Chapter 43
Lily
“I love you, il mio fiorellino.”
Dominico’s last words fade into the distance as my eyes flutter open.
I wish it were a dream, but as I lift my head, my gaze meets the ashen complexion of the man who spoke them.
Judging by the ache in my neck, I must have been asleep for some time.
At least this kind of neck ache is better than the one I had during the first two weeks recovering from the strangulation that took my voice.
It took my ability to say any words in response to Dominico's last ones.
I fucking hated that man for it. For what he stole from me.
A tear slides down my cheek, and my hand finds Dominico's, but there is no reciprocation—just like every time I have repeated the action over the last three weeks.
The monitor beside his bed beeps a steady rhythm that I find comforting, much more than the sound I heard shortly after the ambulance arrived at the now-closed 'pharmacy'.
The sound of that flatline will stick with me forever.
Dominico had died, but they managed to bring him back.
After a six-hour surgery to retrieve the bullet from a spot close to his heart and repair the damage it inflicted, he was transferred to the ICU.
If Johnathan weren’t already dead, I would kill him for this.
It was his fault. But it was also mine. Dominico wouldn't be in this position if I hadn’t come into his life.
The moment those negative thoughts and the guilt accompanying them enter my mind, Dominico’s voice, sharing that space, scolds me for even entertaining such ideas.
He would be disappointed if he knew I had them, so I push them away.
They do not belong here. Whether Johnathan was involved or not, Dominico and I are meant to be together.
I know this as well as I know that he will wake up. He must wake up.
“Come back to me,” I whisper, my voice finally sounding normal for the first time in ages.
"If you don't, I'll make good on that threat I made that if you die, I'll sleep with someone else, just so that you can come back and kill him.
" I half expect him to give me that stern look he always gives me when I say something that plays on his jealousy, but still, nothing.
I lean in close to his ear so he can hear me as I place his hand on my belly. "Come back to us."
This is not how I want to tell him, but this is all I have.
I'm desperate. And I hope that by his hearing it, it will make him fight. For me. For the family we are on our way to having. I have been reading and talking to him daily, hoping my voice will guide him back. Hoping to see those silver-grey eyes looking at me the way they always do. Like I am the be-all and end-all. I thought that moving him from the hospital to his home yesterday, under Dr. Andrews’ care, who will stay with us until Dominico wakes up, would help him regain consciousness.
That once we were in his mansion, his home, surrounded by all the people who cared for him, he would miraculously wake up.
But still, nothing. The doctor said I must give it time.
He needs time to heal. He is strong. Everyone says that.
But what if time doesn’t heal him? What if he never wakes up?
Before I can allow that thought to take root as it has so often, Nero’s voice behind me catches my attention.
He stands beside Matteo, planted in a spot just inside the doorway.
Where I go, he goes, a shadow welcomed during this dark time.
He doesn’t say much, but I see the pain in his eyes each time his gaze drifts to his Don’s unmoving form.
“We will bring a bed in here. You cannot sleep in a chair like that. It’s not good for you. I'm a dead man when Dominico wakes up and finds you like that.”
His use of ‘when’ instead of ‘if’ reveals his conviction. Although his voice is gruff, a tenderness has slowly developed over time. He accepts me as part of the family, as Dominico’s wife.
"Yes, I second that. When your man wakes up and finds you hunched over, looking like a zombie, we are all dead men and women walking.
" This manages to pull a small smile from me as I look at the woman who was only returned to us a week ago.
She was sold to the man who had forced her on us in the first place.
Ironically, he is the underboss of the Russian mafia.
I don't know all the details of how Nero brought her back to us, but I do know that there was no stopping him.
Once we discovered that she was no longer at 'the pharmacy,' Nero had been on a rampage to get her back.
“We have news.” The tenderness vanishes, and my heart clenches, knowing what he will say.
We have a traitor in our midst. In the famiglia .
I heard Johnathan tell Dominico about him being informed of his presence at 'the pharmacy' and his use of the plural term 'traitor.
' I had been mulling it over for weeks, my mind going back to one little detail that was etched into my mind: the cigar on the floor in the operating room.
The one with a distinctive gold family emblem wrapped around it.
The same one I had seen on the box of cigars he was given as a wedding gift.
Now it’s confirmed.
“You were right. Arrangements have been made. They will be here in thirty minutes.”
Fuck. I hated that I was right, but at least now I knew. I look at Dominico, a burning desire for revenge bubbling up as I think about the person coming here who played a role in my husband's current state.
He hands me the small, clear evidence bag with a half-smoked cigar, found in one of the upstairs offices at 'the pharmacy.' The DNA matched the man I suspected.
"You've got this." Holly gives me a reassuring smile before she and Nero leave, allowing me a moment to sift through my thoughts and consider the various scenarios in my mind about how this next interaction will go.
As my eyes focus on Dominico, the ever-growing desire to make someone pay sits in the pit of my stomach like a mix of anxiety and excitement.
“Mrs. Sante.” Matteo, addressing me nearby, makes me jump.
“Just call me Lily, Matteo.”
I know this won’t happen. I have already asked him a million times to call me by my name, but he ignores my requests.
“No. Because you are Mrs. Sante. The wife of the most powerful man in the world. Head of the Cosa Nostra. His Queen. You understand, right?” he asks me pointedly.
