Hidden Witness 6: Marco & Emoni's Story: The Rise of A Donna

Home > Other > Hidden Witness 6: Marco & Emoni's Story: The Rise of A Donna > Page 22
Hidden Witness 6: Marco & Emoni's Story: The Rise of A Donna Page 22

by Posey Parks


  I smiled. “Sounds good.”

  Our life was pleasant. Wars were settled. We looked forward to the birth of our child. Who knew life could be so sweet?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  EMONI

  Tadeas pushed the hospital room door open. His eyes swept the spacious room, brimming with family. Laughter spilled over into the hall.

  “Tadeas, can we go in or what?” I bit out.

  He held the door and opened his hand. “By all means.” Tadeas smirked.

  “What?”

  “My job is to protect you. If it takes me an extra minute to case the joint than so be it, Emoni.”

  “Ok, fine. I won’t rush you next time. I’m just eager to see my best friend.”

  He nodded.

  Maceo and Tadeas were like my big brothers.

  I peeked behind me. “Maceo, where is Marco?”

  He stepped back and glanced down the hall. “Right there on a call.” Maceo pointed.

  “He’s talking to Luca.”

  Should I wait for him?

  “Emoni,” Carmen called.

  I turned and stepped inside. “Hey, so good to see you.” My arms wrapped around her neck.

  “There’s so many people here.”

  She pulled back. “I know. Welcome to an Italian family.”

  Carmen peeked to the left. “You have the proud grandparents Sergio and Fran talking with Dominic and his grandfather Salvatore.”

  They were huddled in a corner, laughing at I suppose whatever Dominic said.

  “Alexandria, Dillon and Dominic’s sister who’s sitting on the couch with her cousin Anthony Jr. You know, Tony and Nadine’s son.”

  “Whoa, that’s their son? He’s handsome. He’ll be breaking hearts like the rest of them soon.”

  “Girl, you know it.”

  “Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Is Tony changing diapers?”

  Carmen laughed. “Nope. Nadine told him if he brought the twins, he had to take care of them because she was working. Technically, Nadine is supposed to be on maternity leave and vacation.”

  She gestured her hand. “You know, because they recently tied the knot. But Nadine was committed to delivering Sierra’s baby.”

  I smiled. “She’s wonderful.”

  Shana, Jason, Lily, and little Dillon were gathered around their parents and new baby sister. Dillon’s smile spread across his lips as he stared between his wife and newborn child. I wondered what it was like? It was their first child together. He loved all their children, but this child represented their union. Just visualizing that representation of them I bet was special at the moment. Dillon sat in the chair with the baby.

  “Shana, come here.”

  She stood beside him.

  “Say hello to your sister.”

  “Hi, Nia,” Shana laughed.

  I loved how he didn’t treat them differently from his biological children. Every child deserved to be treated special.

  “Seeing all these kids does it make you want a little one?”

  She grinned. “Not as much as Dominic. He’s ready to prove he can be a better father than his dad. He asked that I stop taking birth control.” Her gorgeous heart-shaped face crinkled.

  “I’m not sure I’m ready. I work a lot. But doubt I can hold out much longer.” She peeked at him, rubbing her collar bone. Her flirtatious brown eyes lit up.

  “Dominic is very persuasive.”

  He winked at her.

  “What can I say? My husband worked tirelessly until I was pregnant. I mean literally day and night. These guys are built to run their family’s businesses and be fathers.”

  She sighed. “I’ll have to learn work life balance.”

  We laughed.

  Carmen introduced me to the members of the family I hadn’t met.

  Shana spotted me. “Emoni, you’re here.”

  She ran over and hugged me.

  “Marco,” little Dillon yelled. He ran into his arms.

  I peeked to my right.

  Marco kneeled down. Dillon hugged him, and Lilly followed.

  I glanced down at Jason. “Hi, baby. I wish I could pick you up.”

  Crouching, I stared into their eyes. “God mommy is having a baby too.”

  Their faces lit up.

  “Me and your mommy have the same doctor. She said I had to be careful. The baby’s fragile right now.”

