Page 100 of Mafia Darling

The doctor nodded and backed out of the room. I smirked at my husband. “Do you have a secret pelvic exam kink I should know about?”

Frowning, he closed his eyes. “That attitude. You get bratty when you think I cannot discipline you.”

True. “Then get better, amore, and you can spank me again.”

“Believe me, I will.”

Minutes later, an orderly brought in a padded table and set it up, then a nurse brought in an ultrasound machine. He instructed me to change into a gown and wait for the doctor. The obstetrician returned and washed his hands, while asking me simple questions about my last exam and general health. He gloved up and dabbed at his forehead with a paper towel, casting nervous glances at my husband, who was watching everything very intently.

The doctor listened to the baby’s heartbeat first, and the reassuring whoosh, whoosh, whoosh made me smile. Then came time for the internal exam and his hand was shaking as he inserted the wand into my vagina. I tried to make jokes and talk, anything to keep the mood light, but nothing really helped.

On the small screen there was the tiny bean, shifting and moving inside me. The doctor began taking measurements and pictures, and praised Fausto for creating such a beautiful baby. I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling.

“The bambino, he looks good,” the doctor said when he finished. “Your son will be strong.”

My mouth fell open. Did he just . . .? Without asking first?

Fausto, on the other hand, grinned. “A son?”

The doctor’s head swiveled between me and Fausto. “Sì. I assumed . . . You were told, no? You are having a boy.”

* * *

Fausto

I didn’t sleep much that night.

Lost in thought, I watched Francesca on the bed in the corner, the even rise and fall of her chest as she slept. A son. I hadn’t lied when I said I preferred a daughter. Sons brought too much heartache, too much worry. I had done everything to mold Giulio into the man to lead my family, yet I’d failed. He didn’t want it.

You have to let Giulio choose.

Two weeks ago, before I was shot, I wouldn’t have cared about his feelings. He was the Ravazzani heir with a duty to me, to the family, and his wishes didn’t matter.

But I could no longer say this was still the case.

As I bled out on the sidewalk, I thought of those I was leaving behind, including Giulio. My good boy, who’d only argued with me once, and it had been over his lover, Paulo. He would do whatever I asked, even at the expense of his own happiness. But did I want that life for him?

I’d hated my own father, who hadn’t once shown any regard for my thoughts or feelings. We weren’t close and his death had come as a relief. Did I wish for my own son to feel the same at my passing? When Giulio was born, I vowed to have a different relationship with my son, but life came along and I fell into predictable patterns.

You have to let Giulio choose.

My heart twisted, more pain flooding my body. I didn’t want to do it. Probably because I knew what my son would choose—and it would not be me. I would lose him. And I wasn’t certain I could bear it.

The door opened and I assumed another nurse was coming to check on me. Except it was Marco, and he looked as exhausted as I felt.

When he saw I was awake, he came in and pulled a chair over to the bed. “Giulio told her not to come,” he said. “She’s a force of nature, your wife.”

My eyes drifted toward my sweet girl once more. Such trouble, my dolcezza. “I know.”

“Did she tell you about Vic?”

“Some. Why don’t you tell me the rest?”

Quietly, he outlined the confession he and Giulio had obtained an hour ago from Vic. “Enzo threatened Vic’s mother and sisters to gain his cooperation in stealing the money. So Vic hacked into your laptop and put keystroke software on it, just long enough to get access to the bank accounts. Enzo wanted to steal more, but Vic grew nervous after the kidnapping.”

I also changed my passwords routinely, so this would’ve made it harder. “What about Rinaldo?”

“After Frankie’s return, Enzo made it clear she was still a target, and Vic claims he worried something terrible would happen to her. He sent in his aunt to pose as a GDF agent. The hope had been to make the GDF threat credible enough that Frankie would lie low, be on her guard, and stay inside the castello.”

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