Page 45 of Fatal Love

“It doesn’t change how I will feel about her or the baby. We just want to know if Michael is here with us. Since we haven’t…” His words trailed off as he swallowed down the grief.

I hugged him against me as I spoke. “We just need to know. Nothing more.”

“Have you heard anything regarding Michael?” Antonio's father spoke.

Their father was trying to help us as much as he could with the situation. He had learned that Ivanov had fled the country and was likely in South America. Massimo reached out to their new friends in Chile, making them aware of the new development. The Silva Brothers had already dealt with Ivanov on a personal level and were ready to kill him, too. Apparently, Matias, the eldest brother, was engaged to Ivanov's daughter, Katya. Ivanov had tried to kill his own daughter at the same time he had kidnapped Antonio. It was the Silva’s that found him, bringing him home to Vegas. Since that moment, the Anastasi’s and Silva’s had an alliance… more than an alliance. They along with the Sureños had become friends. They were both seeking vengeance on Ivanov. And one of them would finally get it—we just didn’t know who.

“No. There is no sign of him anywhere. If he's dead, Ivanov would have dumped him where we would have found him. Otherwise, his death would be meaningless. I'm still holding onto the hope that he is alive.”

“We both are,” I whispered into the room as I placed my hand on my abdomen.

“Everything will work out, my dear.” Antonio’s father patted me on the arm as he took his seat beside his wife.

I could see the love between them and envied it. I could only pray Antonio and I would survive the trauma of losing Michael and forge a love like theirs. He wanted to believe he was alive with the news nobody had been found. But we both knew that was like wishing on a star. Catarina had not been found yet. Wherever she'd run to, she had chosen wisely. Donny was still gone, refusing to give up that he could locate her. Even if he found her, did he really think she would come back home? I didn’t, but I kept the opinion to myself.

For now, Antonio and I would hold on to our hope and focus on this life growing inside me. We stayed a little longer before kissing the babies and bidding farewell to the family. With the knowledge Ivanov was no longer in Vegas, Antonio and I had moved out of Vincenzo’s place. We'd all been staying there for protection, but now it was a moot point. Antonio and I made the decision to move into Michael’s house. It was the only way we could feel close to him, with him still missing. As we pulled down the long drive, my phone rang in my purse. I fished it out and sucked in a breath.

“It’s the doctor’s office.” I glanced over at Antonio as I pressed the speaker button. “Hello?”

“Miss Hill?”

“Yes. This is her.” Antonio laced his fingers with mine.

“This is Dr. Kimbel’s office. We are calling with the results of your paternity test.” Antonio parked the car and cut off the engine. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel with his free hand and waited. “The results show the sample you provided from Mr. Anastasi has been excluded as a possibility of being the father. I’m sorry, Miss Hill. It appears he's not the father.” I mumbled something into the air and disconnected the call.

It felt surreal to hear the words. Antonio pressed his hand to my back, bringing me back to the present. His eyes held unabashed tears when I looked into them. He was feeling every emotion I was. “Antonio.” I whispered, the words failing me.

“I know.” He pressed his lips to my cheek and held me against him. My head was spinning with the revelation of the news. Antonio wasn’t the father. Michael was.

“He’s with us, baby. Michael is with us.”

Antonio pressed his palm to the slight curve of my belly. This was our tiny miracle in a world full of despair. It was our chance at something normal when normal still felt so out of reach. We had no idea where, or if, Michael would come home. And if he did, would he be the same man?

Michael was the other half of our hearts and without him, we would always feel a certain emptiness. The only thing keeping us from completely falling apart was the life I carried inside me. We prayed he was still alive, but if we found otherwise, we at least had a part of him. Antonio collapsed against me as he surrendered to his grief and let the emotions he'd been holding back wash over him.

There in the front seat of our car, Antonio and I cried together.

We cried for the new beginning.

We cried for the unknown future that laid in front of us.

But most of all… we cried for Michael.

Epilogue

Catarina

My heart raced like a thousand horses stampeding across a field as I shoved everything I could into my bag. I was finally alone and knew this was my only opportunity to leave without my brothers finding out. The bag weighed heavy against my shoulder as my feet padded down the stairs of my apartment building. The daylight burned heavy against my face as I stepped outside onto the curb, searching for my ride. Leaving without a trace meant leaving behind my car and most of my belongings.

As I slipped into the back of the cab, I gave one last glance at the place that had been my home since moving out on my own. At eighteen, I thought getting my own place and going to college would create some distance from the lifestyle the Anastasi family—my family, led. After pushing myself to graduate college early, I had finally managed to secure a job as an emergency room nurse. If only I had known my new skills would suck me back into the mafia world, I would have studied to be a teacher instead.

Countless times my brothers had needed my help patching someone up off the books. Countless times I had been dragged into the family dealings whether I wanted it or not. Countless times, I was reminded I was an Anastasi.

I was done.

Done with the bloodshed and done with the fear of being killed or taken—simply because I was the daughter of the most powerful mob boss in Italy and the sister to the current Don of Las Vegas. After being nearly kidnapped, I had started to formulate my exit plan. I had been working on it for months without their knowledge. I hated to leave them like this, but it was the only way.

I deserved a chance at a normal life and staying here in Vegas would prevent that for me. The thought of never seeing my siblings again, or my niece and nephew, who were due any day now, caused my heart to clench. This was the part I dreaded—the not being there for their arrival. But this was it. My only chance at disappearing into the world. I was smart enough to leave Donny a note, telling him I had simply left. With Dmitri Ivanov’s threat still looming over us, I didn’t want them to think he'd finally nabbed me.

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