The Mafia’s Good Wife
Chapter 76

~ Damon -

The car approached the tall hills of the estate just as the sun was going down. Thunder was rolling over the hills as lighting struck the sky. Liam parked the car quietly and out of sight, about half a mile away from the gate. Liam was driving so fast that their backup couldn't keep up. They would probably get here in about twenty minutes, but Damon couldn't wait that long. They needed to go in and they had to do it now. Even if it's just the two of them.

"Benzino said she only took two of his men," Liam said as he reloaded his gun. Getting himself ready for another possible war. "Assuming he's telling the truth, we should be able to handle it,"

"I don't care if there's two or two hundred," Damon said as he did the same, making sure his clip was full. "I'm going in,"

Not wasting any more time, Damon got out of the car and went straight for the gate. Liam followed right behind him. Damon and Liam knew all the blind spots of this house perfectly. They were able to quickly and stealthily make it through the gate without the CCTV catching them.

Once inside the gate, they circled around the house and got inside through the back door. Again, they knew all the right codes so the alarm wouldn't sound. Within minutes, they made it into the house. Standing in the kitchen, they didn't see any guards or Celina anywhere. The place looked empty and dark.

Damon and Liam took careful steps as they neared the living room. They then heard some noise coming from the second floor. Damon and Liam looked up instinctively. They must all be upstairs.

Damon pointed his finger to the second floor and Liam nodded his head. They took the maid's staircase and made their way upstairs. Once they got to the second floor, they saw some light coming out of Damon's bedroom. And they also saw that the door to Damon's office was ajar.

Liam wanted to walk past the office and went for the bedroom, but Damon stopped him. He felt this urge to go into the office, so he pulled Liam to follow him.

Damon's office was empty and dark, exactly how he left it. Liam gestured for them to get out, but Damon disagreed. He felt something was off. He put his finger to his mouth, telling Liam to shut up and listen. And after they listened for a moment, they heard something. It was like a cry. A woman's cry.

Damon then quickly went to the secret doorway behind the shelves. He pulled the door back and entered the playroom. What he saw next completely caught him off guard. Even Liam was shocked to his core. "Fúcking hell..." Liam gaped.

The first thing Damon noticed was the pool of blood. And then he saw Violet, still wearing that dress that she put on when she went out. She was lying on the ground, her hair all over her face, and her body trembling for dear life. To this day, it was still the most horrible, most excruciating sight he'd ever witnessed.

Damon raced over to her as quickly as he could. He bent over, grabbed her head with both hands, and checked to see if she was alive.

"...Violet, Violet..." he searched her eyes and checked her breathing.

Violet was coming in and out of consciousness. Damon pressed his ear to Violet's chest and he sighed in relief when he heard her heart beating.

"Sweet girl, it's okay," he said as he held onto her tightly. "I got you. I got you,"

- Violet -

Violet didn't know what happened or how long she was out for. She remembered everything turned dark after Celina left with her baby. She was bleeding all over the place. Pain and more pain took over her body. She really thought she was gonna die. "Da...mon..."

But all of a sudden, Violet awoke to see Damon's face staring down at her. At first, she thought this must be a dream. Or this must be heaven. She didn't think this was real. But then Damon was crying and a single tear trickled down his cheek and it landed on her face. When she felt that tear on her cheek, she understood this was real.

"It's okay, it's gonna be okay, we're getting you out," he said as he rocked her body back and forth.

Violet then noticed Liam in the room. She watched him crossing over to the bed, pulling onto the chains to break her free.

"You're gonna be okay, we're getting you out of here," Damon said as he took off his jacket and draped it over her body. He was trying to put pressure on her lower stomach to stop the bleeding.

Liam was now working on her chains. He couldn't find the key to unlock them, but he was skillful enough to use a pocket knife and picked the lock open. As all of this was happening, Violet was still trying to gather herself. She realized that Damon and Liam must've somehow broken into the estate, and they were going to secretly take her out of there.

"...No..." she breathed. "...Wait..."

Damon and Liam turned to look at her. She was having trouble trying to speak. She just wanted to explain that they couldn't leave here without the baby.

"Z...ach... is..."

"What?"

"She has... our... baby..." Violet clutched Damon's arm with all her might. Damon stared at her with a confused look.

And suddenly, before Violet could get another word out, they heard a voice.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is," Celina said as she stood in the doorway, holding baby Zach in her arms. The two guards were also standing behind her, holding guns in their hands. "If it isn't Damon Van Zandt, right in the flesh," Damon shot her a glaring look. Liam was about to draw his guns, but the guards were quicker. They pointed their guns warningly at him.

"Uh-uh-uh," Celina shook her head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you,"

Liam shot Damon a look. He was waiting for a command. Damon assessed the situation. They couldn't win this way, so he gave Liam a hand, telling him to stand down.

"That's right, we don't want another bloodbath happening here, do we?" she taunted.

Violet glanced up at Celina's feet and saw baby Zach in her arms. Her heart was aching again. She reached her hand out, desperately wanting to touch him.

