Chapter 32
Of course, all four of them are right here in the room with me while the obstetrician friend of Ricky’s runs a dating ultrasound. My blood tests from a few days ago to confirm I am in fact pregnant have come back, and now we need to know how far along I am.
The boys’ protection has gone into overdrive, with another two men standing guard on the door, making me feel even more uncomfortable than I already am with my full bladder. The room is packed with oversized men, uncomfortably so, but I couldn’t let any of them miss this important moment.
I stare at the screen in front of me in absolute disbelief. I’ve had a couple of days to come to terms with the fact I’m pregnant but seeing it on the screen like this makes it feel so real. A little jellybean growing inside of me.
“Looks like you’re about seven weeks along, which explains why the morning sickness really kicked in for you this week.” The sonographer’s voice is gentle, and her smile radiates kindness as she speaks.
I nod, not sure what else to do. Seven weeks. That means in just over seven months’ time I will have a baby. I will be a mom. My heart races, and I smile at the screen, a flutter of happiness taking over. This is really happening. For the first time in so long I have something positive to look forward to.
“Would the father like a copy of the printed image?” she asks, and I snap my attention back to her.
“I’m sure he would,” I mumble, the words catching in my throat, unsure what else to say. And the boys aren’t helping me out either, staying quiet. But maybe they’re trapped in their own thoughts. As exciting as this moment is, I know it’s not easy for us all. Especially with the baggage we all carry around. And who knows what Ricky has told her about our situation. It definitely wouldn’t be normal to have four dudes in the room for an ultrasound.
After she finishes up, she gives me a cloth to clean myself up and get rid of the sticky gel she squirted all over my belly. And the five of them leave the room quietly under her instruction to give me a minute. I’m surprised Alex listens, but he looks to be in a daze.
Alone I sit in the room in silence for a second before I find my clothes and pull them back on. For a split second, I allow myself to dream about the future, one where I get everything I wanted. My boys, a family, a home together. Where none of us are running from our pasts. But in reality, I know it’s just a dream. The weight of my recent actions feels like relentless waves crashing over me, threatening to drown me in guilt and regret at any moment. Each wave is a fresh memory, each crash a surge of self-reproach.
I’m a fucking awful person.
I’ve become just like Enzo and Valentina, so hellbent on revenge I can’t see straight, my moral compass shattered into tiny pieces. I assisted in killing two men. Two awful men, who for years have done dreadful things, but they had families, people who cared about them. My skin starts to crawl, and I rub my hands over it, wishing I could scrub away this feeling. This hopelessness. Knowing it doesn’t matter what I do, there will always be another person popping up who wants to be just like Enzo, and somehow, now I have to protect my baby.
I grip hold of the bed, trying not to pass out as my head spins, the look in Alessandro’s eyes when he found out I was pregnant haunting me. He’s right. I can’t keep this witch hunt up. There is something more important than revenge now: the life I’m creating.
My breathing shallow, I try to suck in full breaths, feeling the room spinning around me.
The door abruptly opens. “Temptress?” Maddox moves toward me, pulling me into him quickly, cradling me tightly. His arms feel like my life support. “I knew something was wrong.”
I lean into him, my fingers tangling in his shirt, needing his comfort. Tears roll down my cheeks now, and I can’t get my words out through my panicked breaths. “I can’t… do this.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” He strokes my back, his hands warm against my skin, holding me close as I tremble uncontrollably.
He takes off his jacket and wraps it around my shoulders. I snuggle into him, letting his scent embrace me.
“You can do this. We will all help you, you’re not alone,” he tries to assure me.
But he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. “Not the baby,” I finally get out. “I can’t fight anymore.” Sobs wrack my body, everything I have been through building up on me. I feel out of control and scared in a whole new way. “I could when it was just me, but I have to protect the baby now. I can’t keep this up.”
He collects me in his arms, scooping me up like a child.
“What are you doing?” I look up at him, worried what the doctors will think of us.
“Taking you home. You’re having a panic attack, and I need to get you home to bed to show you everything will be okay.”
