“You think I don’t know that?” Maria sneered, wiping away tears of rage. “I knew what I was giving up when your father took you away from me, but hepromisedto give me what I was due when you were an adult! And then he lied to me!”
“And that wasn’t my fault!” Antonio’s voice rose, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. “I didn’t know who you were, my wife didn’t know who you were … my daughter doesn’t even know whoweare yet, never mind you! Why are you punishingmefor something my father did? How is that fair?”
“It’s not,” Maria laughed. “But then again,lifeisn’t fair. You of all people should know that by now. Now, enough sentimentality. It’s time for you to meet your Maker.”
Antonio looked at her, weighing up the situation, and then took a step back and raised his hands, never breaking eye contact. A strange calm descended as he thought about all the things he should have said to Alyssia, all the milestones he’d miss with his daughter … if this was how his life was going to end, then at least he’d managed to see his baby before the end. Still, the thought of not seeing his daughter grow up was a pain that he’d never thought he’d endure. Weirdly, though, it felt right – after everything he’d done to his wife, perhaps death was the better solution.
“Now, I’m gonna film you,” Maria was almost breathless with repressed anger. She fumbled with her phone, then raised it and started recording. “I want the whole world to watch as you beg for your miserable life.”
Antonio started to speak, only to be drowned out by the loud bang of a gun going off.
Maria stood perfectly still, her eyes bulging, and then looked down at her chest, where blood was blooming like a rose. She tried to speak, but the only sound that came out was a gargle as she slowly fell to her knees, and then onto her face on the snow-covered balcony. The snow slowly turned a bright ruby red as her life slowly ebbed away, until the only sound left was his own heavy breathing.
Antonio whirled around, trying to see where the shot had come from, and then spotted Damon standing in the hallway opposite them, his gun still raised.
“What the hell did you do?” he shouted. “She wasn’t gonna do anything except film me!”
“If you believe that, then you’re as dumb as you look,” Damon slowly holstered his gun. “She’d have shot you dead before you even knew what hit you.”
“You don’t know that!”
“Oh, trust me, I do. And ifshehadn’t, he would’ve,” Damon pointed at Douglas, who stepped out of a doorway and waved apologetically, handing his gun to Damon.
“What areyoustill doing here? Why didn’t you run when you had the chance, scumbag?” Antonio’s voice wasscathing as he curled his lip, wishing he could shoot the man where he stood.
“I wanted to make sure your wife was alright,” Douglas sounded hoarse, as if he’d been crying. “She was kind to me and she didn’t tell anyone I kidnapped her. She just said I was a friend, even when the nurses told her they knew who she was.”
“It’s more than you fucking deserve, douchebag,” Damon snarled, pointing his gun at Douglas. “Tell me why I shouldn’t shoot you where you stand.”
“You’ve got every right to,” Douglas bowed his head. “Just … if you do, find my niece for me and … and promise you’ll bring Tony home.”
“Tony? The hell are you talking about?” Damon roared. Douglas flinched at the sound, but produced a small piece of paper from his pocket and offered it to Antonio. Damon stepped forward and snatched it from him with a furious glare, before showing it to his brother-in-law.
“What’s this?” Antonio asked, frowning down at it. “It’s just some address in … Nebraska?”
“It’s a place for the mentally ill. When you call them, ask for Nurse Amy. Then, tell her that Maria has passed away and that you want them to release Tony Blackwood into your care.”
“Tony Blackwood’s dead!” Damon’s voice shook with confusion. “Or are you admitting that his piece of scum wife lied, and he’s still firmly alive?”
“She lied to you,” Douglas confirmed. “He’s alive, and as far as I can tell, he’s still in good health. Ask for Nurse Amy and have him released into your care.”
“They won’t just release him to us!” Antonio snorted. Douglas nodded, and walked forwards slowly, pointing at the bottom of the paper, where spidery handwriting skittered across the page.
“Before Maria sent him away, Tony wrote an advanced directive and hid it in a book,” he explained. “It says that if Maria dies first, he’s to be released to you or your father. If you and your father have died, he’s to be released to the nearest surviving relative. When I was going through his things, I found his advanced directive and gave it to the nursing staff in Nebraska.”
“How do you know all this?” Damon asked, his eyes boring into Douglas as if searching for his soul. “I mean, you’re not exactly the type of guy I’d trust my deepest secrets to.”
“No, Maria doesn’t … I meandidn’t …know me very well. As far as she knew, she had leverage on me, so I wasn’t about to spill all her secrets and she just talkedabout it. I was so invisible to her that she forgot I was there half the time.”
“Well, I’m not going to pursue it now,” Antonio said firmly. “I’ve just had a baby. Damon, if you don’t mind getting on this?”
“Sure,” Damon nodded. “I’ll call everyone and let them know the baby’s here, too. My dad’s probably going crazy wondering where Alyssia is.”
“Ah, shit,” Antonio groaned. “I’d better call mine too.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take Douglas to my dad’s and he can tell him personally.” Damon grinned evilly, clapping Douglas on the shoulder. “After everything’s sorted, we’ll decide what to do with him.”
Antonio headed back into the recovery ward, only to be told that Alyssia had been moved onto the regular ward with all the other mums who’d been returned after the evacuation. He walked in and spotted her almost immediately, a smile breaking out on his face as he saw her. She waved him over, putting a finger on her lips and pointing at their daughter.
