The Mafia’s Good Wife
Chapter 32

- Violet -

Damon stood tall with his gun out in the air. Standing right in front of him was none other than Hugo DeSantis. There was nobody else in the dark room and the tension in the air was suffocating. Damon's face was cold and hard. Beads of sweat trickled down Hugo's wrinkled forehead and his stoic eyes were filled with fear. Yes, that wasn't something that Hugo would normally show, but this was an exception.

"What are you doing, mio filgio?" Hugo's voice trembled even though he tried to keep his composure. This was the first time Hugo spoke without confidence in his voice. "Why are you doing this?" "Because you came after my family," Damon's voice, on the other hand, was cold and strong.

"That girl's not your family. She left you. Many times already," Hugo tried arguing.

"Still doesn't change the fact that she's my family," Damon said firmly, and he gripped the gun tighter in his hand. "You got her father killed, Hugo. Just admit it,"

"We got a lot of people killed, Damon. They're collateral damage-"

*BANG! *

Damon lifted his hand and shot up to the sky, a warning sign. Hugo flinched, but he was quick to regain his composure.

"Fine. You're right. I did get that man killed, but so what?" he challenged. "I did it a long time ago. How would I know she was gonna marry you?"

Hugo took a small step forward, testing the boundaries. Damon held his ground and pointed the gun straight at Hugo's head, causing Hugo to stop moving indefinitely.

"It's not just what you did all those years ago. It's the fact that you know what you did and what she means to me, and yet you've done nothing to atone for your sins," Damon told him. "Sins?" Hugo scoffed, finding the word rather amusing.

"You asked me why I came here. Well, Godfather, I've come to collect the debt. An eye for an eye. A father for a father,"

*CLICK*

Damon cocked his gun and the terror in Hugo's eyes widened.

"Are you really going to make my daughter an orphan?" he said through gritted teeth. Perhaps he thought that by mentioning Celina, Damon's heart would soften.

"You wouldn't think twice doing the same thing if you're in my shoes," Damon's reply was as cold as ice. He didn't even flinch one bit.

Hugo was at his wit's end. His breathing grew ragged and he was gritting his teeth so loud, the sound echoed through the room.

"Say your last words, Godfather," Damon said with that tone as if this was going to be the end of everything.

Hugo's eyes widened like they were about to pop out of their sockets. His jaw was shaking, though they were tightly shut. Damon thought he would burst out in a fit of anger, but no. Suddenly and without warning, Hugo let out this maniacal laugh. It was eerie and unhinged to say the least.

"Oh, mio figlio, you think you're so righteous now, aren't you?" he said in between laughs. "You found a girl and now you're turning your back on all of us. Well, fine. So you're gonna kill me, but what's next? Do you think my people will let you out of here just like that? You think you can waltz out here and live happily ever after?"

For the first time that night, Damon felt a slight hesitation in his arm. He was so close to pulling the trigger, but not quite yet.

"You know damn well that when you kill me, my people are coming after you next. You'll never survive this war, Damon. So you better don't start--"

*BANG!* BANG! *

Damon pulled the trigger as Hugo swiftly pulled out a gun from behind him and fired too. Hugo's throat was bleeding red, but so was Damon's stomach. He got him. The bastard got him.

"No!" Violet screamed as hard as she could, watching the blood pool out of Damon's white shirt.

Hugo fell to the floor, choking on his last words as he died. Damon's knees fell to the ground with a loud thud as his hand went to hold his stomach. He was in a lot of pain. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Damon!!!" Violet screamed after him again, but it was like he couldn't hear her.

And suddenly, the door opened with a loud bang and several men in black suits entered. They were all shocked to find Hugo, their boss, dead on the floor and Damon bleeding out on his knees. One of them then kicked Damon's gun away and another pulled out his gun, aiming for his head.

Damon didn't flinch when he saw the barrel of the gun. In fact, he was smiling. And he whispered some words that might've been, "here's to you, my sweet girl..." "NO!!!"

*BANG! *

Violet jolted up from the bed harder than a rocket flying through space. Her entire body was shaking and cold sweats littered her forehead.

