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Chapter XXV: Intuition
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Salvatore lay staring up at the ceiling, his lamp turned on and Nicole lying beside him, asleep. He wouldn't bring himself to close his eyes, his mind too plagued with thoughts and business transactions and Mafia matters. He had managed to track down the 176,000 Euros and the man responsible, he even managed to find the man who had given away his designs and made a successful comeback. Luca was beginning to show signs of improvement, the swelling around his face having reduced considerably as he would open his eyes and look around him, but couldn't talk much as of yet.
Nicole was feeling much better now too, his family was well, his nieces – Aurora and Irene – were busy preparing for a school talent show, the twins – Michele and Marina – had begun babbling nonstop and crawled all over the place, laughing and pulling down things in reach. Alessio and Serafina were well, his parent's careers were as good as ever, and A
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"There is something wrong with Serafina," Salvatore spoke breathlessly, his eyes wide with panic and his complexion had gone white as a fine sheen of sweat coated him, his fingers trembling as he touched a hand to his chest, his vision blurring at the pain. "There is something wrong..."Just as those words left his mouth, his phone rang behind them on the coffee table.Nicole's gaze snapped up towards the device, her mouth running dry at the possibility of what could have happened. She had heard stories of how the twins knew when there was something wasn't right with the other, and how they had a deeper empathetic connection with each other, but she had never witnessed it, and right now, she prayed for him to be wrong.She watched Salvatore struggle to his feet, leaving her to kneel on the floor as he grabbed the device and put it to his ear.His wife could notice ho
Unknown Territory Chapter XXVII: Shoot the Messenger
Salvatore stood looking into the room where Alessio sat hunched at his sister's bedside with her limp hand clasped in hers. It had almost been a week and he never left her side. The mafia Boss had taken the twins under his wing, having them close by, and most of the time looking after them wasn't much of a hassle, but then there were days where they wouldn't stop crying, wanting their parents.The Regnante's had decided that they all would take turns watching after Serafina, and given that she was in the ICU, no more than one person was allowed inside. That one person was always Alessio who hadn't moved from his place since she had been admitted.Everyone had tried convincing him to go home and rest, but he refused.Currently, Salvatore waited for his father to come and take up the shift, standing in grey dress-pants with a white button-up under a black waistcoat and black tie, his blazer dr
Unknown Territory Chapter XXVIII: High School Reunion
Salvatore stood in a two-piece navy blue pinstriped suit with a pinstriped white undershirt, picking up a watch as he looked at his collection of ties, wondering which one to match with his attire."Look!" Nicole squealed as she bounded into his closet in a black halter pencil skirt dress that hugged her in all the right places and accentuated her curves as she spun for her husband. "And it has pockets!" She exclaimed in delight before putting her hands into them to show him with a wide grin, a small smile quirking at his lips at her antics."Beautiful," He commented as he fastened the watch into place.She giggled before bouncing back to her closet to finish getting dressed, Salvatore shaking his head at his wife.Looking back at the racks of ties, he picked out a blue paisley tie and began fastening it around his collar before picking out a pocket square to match.
Unknown Territory Chapter XXIX: Life goes on
Nicole lay on her side beside Salvatore, gently running her hand over his back with him sleeping soundly. It had been almost 3 days since he finally managed to get some sleep, but that also with Nicole rubbing his back and she was too afraid that he'd wake up if she stopped, and for that very reason she resumed the movement at 2 a.m. in the morning; hoping that he'd get as much as sleep before he took over Arcangelo's turn at the hospital.She didn't dare move, no matter how uncomfortable she might be, or how her arm may be getting numb, she wouldn't move, much too well acquainted with her husband's sleeping habits.Inhaling deeply, she slowly ran her hand up and down his back, gauging by his breathing in the dark and let out a relieved whoosh of air to know that he was still asleep. No soon had the relief arrived when a knock sounded on the door and forced Nicole to hold her breath before wanting to curse when Salv
Unknown Territory Chapter XXX: "Ready?" "As I'll ever be,"
Nicole lay sprawled across the bed, one of the twins sitting before her and playing with her hair while the other tried climbing onto her back."You two are adorable, but I am exhausted," She sighed at the little boy before her who took a fist full of her brown tresses and tried to eat them. "And this isn't food," Nicole pried her hair out of his hands and placed a kiss on his cheek as he giggled."Hello," A voice spoke from the entrance as she lifted her head up to see her mother and father-in-law standing in the doorway with warm smiles."Oh! Hey!" Nicole greeted and sat up, the little girl whining as her stepping stone disappeared.Getting off the bed, she went and hugged them both as they returned the gesture before they were ushered inside. Rosalie went over to Marina while Arcangelo grabbed Michele and lifted him in the air, laughing in triumph when the baby gi
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXI: Mind's need to blame
Sighing tiredly, Salvatore pulled off the t-shirt he wore, lazily stretching out on the bed before covering his eyes with his arms. Inhaling deeply he took hold of his phone and checked to see if he had any messages."What are you doing?" Nicole's voice inquired in exasperation as he scrolled through the device."Just checking for messages,""We agreed, Salvatore," She admonished and plucked it from his hands before putting it onto his side table."Fine, fine," He relented and lay back on the bed. "No phone,""That's right," She grinned at him and hitched up her silken nightgown to straddle his waist watchingSalvatore let out an exhale before she intertwined their fingers together. "No phone,""This is new," Salvatore noticed the grey satin nightgown she wore that was pooled up to her thighs.
