“No, the sooner the better. If you want a baby, then you will have one. I’ll take care of everything. You don’t have to worry about anything.”
He sounded so sure of himself. She was worried again. “Where would you find one so quickly?” She was worried that he would adopt a child the same way that he had adopted her.
“We are in Mexico. Lots of children have to live in the streets here. We could give a child like that a real future.”
“I like that idea.” She nodded against his chest.
“I love you so much, Anna. I’ll cook something for you to eat soon. You will get better, and we will fly to New York. The best doctors are waiting for you.” He talked on, but Anna closed her eyes and thought about a child she could wrap her arms around. Someone she could love who would love her back.
She fell asleep on his chest.
He smiled as he held her until he thought about the servants.
What should he do about them? He wanted to line them up and shoot them all.
Antonio carefully laid Anna down on her pillow as he slipped out from under her. He covered her up and went out the door.
He went into his office where Enzo and Roberto were sitting and talking to a couple of other men.
Antonio gave them a nod and picked up his phone. He called his father.
He explained to his father what his servants had been up to.
“Antonio, listen to me. I did a background check on your butler. I swear he isn’t my son. I knew his mother. She liked to sleep around, but she dated Vinnie, not me. She already had him at that time. I never slept with her. Not once. I don’t know why he thought he was or why he thought he could take your place, but he honestly isn’t my son.”
“I believe you. I think he must be mad. He tried to kill sweet little Anna. He was the one who pushed her down the stairs and then spread rumors that I tried to kill my wife.”
“Listen, Antonio. This is how you are going to take care of things. You line the servants up and ask questions. Don’t let them provoke you. After you have found out everything, you fire them. Have someone pay them a visit in a week or two. You can’t let them get away with insulting your wife. By the time they are dead, you will have new servants. This will be a warning to the new servants.” Emilio couldn’t believe what was all going wrong at his son’s house, but it needed to be cleaned up quickly.
“You wanted her and not a girl from our circles. Now you have to watch her back. Anna is very young. You have to keep that in mind. She isn’t stable right now. She is easy prey and obviously your weak spot. Be strong for her.”
“I will. Have you been able to make an appointment for her?” Antonio asked.
“Your mother already did. It’s on Wednesday.”
“Good, she wants a child. I’ll see to it.”
“We will help you two, of course. A grandchild would be very nice, and it would stop all this craziness about her. It would prove that she is your family.”
“What about my butler?”
“Question kill and then kill him. He tried to kill your wife. You can’t let him live. Take care of him immediately. Someone like him will cause problems until they take their last breath. It makes my skin crawl, knowing how close he was to you all these years. You tell him what I said. He isn’t my son.”
The servants were lined up in the courtyard. None were looking Antonio in the eyes. Antonio had his gun in his hands as he walked up and down in front of them. Enzo and Roberto and a couple others were standing behind him. Antonio asked questions, and the answers he received shocked him. None of them had really been doing anything.
Before he talked to his servants, Antonio had visited his butler in a cell in the basement. He had been shocked to hear that they weren’t brothers. He was also shocked to hear that his wife had told them everything that they had planned.
Señor Raposa knew he was a dead man when Antonio told him that he knew that he had pushed Anna down the staircase. He had been so lucky that she couldn’t remember seeing him at the top of the staircase. He would never forget the look in her eyes when she spotted him and understood what he wanted to do to her.
The Señor was now lined up with the other servants.
“Even my own butler wouldn’t help my wife.” Antonio stood in front of him. “Instead, you and your now dead wife poisoned her so she would be weak and lose any child she was pregnant with.” Antonio was choking on his hate. He held the gun to his head.
Señor Raposa dropped to his knees and begged him not to shoot while he prayed the Our Father. The maids were crying and holding on to each other.
Antonio pictured his Anna begging them for help, and they ignored her and cooked her disgusting food so she couldn’t eat it. They admitted to so much more than she had told him.
Who did they think they were, trying to get rid of her?
“My wife never got a chance to beg for her life. You pushed her down the stairs and told people that it was me, so they would think that I was crazy. You killed the children she had growing in her belly. They never got a chance to beg for their lives either.” First he shot his butler, and then one of the maids who giggled when she brought Anna her food every day.
“Leave. Don’t come back.” Antonio lowered his gun and waved the rest of them out.
He turned to his men. “I need new servants. Get the word out.” He went back to the kitchen and made some more eggs and ham for himself and his wife.
He brought her the food and held her up to sitting so she could eat it. The wife of one of his men was on the way to cook for them until someone new could be found.
“New servants are coming, Anna. They will listen to you. Things will get a lot better shortly,” he promised.
Anna nodded at him, completely unsure. She had heard something like gunshots. They had woken her.
What had happened? Did she dare ask? She decided not too.
The doctor arrived and declared that she had another concussion and that she was in shock after being kidnapped. He was filled with shame, because he hadn’t stopped the rumors about the boss being crazy. The doctor could see that he still loved his wife very much.