I place a hand on his chest, stopping him. “No, Maddox, for the first time in so long I’m seeing clearly, and I know what I’m saying. I’m scared, but I know what I have to do. I’m not panicking, I’m just sad and scared.”
He doesn’t put me down, just keeps marching me out of the room and past the sonographers and toward the elevator we came up here in. Alex catches up with us, with Ricky and Geovani following closely behind. “What’s wrong?” Alex calls after us.
“Maddox, put me down,” I warn him, very aware that people are staring at us and we’re making a scene.
“No, not till we’re back in the car.” I glance up at him and see I’m not the only one freaking the fuck out. I hadn’t even considered how this would affect him today, I was too caught up in my own head. I should have realized. He tried to warn me the other day, that’s why he told me the story about Enzo as a child. He knows better than anyone how fucked up he is and how easily Enzo can steal away happiness in an instant. If he works out who I really am, I’m dead and so is my baby.
I cling to him, needing him to know he’s not alone, and if taking me home to bed so he can work through his trauma is what he needs, then I’m all for it. If locking me away with them for the next seven months is, then so be it. There are more important things than revenge.
The five of us pile into the elevator, with Maddox still cradling me. We must look ridiculous, but for once, I don’t care. This is my life now, with my boys. All five of us. And our baby.
My phone dances across the coffee table, and I reach over and grab it from my place lying on the sofa with Ricky, the late- afternoon sun warming my face. I have been dozing for the last couple of hours, wrapped up in his embrace as he stroked my hair. It’s been so easy to forget the rest of the world even exists. Until I see whose name lights up my screen. Fucking Enzo. “Fuck,” I curse under my breath, showing Ricky who’s calling me. I don’t have the energy to deal with this asshole today.
“Don’t answer it,” he mutters.
“We both know I have to.” I sit up and run a hand through my tangled curls as I answer the call before he hangs up and puts me on his shit list. “Hello.”
“Vivian, how’s my favorite daughter-in-law?” he purrs, his voice a warm rumble of affection.
I roll my eyes. “A little under the weather if I’m being honest, Enzo.”
“Is that why you haven’t left your apartment in three days?”
I glance at Ricky, a flutter of panic racing through me. I don’t like one bit that he’s openly admitting he’s actively watching my movements. “Yeah, I must have the flu or something,” I lie.
“Well, I hope you will be better by tomorrow. Valentina and I would like to invite you and the boys to a dinner at our estate. We simply won’t take no for an answer, girl.” There is a threat in his voice that tells me this isn’t an invitation, more a demand. And he’s calling me because he knows the boys won’t follow his demands anymore. But I, unfortunately, have no choice if I don’t want him to work out who I really am. Regret swirls through me, knowing it’s my own fault I’m in this situation. I never should have gotten involved with him in the first place.
“Okay, I will see what I can do,” I agree with a heavy heart, trying to sound chirpier than I feel.
“We will see the five of you at six.” He disconnects the call, not giving me any other choice.
I slump back into the soft sofa, sighing heavily. “We have dinner at the Moretti estate tomorrow with your papa and ma,” I say loud enough so they can all hear me from wherever the rest of them are in the apartment.
Maddox comes into the living room with a spatula in hand from where he was preparing dinner for us all. “He’s up to something.” He points it in my direction.
“You’re not to be left alone with Enzo again,” Geovani says so the others can hear. “I’m serious, Red, I don’t fucking trust him with you. I agree with Maddox, he’s up to something. He wouldn’t just demand we all come to the estate for a dinner party.”
I stare back at them, feeling like I’m missing something. I know I have been a little out of it the past week and preoccupied with my pregnancy, but the way they are looking at me, it’s like they know something I don’t. My heart races instantly in irritation. “What’s going on? Don’t keep shit from me,” I warn them, sitting up a little straighter so I can see them all. I might feel like shit, but I’m not beyond tearing them a new asshole if they keep me in the dark again like they used to.
