Chapter 48: EngagedDraco’s P.O.V“Sire…it’s an engagement…not a funeral.”Gabriele wore a light brown jacket and formal pants with a sky blue shirt underneath. He had even gelled back his hair and appeared to be even better groomed than I did. His mood was certainly better than mine.“Then why don’t you replace me as the groom?” I told him straight away, adjusting the collar of my black tuxedo that I had worn over a black shirt and formal black pants.“Sire…I wish I could.” He bowed his head. “If there was any way I could help you out of this situation then I would have…but Donatello and I couldn’t come up with a solution in time.”I nodded, looking at my reflection in the mirror with distaste. I wasn’t happy at all and I think it showed on my face.Donatello had understood well when I told him that I wanted this event to be as private as possible. Any guests at all and there would be consequences.I didn’t want Gina finding out about this…I didn’t want anyone in the world finding ou
Chapter 49: Home Invasion Regina’s P.O.V “Joel?” I call out his name when I can’t get their attention immediately. There were about five of them, Rico included, that were surrounding Joanna as she stood in the middle of the group of men wearing all black suits and she was running from one person to another, engrossed in some game that had the rest of them smiling ear to ear. “Look at them!” I muttered under my breath. “Who would think they were badass mafia men?” All of them looked perfectly happy entertaining a three year old. I somehow got this feeling that Joel was probably the first amongst them to become a dad and thus, now all of them were proud uncles who loved their little niece like she was their own daughter. I would love to see them when Joanna grew up. That would be a disaster. Shaking my head, I went over to where Joel was sitting and tapped him on the shoulders with his phone. He looked up confused at first, before nodding and taking the phone from me and placing i
Chapter 50: Not BulletproofRegina’s P.O.VThe front gate was all but run over by the large black van that had crashed into the gate before the shots started getting fired.If I had to guess, I’d say that the first shot was fired by the guards at the gate to stop the approaching van itself.“I had called the Capo the second they broke through the gates.” The elder man, who wore a name tag on his jacket called Dominic, said through gritted teeth as he moved the mouse to control the angles of the camera. “But he’s in Detroit. He won’t make it in time if he gets on a flight even now.”“What about his men?” I asked. “There were a lot more security personnel here when I first arrived.”“Most of them have been assigned at the warehouses in Manhattan and Queens,” Dominic told me. “The Capo made sure that no one would try to steal from him once again.”“Are you asking for backup?” I asked him, not caring if he got irritated by my questions. Knowledge was key here and I very much needed this k
Chapter 51: The Capo de CapiDraco’s P.O.VThe news about the attacks on the warehouse came just before boarding the flight and both Gabriele and I knew that by the time I landed in New York, the majority of the fight would already be over.“It’s not just the Triad, but some members of the Chao Pho, a small group of the Thai crime ring, had decided to join hands with Jun Feng Li, Cheng’s nephew and lend him some of his men.” Gabriel narrated as he went through all the security footages outside the warehouses and the mansion itself.The only thing I was reassured of was that Gina was already inside the safe room and wouldn’t be caught in any of the cameras.“The main attack was at the house.” He frowned. “It’s like they were trying to find out if you had any weaknesses or they were using it as a distraction.”“Or both.” I told him. “Why go for one or the other when he could have easily killed two birds with one stone?”“Young and stupid.” Gabriele shook his head. “Jun Feng wasn’t in an
Chapter 52: The Truth about UsRegina’s P.O.VA strange continuous noise sounded from right beside me, like the continuous beeping of a heart monitor.A groan escaped my lips as I tried to open my eyes, but failed at the first attempt. Everything hurt, like I had been run over by a bulldozer and I was still lying on the ground, but at the same time, I could feel the softness of the mattress from under me.“Kid?”The familiar voice seemed like it sounded from far away…but I couldn’t tell who it was, or where it was coming from.And suddenly…images flooded in my head…The gunshot…me running up with Joanna…hiding inside the monitor room…the blood, the guns being fired…Joel coming up the stairs…and the shot…My eyes shot open as I gasped to get air into my lungs. Pain shot through my entire body, temporarily blinding me from seeing anything else.“Doctor!” I heard Joel’s voice from beside me, sounding panicked as he called for help. “Doctor! Nurse! Is someone out there?”It didn’t take lo
Chapter 53: Knowing for SureRegina’s P.O.VTwo months after the incident at the mansion, Draco had made sure to change everything in the house that he possibly so it could no longer remind me or anyone of the invasion.Joanna had been taken to therapy every week for the past two months as well and slowly but surely, she was recovering. When she had first come out of the house and had been taken back to her own home, she hadn't left her bed for days, curling up on herself like she was trying to protect herself from the events.It was true that she hadn't witnessed most of what had been happening around her, but she had heard the first few gunshots, heard too the shouts of pain from the guards…and that had been enough to terrify the child.Joel had brought her to visit me often after that day, because for some reason, she still remembered me saving her as a positive memory and had wanted to keep on seeing me. She called me her Maui…and I tried to take that as a compliment…even though I
Chapter 54: Two Red LinesRegina’s P.O.V“So get in there…and be sure of it!”Joel thrust the box in my hands and went outside the room, but not before telling me that he’d be waiting for me to call him in within five minutes, or he was going to barge right back inside himself…uninvited.It wasn’t the threats that made me take the test as quickly as I did…it was because I wanted to find out. I was dying to find out the truth.And staring at a box of pregnancy tests wasn’t going to automatically give me the results.The nausea still churned inside my guts, but I managed to pee into a cup and get not one, but two tests ready and then placed them on the counter before getting rid of everything else and washing my trembling hands.Joel already had his timer on his phone ready when I called him back inside the room and he took my hand in his, holding it tightly as we waited by the sink to see the results.“Joel…I can’t…” I told him halfway through, felling out of breath and extremely nervo
Chapter 55: Meeting an Unexpected GuestRegina’s P.O.V“Gabriele.” Joel gave the man a curt nod and I instantly recognized that name.Gabriele…Draco’s consigliere.I had seen him talk to this man over the phone several times in the last two months, but he hadn't been over since that time when he wasn’t able to do something correctly and Draco had become extremely furious with him, which had led him to have his business trip to Detroit…and then the attack had happened.Now, the man stood staring at me, behind Joel’s shoulders, like he had just found something very funny or amusing. I did not like that smile at all.“I came to hand over a few urgent paperwork.” Gabriele told Joel casually. “Go keep them in his office.”“The Capo isn’t here right now.” Joel said in a firmer tone, even though he took the papers from Gabriele’s outstretched hands. “You can leave the documents with me.”“I’d like to speak to Ms. Milanesi.” Gabriele tilted his head to the side, that smile still on his face,