11. Killian
In the two days we were in that damn hospital, Maricela never complained once. She ate every meal put in front of her and took a shower without burning her skin. She took care of each demand the kids had while talking and singing to them, and I saw in her the gentle, kind woman I never knew.
Amado refused to leave her arms, and Connie began to trust her to the point that she told Maricela everything.
“Did Daddy hit you?” I heard Maricela ask yesterday.
“No, he hit Mommy, but not when Uncle Killian or Uncle Madd were home. I liked it when they were home.”
“Did you?”
Maricela smiled and pushed Connie’s hair away from her face to wipe yogurt from her chin without complaining about getting it on her clothing, unlike Serena, who always chastised the kids about tidiness.
“Uncle Madd is fun. He’s my hero. He likes to play, and he runs real slow, so I always get to hide from him. I’m good at hiding.”
Maricela’s face stiffened at that, probably thinking about why Connie had to hide. They spoke for a long time after that, never noticing me. Connie talked non-stop, and Maricela listened.
Raven came with all kinds of stuff each day, helping Maricela out, not even glancing my way. They both ignored my existence for the longest time.
Today, we get out of this damn place with a commitment to child psychologists.
I saw Maricela’s imploring look to agree to the children’s psychological treatment when the doctor offered it. I didn’t plan to refuse the offer, but my little girl’s fear that I would refuse shook me. It’s like she forgot all the real sides of me that I only showed her.
My phone vibrates in my pocket with messages. Isabela is still abroad with Franco. The stupid fuck actually believes in some medical miracle that will save him.
I know what the doctors have said to him, and I didn’t even need to bribe anyone to refuse to treat him.
There’s nothing left to treat.
Mom: How are the kids? I spoke with Maddox, and he told me Maricela came back. I’m so happy for you, Mio Figlio Caro.
Isabella always loved Maricela.
Unlike Serena, whom my mother liked but never came to trust with any information, Mom really cared for Maricela. She repeatedly asked Serena if she had contact with Maricela, but Serena always and without hesitation answered that Maricela was probably off living her wildlife like a fairy.
A fucking fairy. She’s more like a ghost than a fairy—my little ghost.
My phone chimes again, and the name that pops up this time makes me want to smash it.
The redhead cunt: Killian, is it true? Did Santino kill himself? Why don’t you answer my calls?
Lila is another thing I have to worry about. She texts again as if I summoned her with my thoughts alone. After staring at the fluorescent lights for a full minute, I decide to return her calls and step out into the hallway.
“Killian,” she almost screams.
“Why didn’t you tell me what happened? The press is trying to get into the penthouse. I don’t know what to do. I didn’t stay by your side for all of this.”
“Calm the fuck down, Lila. You sound like a whiny bitch.”
She hates the degradation, so I use it as much as I can.
“You’re not by my side anymore or living on the same floor as me because I don’t want you there. Our arrangement doesn’t make you my woman. You are a prop. Now, is that all you wanted?”
“I don’t know what to do,” she rushes to add. “I didn’t know your brother committed suicide.” She doesn’t say a word about him murdering his wife.
If anything can be said to Lila’s credit, it’s her wisdom and self-preservation. She would never dare say anything that she thought could upset me.
In high school and college, it was different for a simple reason. She was not under my protection. Now, however, she has nowhere to run. Just where I want her.
“Pass me to your lover,” I demand.
“He’s not—”
“Lila, we both know you’re fucking your bodyguard. And we both know I won’t touch you even if you’re the last woman on earth. Pass the phone to him.”
She huffs out a breath, and a moment later, he’s on the phone. I recognize Bob by his breathing alone. He doesn’t need to say a word. “That was quick. Hope she’s worth the fuck, Bob.”
“Capo, I—”
“No excuses needed. You can do whatever you want with that whore. The reason you’re there is so she won’t run away. Even if it means stopping her with your cock.”
Not a single reaction. Good.
“As for the journalists outside the house, I don’t need Lila to be involved in anything. More than that, from today on, she will not be living in the penthouse anymore. Go to a hotel, and I’ll figure out what I’m going to do with her later.”
