Indebted to the Mafia King
Undeniable Similarities

Tony

My fake date with Chloe was not what I was expecting. It was surprisingly great. Not that I didn't think I could have fun with Chloe, because I know I can. She is quieter than most women I know, but her presence is so addicting, I feel almost obsessed whenever I'm with her. I want to do everything to make her talk more, to laugh more. Whenever I managed to get a smile from her last night, it felt like my heart would explode.

Now, more than ever, I want to do everything in my power to give her the life she deserves. I want to be responsible for putting a smile on her face every day.

And that's why I sent her to bed as soon as I put my eyes on her this morning. She looked...awful. Slightly flushed, her eyes deep, with dark circles under them, not to mention her pale skin.

When I showed up in her room with a tray filled with coffee and some fruits a few minutes later, she was already asleep, so I didn't want to wake her up. I ordered something to be delivered for her to have lunch later. Nicky and some of the wives ring my doorbell a couple of hours later. I steady myself for the inevitable confrontation I know will come and open the door for them.

Nicky has Ellie in her arms, and the other wives have bags of what I assume are party decor items around them.

"The party is off, ladies," I inform them bluntly before they have the chance to say anything.

Their faces fall off immediately, one of them even gasping in surprise.

"What? Why?" Nicky whines. "You said I could throw a party as I wished," she reminds me in a scolding tone.

"I said you could throw a small party," I correct her. "But in any case, that's not the reason why I'm canceling it. Chloe is sick."

She widens her eyes and takes a few steps forward, entering the house. Ellie is looking at me from Nicky's arms with a cute expression, her little arms waving at me to scoop her from her grandmother's lap.

I consider ignoring her. I'm not good with kids, but something about her is so...intriguing, I feel drawn to her whenever she's around. She is one of the cutest little things I've ever seen in my entire life.

So, clumsily, I reach for her, taking her from Nicky's arms, who hands me the girl as if she was dying for someone to do it.

"Where is Chloe?" Nicky urges, worried, looking around the living room.

"She's sleeping upstairs. I'm sorry you all had to come all the way up here, but I didn't have time to let you know sooner," I say, turning to the wives standing at my doorstep. "I'm sure we can postpone it until she feels better."

Most of them nod, some grumble, turning on their feet and heading for their cars, but Nicky stays behind, sitting on my couch as if she owns the place.

I wait until everyone leaves and close the door behind me, Ellie still in my arms.

"You're welcome to stay if you want, but I can watch over Ellie while Chloe is in bed," I tell her. "I don't have anything important to deal with today since I had cleared my schedule for the party."

"Maybe she will wake up feeling better, and I can have things ready in a heartbeat," Nicky insists hopefully.

I shake my head at her. "Honestly, Nicky, I allowed this because it seemed to be something important for you, and I also didn't want anyone spreading shit they don't know about, but this is clearly stressing Chloe, so I think the best option is to cancel it. At least until she feels better and more comfortable with the idea."

Nicky narrows her eyes at me, studying me like I'm a fucking lab rat. It makes me feel uneasy under her gaze, so I turn my attention to Ellie, who's now playing with the little pink bow on her dress.

"Why are you suddenly so interested in Chloe's well being? Why do you care how she's feeling?" Nicky finally asks, making me snap my head at her again.

Her question bothers me immensely.

"You know damn well I've always cared about her," I reply bitterly. "You know better than anyone actually, given the fact that your husband was the one responsible for pushing me away from her." Nicky winces at my accusation, but I don't budge. It's past time we address this.

"Carlo made it very clear when he was alive that he didn't want me near Chloe, so don't pretend you don't know where I'm coming from," I add, holding her gaze. That seems to make her uncomfortable since she looks away, straightening up in her seat.

Silence fills the room after that, the only noise coming from Ellie's babbling and murmuring the few words she knows how to speak. Then Nicky clears her throat, getting up from the couch and adjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder. "I can take Ellie back with me for the day so Chloe can rest. You don't have to worry about her. She'll consume your time," Nicky says, her hands reaching for Ellie.

But I take a step back, hoping that's evidence enough I don't want to accept her offer.