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXII: Making Sense
Every single one of the Regnante family had been moved to the estate.Salvatore would rather that they all stay home, but given their careers, they couldn't afford that and were now provided with an entourage of 5 men per person.After the attack on his parents, Salvatore had become increasingly more worried and paranoid about their safety, he had begun sleeping even less and getting him to eat something had become a virtual impossibility. Nicole had been watching his behavior grow increasingly erratic for the initial few days: having put his family on house arrest before Arsenio talked sense into him after which he enforced the entourage of five men.Then after the initial unpredictable behavior dissipated, he fell quiet. He hardly spoke, lost interest in his work, grew increasingly fatigued day by day, and there was the constant look of guilt about him which had Nicole choking back t
Unknown Territory Chapter XXXIII: Domestic Squabble
Nicole sat with her back to the armrest with her legs over Salvatore's lap, an art pad in her lap as she drew her husband's concentrated expression as he read the file in hand with sunlight pouring over him. His wife clicking her tongue when he moved his head, grasping his chin into her hand and fixing the direction as he let her do as she willed. Leaning back again, her eyes drifted to her cup of coffee, going to reach for it before realizing her husband's breakfast was untouched."Salvatore, you have to eat something," Nicole sighed as he flipped through a file in his hand, slowly sipping his coffee. "You didn't even eat dinner yesterday,""I'm not hungry," He murmured in response and clicked his pen, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he blinked at the words."Baby, please eat something," She found herself pleading more often nowadays.Her husband had lost
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Unknown Territory Epilogue
18-MONTHS-LATERThe sunlight filtered in through the cracks in the curtains, bathing the room in a limited glow. The illumination showing a master bedroom with an off-white carpet and walls that were half white and half sea-green wooden planks. The window was to the beds right and covered by cream-colored drapes. A grey high backed bed against the center of the wall with white sheets and two leather single benches at the foot of the bed, with an antique ottoman rug beneath the structure.Two people slept in silence, the beeping of the alarm disrupting the peace.A hand poked out from beneath the covers and fiddled with the device before turning it off, her ring glittering in the sunlight pouring in.No soon had she
Unknown Territory Chapter LI: End of the Line
Nicole choked on her sobs, unable to breathe as she clutched her knees, throwing her head back to inhale deeply, a trembling hand against her chest as she tried to regain her bearings."Nicole," Her father called out behind her softly and tried to lift her off the floor, stumbling back when she lost her footing.The lump and tears made it difficult for her to breathe, forcing her to wheeze as she pulled herself away from her father, making her way forward. Both Marco and Arsenio took a step back, allowing her to walk towards the bed, watching her shoulders shaking with her tears before she fell on his chest, gasping for breath.A hand stroked the back of her hair as she cried into his chest."Breathe," He croaked beneath her, stroking her hair with drips connected to the back of his palm. "Breathe, Nicole,"Shaking her head, she pulled back h
Unknown Territory Chapter L: Searching
Nicole had gotten discharged a few days ago with a prescription for medicine and instructions stating that she should rest and come for a check-up every month for the next four months. When she signed the forms, she had turned towards her guards, handing one of them the prescription and sending him to get the medicine, while the other was instructed to get her a fresh change of clothes, while she went and settled in Salvatore's room.She slept and woke there, didn't move from the place and always asked the doctor the same question."Have they found a heart yet?"But given that the Mafia Boss was an O-positive, it was difficult to find someone with that blood type and was a donor.His wife decided to speak to him in case she went insane from things left unsaid."You had no right to order Major to pull the plug,"Nico
Unknown Territory Chapter XLIX: Official Mandate
No matter how hard the doctors tried, Nicole refused to stay in her room.She would allow them to do their check-ups and would patiently sit through the 6-hour hemodialysis therapy, but the moment they would take her off the machine, she refused to sit in her room; instead, she would go and sit beside Salvatore.Day by day, she was regaining her strength, she began walking around her room, but wasn't strong enough to walk all the way to his room as of yet. So she had insisted that the doctors shift her to a room closer to his and promised to rest more if they did. It had taken a day or two, but eventually, she was moved to the room beside his.She even visited Serafina when the doctors would be in Salvatore's room.Nicole had to wonder, how beautiful and peaceful Serafina looked. Her hair was washed and brushed, her complexion fair, and her eyes closed, she loo
