Chapter 22
Antonio and Alyssia stared at Maria in horror, unable to believe her brazenness.
Antonio stood up slowly, placing himself between his wife and daughter, and fixed Maria with a glare that would have made most men quail in fear.
Maria, however, stared back at him fearlessly, almost as if she were daring him to attack her.
“Have you lost what remains of your senses?” he growled, his voice low and thunderous with rage. “You dare to march in here, where my wife has just given birth to our daughter, and demand we hand her over to you like some parcel? Just who do you think you are?”
“I’m your mother!” Maria shouted, waving the gun around aimlessly. “Like it or not, like me or not, I am your mother and you will acknowledge me!”
“Maria, look at where you are. You’re in a hospital full of security, and I’m fairly sure at least one of the midwives has called the police. Is this really where you want this to go down?”
“I don’t care if I’m on the moon in front of the Holy Father himself! Hand over the baby, boy!”
Antonio closed his eyes and took a deep breath before gently but firmly walking towards Maria and forcing her to back out of the ward. As they walked, he noticed Damon following them discreetly, his weapon still holstered, but unclipped.
They walked down the hallway to a nearby balcony and stood there, facing one another.
It was freezing cold, and snow was beginning to fall – a perfect sight, if you didn’t pay attention to the gun being waved around or the fact that he was in hospital scrubs, which offered no protection against the elements.
“Maria, listen,” he began, gently pushing the gun out of his face. “I know you want validation, and I know you want to be part of my family, but you haven’t been my mother since I was born. You can’t just walk into my life and expect everything to be the way you want it to be.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Maria sneered, wiping away tears of rage. “I knew what I was giving up when your father took you away from me, but he promised to give me what I was due when you were an adult! And then he lied to me!”
“And that wasn’t my fault!” Antonio’s voice rose, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. “I didn’t know who you were, my wife didn’t know who you were … my daughter doesn’t even know who we are yet, never mind you! Why are you punishing me for something my father did? How is that fair?”
“It’s not,” Maria laughed. “But then again, life isn’t fair. You of all people should know that by now. Now, enough sentimentality. It’s time for you to meet your Maker.”
Antonio looked at her, weighing up the situation, and then took a step back and raised his hands, never breaking eye contact.
A strange calm descended as he thought about all the things he should have said to Alyssia, all the milestones he’d miss with his daughter …
if this was how his life was going to end, then at least he’d managed to see his baby before the end.
Still, the thought of not seeing his daughter grow up was a pain that he’d never thought he’d endure.
Weirdly, though, it felt right – after everything he’d done to his wife, perhaps death was the better solution.
“Now, I’m gonna film you,” Maria was almost breathless with repressed anger. She fumbled with her phone, then raised it and started recording. “I want the whole world to watch as you beg for your miserable life.”
Antonio started to speak, only to be drowned out by the loud bang of a gun going off.
Maria stood perfectly still, her eyes bulging, and then looked down at her chest, where blood was blooming like a rose.
She tried to speak, but the only sound that came out was a gargle as she slowly fell to her knees, and then onto her face on the snow-covered balcony.
The snow slowly turned a bright ruby red as her life slowly ebbed away, until the only sound left was his own heavy breathing.
Antonio whirled around, trying to see where the shot had come from, and then spotted Damon standing in the hallway opposite them, his gun still raised.
“What the hell did you do?” he shouted. “She wasn’t gonna do anything except film me!”
“If you believe that, then you’re as dumb as you look,” Damon slowly holstered his gun. “She’d have shot you dead before you even knew what hit you.”
“You don’t know that!”
“Oh, trust me, I do. And if she hadn’t, he would’ve,” Damon pointed at Douglas, who stepped out of a doorway and waved apologetically, handing his gun to Damon.
“What are you still doing here? Why didn’t you run when you had the chance, scumbag?” Antonio’s voice was scathing as he curled his lip, wishing he could shoot the man where he stood.
“I wanted to make sure your wife was alright,” Douglas sounded hoarse, as if he’d been crying. “She was kind to me and she didn’t tell anyone I kidnapped her. She just said I was a friend, even when the nurses told her they knew who she was.”
“It’s more than you fucking deserve, douchebag,” Damon snarled, pointing his gun at Douglas. “Tell me why I shouldn’t shoot you where you stand.”