He had seen back them that Anna hadn’t been beaten black and blue.
Besides, it was only natural that a man spanked his wife.
Antonio talked to Anna until she fell asleep again.
That went on for days. Anna very quickly got better. Antonio didn’t let her out of their room at all. The new servants were very hard working. He paid them well and thy had heard what had happened to other servants.
The servants he hired were desperate to earn some money for their families. When he did let Anna out, they would treat her right. He would see to it.
He was slowly learning his duties as a husband too. She was too young to guide the servants, but who should do it?
He decided not to worry about that just yet. His mother might have a suggestion. They were leaving for home tomorrow.
Chapter 38
“Anna, welcome to our home.” Rosangela hugged her tightly. “I’ll show you Antonio’s room. Do you want to lie down a bit?” Rosangela led her away from the men. She was surprised how thin the girl was. She wasn’t the pretty blushing bride that she had last seen.
“Anna this is Rachel. She will be your maid while you are here.” Rosangela noticed that Anna appeared to be afraid of Rachel.
“Rachel, you are to take care of Anna and all of her wishes. I want my daughter-in-law to feel at home here.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll take perfect care of her.” Rachel turned to Anna. “Would you like me to draw you a bath? After such a long journey, it might do you well.”
Anna looked at Rosangela to tell her what she should do.
“I think that is a nice idea. Rachel is here to spoil you. She is the nicest girl we have. Let her guide you.”
Anna nodded a bit dazed. The thought of being alone with a servant scared her.
Rachel was in a marble bathroom getting the ba
th ready for Anna.
“Rosangela? When is my doctor’s appointment?” Anna asked in a soft voice.
“It’s tomorrow. I’ll see you after you have rested up.” Rosangela left Anna in Rachel’s capable care.
Rachel was unpacking their suitcases and expertly putting clothes away in perfect piles. She finished in minutes as Anna stood in place too scared to move.
Rachel had heard about what had happened. She had to wonder who could be so stupid to pick on a mafia man’s wife. Then to hear that it was his own butler, who had been with him since he was a child, and the butler’s wife.
Rumor had that Antonio had shot them personally. That would make things clear for the new servants. She was to be treated with the utmost respect, no matter what. If Antonio hadn’t done it, people would have seen him as weak and they would have tried to take his place.
Rachel had decided that she would like Anna very much before they had met. She stood before her and smiled at her. “Your bath is almost finished. What fragrance should I add?”
Anna felt totally confused.
“May I recommend one?” Rachel asked her.
Anna nodded at her.
“Vanilla. It will make you feel warm and cozy. And of course it fits this time of year.” She took Anna by her hand and led her into the bathroom. She added the vanilla, and the whole room smelt yummy.
Rachel smiled satisfied with what she had done. “Let me take your coat.” She was already removing it. She left and went to hang it up.
Rachel was surprised by how simple Anna’s clothing was. She went back to Anna and undressed her completely. She didn’t have any bruises, well a few older ones on her backside that Rachel only spotted because she was looking for them.
Rachel helped Anna into the tub and pinned up her hair. “You have the nicest hair. So thick and soft. I have to admit I’m jealous.”
“Leave us.” Antonio entered the bathroom and took off his jacket.
Rachel bowed her head and went off to report back to Emilio and Rosangela about what she had seen.
“Is there room for me too, sweetheart?” He was quickly undressing.
Anna nodded at him. He longed for her to smile so badly. He climbed in and wrapped his arms around her. “What is that smell?”
“It’s vanilla. Doesn’t it smelt delicious?” Anna smiled at him.
He was speechless for a second. Her smile had that effect on him. “It sure does. I’ll get you some for Christmas, and we can bathe together at home too. I really like this.” She was having an awake moment. He had to use those as best he could. He grabbed a sponge and washed her.
Anna appeared to be unhappy again.
“What I’m not allowed to give you a Christmas gift?”
She hung her head. “It’s just that I don’t have anything to give to you.”
“Tie a ribbon around yourself and lie down in bed,” he laughed.
“I’m serious,” Anna scolded him.
“You think I wasn’t?” He was smiling so widely that it was starting to hurt. “Sorry, I was just picturing it. We can go shopping after your appointment tomorrow. I’ll buy you something, and you can pick out something for me.”
“What would you like?” This was something that she was worried about.
“I don’t know. We can look around, and I’ll drop hints if you do the same.”
She nodded at him again.
“Shake on it?” He held his hand out to her.
Anna smiled at his silliness as she reached out and shook her husband’s hand.
“Anna, will you wash off my back please. Then I need to sleep with you. This vanilla smell is driving me crazy for you.”
Chapter 39
The doctor’s office had been closed to all other patients. Antonio walked in with her holding his hand and five bodyguards trailing behind them. A few spread out and started looking through the rooms for any sign of danger.
