Disastrous (Disastrous Series) (27 page)

He was very supportive and confident that I would be a wonderful mother. Although, I wasn’t certain that I could, I vowed that I would try my absolute best to show unconditional love and support throughout my child’s life.

The next few days were better than expected. Morning sickness, for some unexplained reason occurred at noon and in the evenings as well! Every smell bothered me except for one: Marcus. He was thankful for that, afraid that I would end up hating him. He said he read an article that said some women began to hate or resent their partner during pregnancy. I couldn’t see how that was possible; if anything, I felt clingier towards him. I wanted him around, and every time he left the room to even use the bathroom, I was emotional. It was super pathetic I know, but for some reason I had to be near him always.

That weekend he surprised me with a beautiful ring. I knew he was going to get me one even though I told him I didn’t need it. The look on his face was unforgettable when he handed me the small red box. He bit on his bottom lip, nervously awaiting my reaction, and his eyes gleamed with excitement.

When I flipped open the small lid, a glistening four-carat princess-cut diamond brightened my eyes. Tiny diamonds wrapped around the platinum band. It had an antique style to it. I was surprised by how breathtaking a piece of jewelry could be. I was afraid to touch such an elegant piece, so he slid it on my finger. I’m such a simple person, never going crazy with jewelry, and although the ring was big and elegant, it was simple. I loved it.

Everything was going well, and we continued to keep the pregnancy hidden for a while. Marcus was a little upset that I told Jeremy about the pregnancy. So I allowed him to tell Jimmie, but that was it. We did announce our engagement to his entire family at Sunday dinner. Everyone was ecstatic, especially Theresa and Elle. Theresa began to plan the wedding at the dinner table.

Marcus and I tried to tell her we were in no rush and didn’t want anything big. She refused to listen, claiming that a winter wedding would be beautiful, and the family was too big not to have a huge wedding. I didn’t know how I would feel walking down the aisle with a huge belly. I allowed her to share her ideas and decided once we announced the pregnancy…we could convince her to wait until after the baby was born.

Rumors began to spread very quickly at the office. Some were that I was knocked-up; that’s why he was marrying me. That wasn’t entirely false, but still. Others were that I was only marrying him for his
money
. That was completely false. I never thought of Marcus’ money once. I never even thought about how much he or his firm was worth, because it was never my intention to get his money. It bothered me that people thought that of me. Marcus didn’t allow any of the rumors to bother him. I envied that about him: how he just let it slide off his shoulders, not allowing any comment to affect him. I guess he was used to worse speculations spreading throughout the media, and simple office gossip didn’t faze him.

After a couple weeks, it was the beginning of August and my externship was over. The first day spent without Marcus was dreadful, so I focused on spending time with Sara. We met up every day for the next few days. My mother explained that she mailed another letter hoping that Michael would have a change of heart. When the letter returned from the post office, she began to search for a new address. That was when she found out about his death. It was a little difficult for her to find me since I wasn’t listed, so she hired a private detective. That explained the black
SUV
. The entire time I thought it had something to do with Marcus. I was completely wrong!

We managed to slowly establish a relationship. I wasn’t sure what type of relationship it was, but we were working on that. I finally felt that my life was coming together. I’d gained a beautiful family with the DeLucas. Jeremy and I still had our close relationship. Soon I would be a mother, and recently I gained my mother. At one point in my life, I was at my lowest and thought nothing could possibly lift me from the miserable grief I’d suffered. Now I could honestly say I was the happiest I’d ever been.

Nothing could go wrong.

“Oh, Mia, thank you so much!” Theresa jumped from the couch and rushed to the door as soon as I entered. Grabbing her purse, she was halfway out before I could answer. Turning back, she finished the rest of her sentence. “The last time she ate was this afternoon. She’s in her room playing her game.
Oh
and also I’ve been meaning to tell you I want to plan a surprise birthday party for Marcus’ thirtieth.”

I’d almost forgotten his birthday; it was the next month at the end of September. “Can I help with the planning?” Theresa is very big on events, but I really wanted to help her with this.

She smiled before answering, “Of course! I have to run … see you soon, and thanks again for watching Elle at last minute.”

“It’s not a problem, Theresa. Go, you don’t want to be late.” She waved and ran out the door.

