by Sienna Mynx
“That is done.” Zia lifted Catalina’s chin. “You’re going to be a mother. Your child is the last true heir to the Mancini’s. That means Armando is alive. Here.” She pressed her hand against Catalina’s belly.
Catalina took down a few deep breaths and relaxed.
“Are you calm?”
“Yes. Zia... how is everyone? Gio, and... Mira?”
“Not well.”
“She hates me too,” Catalina said.
“No, Mirabella doesn’t. She did what she had to do to protect your brother. She had little choices back then. She has even fewer choices now.”
“Why aren’t you in Sorrento? They tell me you stayed in Bagheria after Rocco... oh Zia, Rocco... I can’t believe he’s gone. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.”
Catalina collapsed on Zia again. Zia comforted her and told her all about Rocco’s illness and death. She told her niece every detail of his funeral and passing on. She kept talking until Catalina’s questions were all answered. It exhausted them both. Zia prayed for the family. The news Giovanni wanted her to share with Catalina and Lorenzo would have to wait. In that moment she just wanted to make her piccolina feel whole again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Il dono della vita
Doma, Tanzania, Africa - Two Days Later
“CARLO! CARRRLOOOOO, somethin’s wrong!”
“No. No. It’s the pain. It’s normal. I’m here. I’m with you,” he whispered in her ear.
“Hold my hand!” Marietta wept. “I’m scared. I can’t do this without Lo. I need him. Oh God help me.”
“Yes, you can.”
The pain was like nothing she’d ever experienced in her life. It came as swift as a kick and as hard as a punch. In the few seconds that followed she suffered rapid strikes to her pelvis, and a bone crushing squeeze that made every muscle constrict. Then it passed. She could breathe. Her vision blurred by tears and sweat gave her little clarity. But she saw him. Carlo at her side. He gave her one of his sly smiles that always made her melt, and she cried and smiled.
“It’s happening.”
“You’re going to do just fine,” he said and kissed her cheek.
“Behind her. Give her support. Get behind her.” He was told.
Carlo tossed her back pillows aside and eased behind her on the bed his legs straddled the sides of hers. She held her knees and dropped her head as he rubbed her shoulders to give her comfort. It worked. She did what the doctors said. She pushed when they said, she stopped when they said, but no baby came. She didn’t understand the amount of pain. There had to be something wrong.
Maybe it was the stress.
Maybe it was the stubbornness of her child.
The little one made the decision for them all. The baby should have breached. Her mind shouted one question over and over: Why did it hurt so bad?
“Relax, relax,” Carlo said and kissed the back of her head. She dropped her head exhausted.
“I can’t Carlo, I can’t do it. Something’s wrong. I feel it. Dear God, help me. My baby, I’m so scared.”
“Your baby needs you, Lorenzo needs you. Be strong.”
“I’m going to lose them both!” she wailed.
“Fight,” he told her. “Fight, because you know how.”
Marietta could only breathe through her mouth and squeeze Carlo’s hands in response. She was between his legs and the doctor was between hers. He held both her hands and kept them locked tight in his. He kissed the side of her head more than once and whispered in Italian that they would do it together. They would bring her baby into the world—together. She’d never been more grateful for him.
“Now. Push. Now.”
And she did. One hard push that nearly made her heart go into arrest. The push for life, for hope, for a second chance. She pushed and screamed out her pain with Carlo holding her and strangers around her.
Then she felt a release.
“What? What is it?” Marietta asked weakly. “My baby. I want... my baby.” The last of her strength slipped. She fought to hold on to clarity but only darkness descended.
“What’s wrong with her?” Carlo demanded.
“Out of the bed. Now.” The doctor ordered. One of the many nurses took the baby away. Carlo eased out from behind Marietta and couldn’t miss the amount of blood coming from her. That couldn’t be good. And when more staff arrived he had to take a further step. They spoke in their native language and brought in equipment.
“Carlo,” Dhakyia said. He turned, and the baby covered in blood and afterbirth wrapped in a cloth was put in his arms.