The doctor came out and greeted them. He looked a bit spooked by the bodyguards going through the rooms and cupboards, but he was trying to hide it. He passed them off to a nurse for now.
The nurse greeted them very respectfully, and then she asked Anna about her last period and several other questions which mostly Antonio answered.
If he felt uncomfortable here, he wasn’t showing it, Anna thought.
The nurse took a blood sample and weighed Anna. She asked Anna more questions about her shots and illnesses that she had already had. Antonio held her hand most of the time.
The nurse wanted a urine sample. The bodyguards double-checked the bathroom before Anna went in alone. There was a hole in the wall where she was supposed to put her sample. That made the guards nervous, and they requested that the lab be empty while she was in the bathroom. The guard stood in front of the door in a menacing way.
Anna tried to be quick about it, but she couldn’t relax.
Antonio went into the bathroom to check on her. “What’s wrong?”
“I think I’m too nervous. Maybe you should go for me?”
She had made a joke, and they both laughed. She was able to pee a little then. He felt so proud of her. She was nervous about this. This was a very big day for her.
He had to be prepared to take care of her if the doctor told her she couldn’t have a child. She would be devastated.
They came out, and it was time to talk to the doctor. They sat down in his comfortable office and held hands again. Anna was holding his hand very tightly.
She explained to the doctor that she figured that she was getting pregnant every month and then losing the baby because of her fall and the poison.
The doctor ushered them to his examination room after he had written everything down. Anna looked to Antonio for strength again and again. He felt he was there for her.
This was the part that she was scared about. She had confessed it to him last night. She had to get half naked and open her legs for the strange man.
Antonio helped her up to the table and held her hand again. She had to put her feet in stirrup like things, but she kept her knees together. Her legs were shaking.
The doctor sat down and turned a machine on. He explained that he could see inside of her, and if there was any damage, he would find it, and then they could see where they were at.
There was a knock on the door. The doctor excused himself and talked to the nurse who had given him a file. He smiled and closed the door.
He opened Anna’s knees and inserted the ultrasound. The doctor only looked at the screen. “Okay folks, here we see that everything looks really good, exactly like it should. Now I would like to draw your attention to this tiny bubble. Can you see it?” He pointed to the screen. “That’s your baby. I’m guessing he or she to be three weeks old. Congratulations.”
Anna’s mouth dropped in surprise.
“She’s pregnant right now?” Antonio pointed from the screen to his wife’s tummy.
“Yes, she is. But because of what you two have told me, I would like to see her again in a week. I want her resting as much as possible, and her low weight scares me a bit too. This is your chance to lie around and eat whatever you want. Use it.” He looked at Anna and smiled.
Tears were running down her face. She looked up at Antonio who was still holding her hand and his arm was around her head. “I love you, Antonio.”
Antonio looked away from his child and kissed his wife. “I love you too, Anna.” He looked in her eyes and stared at her for a bit while the doctor was making copies of the baby’s first picture.
While Anna was getting dressed, Antonio went with the doctor to his office and asked him questions, mostly about what they should do if she lost the baby again.
“Pamper your wife. Rub her feet and make her rest and eat. Think positively. Once the third month mark has passed, then she is on the safe side.” The doctor congratulated him again.
Anna joined them and smiled at her husband. He reached his hand out to her as she entered the room.
She asked
about vitamins, and the doctor told her what she needed to take every day. She also asked what they should do if her period came.
The doctor hoped for her sake that it wouldn’t come to that.
Antonio carefully walked her out of the door. Anna on the other hand had a bounce in her step and was smiling. Antonio told them that she was expecting, and they congratulated them in a very respectful way.
Antonio called his mother on his cell phone. She screamed out for joy. He then called his father who was also very pleased. He told Antonio that he was going to call the bank immediately and set up a trust fund for his grandchild.
When he was finished bragging, he turned to Anna. “Do you still want to go shopping or would you rather go home and rest?”
“I would like to go shopping, to a bookstore, please. Could we buy a book about pregnancy and babies?”
“Of course. Whatever you want.”
They drew a lot attention at the bookstore because of the bodyguards. People were trying to guess who they were. They whispered loudly.
Anna was looking through several books, trying to decide which one to ask for, when she looked up him and whispered, “Should I start speaking Swedish and really throw them off?” She was smiling again.
Antonio was so pleased with her. Her smile had such an effect on him.
A saleslady dared to ask if they wanted help.
Antonio smiled at her and told her that they wanted all the books that they had piled on the table bedside them. One of the bodyguards took their bags and brought it to the car while they shopped on.
Antonio hardly let go of her. He was so happy right now and so was she. No one dared to think about the chance that things could go wrong.
Antonio steered Anna into a restaurant for lunch. His parents wanted to celebrate. The restaurant was closed, and it was open only to them.
Mafia Bride Page 17
