The Don Gave Away Our Son, so I Took Him and Ran

My little sister, Anna Hale, was a famous surgeon. But I was the only one who knew she couldn't operate at all. During every major operation, I was the one holding the scalpel and spending 12 hours or more on my feet in the OR while she relaxed in her office over coffee. I worked until I collapsed, yet my father, Arthur Hale, the hospital director, always gave Anna the credit for the lives I saved. She was the respected doctor. I had nothing. I was just her stand-in whenever she needed one. One night, I'd barely left the hospital when my father called, his voice ice-cold. "Emma, get back to the OR right now! We just got a critically injured patient. You're helping Anna save him!" I couldn't stand by and let someone die. But as I drove back, a sudden chorus of chatter filled my ears, and floating comments began scrolling before my eyes: [Don't go back! The patient is Salvatore Rinaldi, the old Don of the Rinaldi family. His son arranged the hit so he could take over.] [If you save him, his psycho son will come after you right away. If you don't, he'll pin his father's death on you.] [There's no way out. Save him or not, you're the one who ends up dead.] A chill ran down my spine. My father was still urging me to hurry over the phone. I decided to trust the words floating before my eyes and take my chances. My eyes swept over the area and landed on a section of exterior wall under construction beside the hospital entrance. Without a second's hesitation, I drove straight into it. Now that I'd been in an accident, Anna would have to handle the surgery on her own. Chapter 1 I stood outside the door, listening to them, my lips pressed into a thin line. Memories of my seven years with Carlos flashed through my mind. For seven years, the Marchetti family had looked down on me because I couldn't get pregnant. One winter, the elders tried to strong-arm me into signing divorce papers. When Carlos found out, he stood between me and the elders and tore the papers to shreds. "If you force me to divorce Emma, I swear I'll never marry again." Overwhelmed by how fiercely he'd defended me, I buried my face in his chest and sobbed. Later, after I lost the baby, I fell into severe depression. I locked myself in my room and smashed everything I could get my hands on. Carlos never gave up on me. He sat outside my door all day, trying to comfort me. "Emma, losing the baby doesn't change anything for me. All that matters is that you're okay." All that devotion had been a lie. He'd given away the baby I'd fought so hard to bring into this world just to repay another woman for saving his life. Grief crashed over me, and darkness crept into my vision. My legs gave out, and I went down hard against a cart beside me. At the sound of the crash, Carlos stiffened. He ordered Eugene to take the baby away before rushing into the hallway. When he saw me on the floor, panic flashed in his eyes. He pulled me into his arms. He took off his coat and wrapped it tightly around my shaking body. "Doctor! Get a doctor!" he roared down the hallway. While the doctor tended to me, I slowly came back to my senses. The concern on his face no longer touched me. It only made me sick. I shoved him away and gagged. "Emma, are you okay? "Is your depression acting up again?" Carlos rubbed my back to calm me down and sighed. "This is my fault. I only came by to pick up your medication. If I'd known you were coming, I would've gone with you." He turned to a nearby nurse. "Get her a glass of water. Hurry." He was as attentive as ever, but all I could think about was the baby he'd taken from me. I bit my lip and grabbed his wrist, ready to demand why he'd lied to me and given our baby away. But just as I opened my mouth, his phone rang. Erica's name was on the screen. When Carlos saw it, he hesitated. He picked up right away, and I heard crying on the other end. Carlos glanced at me and deliberately lowered his voice. "Okay. I'll be right there." The concern in his eyes vanished. I was still weak, but he was already passing me off to a nearby nurse. "My assistant, Erica, says something's come up at the company. I have to go deal with it." He wiped the tears from my face and spoke softly. "Let the nurse take care of you, okay? Once you're feeling better, I'll take you to that new restaurant." Then he left without once looking back at me on the floor. As I watched him disappear, my heart sank. I pushed away the nurse's hands and slowly got up, using the wall for support. I took out my phone and called Arthur Pierce, my late father's assistant. "Arrange a flight out of the country for me as soon as possible. Keep it a secret. "Once I have my baby back, I'm leaving." Chapter 2 I went back to the estate. The second I walked into the living room, I ran into Eugene. He was hurrying out, clutching a handbag. When he saw me, he stopped short, his eyes darting around. His grip on the bag tightened, and he swallowed. "Donna, you're back so soon? "This is a gift from the Don for a business partner." I recognized that handbag immediately. Just days earlier, Erica had posted on Twitter about wanting one for her birthday. Then it hit me. Today was Erica's birthday, and Carlos had sent Eugene to pick up her present. I just nodded and didn't call him out. Once Eugene was gone, I called Carlos's private line. "Emma, feeling any better?" His voice was as gentle as ever. I asked calmly, "When are