“With the recent string of deaths among high society, whispers are making their way around town,” Alex says. “Enzo is losing his edge, the only club he’s still allowed in is his own, and I know he’s scrambling to get his name in people’s good graces again. The cushy life he has become accustomed to is slipping through his fingers.”
Ricky laces his fingers through mine. “Then there are the whispers of him losing his mind and turning on every person who was ever close to him. They are circulating more by the day.”
Geovani slaps the local paper down on the coffee table in front of me. “Local reporters are having a field day with the intel they were sent.” He grins cruelly, and I know he’s been working behind the scenes to leak every little bit of information we have found out about him over the last few months, making sure this town knows the real story. The heading I can see is Philanthropist Turned Dirty Don: the Sins of Ravens Hollow’s Elite . “The only one he has left is fucking Police Commissioner Palmer and some other dodgy cops at the local precinct. But from the update Catherine gave me, even their days are numbered. It won’t be long before they do a clean sweep of the entire station, and every filthy cop in the place will be arrested and charged for their involvement.”
“So, we are making a difference?” A small smile paints my lips. I know I said I couldn’t keep up the fight I have against him, but just hearing his arrogant voice demanding I comply is enough to want me to start up my fight all over again. In all honesty, I do still want the boys to make him pay and make sure this world is safe for my baby to come into.
Alex’s gaze lingers on me, his expression etched with a deep and unsettling concern. “He will eventually work out who is behind it all.” He takes my hand, his calloused fingers closing over mine, his eyes dark and serious, sending a chill down my spine. “Do you trust me?”
For once I don’t have to think. I know the answer. “Yes.” I search his face, my gaze lingering on his expression, searching for any hint of what he is thinking.
“Marry me before we leave the apartment again. I have an officiary lined up.”
I stand in a rush, pulling away from him, sudden heat flooding my cheeks and my belly churning uncomfortably. What the fuck? Glancing around the room toward the other boys, they all look just as worried. Their concern for my safety when it comes to Enzo makes my heart race. I get it, right now he must feel like he’s in a pressure cooker, his entire existence about to explode. He will be looking for anyone he can to blame.
“It’s just a hunch, baby doll, accompanied with some snippets of conversations we have been able to tap, but we would all feel better knowing you have a little more security. Especially when he does eventually work out who you really are. He’s a smart man, and when he works out you’re more pregnant than you should be with Alex’s baby since you haven’t been together all that long, it’s going to raise suspicion. You heard him, he knows you haven’t left this place in three days, and Sloane said it as well. He’s watching you, just waiting for you to slip up. It’s his paranoia and his hatred toward women. He will turn on you, it’s just a matter of time.”
Alex takes my shoulders, his eyes meeting mine. “I have to save you from him, Harley. Marry me and he won’t touch you or the baby, you will be one of us. You said you trust me, and now’s the time. When we get all this sorted, you can annul the marriage if that’s what you want, but at least you will be safe to make that choice.”
With a quick glance over my shoulder at the boys, I check for their opinion on what to do. Ricky’s eyes encourage me to say yes. Maddox gives me a nod, and Geovani’s face says it all. He really is concerned. Fuck. “Geo?” I ask, knowing how he feels about this.
“It’s for the best, Red. We have to do all we can to keep you safe. If he thinks you’re one of us, you have a better chance.”
My heart races, and I swallow the lump that’s formed in my throat. A real marriage is the last thing I want, but I do trust them, all of them, and I know they wouldn’t be doing this unless there is real reason to be alarmed. What would they get out of tricking me at this point? Nothing. He knows what I have and who I am, and I know everything there is to about him. “What did the conversations say? The snippets you heard?”
“He has someone else working with him. Their voice is disguised in the recording, so it’s impossible to know exactly who it is, but there is talk about your family’s businesses. And who is the rightful heir in your papa’s absence.”
“Marco is. He’s the first born.” I sigh, exasperated.