"Zach..." she croaked. "She has Zach..."

Damon followed Violet's gaze, zeroing in on the baby. His fists were clenched immediately.

"Celina, give us our baby back!" he demanded.

Celina let out a scoff.

"What if I don't want to?" she raised an eyebrow challengingly. "You're not in the place to make demands, Damon. With just one word, I can kill your wife, your friend, or your baby,"

The two guards had their guns pointing at Liam, Damon, and Violet. Meanwhile, Celina held the baby up as if she was about to drop him at any moment. Violet gasped in terror and Damon flinched.

"What do you want?" he said through gritted teeth. His eyes were filled with rage and fury at Celina.

"First, I need you to drop your weapons," she said.

Liam shook his head no to Damon, but Damon saw how Celina was holding the baby and it scared him. Damon gave Liam a look and Liam's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Fúck," Liam scoffed and threw his guns to the floor. One of the guards came forward and picked up the guns.

"You too," he said to Damon.

Damon gave him a deadly glare before taking his guns out, sliding them on the floor.

"Good boys," Celina nodded her head approvingly.

"... Ugh..." Violet groaned in pain. She was losing her consciousness again. The stress was just unbearable.

"Celina, we need to get Violet to the hospital," Damon said firmly. Liam then went over and put more pressure on Violet's lower stomach.

"What's the rush?" Celina said cheekily. "I still want to talk,"

"Celina," he warned.

*CLICK! *

Celina took out her gun and pointed it at baby Zach's face.

"Do you not want to talk to me, Damon?"

Damon swallowed hard. He had never been more afraid in his life. One wrong move and he could lose everything. Everything.

"Fine, we can talk," he said, nodding his head. "What do you want to talk about?"

Celina's lips curved up a smirk. She knew she was winning.

"Well, first of all, I must say I'm impressed," she said teasingly, pausing for a beat as she glanced around the room. "I never knew you had a room like this in your estate. I can imagine how much fun you two must be having," Damon's jaw was clenched shut. Where was she going with this? And did she not realize that a woman is dying here? Does she not care? Well, of course, she doesn't.

"Don't worry, unlike some people, I'm not the jealous type," she said again.

"What are you talking about?" Damon asked.

Celina threw Violet a glance.

"I showed your wife the little home video we made. She got pretty upset about it,"

"What home video?"

"You know, from the CCTV in my room. The night you proposed to me. Remember that?"

Damon narrowed his eyes and thought hard. And then it hit him. Hugo must've installed CCTV everywhere in his house, including in Celina's room. Damon knew exactly what he did there on that night. He quickly turned to Violet with an apologetic look. "Sweet girl, that was... a long time ago and it didn't matter, that was just bullshit stuff I had to do-"

"Ha!" Celina scoffed hard, cutting him off. "Yeah, yeah, say whatever you want, Damon. You were enjoying it. The videos don't lie,"

"Fuck you," Damon hissed at Celina.

"Please do," she smiled back, absolutely shameless.

"Damon, she's still bleeding," Liam said, pointing out that blood was seeping through Damon's suit.

"What the fuck do you want from me, Celina!?" Damon roared in frustration. "You got my son. My wife is dying. What the fuck do you want?!"

Damon was desperate while Celina's face was smug and triumphant.

"I want you, Damon," she said.

"What?"

"I'll let her go if you stay. You can take her place,"

"You're not fucking serious?"

"I am. I'll let her go. And I'll let the baby go too. But you have to stay,"

Damon glared at her with a deadly look, but she was unfazed. This was her plan all along. She wanted him all for himself. Violet was only the bait. Celina didn't care about her or anything else. "...Da...mon..."

Damon looked down at Violet's pale face. Her skin was turning blue. If she didn't get help, she would bleed out and die here. He knew he had to do something.

"Do I have your word?" He turned to Celina. "You're gonna let my wife and son go, and you're not gonna hurt them?"

"You have my word," Celina said as she raised her gun up, and then she put it away in her back pocket.

Damon turned to look at Violet again. Her eyes were weak, but they were pleading with him. They were saying no.

"Alright, fine," he said. "Let Liam take Violet and our baby away. Make sure you don't hurt them,"

Celina nodded her head in agreement. She gave the guards a sign and the guards lowered their guns. Damon then shot Liam a look and Liam obeyed. He took Violet in his arms and carried her up. "Make sure my family's okay," Damon said to Liam.

"On my life, Damon," Liam said knowingly.

The two men shared a look and Liam got up. Celina then put baby Zach in Violet's arms, and she stepped aside to let Liam go. Violet was glad to have her baby in her arms, but she turned around and saw Damon sitting there, hopelessly looking at her. No... Damon...!

"Go," Damon said, it sounded like an order.

Liam let out a deep breath and walked to the door. Violet could only watch as the distance between her and Damon grew further and further. She wanted to cry and scream, but she had no more energy. And the last thing she saw was the guards putting Damon in the chains that she was once in.