22. Epilogue
EPILOGUE
"Mamma! Mamma!"
Boyish squeals echoed down a brightly lit corridor at the Renata Vitale Memorial Hospital. Happy giggles were soon followed by the noisy pitter-patter of tiny feet.
Dressed in blue scrubs, Elyse glanced up from the medical charts on her tablet. A smile lit up her face as she spotted her three-year-old son, Niccolò. He was grinning from ear to ear, arms outstretched, as he toddled toward her at top speed. Nurses and doctors made every effort to get out of his way as he zigzagged down the corridor like a tiny human pinball.
Nicco had his father's black hair, his mother's green eyes, and a wild, mischievous streak that often reminded Elyse of Alessandro. Nicco was a mamma's boy, though, through and through. No question about it.
A harried-looking Monte and tired-looking Luca followed closely behind Nicco. After Nicco was born, Elyse reassigned her most trusted bodyguards to watch over her little Vitale prince. For a while, Monte and Luca appeared to be adjusting nicely to their new charge. Well, as nicely as two dangerous criminals with no children of their own could handle an infant.
But, then, around the age of two, he grew from an immobile-ish, slow-moving baby lump and learned how to run, climb, and jump, and the difficulty level of keeping him alive spiked overnight from zero to a hundred. The two seasoned mafiosi were visibly struggling to keep up with the very mobile toddler's never-ending battery life and death-defying stunts.
" No, no , Nicco!" Luca cried out, panting, "Do not lick electrical outlets! It is not food!"
"Come back here!" Monte grunted in slightly winded tones, "Do not jump off those stairs! This is not a playground! "
Once Nicco came close enough, Elyse laughed and bent down to scoop up her son into her arms. She smothered his cute, pudgy face in kisses as he chortled with delight.
Nicco exclaimed in his sweet, childish way, "Wub you, Mamma!"
Elyse gazed down at her son with soft eyes, replying in a mix of Italian, English, and Spanish, " Mamma loves you, too, mijo ."
Soon, Nicco began wriggling out of Elyse's embrace. Like a monkey, he scrambled down her body, grabbed her hand, and started tugging her toward the exit with the strength and determination of a boy ten times his size.
As they strolled down the corridor, Nicco announced to the hospital staff in confident, matter-of-fact tones, "Otay, otay, Mamma and mijo go home now! Bye-bye!"
The staff chuckled good-naturedly and bade them farewell.
A receptionist named Anita called out, "Arrivederci, Nicco!"
Dr. Giordano offered a polite and professional, "Risentirla!"
With a sheepish smile, Elyse said to her colleagues, "I guess I'm taking off now, I'll see you guys tomorrow!"
They called after her, " A dopo , Dr. Vitale!"
Elyse waved to them and proceeded to lead Nicco out of the hospital.
Monte and Luca hurried after them with quick, brusque strides.
Luca addressed her with a hesitant expression, "Signora Vitale?"
"Yes, Luca?"
"I know you are a busy woman. Monte and I do not mean to disturb you at work so often. Do you wish for us to keep bringing Nicco here," he hesitated again before continuing, "every day?"
Luca's question gave her pause. A few weeks ago, Elyse had made the mistake of allowing Nicco to visit her at work. Since then, at Nicco's insistence, Monte and Luca had been forced to chauffeur him to the hospital every day. Failure to comply resulted in hour-long, red-faced, kicking, and screaming melt downs. They arrived daily right before the end of Elyse's shift so that Nicco could, in his own words, "dwibe Mamma home shafewy."
Drive Mamma home safely.
As a surgeon, she was well aware that it wasn't professional to let Nicco run wild in the hospital every day. Yet, as a mother, Elyse didn't have the heart to put her foot down. Nicco had been growing increasingly more and more attached to her, understandably so, now that Alessandro was no longer in Palermo.
Nicco had always been a happy, energetic, relatively well-behaved child. He still was a happy, energetic, relatively well-behaved child, for the most part. But, lately, he had grown somewhat fussier and moodier than usual. Elyse tried not to reprimand her son too much for his behavior. Without his big, strong papà around, Nicco needed his mamma to be his rock. Not his disciplinarian. Elyse suspected that her son was too young to voice the scary, sudden void he felt in Alessandro's absence, so, in response, he chose to keep an eagle eye on his mamma —in case she disappeared, too—with all the clinginess of a baby koala and possessiveness of a Rottweiler pup.
Elyse told herself, This was only a phase . All of Nicco's mercurial toddler-charged vendettas always passed in good time. Elyse assumed Nicco would soon grow out of it in a month or two. Or whenever Alessandro could come home. If anything, motherhood had taught Elyse to roll with the punches because, most of the time, resistance was futile whenever Nicco was concerned. She loved spending this extra bit of time with her little guy, anyway.
