unlikely. She didn’t live the same life I did, and considering I didn’t want to have another girlfriend ever again - didn’t feel like breaking another person’s heart by telling her I was infertile - we were better off pretending we never met.
Still, what an interesting woman. There was something about her I didn’t quite catch when I was with her. Something I couldn’t figure out even now… She had a deep, complicated past, and it was of the kind she would rather not tell anyone.