I’m taken aback. Matteo rarely speaks, and when he does, his responses are either yes, no, or grunts. So what he is saying now must be important for him to have taken the time to vocalize it .
“I have seen how Dominico looks at you. He would do anything for you. He loves you. He has never loved anyone before. Never. You know what that means, right?” Another pointed question, accompanied by a direct gaze.
“You belong by his side, and while he is recovering and vulnerable, it is up to you to protect him. You, me, and those loyal to him. You are the strongest woman I know. Many underestimate you, but they don’t understand what you are capable of.”
I nod, his words reminding me of what Dominico has said to me on more than one occasion.
“I understand. I won’t let anything happen to him while I am alive. You have my word,” I promise, conviction and strength infusing my words.
“We have already spoken about this. When I give the signal, you know what to do.” Matteo nods and hands me a small object I have been practicing with for the last week before returning to his position by the door.
Minutes later, Nero returns with Dante, Holly, and Violet—Dante's new wife—in tow.
A deal was made with the Mancuso brothers in exchange for my location.
Initially, I felt bad that Dante had shouldered the responsibility of the deal, but watching Violet stand close to him and observing how he looked at her made me feel less guilty.
There is an undeniable spark between them.
Thankfully. However, there is much work needed.
Violet had been physically and mentally abused by Johnathan and his men at 'the pharmacy' for weeks.
They had done unspeakable things to her, leaving trauma etched into her soul.
“They are at the gate,” Dante advises, his voice strained. The impending confrontation was sure to create turmoil throughout the entire famiglia .
With a final look at Dominico, I let go of his hand, straighten my shoulders, and head out of the room, with Matteo, Dante, and Nero flanking me while the ladies follow not far behind.
A commotion by the front door tells me that my order for our visitors to relinquish their weapons at the gate is not appreciated.
“What the fuck! How dare you take my weapon!” Massimo shouts, his face red with anger as he takes a few steps toward us, prompting our guard's guns to raise in response. Elena is beside him, her eyes darting cautiously around the room.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. The guards are under strict orders. With a nod, you will be shot," Nero advises, his calm voice belying his emotions. He is as angry about the betrayal as I am. As we all are.
“What is the meaning of this? When Dominico wakes, I’m sure he will not be happy to hear this is how you treat famiglia .” Massimo’s words make me laugh as I stand my ground a few feet away.
“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. Considering it is the very famiglia responsible for his current state that I am treating with such disdain,” I spit out, my words harsh and accusing.
“What are you talking about? You think we were responsible for what happened?” While Elena’s question is coated with believable incredulity, Massimo’s face remains angry and unaffected, the accusations not disturbing him at all.
I take a step forward, Matteo mirroring it as I retrieve the little plastic evidence bag from my pocket and hold it up before throwing it at him. It bounces off his chest, landing on the floor by his feet.
"What is this?" Elena asks, picking up the item as her eyes dart from it to her brother.
Massimo’s eyes widen, flaring as he looks from the object to me and then to the men beside me.
“You know, it took me a while to remember where I had seen this crescent. You gave Dominico a box of cigars as an early wedding gift. A box made by your family and bearing the family crescent. The very same one as that,” I accuse, my eyes dipping to the evidence of his betrayal in Elena's hand.
“So? Yes, I gifted it to him.” Massimo is on the defensive, and I can see a hint of panic in his sister's eyes, as if she knows where this is leading.
“I found this one somewhere it shouldn’t have been. In an ashtray at ‘the pharmacy.' I thought it might have been Rocco's doing, but interestingly enough, the DNA evidence returned a different result. Pointing us to someone else.”
Elena’s eyes widen, and then I see the realization sink in as her gaze drifts over to her brother, who is now breathing harder, his hands clenching and unclenching at his side.
“What did you do?” Elena hisses, the accusation in her tone finally drawing her brother's gaze from mine.
“What Rocco couldn’t. It is time for a new head of the Cosa Nostra.
” With this admission out in the open, I dip my head, signaling Matteo, who lunges forward, his unexpected action catching Massimo off guard.
Before Massimo knows what has happened, Matteo is behind him, his arm around his neck, cutting off circulation.
Elena stumbles back, surprised by what is happening.
“Hold his legs and arms,” I order the guards standing nearby as I approach the man who is looking at me as if he wants to kill me.
Nero and Dante remain close as I fish out the other object, the knife with my name engraved on it. Johnathan’s knife. The one he had used on me so many times, my blood must be infused in its blade. What better object to use to extract my revenge?
“You fucking bitch!” Massimo spits, his face contorting as he struggles against the humans locking him in place .
“While at ‘the pharmacy,’ I discovered something very interesting. Apparently, one of the most painful places to be stabbed is the kidney. Let me know if it's true.”
With that, I close the distance, almost hugging him as I angle the knife just where Matteo showed me and shove it into his flesh.
The scream that escapes Massimo as I twist the knife for added effect echoes through the mansion, along with Elena's.
“Fuck, if that isn’t a sight for sore eyes, il mio fiorellino .”
Even the screaming Bianchi siblings cannot drown out the voice I thought I might never hear again. I spin around, the bloody knife still in my hand. There, standing in the doorframe from which we came, with a look of absolute pride and adoration on his face, stands my husband.
“Dominico."