So, Elyse turned to Luca and replied, "Don't be sorry, I don't mind at all. As long as Nicco wants to come to me, please continue to bring him."
Luca gave her an obedient nod. "Understood, Signora Vitale ."
Outside the hospital, Mariposa was waiting dutifully for Elyse by their car. Shortly after Monte and Luca had been transferred over to Nicco, Elyse chose Mariposa to serve as her personal bodyguard and second-in-command. The dark-eyed girl was a better shot than either Monte or Luca, and, through the years, she'd proven herself to be an invaluable friend and ally.
Mariposa greeted Elyse with a smirk, "Good afternoon, Dr. Vitale. I see you came with the whole fucking entourage again today."
Elyse glanced down at Nicco with a knowing smile. "Naturally."
Mariposa chided Nicco affectionately, "You do not know how to leave your mamma alone, do you, patatino?"
Nicco glanced up at Mariposa with a shameless grin. "Because Nicco wub Mamma too much!"
Grinning back at Nicco, Mariposa then reached over to ruffle the boy's dark hair. The golden afternoon sunlight kissed her hand, and a hefty-sized diamond glinted on her ring finger. The ring was from Monte. The two had just gotten engaged. Monte was gazing at his fiancée with unmasked devotion, displaying a rare crack in his stoic, soldier-like demeanor.
Luca also laughed at the boy's cheek .
Elyse's heart swelled with a mix of joy and longing. Even at such a young age, it was clear that Nicco had inherited a good dose of his papà's charm and silver tongue.
Dios , how she missed Alessandro.
Forcing a pleasant smile on her face to hide the heaviness in her heart, Elyse helped strap Nicco into his car seat while everyone else piled into the large black Bentley. With Monte at the wheel, Luca in the front passenger seat, and the rest of them seated in the back, they drove away from the hospital and sped toward the Vitales' palazzo in Libertà.
Mariposa glanced over to Elyse as the car rolled through the streets of Palermo. "Any word on Alessandro yet?"
With a sigh, Elyse shook her head. "Not yet."
"How much longer will he be in London?"
"As long as it takes to close the merger between Berkshire and Sayer."
This merger was the final step in cementing their businesses away from the shadows and into the light. For the past four years, husband and wife had been working diligently to make their dreams come true. Alessandro oversaw their tech startups and real estate investments while Elyse poured her heart and soul into making the Renata Vitale Memorial Hospital one of the top-rated healthcare facilities in all of Italy.
From behind the scenes, Elyse and Alessandro had schemed together to execute a series of chess-like strategies to cut their ties, thread by thread, from the deep, dark web of Cosa Nostra .
For every vacancy they left in the supply chain of their drug trafficking empire, replacements needed to be ushered in to prevent chaos and in-fighting.
For every new business venture they founded in tech, real estate, and healthcare, protective barriers needed to be set up to prevent old foes— and even old friends —from encroaching on these pristine, legal enterprises.
It hadn't been easy to fortify their new empire. Benedetto, Valentina, and her girlfriend, Célia, had been instrumental in helping them fill the dangerous voids in their old world and forge impenetrable protections in their current one. Money talked. Elyse and Alessandro certainly earned plenty of it, and they knew how to use wealth to their advantage, keeping enemies at bay, and opening doors that were once closed to them.
But even money had limits.
Limits that only Célia's connections in the elite business circles could circumvent. Valentina and Célia helped them break down the doors that no amount of riches could open.
Limits that only Benedetto's decades-long connections to high-ranking government officials and politicians could overcome. He'd helped them ward off the enemies that no amount of money could keep away.
It'd taken each and every one of them years of painstaking teamwork and toil to get to this point. Everyone in their inner circle—Malina, Monte, Luca, Mariposa, Valentina, and Benedetto—had carried out a very irreplaceable and specific role, and Elyse and Alessandro made sure to reward their friends handsomely for their efforts with money, houses, and positions of power and influence across their empire.
The Berkshire-Sayer merger was the culmination of everyone's sacrifices. This merger would be the final climactic task to seal the deal. It'd establish the Vitales as international power players, untouchable giants, and a king and a queen with shiny new crowns. Crowns that were no longer drenched with the blood of crime and violence.
Two months ago, Alessandro had traveled to London with Mr. Schmid to lock down this very important merger, leaving Elyse in Palermo to oversee their operations until his return.