"Vi, Violet?" Luke suddenly appeared on her periphery. Violet took a glance around and realized she was in her bedroom. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

It was just a dream. Violet knew that now, but it took some time for her heart to catch up. It was still beating fast, and her breathing was labored.

"Violet?" Luke said again, worry was splashed across his face.

For the past few days, Luke had been sleeping over Violet's room. She was starting to get nauseous and weak due to the pregnancy, and Luke stayed willingly to help her out. "...Luke..." she croaked finally.

"I'm here," he said reassuringly, pulling her into a hug. "What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

Violet nodded her head into his chest. She couldn't even speak. The image of Damon bleeding to his death was so fresh in her eyes, she wished she could gauge her eyes out.

"Ssh, it's alright. It's just a dream," Luke said comfortingly. He was rocking her back and forth like a little child, but it wasn't helping. Violet was shivering through and through. "Do you wanna tell me what it was about?"

Violet shook her head violently. To say the words out loud would be just as painful as watching it happen again before her eyes.

"Look, I'm right here, alright?" Luke said as he pulled her chin up to his face. His eyes were as tired as ever. "It's nothing but a bad dream, Violet. Go back to sleep, hm?"

Violet felt bad. She definitely couldn't go back to sleep right away, but she felt bad dragging Luke down with her. So, she just nodded her head slightly and let Luke pull her back down to bed.

Luke wrapped his arms around her stomach and pressed his chest against her back. It felt nice and warm being hugged like this, but Violet still couldn't shake the thoughts away. Luke was closing his eyes and dozing back to sleep. Meanwhile, Violet's eyes were still as bright as the blue moonlight shining through the window. Damon... Wherever you are out there... Are you okay?

Violet didn't remember falling asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the image in her head and it was horrifying. For that reason, she didn't close her eyes for the longest time that night. Though her body felt weak and she was sleepy, she forced her bright purple eyes to stay open, staring out the window and praying incessantly.

In her head, she knew it was only a dream. But for some reason, there was a pit building in her stomach that told her something was wrong. It was almost telling her that Damon might be in trouble.

When Violet opened her eyes next, all she could see was the warm yellow hue of the sun rising. Sometime between four and five AM that night, she must've fallen asleep out of her control. The sun was slowly rising over the horizon and it took a couple of moments for Violet's eyes to adjust to the light. ...Damon?

That was the first thought that came to her head as she gathered her consciousness. The pit in her stomach wasn't going away either, in fact, it felt stronger than before. Violet's eyes glazed over the room and landed at her phone on the bedside table. Suddenly, a wild idea crossed her mind.

Maybe I should give him a call?

The idea started small at first, but the more she sat on it, the bigger it got. After a few more minutes of contemplating, Violet then slowly moved Luke's arm that was resting around her stomach. She did it gently and cautiously, so Luke didn't even wake up. Luke just stirred over to the other side of the bed and continued snoring lightly.

Violet put both hands on the bedside table so they were holding onto her weight. Slowly, she got up from the bed and made as minimal movement as she could. She was even holding her breath, not wanting to make any sound.

Once she successfully got up, Violet swiped the phone from the table and made a beeline for the en-suite bathroom. She closed the door tightly and carefully, only making a small clicking sound. Sitting down on the toilet bowl, Violet scrolled through her contacts and landed on his name. There it was. Printed bold and bright. Damon Van Zandt.

But what do I say?

Violet paused before clicking the call button as she didn't know what to say when he picked up. The last time they talked didn't end so well. And now she even had more secrets to keep from him. She tried to reason with her head again, telling herself it was only a stupid dream, but the pressure in her stomach fought back. After a few more seconds of sitting and shaking her foot on the bathroom floor, Violet couldn't deny it anymore. She had to call him. She just had to.

It doesn't matter what I say! I just need to know that he's okay.

Violet's finger hovered above the call button for a second longer. And before she could change her mind, she tapped the button and the screen changed. The ringing sound began to play and Violet pressed the phone tightly to her ear, holding her breath, and waiting for an answer.