Elle’s sitter had surgery last week, so Theresa had been watching her. Though today she had to run to a doctor’s appointment she had forgotten about, and she called me immediately when the office called to verify the appointment.

Luckily, I was home doing nothing, just stuffing my face with Oreo cookies: the only craving in my pregnancy thus far. At ten weeks, I hadn’t gained any weight. I did feel bloated and had slight cramping, oh yeah and the “morning” sickness. Other than that, I’d been fine. Marcus and I were excited to share the news in a couple weeks with his family.

On my way to Elle’s room, I heard a knock at the door. I thought it was weird: there were never any visitors except for the family dinners, and Theresa has a spare key. Maybe she’d left something behind and forgot it. I made my way to the door, and I was shocked when I caught sight of Romeo, Marcus’ younger cousin.

His shoulders were slouched over; his hands were shoved in the front pocket of his jeans, and his clothes were filled with mud. He finally looked up; I gasped at the sight of his bruised face. He had a black, swollen left eye, the bridge of his nose was split open, and dry blood covered his nostrils and the side of his face. His lips were swollen and gashed open. “Oh my God, Romeo, what happened?” I reached out for him, grabbing his shoulders.

“He got himself into a little mess.” I was so focused on Romeo that I didn’t see Lou Sorrento standing just a few feet beside him. My heart dropped at the closeness. This was the first time I’d seen him face-to-face, and my anger began to slowly rise. He was responsible for Marcus’ other life, and I knew he was responsible for Romeo’s appearance.

Offering his hand, he brightly smiled. “Hi, I’m Lou. You must be the lovely Mia? It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Looking down at his hand, I didn’t take it. He would have no respect from me. I didn’t know what type of relationship he and Marcus had beside the obvious employment relationship, but I refused to show him any form of decency. His eyes widened with amusement, and then he rubbed the untaken hand against his chest. “Okay I need to talk with Marky; he’s ignoring my calls.”

“Marcus isn’t here, but when he arrives, I’ll make sure to tell him you’re looking for him. Goodbye.” Pulling Romeo into the house, I quickly walked in. Lou stopped the door with his foot, pushing his way in and shut the door behind him.

My heart began to race. What’s he doing here? Will Marcus be upset that he’s in the house? Has he ever been in this house? “I think I’ll stand here and wait for him. He needs to clear up the mess his
idiot
cousin made. I’m sure he wouldn’t miss any of your calls; if you call him, maybe I could be out of your hair sooner.”

Ignoring him, I walked over to Romeo, placing my hand on his face. He flinched in pain. “What did you get yourself into?” I whispered. Romeo couldn’t look at me; he was too ashamed. He clearly was not going to answer me … I had no choice but to call Marcus. Glaring at Lou, I wanted to smack the smart-ass grin off his face. Walking over to my purse, I grabbed my phone and made the call.

After one ring he picked up. “Hey, babe.” It sounded like he was in the car. I could hear wind blowing and other vehicles driving by.

“Marcus?” I failed desperately to hide the shakiness in my voice.

Knowing me very well, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Taking a deep breath, I tried to think of the best way to explain this. I walked over to the corner where no one could hear my conversation. “Romeo is here. He’s badly beaten, and Lou is with him; he won’t leave until he speaks with you.”

There were a few seconds of silence before he yelled, “What the fuck!” A few thumping noises along with the horn sounding off rang my ears. I knew my man well enough to know that he’d just punched the steering a few times, upset. Taking a deep breath, he was silent for a moment before responding again. “Put Lou on the phone.”

Hesitating for a second, I intently stared at Lou. He was seated on a chair in the living room, facing me. His legs were crossed, his elbow was on the armrest with a closed fist underneath his chin, and still he had that stupid amused grin. Clearing my throat, I spoke. “He’s on the phone.” He stretched out the hand that was lying on his lap.

I flashed a cocky look and smacked my hand to my hip. I further extended my arm with the cell phone. I was not one of his employees. He could very well walk his ass over and grab the phone. When I tapped my foot, he laughed once, shook his head, and stood from his seat. Striding over, he took the phone from my hand and placed it to his ear, not taking his eyes off of me the entire time.