Their separation was, once again, a necessary evil. After spending a year apart during their nightmare with Boris, Elyse had come to resent any extended time away from her husband. They spoke every night on the phone, but it simply wasn't the same. Her bed felt empty without Alessandro. Their home wasn't a home without him. Nicco kept acting out without his papà around. Elyse couldn't wait for her husband's return, not only because she missed him terribly, but also because there was important news to share.
Elyse rested a hand over her stomach, cradling it protectively.
To take her mind off of Alessandro, Elyse turned her attention to concrete problems instead of emotional ones, opting to address business matters with Monte, Luca, and Mariposa so they could hash out solutions for the little headaches that always seemed to plague her peace of mind. Accounts needed to be settled. New hires needed vetting. Questionable employees needed closer supervision. Discussions about these matters dragged on for the rest of the car ride home.
Around 5 pm, the black Bentley finally made its way through the jam-packed Palemirtan traffic and pulled into the lush courtyard of the Vitales' palazzo .
This was usually when Luca, Monte, and Mariposa's shift came to an end, and the nighttime security crew took over.
Luca informed Elyse, with a wink, that he had a date that evening. One quick ciao and a distracted wave later, he zoomed off in his sporty red Ferrari F355. Like two excited schoolgirls, Mariposa and Elyse tried to guess the identity of Luca's new girl. Then, Monte and Mariposa said their goodbyes as well and headed back to their apartment.
On the side of her hip, Elyse carried Nicco into the main house.
Malina greeted them with a warm smile. "Welcome home, Dr. Vitale. Nicco."
"It's good to be home," Elyse replied with a smile of her own.
Nicco's green eyes lit up at the sight of the older woman.
"Mawina!" he cried out, eagerly holding his arms out for her.
Readily, Malina plucked Nicco from Elyse's arms and planted a peck atop his nose as she snuggled him close. "Ah, my little prince, I see you have brought your mamma home safely yet again! Well done!"
Beaming, Nicco basked in Malina's praise. She had, in essence, become a grandmotherly figure for Nicco since his real grandmother chose to walk away from them. Isabella's decision was sad and unfortunate, but it was a reality that Elyse had learned to accept.
Elyse shot Malina a sly look. "Will you be playing chess with my grandfather again this weekend?"
A slight blush tinted the older woman's cheeks. "I believe so, Dr. Vitale, if that is alright with you?"
Elyse smiled and nodded. "Of course, I hope you two have fun."
Malina's blue eyes twinkled with a bit of mischief when she responded, "Do not worry. We always do."
Malina ushered Nicco to the kitchen for dinner. Elyse joined them soon after she checked on the rest of the staff and caught up with some work emails.
Nowadays, she commanded their palazzo with the graceful, steady hand of a queen in her castle. Their palatial residence was as flamboyant as ever with its over-the-top decor. Elyse remembered feeling like a fish out of water the first time she stepped onto the premises. Yet, now, the familiar sight of its lovely gardens and seaside views and grandiose furniture filled her with a genuine feeling of home. This was the house where she first fell in love with her husband. This was the house where they would watch Nicco grow from a boy to a young man .
Later that evening, Elyse bathed Nicco, read him a story, and cuddled him to sleep, before retiring to her bedroom to wait for Alessandro's nightly call. Her phone rang promptly at 10 pm, and she answered without a second's delay.
Happily, she murmured into the receiver, "Alessio?"
"Cuore mio."
As always, Elyse's heart warmed at the familiar sound of her husband's deep voice rumbling through the line. She inquired, "How was your day?"
"Too fucking long," he responded in weary tones, "and lonely. I miss you, wife. I miss our paperotto , too."
Little duck.
Paperotto was Alessandro's favored term of endearment for their son since ducks also happened to be Nicco's favorite animal.
He continued to wax sad, cheerless poetry at her, "I miss you and Nicco like the sun misses the morning. I miss you both like the tide clings to the shore. I cannot be whole without my two great loves at my side."
Elyse remarked with a chuckle, "In that case, are you free tomorrow? To Facetime with us before Nicco's bedtime? I know he misses you as well."
"I will make time tomorrow," Alessandro promised. "Is seven o'clock, alright?"
There was a one hour time difference between London and Palermo. Elyse wanted to double-check to be sure, "Seven o'clock—London or Palermo time?"
"Palermo time."
"We'll be ready," she said with a smile.
Elyse then spent a few minutes updating him on their business affairs in Palermo. Afterward, Alessandro spent a few more minutes updating her on their business affairs in London.
"I should be able to wrap up this goddamn merger sooner than expected," he assured her.
She lamented, "Let's hope."
Even though they were in a much better position than before, fear of failure still haunted Elyse. There was so much more at stake. They had Nicco to protect now. They also had—
Her husband cleared his throat. His voice dropped, low and husky, when he murmured, "Tell me, wife..."
