•SAKAI•“The plan was to talk with Camilla and find out what she thought about the baby, Kai. I don’t want us to be the foster parents of the baby anymore,” Onika complained when the baby monitor woke us at 2 AM.I felt exhausted after a long day at work and didn’t want to stay up to feed and change the baby like I did the previous night.Onika and I agreed to change nights watching over the baby until she was older to have a proper sleeping schedule.We agreed to raise Noleen as we raised Charlotte. We didn’t want her to have a nanny either. That experience brought us closer to our baby, and we never regretted the sleepless nights.She didn’t have a problem until now.“Can it be your night today? You know I’ve been at work all day yesterday and need rest before working in the morning.”“Can we talk about what we are going to do about Noleen? I talked with Naya, and she told me they are home. I’ve done my part with Charlotte, and I don’t want to sacrifice my sleep for Cecilia’s baby.”
•LUCIUS•“Camilla and her baby are safe. Can you let me go now? My mother and brother must be worried about me, and I don’t want them to worry about me. My brother, Tyler, is very aggressive and might suspect something went wrong and come to find me and Francesca.”Enzo kept yapping at the back of my car. I didn’t know what to do to get him to stop whining. Santino was still in the hospital and told me to wait outside with Enzo because he had organized someone to pick him up.“You’ve been talking for the last ten minutes, aren’t you tired? Santino and I told you we won’t let you go until we’ve ensured that Camilla is safe. We told you we would take you home.”“Tyler won’t wait until you take me home when you want. If you let me go now, I’ll tell him that Francesca’s death was my fault, and that you arrived in the building when she was already dead. He won’t do anything to you.”I chuckled. “What would your brother do to me and Santino after you both kidnapped Camilla and put her life
•CAMILLA•“Mr. Banks, the baby’s life and Camilla’s life are in danger, and if she doesn’t want us to save her, she will die from excessive bleeding and complications of late miscarriage.” The doctor whispered to Santino near the door.I looked at the wall near the bed and cried, caressing my stomach. I hoped something would change when they did their scans, but it was clear I wouldn’t hear the end of their predictions if I didn’t go home.As long as I felt my baby moving, everything felt like it would be alright with him.The thought of getting rid of him when he could’ve survived the odds made me not want to do what the doctors thought was best.“The baby’s kicking, Dr. Buckley. Camilla’s fine and responding positively to the medicine you’ve put her on. There haven’t been major complications since she has been in the hospital, so that has to mean something.”“She may look good now, but in a few days or a week, things will change, and the baby won’t progress as he’s meant to. If you
•CAMILLA•“Mommy, wake up. Wake up, Mommy.” A voice whispered. "Wake up."When I opened my eyes, I felt disoriented because of the ceiling lights and the beeping noises, and after I looked around the room, I knew I was in the hospital, and had an IV drip connected to my arm.“Nico?” I called out, but when a hand reached out and grabbed my wrist, I realized it was Santino.“Hey baby, you’re awake.” He smiled as he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.“Where’s Nico?” I was sure that he was the one who woke me up, and I wanted to tell him how much I missed him.I was so close to not seeing my son again, and I didn’t want that to happen again before he knew how much I loved him and how much he meant to me.“We are in Manhattan Hospital. Nico’s home in Chicago, babe. We will be with him once you’re discharged, but the doctors want to ensure that you are okay before they let you go home,” he answered, but somehow, it didn’t help with the grief I felt in my heart.“What’s wro
•LUCIUS•I stood there and watched as Santino’s car disappeared around the corner before I went to my car and followed behind him.Though I had accepted that Camilla would end up with him, I didn’t want to give up the little flickering hope that she would return to me.So, I wanted to choose her when I should’ve been mourning Sasha and preparing her burial.I understood Sasha had no family, and I would have to bury her, but she and I had nothing close to what I had with Camilla.So, I wanted Camilla to see me and see how important she was to me, despite how we ended up.When we got to the old nightclub building, Santino and Naya led the way and rushed inside while I followed behind them, checking the area to see if we weren’t being ambushed.“Camilla!” Santino called out as he inspected the building with his gun.When we walked inside to what appeared to be a mini apartment, we found a man with his hands raised in the air. He was crying and beside him were Camilla and a lady.“Please
•SANTINO•“Where are they?” Lucius asked when I had gotten off the call and given Naya the cell phone.“They’re at the 589 nightclub’s old building in Manhattan. I knew she didn’t take her far. She wanted us to think she had taken Camilla far from the city so that she would have time to finish her job and run away before we could find her.”“Fuck. I’m glad the nightclub isn’t far. We will be there in less than ten minutes.”I scoffed as I turned around and looked at Lucius. “Thank you for helping me find her, but you should go home now. Camilla will be safe with me.”“No, Santino.” He scoffed, frowning. “I told you why I’m doing this, and I won’t go home before I’ve made sure Camilla is safe.”“I will call you when we get home, but right now, I just want to be there for Camilla and our unborn baby. Can you do that for her?”“You mean for you?” He leaned forward, closing the small gap between us. “I won’t go anywhere, Santino. If you have a problem with me being there for Camilla, I sug