“Marky.” He grinned. Taking a few steps back, I watched him closely. He was only a few inches taller than me. He had a medium build, thick salt-and-pepper hair that was neatly brushed back, and light brown eyes that narrowed as he listened attentively over the phone. If I didn’t hate him so much, I might’ve thought he was a good-looking man. Then I thought of all the pain Marcus and I had gone through because of him. I only saw him as an evil, malicious, disgusting man.

Speaking in a low, raspy tone, his eyes grew darker as he continued to ogle me. “What can I say? He came to me asking for work …
no
… he screwed up …
big
time … sixty … yeah, sixty.” Slowly he began to walk towards me, his eager eyes staring into mine.

For every step forward he made, I took one step back, until my back pressed against the staircase. My breathing sped up when he was only inches away from me. “Your woman’s a feisty one, isn’t she?” He slightly pulled the phone away from his ear and cringed. I could hear Marcus’ loud tone throughout the phone but couldn’t make out what was said.

Lou laughed and fixed his gaze back on me. His hand slowly moved from his ear over to the side of my face. Because I was frozen, he pressed the phone along my ear with the tip of his fingers sliding across my cheek. His touch shot shivers through my spine and caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. He frightened me, but I made sure not to show it. Pushing his hand away, I grabbed the phone. He took a few steps back.

In a raspy, dry manner, I managed to say, “Hello.”

“Baby, I need you to do me a favor. Are you near my office?” Marcus’ desperate tone forced me to be alert.

“Yes,” I said, watching Lou as he cocked his head to the side, folding his arms on his chest. His stares were giving me the creeps. Swallowing, I focused back on Marcus.

“Okay, I want you to walk into my office and lock the door behind you.”

“What?” I asked confused.

“Just do it; tell me when you’re in there and the door is locked.”

I looked up at Lou; he was in the same position. I fixed my gaze towards Romeo. He was sitting by the couch, watching Lou. Was Marcus trying to keep me away from them? What about Romeo, shouldn’t I lock him in the office with me? Confused by this sudden request, I wasn’t sure what I should do. “Mia? Are you in the office yet?” Marcus’ impatient tone hurried my legs to his office, and I shut the door behind me. Locking the bolt, I turned the knob to make sure was secure. “Okay, I’m in here. The door’s locked. What now?” I asked.

“Good, at my desk by the top right-hand drawer, you’ll find a key. Let me know when you find it…what the fuck…you cock-sucker, move out the fucking way!” Road rage—he was trying to rush home. I glanced at the clock by his desk; it was rush hour. There was no way he’d be here anytime soon.

After I took a seat in the office chair, I reached for the top right-hand drawer. There were several files, no keys. Rummaging through, I tried to see if the keys were in between the files. I was alarmed when I noticed one particular folder. On the tab written in all caps were the words
M. SULLIVAN.
Why was there a file with my name in his desk? I lifted the file to have a closer look; that was when I noticed the key. Marcus interrupted my curiosity, “Mia, did you find the key?” Biting my lip, I wasn’t sure what to do. Romeo was out there with Lou, and if I didn’t hurry, he could harm him again. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the key and placed the file back. I’d look at it later.

“Yes, I have it.” I said, closing the drawer.

“Okay, beside the bookshelf, you’ll see the large-framed mirror. Underneath the frame, you’ll have to feel for a small keyhole to place the key in. Unlock the mirror and open it. Behind it will be a vault.”

What the hell? As many times I’ve been in this office and stared into that mirror, never once did I expect it to be a hidden passage to something. The mirror had a vertical gold frame, and it was taller than me. I assumed it was décor; I always admired how beautiful and luxurious it looked.

Kneeling before my reflection, I held the phone between my shoulder and ear. Feeling underneath the curvy detailed frame, I managed to locate a small keyhole. I dug the key in and turned it…a small clicking noise loosened the mirror. Standing up, I pulled the mirror open like a door. Behind it was an all-black steel door with a keypad in the middle. “It’s open,” I whispered, imagining what could possibly be behind this door.

“Good, now you have to do this correctly, or the entire system will lock for twenty-four hours.” He waited for my okay and continued, “On the keypad press the following code: pound-two-four-four-seven-pound. Once you hear the door unlock, open it and enter immediately. Don’t be alarmed. The door will shut behind you. Let me know when you’re in.”