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The light overhead is what awoke Nicole, that and the incomprehensible jumble of words swarming around her. Groaning, she blinked open her eyes, shielding them from the harshness of the light, and was surprised to find something tugging at the back of her palm. Turning her hand, she found I.V drips and various wires connecting her to different machines, an oxygen mask over her mouth, and what looked like a dialysis machine purifying her blood through her left arm.Looking towards the large machine to her left, she blinked her eyes, seeing her father seated and hunched over a book, murmuring the words out loud.Straining to listen, sherecognized the words, her eyebrows knitting in confusion before noticing the rosary in his hands."Since have you taken to reciting Holy Scripture?" Nicole asked in a hollow voice, suddenly realizing how parched she felt."Christ!"
Unknown Territory Chapter XLVII: Fragmented
A groan escaped Salvatore as he was regaining consciousness and felt himself being dragged against the moss-covered forest floor before the texture changed from the rugged natural terrain to smooth marble. His head lolled from side to side as the stench of death attacked his senses, feeling someone pat him down before taking out all the weapons that he had; his phone included and then took off the bullet proof vest he had been wearing.With his skull pounding, he tried to open his heavy eyelids suppressing shiver when a warm sensation tickling down his nape and down his back.Suddenly he was dropped to the floor without warning and his head hit the marble floor with a grotesque crack that had the Mafia Boss groan in pain, clutching at his skull. A pained moan escaped Salvatore as he rolled onto his stomach, sitting up to be kneeling on the floor, a hand cradling the abused area and slowly cracking open his eye
Unknown Territory Chapter XLVI: Sunrise
Rushing down the flight of stairs, Salvatore stepped out into the late October chill as their breath fogged up. Guards creating a circle with their guns pointed at the suit-clad man kneeling on the grass with his hands behind his head and breathing heavily.The man had brown hair that fell into his beady black eyes, a hooked nose with a jutting square jaw and had a rather pale complexion – either that or he was terrified."Who are you?" Salvatore stepped forward and clenched the ring in his palm, the guards stepping to the side with their guns poised."I need to see Salvatore Regnante," He looked up at him, causing the Mafia Boss to raise his eyebrows, realizing he had no idea who Salvatore was. "Please," He pleaded in desperation."Why do you need to see him?""I...God..." He choked out. "They took the ring and I-"
Unknown Territory Chapter XLV: Bedtime stories
Nicole did not know how long she had been locked away in that holding cell. She did not know what date it was, nor what time it was, but there were two things she was most certain of. One, her husband would come and find her soon; and two, she had a friend.Davide had proven to be quite trustworthy.She had been hesitant at first, but he kept talking to her, and she had been so deprived of human interaction of late that she took what she could get. He had the day duty with her four days of a week, and every time when he came to guard her, he'd bring one game or another and always had the most fascinating stories to share. Nicole laughed every once in a while and sometimes told him stories about herself, granted he didn't know who she was or whom she's married to, and he was very content with not prying.Davide had warmed up to her as well.She felt like a little sist
Unknown Territory Chapter XLIV: Growth
Nicole remembered how confused she felt when she had woken up in a room that wasn't her own. And her bewilderment had just grown exponentially to see herself dressed in the attire she had worn to the gala. Stumbling out of the bed, she had looked around herself, the room was scarcely furnished, with a wooden platform bed in the center, a wardrobe to her right along with a door leading to the bath, and a window to her left.Gathering her dress in her hands, she looked out, surprised to find it being dark, but her body was awake like it was morning. Walking towards the door, she tried turning it, finding it to be locked."Hey!" Nicole banged on the door with her fist. "Let me out!"The moment she had awoken she had realized she was kidnapped, and she had to wonder what happened to Salvatore, remembering the way he had stopped breathing. Knowing she had no way out, she settled back on the bed,
