Page 11 of Dark Consequences

Somehow, I reached my bed shortly afterward before passing out from blood loss and exertion. I’m not sure who found me, but when I woke up next, it was in one of Xiao’s underground medical back rooms. Because despite being a perverted piece of shit human being who made his business in the trade of human flesh, Xiao made sure his…inventory…was well cared for medically. Apparently, victims don’t sell as well when they’re not in good shape.

The doctor who treated me after Mei’s birth told Xiao I was lucky to be alive, but when we were alone, she praised me for delivering Mei on my own. I have my medical degree to thank and my instant maternal instinct for providing me with the skills to do so.

Then I did something perilous and begged the doctor to help me prevent another pregnancy. It’s clear that the implant I had prior to being kidnapped had expired, or else Mei wouldn’t have been conceived. But I wasn’t ready to be a walking womb after her birth, either.

Reluctantly, the doctor agreed to insert an IUD and kept silent afterward. Something I will forever be thankful to her for.

But having Mei was only the first problem. Convincing Xiao to let me raise her took every ounce of respect I had for myself. I did things and said things I’m not proud of…anything it took to keep my daughter by my side. But that’s what a mother does, what a mother should do. Sacrifice it all if it means the protection of their child.

Ultimately, I think that’s why I took the chance and went with the devil I didn’t know. Raphael can’t do anything worse than what’s already been done to me.

By the time I fall asleep, the sun is already caressing the night sky with its morning light and when I wake up in a bright room, it feels like no time has passed.

I turn over to check on Mei, but she’s nowhere to be found.

I jolt out of bed and rush to the bathroom. With such a tiny bladder, she often gets up to use the restroom at night. Only the bathroom is empty, too. Where the hell is my daughter?

Flinging open the bedroom door, I don’t even register the lock being undone before I’m out the door and running down the hallway.

“Mei!” I shout, the effort causing my ribs to protest.

The hall leads directly into a spacious main living area, filled with natural light, but my focus isn’t on the beautiful, bright, and open space, but on something else. It’s the little girl sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, happily swinging her legs as she eats a bowl of cereal.

Mei turns toward me with a big smile. “Hi, Mommy!”

7

Raphael

“Note to self,” I mumble while rummaging through my sparse and empty pantry. “Order a shit ton of groceries.”

Cooking comes naturally to me as an Italian, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it. The prospect of cooking for just myself as a bachelor became dull, and the loneliness of eating alone was even worse. I'd sooner eat out or go to the estate to enjoy Mom’s delicious cooking. She won’t admit it, but with all the kids grown up and out of the house, she’s constantly looking for an excuse to cook for someone more than her and Dad.

The fridge is no better. The eggs are past their expiration date by a week, and the cheese has a green and fuzzy growth. Surprisingly, the only thing that’s still good is the milk. Which makes sense since I always pair it with my morning cup of coffee.

Just as I’m making a cup on the espresso machine, my phone rings, just as I expected it would sometime this morning.

“Good morning, Dad.”

“Buongiorno, son. Michael will be by to pick you up shortly. We need to talk about last night.”

And then he hangs up. That's fair, really, since neither of us got what we wanted last night. Like watching Xiao’s miserable little life drain from his eyes.

“I’m hungry.”

I turn away from the counter to see Mei perched on a barstool on the opposite side of the island. In the light of a new day, it’s easier to see her unique physical features courtesy of her mixed blood. Her hair isn’t quite jet black and falls past her shoulders with a slight wave to it. The shape of her eyes resembles her dad’s, but they are the most striking blue, just like her mother’s.

“Well, good morning, Mei. What are you hungry for?”

“I don’t know.”

My interaction with children is limited, especially given how my nephew isn’t even crawling yet, but from what I’ve been told, kids rarely know what they want since it changes on a dime.

“Well, unfortunately, I’m all out of ‘I don’t know.’ Maybe some cereal?” I remember spying a box in the sparse pantry.

“Yes, please!” As Mei starts on her second bowl of cereal, crashing sounds and running footsteps fill the penthouse, followed by a loud and frightened shout of “Mei!”

A second later, Lily comes barreling around the corner of the hallway and into the kitchen. Her eyes widen as she searches the open space for her daughter. When she finds Mei happily swinging her legs at the island and eating her breakfast, her alarm evaporates into immediate relief.

---