Elyse bit back a smile. Already, from her husband's smoky tones, she could recognize what was coming, but she decided to play along for his sake, "What can I do for you, husband?"
"You have told me all about the hospital. You have updated me on the accounts. But you have yet to communicate the one thing I wish to know. How much do you miss me?"
She teased, "To be honest? I hardly realized that you were gone."
He grumbled in a sullen manner, "Heartless, forgetful woman. I wrote you a fucking poem about the sun and the tide, and you did not even notice my absence?"
"You're right, I'm growing more heartless and forgetful by the second," Elyse agreed. "Better come home soon to remind me what I'm missing."
" Cuore mio …"
"Come home to me, Alessio," Elyse urged softly, choosing not to tease him anymore, "I don't have you way with words, but know that I miss sleeping beside you at night. I miss having you around at home. I miss you so much. More than words could ever say."
He drew in a quick intake of breath. "What I would give to fly to your side right this moment."
"I have news to share with you as well," Elyse hinted with an air of mystery, "once you return to Palermo."
Alessandro demanded, "What kind of news?"
"Good news, I promise."
"In that case, wife, I will do everything in my power to return in a week."
"I'll be waiting, husband."
They lingered on the phone a while longer, making small talk, flirting, teasing, and simply enjoying each other's company as though thousands of miles didn't divide them.
Exactly seven days later, Elyse went about her usual nightly routine, putting Nicco to bed and then going to her own bed. Alone . She fell asleep only to be drawn from slumber in the dead of night with the sensation of a soft, lingering kiss on her cheek. Strong arms soon wrapped around her waist. Then, the gentlest of kisses began trailing down her neck.
With her eyelids still shut, a small smile graced her face. Elyse didn't need to open her eyes to know that her husband was, at last, home.
Dazedly, happily, Elyse mumbled in her sleepy state, "Alessio..."
He chuckled in between his kisses, "I am relieved you still remember my name, you forgetful woman. "
She flipped toward Alessandro, pulling him close in a tight embrace. Elyse buried her face into the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent, and reveling in the feel of his large, solid body back in her arms.
She released a sigh of pure bliss, "You came back."
"I will always come to you, remember? To remind you that you have a husband who adores you, who cannot bear to be apart from you, who is ready, God willing, to give you another child..."
Not surprisingly, his cock was already quite hard, pressing against her belly in a very eager and optimistic manner. Smirking slightly, Elyse reached down to give her husband's shaft an affectionate tug. He groaned in gratitude.
"Another child, you say?" she murmured.
Alessandro coaxed, "Nicco could use a brother or sister to keep him company, no? "
She glanced away and grunted noncommittally in response, "Well…"
"What?"
"About that," she grunted again with an evasive smile.
Brown and blue-gray eyes bore into her with suspicion. "Out with it, wife! You know how much I hate it when you keep secrets from me."
She stalled to build suspense, poking fun at him in Italian, "Non riesco ancora a credere che ci sia voluto così tanto tempo per capire che parlo bene l'italiano..." I still can't believe it took you so long to realize that I'm fluent in Italian.
He protested, "In my defense, I always suspected you, I was simply too much of a gentleman to call you out..."
"Is that so?"
"Of course!"
Elyse gazed up at her husband with a coy expression. "At any rate, I'm afraid another child might not be possible tonight..."
Alessandro scowled in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"It's not possible," Elyse explained, smiling faintly, "because Nicco already has a little brother, or sister, on the way."
In the dark of their bedroom, she watched an entire telenovela of emotions play across her husband's handsome face.
Shock.
Awe.
Joy.
He stuttered in wonderment, "You are with child? "
She beamed and nodded. "Yes."
Alessandro exclaimed, "When did it happen?"
"Do you remember," she drawled, "what you did to me that afternoon? Right before you left for London?"
That afternoon —they'd left Nicco at home with Luca, Monte, and the nanny and traveled to the Port of Palermo where Alessandro proceeded to tie Elyse up in several compromising positions and fuck the living daylights out of her all over their private yacht.
A proud, satisfied grin spread across Alessandro's face as these naughty memories appeared to surface in his mind. Her husband cheered with a hearty laugh, quickly shuffling down Elyse's body to rain kisses all over her stomach.
It was too early for her bump to show, but he whispered to her belly, nevertheless, "Hello, little one. Papà cannot wait to meet you."
Then, Alessandro scrambled back up to cradle Elyse's face between his palms as though she was his most treasured possession. In thick, gruff tones, he said, "Thank you, cuore mio , for this beautiful life that you have given me."