“No, take it,” he said and tried to give the small infant back.
“She’s yours, right?” Dhakyia said. “Hold her.”
“It’s a girl?” he asked. The baby didn’t cry. It squirmed and sucked her fist. Carlo stared down at the little one. She had a head full of curly black hair. A face that was round with puffy cheeks. And then the infant let go. She screamed up at him with the lungs of a soprano singer. The kid screamed up at him in fury. Carlo had to laugh. She was Marietta reincarnated.
“Calm her Carlo. Hold her head. Like this,” Dhakyia said.
“What is wrong with Marietta? Will she be okay?”
“Does it matter? You have what you want... no? The baby.”
“Yes, it matters! Damn it! What is wrong with her?”
“I’m not sure, but we need to leave.”
“Take her... I don’t want the child,” he said.
“You must keep her with you. I will help. Those are my orders,” Dhakyia said and pushed him toward the door.
“I give you the orders!” Carlo said and glared down at her while cradling the child.
“No Carlo. We work for Giovanni Battaglia. As do you. Now go... this way.”
He was guided out of the room. The little one in his arms stopped crying. He looked down at the baby to see she had calmed herself again by sucking her fist again. He’d never imagined children in his life. The women he hooked up with weren’t the maternal type. Adara had been a lying bitch, Shae had been the same. Still holding the little princess in his arms, he imagined it all. He envied Lorenzo and even Giovanni. He’d never be the men they were. Carlo and the child were taken to another room where nurses tended to the child. He dropped in a chair and watched them clean the child and weigh her. Giovanni had been watching him all along. Did the boss know about his renewed addiction to opium? About his weakness? Did the boss suspect he couldn’t fulfill his mission? The freshly swaddled infant was returned to him. Carlo looked down at the baby. For the first time he began to worry that the boss may be right. He might not be able to do the job he knew was expected of him.
Zürich, Switzerland
SERA MARCHETTI LOVED animals. Her favorite, of course, was her thirteen-year-old white and black spotted Great Dane, named Bear. He’d been with her during many tough times. And this one was no different. She sat in front of the window with Bear resting at her feet. She watched the streets. She did that most days. Sitting and waiting. It was the only way she could have peace of mind. And then the car she dreaded arrived.
Sera set down her glass of milk.
“Bear, to your room,” she said.
Her beloved animal got to his feet and labored lazily into the extra bedroom she had made comfortable for him. He was as devoted to her as she was him. But Bear was older now, slower too, and the last thing she wanted was harm to come to him because of her failed mission. She locked the door to the room and said a little prayer. Sera then went to the kitchen and picked up the phone. She could see outside to the street. Three men were out of the car and headed toward her building.
“Hi Ms. Johansson, this is Amy.”
“Hi Amy, how are you sweet love?”
“Fine, just fine. I was wondering if you could come by tomorrow and pick up Bear. Remember I told you that I might need a sitter for him.”
“Oh? Yes, no problem. Jack loves Bear. I’d come after four. Is that okay?”<
br />
“It’s fine. The key is in the box.”
“Everything okay dear?”
“Yes. I’ll call you in a few days. Thank you so much.”
“No worries. I’ll take care of him, honey. Bye.”
“Bye,” Sera said. She set the phone down. Her name was Amy to her neighbors and the few friends she met. Sera Marchetti was left behind. She went to the bottom door and got her gun. Before she could check the chamber, there were several hard knocks to her door. Sera sucked in a deep breath and steeled her nerves. She held the gun in her hand and went to the door. She’d practiced this meeting a hundred times since the day she left Italy. Still she felt naked and unprepared.
“God help me,” she said.
With the gun in her right hand she opened the door with the left. She stepped back and aimed it at the man she’d known would come.
Lorenzo put his hands up. He smiled. “You were expecting me?”
“Your men have been following me for days. Yes. I knew you were coming.”
“And you waited?” Lorenzo asked.