I hang up and return to the room to see that the kids are clothed in their designer outfits. Raven is talking to Connie and smiling, and Maricela is holding Amado as if he’s part of her.
“We’re going straight to the penthouse. We have to take care of the funeral arrangements and getting the children situated.”
I don’t get an acknowledgment, but I no longer expect one. Raven leaves the room in silence.
“Why did you do that to Raven?” Maricela asks.
Her voice directed at me is a rare commodity these days, and I enjoy it so much that I debate whether I should answer immediately. If I don’t, perhaps she’ll ask again, or maybe I can goad her into an argument.
“I punished her. She’ll have to live with Liam after they’re married anyway, so now isn’t that big a deal. She lied to her capo. Not her cousin, but her capo. She has to pay for that.”
“But Liam hates her.”
“This is good for both of them. I’m not going to discuss my decisions with you. Maricela, you agreed to stay. You gave me the power, and you know it. From today, I’m also your capo. I give instructions, and you carry them out.”
“We’re not coming home, are we, Uncle Killian?” Connie asks for the fifth time.
“We’re going to your new home,” Maddox says in a soothing voice, taking her in his arms. “You’re going to live in our building, Love Bug. You’ll be the most protected little girl in this world.”
“And Amado, too?”
“And Amado, too. What do you think his first word will be? Do you think we’ll be able to get him to say Maddox?”
Connie puts her little hand on her chin as if trying to think his question through seriously.
“We don’t have a daddy or a mommy anymore. So maybe he’ll say your name first, Uncle Madd.”
The silence after that is deafening.
“You know your Aunt Raven already started designing your new room for you?” Madd says, trying to change the subject.
“Will I have a room by myself? I don’t want to sleep alone.”
She whimpers, and within seconds, the tears begin to flow, and cries of
“No. I don’t want to be alone,” fill the corridor. Connie grabs her hair almost violently until Maricela bends down and wipes her tears.
As we proceed to the car, Maricela asks her, “Do you want me to tell you a secret? I didn’t like being alone when I was your age, either. My father wasn’t nice to me. He was mean, too, and I was always afraid he would come into my room, but your mother looked after me and came to sleep with me when I was scared. So, if you’re scared, I’ll come sleep with you and your brother.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. No one will hurt you again.”
“Pedro,” Maricela almost whispers to herself, but I hear her.
Her steps seem hesitant, but she walks toward him slowly. Pedro turns to her as if he heard her call to him from that distance, but I know he couldn’t have. She runs to him on steady legs, Amado in her arms, and lets Pedro hug her. More than that, she initiates the contact with him.
He caresses her face and whispers things to her that only she can hear.
Her relationship with Julian’s family has always been warm and loving, but I don’t know when I missed her obvious love for my driver.
“Aunt Fairy is smiling,” Connie tells me.
She is. It’s as if just seeing Pedro has given her the power no one else could provide.
I let them speak in hushed voices. Pedro directs his gaze at me once as he nods. He knows something. Maybe he knew all along, just like his son did.
The traffic and the honking sounds of angry drivers make the trip to the penthouse take longer. Amado falls asleep in his car seat, and Connie looks out at the scenery from hers. I know for a fact that Serena and Santino didn’t take her out much.
“Uncle Madd, you’re going to live with us too, right?”
“Not on the same floor, but yes, we’ll live in the same building with Uncle Kai and Uncle Liam, and even Aunt Raven will be there. And you know who else is there?” Maddox says the words with great enthusiasm, coaxing Connie to giggle out loud. “Hero will be there! He’ll protect you and lick your face all over.” Another giggle follows.
“Auntie Fairy?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“You will be there too, for always?” I wait for the answer to this question as well as the kid.
“I’ll be wherever you and your brother are.”
This seems to be enough for Connie because she leans her head toward Maricela at her side and falls asleep.
I don’t trust her promises whatsoever. So I will have to take care of her never leaving me.