Elyse didn't know if the beautiful life Alessandro referred to was the baby inside her or if he was talking about their life together. Either way, Elyse's heart had never felt fuller. Her breath hitched slightly when she countered, "I feel the same way. Everything you've given me feels like a gift."
He expressed in Italian, "Ti amo, cuore mio."
She mirrored his love in Spanish, "Te amo, mi corazón."
They'd begun conversing regularly with one another in all three languages. Italian, English, and Spanish. There were no more secrets between husband and wife.
Elyse drew Alessandro's face down to kiss him deeply. Two months without her husband's touch had felt like an eternity. Elyse wanted to show him how much she missed him. He seemed to feel the same. One of Alessandro's hands wandered over to palm her breast, tweaking and rolling her nipples between his thumb and forefinger in a very pleasurable way. His other hand reached over to pull down her panties. His boxers disappeared soon after.
"Everything I do," Alessandro mumbled in distracted tones as his cock began nudging its way between her thighs, "I do it with your happiness in mind."
She spread her legs wider for him, moaning as he gently rocked his shaft into her welcoming sheath, "I know, baby, I know."
Alessandro began to fuck her, lovingly, adoringly, and Elyse's eyes rolled heavenward as euphoria overtook her senses. Every one of his thrusts felt like a promise. Every one of her gasps, every one of his moans, bound them even closer in all of life's blessings and burdens. The physical manifestation of their love always overwhelmed her. It swept Elyse away to a place that felt almost sacred in its soul-searing glory.
Afterward, Alessandro held her close to his chest and gifted her with another blessing, "The merger is done, by the way."
Hope dared to bloom in her chest. "Is it really over?"
He nodded, grinning. "Indeed, wife."
Elyse had assumed as much when Alessandro returned home, unannounced, and appeared so suddenly in her arms tonight. Her husband wouldn't have left London if the merger was still in limbo, after all, but to hear his triumph confirmed aloud left her feeling both stunned and elated from the inside out.
Happiness wet her eyes. "Alessio, that's amazing news!"
"Yes, it is amazing," he agreed quietly, "our happy ending has been a long time coming, but your husband can, at last, give you and our children the boring, normal life you always dreamed of."
Elyse rolled her hips against him wantonly. She cooed, "Life with you could never be boring."
His cock instantly jerked in response. "Are you sure, wife?"
"I don't know," Elyse sighed, rubbing herself against him as she readied herself for round two, "remind me again why I married a boring bastard like you?"
Alessandro chuckled darkly as he reached down to give her clit a light slap and hard pinch, "I do not think you need a reminder, cuore mio . I think you need to be punished."
She begged in Spanish, "Castigame entonces." Punish me, then.
He growled back, low and hoarse, in Italian, "Con piacere." With pleasure.
They made love, again and again, wickedly, madly, until exhaustion finally defeated their insatiable need for one another. Husband and wife slept soundly in each other's arms. The dark of the night enshrouded them still, but they weren't afraid of such darkness. The merger was set. Their future was set as well. At last, their world felt safe and right and true.
As the sun rose the next morning, Elyse and Alessandro were awakened by the stomping of small feet and the loud, joyous giggles of Nicco flying full force into his papà's arms.
Laughingly, Alessandro drew Nicco to his lap and enveloped their son in a great big bear hug, "How I have missed my paperotto! Did you behave while Papà was away?"
Nicco puffed out his chest with pride. " Sì , I pwotect Mamma when Papà not home!"
Alessandro laughed again and praised him, "What a brave paperotto!"
Elyse felt as though her heart might burst with love for her husband and her son. This very moment meant everything to her. Their little family of three, soon to be four , was whole again. Elyse exhaled a soft sigh as she reflected on the trying journey that had brought them to this very moment.
That first, fateful bullet she'd plucked from his stomach in Queens.
The very same bullet he'd fused into their rings.
Their years-long struggle to escape hell.
The new paradise they'd created together.
Their small but growing family.
None of these milestones, save for the last one, fell within the confines of the boring, normal life that Elyse once dreamed of living. Yet, somehow, as Elyse gazed upon her husband and her son with her heart in her eyes, she knew in her bones, this , all of this was everything she ever wanted, and she'd gladly endure every single one of the dangerous, heartbreaking, soul-crushing burdens, over and over and over again, in exchange for this very moment.
Her life might never be perfectly boring and normal with a husband like Alessandro Vitale, but she now considered this fate to be a blessing of the highest order. They'd fought their way through hell to earn this little bit of paradise, and Elyse felt more than ready to live out the rest of her days at this beautiful bastard's side until their love burned brighter than the shine they'd awakened in each other's souls.