33. Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Emilio
T he next morning, I know I must deal with Josephine. I don't take any pleasure in killing a woman, but I can't allow her to live and breathe the same air as my wife and child. She could come back for her again and I won't allow that.
Serena’s mother is staying at the hospital with Serena while I take care of business. Valerie, Everly, and Sam plan to take Serena food she likes, magazines, and even board games and cards to play with her.
My wife is not one to stay resting in bed, so I know the next few weeks will be a struggle for her. I know she’s prepared to endure anything to bring our son into the world safely and with family around her, we can help her get through it.
As I step into Gio and Marcello's warehouse, the musty odor of decay and dirt hits my nostrils, mingled with a scent of despair. These walls have seen a lot of blood and violence.
Hanging from the ceiling is my housekeeper, someone I trusted. "Josephine."
"Mr. Esposito, please, these men are going to kill me." As she begs, her body thrashes around.
Stoically, I walk closer to the small woman hanging from the rafters. Normally, anyone hanging here would be undressed, but because she's a woman, she's been left fully clothed.
"Josephine, do you think I'm going to save you after what you did to my wife? Which bruises did you leave on her body?"
She will regret ten times over what she did to my wife.
"I didn't do anything to Mrs. Esposito. I swear."
"You are a lying cunt!" The words fly out of my mouth louder and more forcefully than I expect.
Josephine is sobbing. "Antonio couldn't have children after the accident. He was left infertile. I thought, if he was going to kill her anyway, I could take the baby and raise him as my own."
"You dare try to take what belongs to me? I can't believe you think I'm going to allow you to walk out of here and breathe the same air as my family."
"Please, please," she begs. "I will do anything, Mr. Esposito."
Gio, who has been standing to the side, bites into an apple. The sound of the crunch momentarily tempers my rage. "I can take care of her for you if you need me to. We don't torture women, but I have no issue putting a bullet in her head for what she did to my sister."
"No! I have to do this. She tried to take my child from me, and there's no forgiveness in that." Pulling my gun from my hip holster, I fire a shot between Josephine's eyes.
Upon impact, she stops struggling and thrashing around. The sound of Gio crunching into his apple is the only sound in the dimly lit warehouse. As I look back over to Gio, he gives me a chin nod, letting me know he'll clean up the mess.
As I walk away from the warehouse, I can’t help feeling guilty for bringing these people into my household and trusting them with my wife’s wellbeing.
It’s strange how the tides of turned. When I started this, Gio and Marcello were my enemies and Antonio was my trusted second. Now, Serena's brothers have become my most trusted associates. They are helping me take care of my businesses and will protect my wife and child with their lives. I was so wrong when I started this, and for that, I will spend the remaining days of my life making up for my mistakes.
As the day progresses, I discover just how far Antonio was willing to go to sabotage my businesses and my relationship with Serena. It seems the missing shipment of weapons was a ploy to distract me, allowing Antonio time to get Serena to the cabin. He had no idea I could track her through her choker.
"Rocco, I'm going to promote you to my second. You will have to earn my trust because Antonio has made your job a hell of a lot harder. If I even see you look at Serena wrong, I will slit your throat and watch you bleed out."
Digging a little deeper, and with Gio’s help, I learn Antonio was the one who sent information to Gio when I first held Serena captive. He believed that, with the right motivation, the Martinellis would go to war with me, and somehow, he could wrestle back the Esposito empire in the fallout. The more I uncover, the more I realize things were always going to end this way.
After questioning all my remaining employees, it’s clear no one knew Josephine had anything to do with Antonio outside of working in the same house.
Arrangements are made for Josephine and Antonio's bodies to be transferred to my funeral home and disposed of in the crematory. If anyone comes looking for them, we will tell them they went on vacation to some cabin in the middle of nowhere. As for Antonio’s cabin, Gio and Marcello paid their cleaning team to completely erase any evidence of Antonio, Josephine, and Serena.
It’s late evening when I arrive at Serena's hospital room, and as soon as I enter the hallway, I hear giggles emanating from the room. This brings a smile to my face, knowing my Little Storm is having fun despite being confined to a hospital bed. She really hasn't complained, and whenever the subject comes up, she reassures me she's willing to do whatever it takes to bring our son safely into the world.
As I enter the room, I see she's playing cards with Gio's wife. Everly is perched on the bed beside my wife, a look of deep concentration on her face.
Serena looks at me and her face lights up. "Emilio!"
"Little Storm, how has your day been?" I walk over and place a kiss on her forehead as my wife wraps her arms around my neck, giving me a hug.
Everly smiles softly. "Amelia has been teething and not sleeping well, so I better get home before she drives Sam crazy."
"Thank you for staying with her today," I say.
The small woman gives me a nod. It's nice to be around women who aren't afraid of me. Everly leaves the room and I'm finally alone with Serena.
Looking back to my wife, who is propped up in bed, I ask, "What have you been doing all day, wife?"
"Everly and I have been baby shopping online and playing cards. We also were looking up baby names. What do you think of the name Alessandro?"
Tilting my head as I give it some thought. "I like it. Alessandro Rome Esposito."
"Cool. My ex-boyfriend Sandro will be honored."
"Ex-boyfriend? Little Storm, you better be kidding me. If you just named our son after an ex, I'm going to spank your ass red."
Serena looks up at me, batting her eyelashes. "You can't spank me, I'm pregnant."
"Try me, wife. Your ass isn't pregnant and will take my hand just fine."
My wife has the gall to giggle as I sit and pout. No way in hell is she naming my son after another man. As jealousy runs through me, I'm hit with a thought. Serena doesn't have an ex.
Looking up, I see the sly little minx smiling mischievously.
"You brat."
Serena chuckles. "I have to keep you on your toes. There's not much entertainment in my life at the moment."
Wrapping my arms around my Little Storm, I kiss her on the forehead. "I'm sorry, baby. It will all be over soon."
"So, we are good with Alessandro?"
"Yes, as long as you aren't naming my son after an ex-boyfriend." I pout.
"Haha. No. We actually have a cousin named Alessandro, but we aren't close to him, or at least I'm not."
"Okay then." I give her a warm smile.
Kissing her tenderly, I inhale her soft vanilla scent. It doesn't take much for me to get turned on, but knowing the doctor has said no sex for the time being, I move away and put some distance between us.
Serena notices my pants are tented. "You know I can help with that," she says as she nods her chin towards my hard cock.
"No. The doctor said no sex."
"Yeah, no intercourse, but he didn't say I couldn't suck on it like a lollipop." A mischievous grin spreads across her face.
I wrap my arms around her and crawl into bed beside her, holding her close. "I want to wait until my beautiful wife can benefit just as much as I do." Bringing my forehead to hers, I remind her, "Have I told you I love you today?"
"Several times already." She chuckles.
"Well, I'm telling you again. You're more than I imagined I would ever have. I figured we would continue to be enemies, but you have become my best friend, the mother of my children, and the most amazing wife I could ever ask for."