The Don's Legal Eagle's Baby: An Enemies to Lovers Mafia Romance

11. Emilio

Ilay on my bed, feeling the familiar sting and burn across my back.

Andrea, my doctor and a trusted friend, worked diligently at my bedside. As he applied a salve to ease the pain and minimize the scarring, the familiar scent of the ointment mingled with the sterile air of the penthouse.

In this vast room, a haunting silence enveloped us, broken only by Andrea”s voice. He spoke with a hint of anguish, asking the question that danced on the edges of everyone”s minds but remained unspoken.

”How long are you going to endure this, Emilio? How long will you continue to bear the whip from your father?”

I flinched slightly at his words, not from the pain on my back but from the truth they carried. The icy coldness of the salve slowly replaced the fiery sensation, and my thoughts drifted to my father.

My back was a tapestry of scars, each one telling a different story of my father”s wrath. It wasn”t the first time I”d been whipped, and unfortunately, it wouldn”t be the last. My allegiance to the family was a double-edged sword, a life of privilege tainted by the cruel expectations that came with it.

Andrea, a witness to my suffering and a confidant in my life, muttered his disapproval. ”What kind of father inflicts such pain on his blood?”

I remained silent, allowing the words to hang in the air. The truth was, I didn”t have an answer. The world I was a part of had its twisted logic, its warped sense of family loyalty. Breaking free from those chains was a constant battle between my duty and my desire for a life beyond the shadows.

As Andrea continued to work on my back, the pain began to ebb, allowing a sigh of relief to escape my lips.

”I”ve made up my mind,” I confessed quietly to Andrea. ”I plan to leave the mafia life behind, but I can”t do it just yet. The Mancinis pose a significant threat, and I need to ensure they”re dealt with before I can truly break free. Otherwise, they won”t stop coming after me.”

”Finally,” Andrea whispered heavily, expressing both relief and concern.

”Credi che tuo padre ti permetterà semplicemente di andartene, Emilio? (Do you think your father will allow you to leave, Emilio?)” Andrea’s voice was tinged with doubt. ”Considering the lengths he”s gone to, I don”t believe he”ll let you walk away easily. At this point, I even fear that he won”t let you live.”

A thick, heavy silence hung in the air, the weight of Andrea”s words settling over me. The truth was undeniable. My father was not a man to be trifled with, and escaping the mafia would be an uphill battle.

As the bedroom door creaked open, I turned my head, hissing in pain as I moved too quickly, tugging at my wounds. Andrea gave a disapproving tut, chastising me to calm down, as it was just Enzo. Enzo and

Andrea exchanged greetings, but I couldn”t see them clearly as my face was turned towards the wall. Slowly, I rotated my head, being careful not to aggravate my injuries.

Seeing Enzo, I recalled what I had sent him to do and wasted no time in asking for any news. Enzo, though, appeared visibly irritated, questioning why I couldn”t worry about myself first. Not in the mood for an argument, I called his name again.

Enzo rolled his eyes. “She’s safe.”

A different sort of relief washed over me compared to when Andrea had applied the salve to my back. Andrea”s hands stopped moving on my wounds. ”She? Who is she?”

Oh. They still had no idea about her.

Enzo chimed in, his tone dry, ”Yeah, I”m clueless too.”

I took a deep breath and began to recount my recent encounters with Griselda.

They must have seen the worry etched on my face because Enzo asked, ”You”re still worried about her, aren”t you?”

I nodded silently. The burden of worry hadn”t fully lifted because I knew what my rival, Crino Mancini, was capable of. The Mancini family was relentless, and they would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.

Andrea added, ”Wow, Emilio, you must like who Griselda is.”

A smile tugged at my lips.

Enzo leaned against the door frame and asked, ”So, what”s your plan?”

I sighed, considering the best course of action.

”She needs to be warned of the dangers lurking around her. We might even have to devise a strategy to keep her safe. Perhaps I could arrange a discreet meeting and ensure she understood the gravity of the situation.”

Andrea snorted from the bedside table, shaking his head. ”Non puoi essere serio (You can”t be serious),” he said incredulously.

I frowned, ”What do you mean?”

Andrea removed his glasses and started cleaning them vigorously while he raised an eyebrow and gave me a pointed look. ”Would she even want to see you after you left her alone twice?”

He had a point. I had no idea what her reaction would be. But despite that, I couldn”t shake off the worry, the nagging feeling that I needed to protect her.

”I don”t care,” I stated firmly.

Enzo glanced at Andrea, who was putting on his glasses, then back at me. ”Well, if that”s what you want, we”ll figure out a way to make it happen.”

I nodded, grateful for their support.

I needed to see Griselda again to make sure she was safe and perhaps, just perhaps, find a way to explain everything to her. I just hoped she would understand.

Recovery wasn’t a spa day. My back was far from fully healed, but hey, I”ve been through worse. Pain was an old companion that I knew to manage well enough. Painkillers were my best friends.