“You’ve got every right to,” Douglas bowed his head. “Just … if you do, find my niece for me and … and promise you’ll bring Tony home.”
“Tony? The hell are you talking about?” Damon roared. Douglas flinched at the sound, but produced a small piece of paper from his pocket and offered it to Antonio. Damon stepped forward and snatched it from him with a furious glare, before showing it to his brother-in-law.
“What’s this?” Antonio asked, frowning down at it. “It’s just some address in … Nebraska?”
“It’s a place for the mentally ill. When you call them, ask for Nurse Amy. Then, tell her that Maria has passed away and that you want them to release Tony Blackwood into your care.”
“Tony Blackwood’s dead!” Damon’s voice shook with confusion. “Or are you admitting that his piece of scum wife lied, and he’s still firmly alive?”
“She lied to you,” Douglas confirmed. “He’s alive, and as far as I can tell, he’s still in good health. Ask for Nurse Amy and have him released into your care.”
“They won’t just release him to us!” Antonio snorted. Douglas nodded, and walked forwards slowly, pointing at the bottom of the paper, where spidery handwriting skittered across the page.
“Before Maria sent him away, Tony wrote an advanced directive and hid it in a book,” he explained.
“It says that if Maria dies first, he’s to be released to you or your father.
If you and your father have died, he’s to be released to the nearest surviving relative.
When I was going through his things, I found his advanced directive and gave it to the nursing staff in Nebraska. ”
“How do you know all this?” Damon asked, his eyes boring into Douglas as if searching for his soul. “I mean, you’re not exactly the type of guy I’d trust my deepest secrets to.”
“No, Maria doesn’t … I mean didn’t … know me very well. As far as she knew, she had leverage on me, so I wasn’t about to spill all her secrets and she just talked about it. I was so invisible to her that she forgot I was there half the time.”
“Well, I’m not going to pursue it now,” Antonio said firmly. “I’ve just had a baby. Damon, if you don’t mind getting on this?”
“Sure,” Damon nodded. “I’ll call everyone and let them know the baby’s here, too. My dad’s probably going crazy wondering where Alyssia is.”
“Ah, shit,” Antonio groaned. “I’d better call mine too.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take Douglas to my dad’s and he can tell him personally.” Damon grinned evilly, clapping Douglas on the shoulder. “After everything’s sorted, we’ll decide what to do with him.”
Antonio headed back into the recovery ward, only to be told that Alyssia had been moved onto the regular ward with all the other mums who’d been returned after the evacuation.
He walked in and spotted her almost immediately, a smile breaking out on his face as he saw her.
She waved him over, putting a finger on her lips and pointing at their daughter.
“She’s just had a feed,” she whispered. “Think that wore her out, poor thing.”
“She’s fine, baby. You’re both incredible.” Antonio replied, perching on the edge of the bed and gently kissing her head. “But then I always knew you would be.”
“Don’t try to butter me up, Antonio,” Alyssia laughed gently. “I’m still mad at you.”
“I know you are. And I know that nothing will ever make up for that, but I’d like to be part of your lives, no matter what.”
Alyssia closed her eyes and relaxed, letting him stroke her hair. Her stress started to ebb away, her breathing deepened, and for the first time in months, she started to think that there was light at the end of the tunnel.
“I’ll think about it. You can start by changing her diaper,” she laughed as their daughter stirred in her cot, a thin wail turning into a roar of annoyance.
Antonio laughed back and kissed her forehead before getting up, changing the baby, and giving her a gentle cuddle.
The baby settled down in his arms, turning her little face into his chest, and it was all he could do not to squeeze her and cry into her hair.
“She’s so beautiful,” he murmured, gently nuzzling her head and breathing in her newborn scent. “What are we going to call her?”
“That’s what I wanted to ask you about,” Alyssia said. “I was thinking maybe Sofia? For your mother? And Luisa for a middle name?”
“Sofia Luisa Blackwood,” Antonio’s voice was thoughtful. “I love it. Named after both of her grandparents.”
“I thought you would,” Alyssia mumbled sleepily, slowly turning on her side and pulling the blankets over her shoulder. “Hey, what happened to Maria? Did the police arrest her?”
“Don’t worry about her.” He smiled. “She won’t be bothering us any more.”