you coming home?" I almost confronted him about our baby right then and there, but I held my tongue. I wanted to confront him face-to-face and see how far he'd go with his lies. "There's an emergency at the company. I can't get away right now. "I'll come home as soon as I can. Why don't you have dinner without me?" In the background, I heard soft restaurant music and the clink of glasses. I knew he was celebrating Erica's birthday with her. "Okay. I'll wait for you." After I hung up, I sat alone on the living room couch, thinking back to the months I'd spent battling depression. I'd locked myself in my room and refused to eat, smashing every tray they brought in against the wall. Carlos had canceled all his meetings to cook for me himself. More than once, I'd lost control, smashing plates and splashing him with scalding soup. But he never got angry. He just patiently picked up the broken china and gently coaxed me. "Emma, you need to eat something. How about a little soup?" Thinking back on how tenderly he'd treated me, I felt like a fool. I'd believed his devotion was real for seven years. To make another woman's dream come true, he'd secretly given away the baby I'd nearly died bringing into the world. And even now, every word he said to me was a lie. Carlos didn't come home until late that night. I'd been waiting on the couch for hours when he walked in, carrying the scent of an unfamiliar perfume. When he saw me sitting there alone, still waiting for him, he came straight over, frowning. "It's so late. Why aren't you in bed?" He took off his jacket and went to wrap it around me out of habit. "You're not fully recovered yet. What if you get sick?" I dodged his hand, my voice cold. "Our baby didn't die, did he?" Carlos went still for a second, and panic flickered in his eyes. "Is your depression acting up again? Are you imagining things?" "I was at the hospital today. I heard everything you said to Eugene. "And there was no emergency at the company today. You were celebrating Erica's birthday with her, weren't you?" I didn't give him a chance to lie. I pulled up the Twitter post Erica had shared half an hour earlier. It was a photo of the two of them kissing, and in Erica's hand was the bag Eugene had said was for a business partner. Carlos looked rattled for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. He dropped the act and sat down across from me. "Since you already know, there's no point hiding it. Yes, I gave the baby to Erica." He looked at me, his voice strangely calm. "Back then, Erica got hurt saving my life, and now she can't have children. "You're my wife. You should understand what she's been through and let her have the chance to be a mother." He paused, and his voice softened again. "I promised to fulfill three wishes for her. Once I've granted the last one, I'll send her and the baby overseas. You'll never have to see her again. "After that, I'll give you anything you want. "You can still have children. We can always have another baby." He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, and I fell silent. I looked at the man I'd loved for seven years, and for the first time, I saw how ridiculous he really was. I'd put my body through so much to get pregnant, and he'd given our baby away so easily. I'd kept the countless hormone injections and surgeries a secret so he wouldn't worry. He had no idea how much damage my body had suffered. Chapter 3 When I didn't say anything, Carlos thought I'd given in. He stood and came over, the old tenderness back in his eyes. "I'm doing this because I owe Erica, and because I want us to have a future together. "Once she's gone overseas, everything can go back to normal. You'll still be the Donna." My stomach turned. I'd lost all hope in Carlos. All that mattered to me now was getting my baby back. I closed my eyes, and tears slid down my cheeks. I pretended to accept his plan and pleaded with him. "If you're sending him away, please let me see him one last time. I'm his mother. I'm begging you." The gentleness drained from Carlos's face, and he turned me down. "No. "The baby's doing fine with Erica. She'll treat him like her own son. "If you see him now, it'll only make it harder for you to let go. That won't do anyone any good." He didn't say anything else. He turned to the bodyguards at the door and gave an order. "Keep the Donna under watch. She's not to leave the estate without my permission." Carlos ignored my shouting and walked out. Early the next morning, my phone buzzed on the nightstand. It was from Erica. She'd sent a photo of herself and Carlos in bed together, with a crib in the background. Then she sent a voice message. "Last night Carlos told me all about your fight. He thought it was hilarious. "Even when he was on top of me, he was still complaining that you don't understand him." Right after that, she sent a photo of the baby with a text. "That little brat wouldn't stop crying last night. Carlos and I couldn't even enjoy ourselves." Finally, she sent me the location of a luxury apartment. I knew she was trying to bait me into coming. But for my baby's sake, I had to go. I slipped out of the estate during the guards' shift change. As soon as I opened the apartment door, I was hit by the overpowering smell of perfume and cigarette smoke. From one of the rooms came the sound of a baby crying, his voice already hoarse. I rushed into the bedroom, and what I saw nearly stopped my heart. Erica