Andrea had done what he could. He patched me up and advised me to rest even though he knew how fruitless it was, but the game never stopped. He had headed back to his private hospital after he was done with me, prescribing the necessary medications.

Meanwhile, Enzo was off on his mission, digging into Griselda”s life. Turns out, she”d been slapped with a suspension recently. Learning the ridiculous reason made it a double blow. But I couldn”t help also to see it as an opportunity.

Griselda”s suspension could potentially pave the way for my plans. Besides, I was pretty sure I could offer her a way better gig than what she had before.

The idea of our upcoming meetup filled me with both excitement and curiosity. How she”d react to me was anyone”s guess, but that unpredictability was what had me eager for the encounter.

In my secret laboratory, the same place I had come to after being pursued by Mancini associates days ago, I was engrossed in blueprints for my latest vehicle design.

This particular design was all about installing an advanced surveillance feature in my vehicles, one that would allow them to record conversations from a distance away discreetly.

The concept was simple. I wanted to create a system that could capture audio data from the surroundings without raising suspicion. It would involve strategically placed microphones and a cutting-edge signal processing unit to filter and enhance the audio recordings.

I couldn”t help but feel a surge of excitement as I imagined the potential applications of this technology. But, of course, there was still much work to be done before it became a reality.

Precision engineering, rigorous testing, and flawless execution were essential to ensure that this surveillance system would operate flawlessly under the most challenging circumstances.

As I examined the intricate details of the blueprint, my mind buzzed with possibilities. My mind went to the old Chinese restaurant. Back then, I couldn’t hear anything, but if I left my car nearby, everything said would be heard. However, this was only if they were outside.

I frowned.

And in walked Enzo. He didn”t seem surprised to find me here, even though I was supposed to be resting. He looked at me and immediately voiced his concern, ”You know, Andrea”s going to throw a fit if he sees you tinkering around like this.”

I chuckled, shaking my head.

”When does Andrea not complain?” I replied, flipping through the pages in my hands.

”This felt different, Emilio. More serious,” he said, eyeing me with a mixture of worry and frustration.

He knew how stubborn I could be.

I shrugged, downplaying the seriousness. ”I”m just looking at some blueprints, Enzo. Not exactly a full body workout.”

I smirked at him, placing the blueprint down. ”Se sento dolore, fidati di me, sarai il primo a saperlo. (If I feel any pain, trust me, you”ll be the first to know.)”

”We both know you’re lying.” Enzo snorted, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

I returned the gesture. He was right. But admitting pain was like admitting defeat, and that wasn”t something I readily did. It was a terrible mentality, but that was how I had been brought up, and it was how I achieved success with my innovative specialized vehicle engineering. It wasn’t easy to get rid of such a brainwashed mentality, though I was trying.

He leaned against a worktable, studying me intently. ”Dovresti ascoltare Andrea. (You should listen to Andrea.)”

I chuckled, conceding a bit. ”Yeah, I know. I”ll ease up. Promise.”

Enzo shook his head, exasperated but also slightly amused. ”You better. We”ve got enough enemies. We don”t need you on that list.”

Despite Enzo’s aloof demeanor, I couldn”t deny the concern in his eyes. Enzo had been there for me through thick and thin. No matter how he acted, he cared for me.

”Anyway,” Enzo said, ”I came here because of Griselda. I”ve got some intel on her movements today.”

My eyebrows lifted in anticipation. ”Really? What have you got?”

”She”s going to visit her mother today,” Enzo informed me.

My curiosity piqued. ”Where does her mother live?”

”In the next city,” Enzo replied, ”about an hour and thirty minutes away. How do you plan to see her?” he continued with a hint of amusement in his tone. ”Wait outside her apartment like a stalker, or are you going to her mother”s house?”

I shook my head at both suggestions, ignoring his attempts to provoke me. If I waited outside her place, she might be alarmed, and that wouldn”t help my cause.

On the other hand, if I showed up at her mother”s house uninvited…there was no need to continue along that train of thought. I needed a way to approach her that would give her the space to listen to what I had to say.

”When does she plan on leaving?” I asked.

I needed to get the timing right.

”Around 12,” Enzo informed me.

I wasn’t even surprised that he knew what time she was leaving. Enzo was a guru with technology. He had probably tapped into her phone.

I glanced at the time on my phone. It was 10:13 a.m.

”I need Griselda”s car to develop a problem,” I said, looking directly at Enzo, knowing he”d catch my drift.

He nodded slowly, with an eyebrow and the corner of his lip gently tugging upward. ”And why is that? What”s your plan?”

“My plan will be implemented after she visits her mother,” I said.

Enzo laughed. “What? Are you going to offer her a ride home?” He shook his head. “So che sei più intelligente di così. (I know you’re smarter than this.)”

I turned to face Enzo with a sly expression. “Oh, I’m not going to offer her a ride. You are.”

Enzo stopped laughing.

“Che cosa? (What?)”

“To be precise…” The words were out of my mouth before I could second-guess them, ”You”re going to kidnap her.”