The Mafia’s Good Wife
Chapter 49

- Violet -

---THREE DAYS LATER -

"So, how are you feeling today, Violet?" Dr. Lee asked as she guided the ultrasound device over Violet's stomach.

"Very good," Violet replied.

"She still feels tired a lot, and certain foods make her feel nauseous," Damon interjected. He sounded worried, as always.

"That's fine, that's normal," Dr. Lee nodded knowingly.

"See? I told you it's fine," Violet said to Damon, squeezing his hand gently.

Violet was lying on the bed while Damon stood next to her. Dr. Lee had hooked up a laptop and some other devices to create a mini ultrasound lab in their bedroom. Today was another check up day and it was a big one. It was the day they find out the baby's gender.

"Look, there it is," Dr. Lee pointed to the laptop screen. The ultrasound showed the baby's silhouette. "That's the head. The face. The body. The little legs...

Damon leaned closer and watched the screen in awe and wonder. Violet was amazed too. It was so surreal to believe that they had created a life inside of her. An entire human being with arms and legs.

Violet squeezed Damon's hand tighter as her eyes welled up in tears. Damon responded by squeezing her hand right back. They didn't say a word to each other, but they didn't have to. The look of pure happiness and gratitude in their eyes said it all. Dr. Lee glanced at the happy couple and smiled. She printed the ultrasound photos and scribbled something on the back of it. Then she put the photo into an envelope and sealed it.

"Here it is," Dr. Lee said as she gave the envelope to Violet. "I've written down the gender of the baby on the ultrasound photo. You can do whatever you want with it. Some people like not knowing, some people like to know so they can prepare. And if you're thinking about doing a gender reveal party, you can give this to a family or a friend who's gonna help throw the party,"

"Thank you so much, Dr. Lee," Violet held the envelope tightly to her chest.

Dr. Lee then cleaned up the gel on Violet's stomach and gathered her things. Meanwhile, Damon kept glancing at the envelope in Violet's hand.

"I'm gonna leave you two to it. I'll see you again in the next check up," Dr. Lee said as she went to the door, pushing her stuff on a trolley. Violet and Damon smiled at her and nodded along. Once Dr. Lee exited the room, Damon turned his eyes to Violet, waiting expectantly.

"So..." he said.

"So..." she followed.

"What do you think we should do with it?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Do you wanna know?"

"Being the control freak that I am, hell yeah I wanna know," Damon laughed, pausing for a beat before adding, "But on the other hand, it feels kinda good not to know too,"

"Yeah. I know what you mean," Violet sighed.

Once they figure out the baby's gender, there will be all sorts of expectations that come with it. On the other hand, there's an unexplainable type of peace that comes with not knowing. They didn't have to prepare anything specific, and they can just let the universe decide where life takes them.

"Anyway, I don't really care if it's a boy or a girl. As long as they're healthy," Violet continued.

"Exactly," Damon agreed.

"So, should we wait?"

"I

guess-"

* CRASH! *

Suddenly, the bedroom door swung open with a loud noise. Damon and Violet looked at the door instantly. Liam was standing at the doorway and his chest was heaving up and down like he had just run up here. "Damon!" he called.

"What?" Damon narrowed his eyes, completely annoyed.

"Something's... come up. I think you should see this," Liam said through his ragged breath.

"I'm busy right now,"

"I won't be coming in here if it's not important,"

Liam shot Damon a look and Damon's face turned from annoyance to worry. Violet could feel the air in the room change completely.

"Fine," Damon sighed finally, turning his eyes to Violet. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"I don't know, I'll see," Damon replied.

Violet swallowed hard. This didn't sound good, but all she could do now was put on a brave face.

"I'll be here..."

- Damon -

Damon followed Liam into the office where his other men had all gathered. Beau was standing by the desk and a row of documents were laid out. As soon as he entered the office, another man locked the door behind him. The air in the room was filled with tension. Damon knew this must be bad news.

"What's going on?"

"We've located Hugo's two illegitimate sons," Beau answered, pointing to one of the documents. Damon stepped closer and studied it. They were the result of his private investigation, a list of names, photographs, and other things.

"They're in New York City as we speak, building an army with Maranzano sympathizers," Liam said, pointing to a photograph where two young men in suits and fedora hats were shaking hands with a group of guys. "We need to squash them before they get too big. Especially when we're letting go of our own army now,"

Damon's brain did a quick calculation. There weren't a lot of Maranzano sympathizers left, but with some money, they could probably gather fifty men. Meanwhile, Damon was in the middle of trimming down his army, only about fifty people were left now. He could hire more men or ask for help, but that would take some time and they'll lose the element of surprise.

"You still have their current location?" Damon asked.

"Yes, but only until tonight," Beau answered. "My sources told me they're moving out by midnight,"

Quickly, Damon glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 4 in the afternoon. He clenched his jaw in response. It would be fifty against fifty, but those guys had nothing to lose while they had everything to lose. "Shit!" he cursed and went behind the desk, opening the drawer where his guns were stashed. "Gather all the weapons you can find in this house! Leave two people with Violet and we're taking everyone else with us!" Silence fell over the room. The men looked at each other for a moment, bewildered in shock.