  They wrapped their arms around my neck.

  “We can’t wait until your baby’s born.”

  “Me either.”

  I winked at my best friend.

  “Come here Dillon and Lily.” We became closer while I lived with them.

  They hugged me tight. “I missed you guys.”

  “We missed you too,” Lily beamed.

  “Dillon, have you built any new worlds?”

  “Yup, you have to come over and see.”

  I ran my hand over his brown hair. “I’ll be over this week to spend time with you guys.”

  “Yes,” they all shouted.

  “Dillon, maybe you can show me and Marco how to create a house in your world.”

  “Yeah, that would be cool.”

  I stood. Marco gripped my waist.

  “Dillon, I think Emoni and I should build our own houses. You guys can pick the winner.” He pointed at the kids.

  They jumped up and down.

  “I’m confident I’ll build the better house,” I smirked.

  “Don’t count on it, sweetheart. It’s harder than it looks.”

  “Marco, I am up for the challenge.”

  The kids were ecstatic. They ran over to big Dillon and Sierra.

  “Emoni and Marco are coming over this week to play video games with us.” Dillon Jr. was excited to say the least.

  Dillon laughed. “I have the best-looking house in the game. You two don’t have a chance against me.”

  I waved Mr. Mob Boss off and sat on the edge of the bed, while he and Marco argued about who was better at video games. They’d be arguing for at least fifteen minutes. I loved it.

  “Can’t believe those two were away from each other for fourteen years.” Sierra shook her head.

  “Girl, me either. They are literally like brothers.”

  We stared at our men.

  I marveled Sierra’s natural beauty. “How are you feeling?” I gleamed.

  “Tired.”

  I placed my hand under the sanitizer dispenser.

  Peeking at the beautiful bundle, I gasped.

  “Sierra, she’s beautiful.”

  “Thank you.”

  After rubbing my hands together, I reached for the baby.

  “The last little person I held was Jason.”

  I cooed at the beautiful little girl. Her fine hair curled around her ears.

  “You did good, mamma.”

  Sierra smiled. “What did Nadine say about your pregnancy?”

  “The little bambino’s holding strong. It sucks lying in bed day after day, but it will be worth it.”

  I caressed Nia’s little tan hand. Her gray eyes opened and closed. “You’ll see me a lot, Nia.” I placed her in Sierra’s arms.

  Nia cried.

  “Someone’s hungry.” Nadine fell beside me.

  I nudged her arm. “I wondered where you were.”

  “Girl, I had a little paperwork to handle for Nia.”

  “Your husband changed the twins diapers.”

  She peeked at Tony and snickered. “I am so proud of him. He helps a lot. Fatherhood looks good on him. When we were younger, not sure I could honestly say I thought Tony would be father material. He’s one of a kind.”

  I leaned my head on her shoulder.

  “And how are you feeling?”

  “Good, I am following doctor’s orders.” I stood up straight and saluted.

  “Emoni, I better not hear you’re cleaning the house again.”

  My eyes widened. “Marco, told you that?”

  She laughed as she slipped her cell out of h
er pocket and flipped through her camera roll.

  “I saved the pic he sent me.”

  Marco caught me dusting the mantle in the living room. My hand fell over my brow.

  “Sorry, Nadine. I had to do something.”

  Sierra laughed. “She doesn’t know how to sit still.”

  I cut my eyes at her. “Hey, stop telling on me.”

  “Nadine, she sent Marco over with a medium sized dish of banana pudding. Dillon ate most of it.”

  Nadine twisted her lips. “What the hell, Emoni?”

  “If I make banana pudding for you too, will you forget about my antsy problem?”

  She tapped her fingertips on her chin. “I can be persuaded.”

  We laughed.

  “Hey, I heard y’all talking about food?”

  “Yes, Carmen.”

  “Your sister-in-law betrayed me. Told Nadine I was baking when I should have been in bed. But in my defense. I can sit while I bake. Lay off a bit.” I rolled my eyes at them.

  “Well, since your cooking if you feel moved to bake macaroni and cheese, let me know. I’ll send Dominic to pick up a tray.”