was so annoyed by the crying that she'd thrown a thick towel over the baby's little face. She even rocked the crib violently with her foot. "Shut up. Cry one more time and I'll throw you out the window." The sight wiped out the last bit of sanity I had left. I snapped. With a scream, I lunged at Erica. I grabbed her by the hair and shoved her as hard as I could. She never saw it coming. She went over backward, chair and all, and hit the coffee table beside her. I didn't even look at her. I lunged for the crib, ripped off the towel, and scooped my baby into my arms. He was struggling to breathe. His little face had already turned a bluish purple. He seemed to recognize my scent. His cries grew softer as his tiny fingers curled around my shirt. "Emma, are you insane?" Erica clutched her scraped forehead as she struggled to her feet. When she saw how furious I was, she was clearly rattled. Then she let out a cold laugh. Holding my baby, I turned and ran for the door. But before I could get out of the room, Carlos showed up with his bodyguards and blocked the doorway. Erica had tipped him off. The second Erica saw him, she collapsed onto the floor, clutching her forehead and sobbing. "Carlos, you're finally here." She pointed at me, looking wounded. "Emma's lost her mind! She tried to take our baby, and she even tried to strangle him!" Carlos's eyes landed on the cut on Erica's forehead, then swept over the wrecked room. The man who'd always doted on me was looking at me with disgust. He didn't give me a chance to explain. He just walked up and pried the baby from my arms. He handed the baby to Erica, who had gotten back on her feet and moved behind him, then ordered the bodyguards to restrain me as I screamed. "Take the Donna back to the estate and lock her up." He didn't look at me again as he warned the bodyguards, "If she gets away again, you'll pay with your lives!" Chapter 4 His men closed in at once and grabbed my arms roughly. I fought with everything I had, and in the struggle, my back slammed into the door frame. Pain shot through me. I looked at my baby in Erica's arms. His little face was still a bluish purple, and he was too weak to wail. All he could manage were faint whimpers. My heart broke at the sight. I stopped struggling and let the bodyguards pin me to the floor. "Carlos, I'm begging you!" I looked up at him, my tears blurring everything. "Call a doctor! The baby can barely breathe! If we don't get him help now, he'll die!" Desperate for Erica to convince Carlos to help my baby, I swallowed my anger and begged her. "Erica, please. For the baby's sake, I'll give up anything. "I'll sign the divorce papers right now. You can have Carlos. "All I'm asking is that you spare this innocent baby." Erica watched me beg, her eyes filled with disgust. "I'm sick of hearing this brat cry. "I don't want him anymore." She turned to Carlos, her eyes a little red. "Carlos, the one thing I never got to do was wear a wedding dress for you." She leaned into his chest. "Give me a big, beautiful wedding. That's my last wish." Carlos looked taken aback, and a flicker of hesitation crossed his face. But when he saw the tears in her eyes, he finally nodded. Then he ordered his men to take me and the crying baby back to the estate and lock us in the basement. Once we were back, Erica claimed she wasn't feeling well and asked to spend the night in the bedroom Carlos and I had shared for seven years. Carlos nodded and let her have her way. As Erica went upstairs, looking smug, Carlos turned and walked over to me. He crouched down, tried to wipe the tears from my face, and spoke softly. "Once tomorrow's wedding is over, Erica's final wish will be fulfilled. "I'll send her overseas, and then everything can go back to the way it was between us, Emma." Seeing the hatred in my eyes, Carlos raised his hand as if taking an oath. "I swear I'll do twice as much to make it up to you. "For now, get some rest. Tomorrow, you'll be attending my wedding to Erica." He honestly believed that once Erica was sent abroad, I'd forgive him. The iron basement door shut behind me, and at last everything went quiet. I took off my coat, wrapped it tightly around the baby in my arms, and tried to warm his little hands with my body. The basement wasn't soundproof. I could clearly hear Carlos and Erica laughing and chatting as they left to try on wedding dresses. Their laughter grated on me, but I didn't care anymore. Just then, the phone hidden in my clothes started buzzing. When I answered, Arthur's low voice came through. "Ms. Sinclair, the plane's ready. I'm getting you and the baby out of there now." Ten minutes after I hung up, a commotion broke out outside. Two heavily armed guards forced their way into the basement and escorted me and my baby out. Carlos had sent all his bodyguards to protect Erica, so the estate was practically unprotected. Even now, he was sure I'd never walk out, that I couldn't bear to be apart from him. I didn't look back at the estate I'd lived in for seven years. I just followed the guards to an airfield two and a half miles away. Arthur was already waiting aboard the plane. He visibly relaxed when he saw us. As I boarded, I turned to look back at the brightly lit estate on the hill. It was strung with colored lights, and truckload after truckload of white roses was being hauled in. That was the love Carlos was giving another woman. "Take off." I looked away. My voice was cold.