"Y'all heard the man?!" Liam roared over the silence. "Let's move!"

After Liam's order, everyone started moving. Some guys went to pull down a painting that revealed a safe. Other guys went to the bookshelves and retrieved guns that were hidden inside the books. One of the guys opened the door and a wave of men entered the room. Everyone moved chaotically, but with precision.

The safe opened to reveal an arsenal of weapons. Everything from small hand guns to machine guns and grenades and bombs. Everyone took what they could and armed themselves. Liam and Beau were amongst them, and they stared at Damon in confusion as they watched Damon putting on a bullet vest.

"Wait, you're going too?" Beau asked.

"We need all the manpower we can find," Damon replied simply, strapping the vest as tightly as he could.

"You should stay here," Liam protested. "We can handle this,"

Damon shot Liam and Beau a look. It was the look of a leader leading a pack. The look of assurance from the captain to lead the ship. "Hey, it's still my war, isn't it?" he said, cocking the gun and putting it in his back holster. "I'm not gonna let you guys go on your own," Beau and Liam exchanged a look. They knew they couldn't stop Damon. So this was it. Another war, another ride or die.

-Violet -

"So, how was the doctor's visit?" Barbara said as she sat down on the bed next to Violet. "Did you find out the baby's gender?"

"Well, the doctor found out, but Damon and I decided to wait," Violet replied, glancing at the envelope she set aside on the bedside table. "Wait for what?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "We kinda like the idea of not knowing what to expect,"

A smile curved up Barbara's lips. Her hand went to Violet's knee and she squeezed her gently.

"Personally, I don't know how I can do that," she said. "When I was pregnant with your brother and you, your dad and I wanted to know the gender as fast as we could. We just wanna be prepared,"

"Well, I think we are prepared either way," Violet replied. "The baby's gonna be born healthy and into a loving environment. Everything else is just... not as important,"

Barbara cocked her head to the side, studying her daughter's face as she commented, "I see,"

Violet noticed the look of uncertainty in her mother's eyes. She sat up straighter and asked, "What, mom?"

"Nothing," Barbara deflected quickly. "It's just that... For as long as I can remember, I've known my daughter to be the girl that always wants to be prepared. You're always so on top of things. That's how you get such good grades at school,"

"I know, but that's... a long time ago," Violet stifled a laugh. "Life hasn't been so... predictable for me after high school. I've learned that it's best to stop planning and start letting things happen instead,"

As if on cue, suddenly, the bedroom door flew open and Damon appeared at the doorway. He was wearing a dark coat over his suit and tie, and he was carrying a briefcase in his hand.

"Violet- Oh... hey, Mrs. Carvey," Damon was taken aback by Barbara's presence.

"Damon?" Violet gaped as she stood up. She noticed several guys standing behind Damon and they were all dressed in black. "Where are you guys going?"

Damon stepped closer and met Violet halfway. Barbara was still sitting on the bed. Damon glanced awkwardly at her, not wanting to say more than he should. "Sweet girl, there's an issue I need to resolve in New York City," he said lowly. "I'll be gone for a few days, but I'll explain everything when I get back," "What?" Violet narrowed her eyes instantly. "Is it... dangerous?"

"We'll be fine," Damon said instead, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Damon," she protested.

"Please, trust me," he said reassuringly. His deep blue eyes pierced into hers. "I love you, sweet girl,"

Violet searched his eyes but she couldn't get an answer. So again, all she could do was put on a brave face.

"I love you too..."

Damon kissed her lips briefly before pulling away. Then he nodded at Barbara before exiting the room. Just as he turned around, Barbara and Violet caught a glimpse of Damon's gun holster. Yes, there was a gun there. Barbara waited until Damon closed the door before she got up and said, "That sounded serious..."

"...Yeah..." Violet sighed and went back to the bed.

"Is everything okay?"

"I hope so..."

Violet didn't sound convinced, and this worried Barbara too. Barbara sat down on the bed next to her, pulling Violet into a hug. Violet let out another sigh and rested her head on her mom's shoulder. "Does this happen a lot?" Barbara asked.

"What?"

"Him leaving abruptly like this? Dealing with things that are dangerous?"

"Sometimes he does..." Violet answered weakly. "But things aren't supposed to be like this anymore... He said it's done..."

Violet swallowed hard. Things were going so great. They were at peace, Damon said there was no more war. The reason why she brought her family over here was so they could see how beautiful and peaceful her life was. But instead, her mother had to see this side of Damon. "Well, it doesn't look like it's done to me," Barbara pointed out.

Violet couldn't even look her mom in the eyes. Her heart felt heavy now. She glanced down at her stomach and her hand went to rub the baby in assurance. Perhaps she was too naive to think that their life can go back to normal just like that. Nothing good ever comes that easy. And even though they've gone a long way, somehow Violet found herself in the same rut again. Full of uncertainty and doubt.

Is this how it's going to be like from now on? We won't know what the future holds... We won't know when or if he's coming back...?