  “I have help now. Maceo’s girlfriend or lady friend. He won’t call her his girlfriend. She and I will prepare dinner and I’ll have Maceo drop off the meals tomorrow.”

  The girls squealed. Nadine and Carmen hugged me tight.

  “Sierra, once you return home, we have wifely matters to discuss.”

  “You ladies don’t have to worry about it. Adriana can handle it.”

  “You’re right, but I think the message should come from us.” I pointed between myself, Nadine and Carmen.

  “Agreed.” Carmen crossed her arms.

  I cocked my head to the side. “Adriana and Vivian can sit on the busy bee for now. Until you are mobile.”

  She peeked at the baby, then her eyes shifted between us. “Fine.”

  “Why are you ladies huddled together?”

  Dillon sat beside Sierra.

  “I can promise they’re up to no good.” Dominic snickered, pulling Carmen against his broad chest.

  Tony stepped behind Nadine, threading their fingers. “They’re devising a plan.”

  Marco’s chin rested on my head. “I bet this one was the ring leader.”

  “Baby, seriously?”

  “Oh, yeah.” His fingers stroked my belly.

  “We’re just gushing over the baby,” I winked at Sierra.

  She chuckled. “Yeah, cooing over Nia.”

  Dillon’s eyes landed on his new bundle of joy and forgot about the shit we were cooking up. We’d torture the bitch who couldn’t stay out of Dillon’s face. We had each other’s back. That was what mob wives did. We looked out for each other.

  EPILOGUE

  EMONI

  Before I joined him, Marco flew to Las Vegas several times without me over the last few months. He refused to take any chances with my health. He said after we learned the sex of the baby we’d move to Vegas.

  We hated being away from each other. Marco and I FaceTimed several times a day. Let’s face it, he was obsessed with my growing belly like I was with his tattoos.

  It was so bad. Upon returning home, he’d kiss my belly instead of my lips.

  The day of our baby shower, I searched almost every room in our house for Marco. I didn’t expect to find him sound asleep, stretched out across our bed. Probably should have checked there first. Between traveling to Las Vegas, Portland, and Chicago, he was exhausted. The Portland project hit a snag. He met with Kyle, Dillon’s friend. He hired their company to complete the project.

  He then spent weeks interviewing construction workers in Vegas. Marco was determined to hire the right skilled laborers, to build our hotel and casino.

  Luca still hadn’t returned from Chicago. Marco decided to pay his brother a visit. Early this morning Marco returned home. We hadn’t spoken about his time in Chicago. I figured after the baby shower was over, he’d bring me up to speed. The fake smile he flashed earlier when he entered the house told me the meeting didn’t go as planned.

  Not sure moving to Vegas was the best idea right now. If he couldn’t persuade Luca to return, I’d have to step in again and help my husband run our family business full time. That was probably the best decision at this stage. My husband couldn’t keep running himself ragged. We barely spent time together.

  I sat on the bed. “Marco.” Gently, I rolled him over.

  “Wake up.”

  I kissed his tatted neck. “Baby, come on. We have a houseful of guests.”

  He squeezed my ass. “Sit down. I want to talk to our little man.”

  “Marco, you can talk to him later.”

  His eyes popped open. “Emoni, now,” he growled.

  Resting my head against the headboard, I rubbed my belly. Marco’s head rested on my thigh.

  “Little Marco, daddy hadn’t talked to you since yesterday. I missed you and mommy.”

  My skin heated. I often joked about Marco’s obsession with our child. Truthfully, he hated being away from me.

  “For now, on, you and mommy are traveling with daddy. I will not be away from my family for days at a time anymore. We’re flying to Vegas in two days. Have your assistant pack whatever you need for Vegas.”

  My fingers stroked his hair. “We hated being away from you too. Are you sure this is the best time to leave?”

  “Yes, baby.”

  “Ok. Come on, Marco, entertain your friends while I open the gifts. Appetizers are being served.”

  He sat up. “I need to ask Dillon was he exhausted while Sierra was pregnant.”