“We need to talk. I prefer we do it here. But just you. The other men stay outside.”
“That’s not very hospitable.”
“Just you!” she said and held the gun tight in her hands. “What’s it going to be? Do I pull the trigger and you die with no answers, or do you come in and we have this talk?”
Lorenzo lowered his hands. “I put my life in your hands pretty lady.”
“You have a thing for red-heads?” she smirked.
He walked inside and closed the door on the men he brought with him. Sera took several measured steps backward. She knew by practice that the chair waited for her and she sat in it. He would have to take the chair with his back to the door. She could see him and anyone that came inside. Lorenzo didn’t look like a man who hadn’t had a gun or two put in his face before. He seemed unbothered by it all.
“Why run, if you are so ready to speak with me why not come home with me to Sicily so we can clear this up?”
“Can we not do this? Do you have time for mind games?”
Lorenzo leaned forward. Sera kept the gun trained on him.
“Fine. Where is my wife?”
“That’s more like it,” Sera smiled. “She’s in a hospital. A village called Doma. It’s in Tanzania. We’ve had doctors come in from Kenya that are very familiar with at risk pregnancy.”
“We? So you’re a part of this?”
“Yes and no. I had to find the right facility and be the liaison between the hospital doctors and Giovanni to get it all arranged. You know because Giovanni wants you to know. And you’re here because he wants you here. Don’t you see that?”
Lorenzo brow arched.
“Don’t worry. He’s not here. He’s gifting you this information. Wanted you to scavenge for it. Now you have it. Run out there and save her.” Sera pointed the gun at the paper on the coffee table. “Take it. It’s everything your pilot needs to know.”
“That easy?”
“Nothing is easy Lorenzo.”
“I have one more question,” Lorenzo asked.
“Go. I’ve answered all your questions.”
“Not this one sweetheart. Who the fuck are you? Really?”
Sera locked eyes with Lorenzo and held his stare. She didn’t need to answer. She could tell he knew who she was.
“Fabiana. You’re related to her, aren’t you?”
“I didn’t know Fabiana. But I know what happened to her. I know all your history. It’s what I do. Learn people.”
“To fix them?” Lorenzo asked.
“There’s no fixing you Battaglias. You’re all damned. And I’ve realized that revenge for my cousin doesn’t have to be me destroying you. All I must do is sit back and let you destroy each other. Now get the fuck out. We’re done.”
Lorenzo smiled. He leaned forward, and Sera raised the gun instinctively. He stared at her with his crystal blue eyes and she knew he wasn’t afraid of the weapon or any threat she could level. So she sat there prepared for whatever was to come next.
“I cared for Fabiana. Her death was an accident. But it was necessary. Losing her helped me gain the woman I truly love. Everything happens for a reason, doctor. I know Giovanni is waiting. He knows I’m coming. For a reason.” Lorenzo stood. He walked to the door and stopped. “You don’t look that much like her, you sure as hell aren’t as brave as she was.”
“What do you know about bravery? You could end this and save your wife by facing Giovanni on his terms. Yet you risk it all for your ego. That makes you a coward.”
“Bravo. Guess that’s your psycho analysis thing you do, huh? One last thing doctor, the grave Giovanni is digging for me, did he say I would have company?”
“Your wife and child live or dies based on what you do for them. Let’s hope you care more for them than you did Fabiana.”
Lorenzo shook his head and left.
Sera lowered the gun. She put her hand to her head and then to her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for her hysteria to pass. That was the only weakness she allowed. She reached for the phone. If she called the Generale in Rome to tell him the latest information on the Battaglias they could protect her. For a time. But she knew that would not be enough to keep her family safe. Sera regretted getting involved. She regretted her plan all the way back to the first visit from the Generale. When he told her how her cousin died and who was responsible. When she fell in love with Dominic Battaglia she had no regrets. She got up from her chair and went to the bedroom and checked on Bear. He lifted his head and looked up at her sadly.