I can feel Geovani’s eyes on me. He wants me to take control, but he knows how I feel about it. “Red, we all know Stefano signed the paperwork over to you, and Enzo is questioning how it’s possible since you’re dead, that the papers haven’t transferred to Marco.”
I narrow my eyes. “Why would he want Marco to have control over them? He hates Marco for betraying him.”
“As far as we know, he doesn’t want Marco to have anything to do with it. But whoever he was talking with, possibly a lawyer judging by their tone, is demanding concrete proof of your death, and he was meticulously searching the records for it.”
I feel the color drain from my face. I knew this was coming, that he would eventually work me out.
Alessandro grips my hand tightly, pulling my attention back to him. “Princess, they have no proof; we did a good job of making your death look legit. Enzo was a master at falsifying records, and he taught me everything he knew. Maybe a little too well, since all the people he used to pay for favors now ignore his calls and walk right past him on the street, preferring to put their trust in me.”
I glance up at him, processing what he’s saying. He sounds confident in his people, but how can he be sure? Enzo’s corruption is so deeply ingrained in this town’s history. How can we ever really be sure someone won’t turn on us just because he’s willing to pay a little more. “Was there ever a person in Dani’s car? The news report said there was a body found in the burnt-out vehicle,” I ask, needing to know.
Alex shook his head, his dark hair falling over his eyes making him look younger, filled with fresh hope for the future. “With new ownership of several media outlets, it’s simple to shape public perception. Enzo isn’t the only one who has diversified his career.” His eyes gleam with pride, knowing he has something his papa doesn’t. He mentioned to me he was broadening his interests, but I wasn’t imagining this. “I told you I have big plans for the future, Harley. I don’t want to follow my papa’s footsteps, and I have kept this to myself until today because I didn’t want Enzo to find out until I was ready. I won’t let my name define me anymore, and I don’t want anyone else in this room to be defined by it either. We can forge our own path and leave behind the shit of the past and the legacies we were born into.”
I stare back at him, trying to process all this new information. He looks as though a weight has been lifted off his shoulders, and I’m happy for him. This is what I wanted for him, to be out of the shadows of his horrible papa. This was his plan all along. Not just to take his papa out but to obliterate what he has created over the years. “This is why you couldn’t just rush in and take him out. This is why you kept saying you needed to be ready,” I mutter almost to myself.
“It wasn’t that we didn’t want to help you take him down. For years this has been our sole purpose. It was just more complicated than shooting him in the head. As much pleasure as that would have given me.” Maddox sniggers from behind us, and I know how much pleasure he would have taken in ending Enzo.
I smirk over my shoulder at him.
“Enzo’s immense power meant that his death would send shockwaves through the fragile ecosystem of the underworld, trickling down to everyone. Now it’s what the people crave.” Ricky chuckles, a low rumble in his chest, and I’m sure he’s imagining the horrified look on Enzo’s face when he works out what Alessandro has done.
He once said to me how defiant Alex was and that he would only do the opposite to what he told him. He might have been right about that, but in the best way possible. Where he saw what his papa was all about and eliminated him, Alessandro chose to rise above the awfulness and make something better. I smile at him, proud of what he has achieved, knowing our baby will come into a world that is better than the one we have all suffered in.
He smiles back at me, a warm, genuine smile that crinkles the corners of his eyes. “With the help of my new media allies, I aim to mitigate the harm and reshape our town’s narrative, transforming it from a misogynistic dictatorship where women are mere pawns in his twisted game—controlled, silenced, and stripped of their dignity—into a place of empowerment and equality. Your friend Sloane might even change her opinion of me now.” He laughs. He actually laughs. “I know some of this is a bit of a shock, but from now on, princess, I promise you I will tell you everything. I want us to be in this together. All of us.”
I squeeze Alessandro’s hand back, swallowing down my fear. “Okay. Let’s do it,” I agree. “I’ll marry you.”
He pulls me close, his arms wrapping around me tightly, and then kisses my lips. I feel his relief, a weight lifting from my shoulders as it does from his. We’re all really in this together now. In less than twenty-four hours I will be a Moretti.