  I laughed. “Bet he was.”

  “Emoni, I don’t know. The second I board the jet, I fall asleep. Shit, I’m knocked out for the entire flight.”

  He stood and pulled me into his arms.

  “Baby, I guarantee you it’s normal.”

  He intertwined our fingers as we walked out of our bedroom.

  “Good job only inviting our friends and family.”

  “Neither of us want strangers, strolling through our home.”

  He gripped my belly through the plum form fitting dress that hugged my curves and baby bump as we walked down the stairs. “You got that right.”

  One night I fell asleep with a tiny belly and in the morning, I woke up with a full on pregnant round belly.

  I placed Marco’s hand higher once we reached the end of the steps.

  “Feel that?”

  Marco’s face lit up. “Little man, you are a powerful kicker.” His Jersey accent was so sexy.

  “Give daddy another big one.”

  It was like he could understand his father because he kicked his hand again.

  “That’s my boy. Daddy will read you a story later tonight.”

  I shook my head. Marco kissed my lips and then vanished into the theater room.

  “Ass in the seat, Emoni,” Sierra demanded from the family room doorway.

  “I’m coming.”

  “Ladies, Emoni’s ready to open gifts.”

  I laughed as my family bustled around me, lining up gifts for me to open. It was a wonderful day shared with those we loved.

  ~

  Marco and I had several business dinners with chefs, and other retailers we were interested in occupying space in our hotel and casino. We discussed business non-stop. In order to be successful in a billion-dollar business, we had to be aggressive in every stage of our casino development.

  I was home sick, and I looked forward to hanging out with the mob wives and our husbands for the fourth of July holiday. It wasn’t like the wives and I didn’t FaceTime from time to time. Being together in person, hashing out our evil plans to end or run needy bitches out of town was what I looked forward to.

  July was finally here; I awoke alone in our Las Vegas mansion and felt the urge to leave. Marco had a meeting with the construction foreman. Midafternoon, I boarded the jet and flew home without my husband.

  He wasn’t happy. Marco
asked that I wait one more day, and he’d fly home with me.

  I couldn’t. For some reason, I just felt the need to return home right away.

  Standing at the top of the beautiful stairs you could hear a pen drop; it was that quiet.

  Where was Maceo? Doubt he dropped me at home last night and left.

  Clutching the banister, I continued on my way to the kitchen.

  A sharp pain struck my belly, and my knees buckled. Laid out on the marble steps, I screamed. “Ah.”

  Another sharp pain tore through my body. “Maceo,” I called.

  My voice was barely audible. Why?

  Something was wrong. “Little Marco,” I breathed.

  “Hold on.”

  My cell was upstairs on the nightstand. I usually grabbed it. I wish I could call out to my cell. My voice came and went. Not sure Siri would hear me. Moving felt impossible. If I released the railing, I’d tumble down the stairs.

  I heard a door close.

  “Maceo,” I yelled.

  My voice was audible again.

  He stepped in the hall. “Where are you?”

  “Here.” I raised my shaky hand.

  He walked forward and peeked up the stairs; eyes wide.

  “Oh my god.” Maceo flew into action.

  He swooped me up and tore out of the house. Maceo laid me in the back seat of the Suburban and buckled the seatbelt across my body.

  “Hold on, Emoni, I’ll get you to the hospital right away.”

  Another thrash of throbbing pain ripped through my belly. My eyes slammed shut, and I barred my teeth. “The…the baby. What’s wrong?”

  My sentences didn’t make sense anymore. The tears clouded my view, and my throat tightened.

  “Hang on to something, Emoni.”

  Maceo barreled through the neighborhood. I gripped the door handle when I could.

  “Call, Marco,” he ordered the truck.

  The phone rang and rang. No answer.

  “Shit! Marco, where are you?” Maceo growled.

  He placed another call.

  “Dr. Magarelli speaking.”

  “Nadine, this is Maceo. Something’s wrong with the baby. I’m rushing Emoni to the hospital.” He rattled off the statement quick.

  “Maceo is she having contractions?”

 

‹ Prev