Altered (An Italian Mafia Story)

Chapter Thirty Nine

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the absolute peace and quiet that filled the room. It was so nice I didn't open my eyes for a couple minutes. I wanted to stay like this for a little while longer before checking back into reality.

But that gave me time to really analyze the silence.

Something was wrong.

There were no nurses bustling in and out of the room, no baby crying, an no hushed whispers coming from Bianca and Enzo. The silence suddenly became eerie and the bad feeling I had all weekend long came back in full swing. A shiver went down my spine when I heard breathing in the room.

I wasn't alone.

I slowly peeled my eyes open, but the lights were off. The room was draped in shadows, only granting me the view of outlines and shapes. I opened my eyes all the way and slowly sat up. I could make out the crib next to me with my baby inside. I immediately felt a sense of relief. She was still here.

I looked to my right an made out the shadow of a man between the door and me. My heartbeat accelerated in disbelief and excitement.

"Stefano?" I whispered.

He didn't move, so I tried again a little louder. "Stefano?"

He moved, leaning away from me with his hand stretched across the wall. What was he doing? Was he looking for the light switch?

There was an unmistakable click of a light switch, and the room was suddenly flooded with light. I squinted and shielded my eyes for a few seconds as I adjusted to the sudden brightness. I rubbed my eyes and looked at Stefano.

But my blood went cold.

Because it wasn't Stefano sitting in the chair next to me. Stefano was on the floor, propped up against the wall a few feet away from the bed, beaten almost beyond recognition. The bad feeling washed over me in a great crescendo as I grabbed my sleeping baby and pulled her to my chest.

"Francesco, what are you doing here?" I finally asked the man sitting next to me.

My heart was jumping out of my chest. A million questions were running through my head. What happened to Stefano? Where were Bianca and Enzo? Were they okay? But only one question came to the forefront of my mind. What did he want from me?

A slow, sadistic smile crept across his face. "I'm here to congratulate you and your little bundle of joy! You've come so far since the first time we met, haven't you?"

I thought back to when he had ordered me to assassinate Stefano in exchange for my brother's life. I obviously didn't follow through and Francesco had already killed my brother anyway. I looked at Stefano who was still slumped over on the floor. I could see his chest moving up and down and relaxed a little knowing that he was breathing.

"How did you find me?" I asked, sitting on the opposite edge of the bed from him, still holding Giulia tight to my chest.

His smile turned into a grin. "Stefano showed me." He gestured to him.

"What did you do to him? He wouldn't have given me away like that." I asked.

"He didn't." He said simply. "But I had his phone and you and five other people texted him about meeting you here. So, I obliged." He explained, holding up Stefano's phone. The screen was now shattered. "I even brought him to you, just like you wanted."

I took in his battered appearance. "What did you do to him?" I asked again, glaring at Francesco.

"Don't look at me like that, he came to me first!" He said with a laugh. "He wanted to settle the core or make peace or something. He came alone and made it way too easy. He was outnumbered."