Page 45 of Reign of Fate
“I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure, but Elisa’s pregnant. Blood work came back positive. From what I can see, the baby is doing well, but she’ll need to see an obstetrician as soon as we can get her mobile. I’ll make an appointment with the same one I referred Evangeline to,” the doctor confirms.
My head is pounding, and I can’t even be sure if I’m dreaming this all. I lay my hand on my head to stop the throbbing.
“She’s in pain. Can you give her anything?” Raffaele asks. He’s standing next to Evangeline with an arm around her waist.
The doctor shakes his head and sighs, “I can, but—”
“No pills,” I say.
“Elisa—” Ivo’s face comes into view.
“No. Our baby. I want our baby to be safe,” I tell him.
“Keep the light away from her eyes. A compress on her forehead will help, and let her sleep. She’ll need the rest of the antibiotic to fight infection, but after that, she should only take the pain meds if absolutely necessary. It’s a shitty situation, but it’s the best I can suggest. Elisa isn’t in any immediate danger. She’ll heal nicely over time,” the doctor confirms.
Raffaele draws the drapes. Evangeline murmurs that she’s going to grab a compress, and the doctor takes his leave, promising to come back in the morning.
Ivo lies beside me, carefully cradling me in his arms. “I thought I lost you.”
“Adriana?”
“She’s been itching to see you, but you needed to rest.”
“Bring me my daughter,” I tell him.
He smiles. “She won’t want to leave.”
“It’s a king-sized bed,” I reply.
He leaves and returns a few minutes later with a sleepy girl in his arms and settles her next to me, then aligns himself where he can still snuggle both of us and hold my hand.
I let out a sigh and close my eyes.
“Elisa.”
“This is our family,” I whisper.
“Yeah, baby. Now sleep, and let me watch over my two girls.”
SEVENTEEN
Oh Boy! Oh Boy!
IVO
Months later…
Elisa is healing well, and we’ve already had our first appointment with Dr. Meridith, the obstetrician. It’s now our second appointment, and Raffaele and Evangeline are currently in the room next to us, meeting with the doctor.
Today, we’re going to find out the sex of the baby. Elisa went back and forth on finding out whether we’re going to have a girl or a boy, but she finally committed, for which I am extremely grateful. I would let Elisa have her surprise, but the suspense was killing me. I even contemplated having Dante fromNostra Casahack into the clinic’s computer system and get the results for me. I’m happy not to have to do that.
Elisa is sleeping better. For the first few weeks, she was having nightmares about Ruggero and the trauma he caused. I wish he were alive so I could kill him all over again. I would normally feel a sense of retribution as I gave the final blow and watched the light in his eyes die, but all I wanted to do was go home to be with Elisa.
Raffaele is now looking into the construction front in Italy, where Ruggero was involved. Ruggero invested heavily into the company, which is a front for arms dealing. Ruggero was making deals on the side and leavingUltimo Morteout of the profits. Guido found out about this one night when Ruggero came over and, in a drunken stupor, exposed himself. He then had the audacity to get Guido to give him funds to continue to fund his work. Guido was smarter than that and refused, but gathered the information to keep Ruggero at a distance, with the threat of giving him up to Raffaele.
Adriana has been attached at the hip to Elisa since that night. Adriana broke down in tears because she was afraid of losing her mama like she did her mom. Elisa has been lavishing her with all the love and attention she could want. She seems to be settling down, and hopefully, things will go back to normal soon. Adriana is super thrilled at having a baby brother or sister of her own.
There’s a meeting tonight with Reno and Dante. They’re in town to talk about the current situation with the Russians, who seem to be hijacking product deliveries between the two families. Sebastian is staying behind to keep an eye on things, but coming along with Reno is one of his soldiers. I’ve heard about Zano, and I’m aware that he’s Dante’s brother-in-law.