“Ms. Johansson will send for mama and papa to come for you. You’ll be back in Firenze soon. Fresh air, huh Bear. You need it, don’t you big guy?” She walked over and cupped her dogs face. Bear licked her chin. “I have to go sweetie. I have to finish this. For Fabiana. For all of us.”
Doma, Tanzania - Africa
CARLO EASED THE DOOR open with one hand. The little one he cradled in his arm weighed six pounds and nine ounces. The doctors said she was healthy, and from what he could see she was. They were most concerned about Marietta. Marietta lay in bed with tears on her face, but his arrival stirred her. Their eyes met.
“It’s a girl? Is it true? It’s a girl? Give her to me! Give me my baby!” Marietta groaned with her arms outstretched. “Now! Now! Please!”
Carlo walked over to the bed with the baby. He handed the child over to her mother. He stepped back and watched Marietta weep and hold her baby-girl close to her breast.
“I know what the doctors have said but it’s possible they are wrong. They were wrong with Mirabella,” he said.
“They had to take my uterus. I can’t have any more kids. I can never give Lorenzo a son,” Marietta wept. Carlo felt her burden deeply. No woman should be told that fate. No man either. And again, Shae’s pain surfaced in his heart. Was this how his beloved felt when she was told that kids would never be in her future?
“Why did you take her? Why did you keep her from me!” Marietta demanded. He couldn’t speak. There was too much conflict in him. His voice was gone.
“I thought you were gone,” she continued. “I thought you were gone and they would kill me now? I thought I would never see her. I thought that was Giovanni’s plan?”
Carlo pulled a chair closer to the bed. He put a hand to her thigh. Marietta brows lowered with concern.
“Did Giovanni make the doctors take my uterus? Is that what he did to me, for shooting him?”
“No,” Carlo said. “You bled. There have always been complications with you... black women. Right?”
“Black women? Bullshit! I carried her to term! I did that! Giovanni did this to me. He did!”
“I understand. Giovanni made sure your daughter and you were safe for this day. For her delivery. He wouldn’t sterilize you.”
Marietta gaze slowly lifted from her child to Carlo. “Why do you trust him? Lorenzo was the one who was there for you when you wer
e a kid in prison. He was the one that was always there for you. Yes, his actions killed your brothers, but he was there for you. Not Giovanni. I didn’t have to lose my uterus. Those doctors butchered me. And it was my punishment from Giovanni. You and I both know it.”
Again, Carlo faltered on the answer. What she said was plausible. The doctors weren’t working for him. They were all here under Giovanni’s orders. And in their life, everyone paid. If Giovanni had planned to spare her life, then it would come at a cost.
“I have my orders.”
“No shit Sherlock,” Marietta rolled her eyes.
“She looks like you,” he said and tried to change the subject.
She shook her head in sadness. “I know I have done some terrible things Carlo. I know. But I swear to you on my life I love no one more than I do her. When we brought her into the world something changed in me. You may not believe me. I have a tough time understanding. The moment she came out of me I felt so much love... at once. I felt closer to my mother, to my sister, I don’t know how. But we... we all share this. Together. I love her so much.” Marietta cried. She struggled to speak but her words were cut off by deep breaths. “She... we... I... if you ever have a child you’ll understand. She’s me. She’s the best of me. I may not be shit but my little girl is innocent. I’m sorry for shooting Giovanni. I wish I had another choice. I’m sorry for all of my sins. Please. Don’t hurt her, don’t take her from me, Carlo.”
Carlo nodded. “I won’t.”
“Then help us. I don’t want to die. I don’t, Carlo. I want to raise my baby.”
“And Lorenzo?”
“What do you mean?” Marietta wiped her tears.
“Would you choose your baby over Lorenzo?”
Marietta eyes stretched. She looked at him with horror. “I can’t make that kind of choice.”
“You’re a mother. Her mother. She needs you to protect her. It’s the only choice Giovanni will allow you to make.”
“That’s what he wants? For me and the baby to give him Lorenzo. For me to do it?”