"It's okay, I don't mind watching her. It'll be nice to bond with her a little," I reply, looking at Ellie and grinning. "Isn't it, Ellie? Do you want to stay with me until Mom wakes up?"

She giggles at me, as if she has understood my question.

Nicky seems hesitant in agreeing with it, and I don't want her to feel like I can't handle Ellie. I'm not experienced with kids, but I'm not a risk to her either. I've had puppies before. It can't be that different.

"Seriously, Nicky, it's fine," I reassure her. "I'm sure Chloe will be up soon since she didn't have anything to eat this morning. I can handle Ellie for a few hours."

She finally sighs and nods, my reassurance seeming to have worked.

"I promise I'll call if I need anything. And I'll ask Chloe to call you once she's up."

"Okay, great. Thank you," she murmurs. Then she places a kiss on Ellie's forehead and heads for the door.

As soon as she's gone, I look at Ellie, wondering what I can do to keep her entertained. She has several toys in her room that I asked Chloe to buy for her, so I head there with her, hoping we can find something cool to distract her. For the next hour, Ellie finds herself busy with a stuffed pink elephant, a doll, and a colorful cube with geometrical pieces. Most of the time, I watch her play, once in a while engaging with her and participating a little with her toys. But when she starts to show signs she is getting bored, I freak out a little. What if she's getting hungry? I didn't ask Nicky about what she normally eats at this time of the day. I also have zero skills when it comes to cooking food for toddlers. I'm sure Chloe must have prepared something for her and put it in the fridge, but I have no idea what that could be.

"Are you hungry, Ellie?" I ask tentatively, but she shakes her head at me.

How the fuck is this kid so smart? Are babies supposed to understand everything we say when they're only one year old?

"All right, so what do you want to do? Do you want to try and find some new toys?" I try, remembering some of Seb's old stuff locked somewhere in the attic.

I don't know why I thought about him right now, or why I even feel like messing with his stuff, but the words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. Ellie's eyes sparkle as she looks at me expectantly.

It's been a while since I packed those things so I don't have to touch or look at them, and I'm honestly not sure I'm ready to face them yet. But I can't leave Ellie hanging like this after offering it. So, I take her to the attic, hoping it won't fuck up my mind.

I grab the first box I can find and take it to the living room, since the attic is too dark and musty for us to stay in it. As soon as we settle on the living room carpet and I open it, I find a little bear that used to be Seb's favorite when he was a kid. My throat tightens and I give it to Ellie, who clearly loves it already, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets while she stares at it. Then I focus on the box again, finding an old photo album next.

I skim through it, seeing some pictures of Seb and I at Nonna's house when we were too young to remember it. Some of them were taken on trips we used to make with our family, and lots of them I had never seen before, taken before I was even born. Nonna used to document everything. At the time, I used to find it annoying, but now I can understand why she did it.

Seeing Seb looking so carefree and happy makes my heart crumble in my chest.

"Oh, look, Ellie. This is my mom when she was your age." I turn the album over to her, showing the black and white photograph. "She was cute, wasn't she?"

Ellie doesn't seem interested in what I am showing her, returning to her new toy. I study the picture again, something within me making me feel strange.

My eyes draw to Ellie once more, and back to the album...

Then my stomach twists into a knot.

What the fuck is this?

They look almost identical.

No, that can't be. This makes no sense. Maybe what they say is right-all babies look the same.

But there is no way I can be wrong about this. Apart from Ellie's eyes-which are the same as Chloe's-her dark hair, her round cheeks, and even her little nose look the same as my mom's.

What the actual fuck?

My mind gets into a frenzy, trying to do the math. Is it even possible for Ellie to be mine instead of Mateo's? Chloe had told me she was what...a year and a half? Or a few months older than that? Or is she younger?

She also mentioned that she found out about her pregnancy after she left New York. She didn't get into details, but it never occurred to me that Ellie could be my daughter.

Everything in my body is screaming at me that I am right, but it can't be.

Because if it is, why didn't Chloe tell me? If Ellie was mine, she wouldn't keep it a secret from me, would she?

Or does she even know about it?