I am Emily Rose

Chapter14: Trauma

Riccardo's P.O.V

I'm sitting in the waiting room at the hospital. My nerves are shot, I can't think straight. That bastard shot his own daughter! He used her as a distraction to get his sorry ass out of there. He pushed Rosa toward me and then shot her in the back. Aldo and I didn't take note of him getting away. f**k! Now my girl is in the hospital again, fighting for her life with her mother in the next ward doing the same. This has all turned to s**t. I rub my hand over my face. I hadn't slept in two days, probably couldn't even if I tried.

"Here, I thought you might need some coffee."

"Thanks Aldo... might need something stronger than coffee."

"Take a sip, you'll find it has a kick." He winks.

I took a sip..."f**k! Yip, deffinatley has a kick."

"Any news on the Mrs?"

"They took her into theater about an hour ago. Amanda is in recovery right now."

"I'm sorry man. She's a strong woman, just try to stay positive."

"Yeah, thanks."

According to the doctors, the bullet punctured Rosa's left lung and the impact of her fall caused her wrist to fracture. Amanda was brutally r***d and beaten. She has a number of broken ribs, internal bleeding, cuts and bruises. How did this turn out so badly? All I wanted was to get my girl back and keep her safe. I don't even know how I'm going to explain all of this to her when she wakes...if she wakes.

"Aldo...what happened with Monica?"

"Look man, all I did was leave you with her for a good time. She told me that she spiked your drink with something to relax you."

"I was injected in the neck and woke up almost 2 days later hand-cuffed to her bed."

"Woah! I had no idea, I swear. I genuinely thought that it was all in the name of fun."

"I think she's working for him... Franco."

"She's ready for you when you feel better."

With that, the doctor came towards us. I quickly stood to hear what he had to say:

"Mr Bernardi... Mrs Bernardi has just been wheeled out of surgery and is currently in recovery. All went well with repairing her lung and closing up the wound. It will, however, take some time for her to heal. I'd like to keep her here for at least a week for observation."

"Yes, yes I understand. How is her mother doing?"

"Well, Amanda will also need time to recover physically....however.... mentally, it might take a little longer."

"Of course, I understand. I will, however, need to have both of them moved to my home for safety reasons, I'm sure you can understand. I will have a full-time nurse on the premises, and you will visit every day."

"Ah, well...."

"Doctor Cane...I'm sure you understand?"

I stared at him dead on, there is no other way. He knows exactly who I am and that alone puts him in danger.

"Yes, yes...um, that will be fine. Can we move them tomorrow though? I, mean.... Mrs Bernardi has just come out of surgery."

"I'll have my men stationed at her door until tomorrow then.

"Right, well... I have another patient. If you don't mind...uh... Mr Bernardi."

I nod my head, giving him permission to leave.

"Well, that's good news...right?"

"Aldo, get Martha to arrange two rooms in the house with all the equipment that we'll need and a third room for the nurse to stay in while the ladies are recovering. Get four of our best men to watch them here, two stationed at Rosa's room and two at Amanda's."

"On it, Boss"

"Oh, and Aldo.. Another four men guarding around the hospital. I'm not taking any chances."

"I understand Don Bernardi."

Aldo nods, and leaves to carry out my orders. I need to see my girl. I make my way to the private ward where she is recovering. As I walk in, everything feels so cold and quiet. There she lay, so pale and fragile. I sit next to her bed and take hold of her cold hand.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you, amor mio."

Rosa's P.O.V

It's dark everywhere and so, so very cold. It feels like I'm in an underwater abyss. I can hear people speaking faintly and the sound of beeping, but then it goes quiet, and I'm trapped under the water again.

I can see my mother sitting on the terrace with my father. They look so happy together, holding each other lovingly. I'm running in the garden, playing with my caregiver's son, Malcolm. We're having so much fun. All of a sudden, I'm in my room and my parents are yelling at each other. My dad comes to get me and puts me into his car. My mother is screaming for him to let me go.

My dad is driving really fast, "Daddy?"

"Not now Rosa!"

"Are you mad at mom?"

"I said, NOT NOW ROSA!"

The next moment, I see bright lights coming straight towards us. I hear the screeching of tires and the sound of metal. It's dark again. I don't know where I am now, or what happened. I can faintly hear the sound of my mother's voice:

"She wasn't supposed to be in the car with him!"

"You almost got her killed, Amanda!"

"I know, forgive me, I know. I tried to stop him from taking her with him."

"Your plan didn't work. He's gone, and your daughter is in a coma."

The voices fade and the sound of beeping returns. I struggle to open my eyes, they're just too heavy. Slowly, I surrender to the darkness again, only this time I'm looking at myself from the doorway of a hospital room. My mother is there and ... Riccardo? Next, a priest walks in. Oh, my God! Does this mean that I'm dead?

I can't make out the words being said, mom is crying. The priest is taking my fingerprints and Riccardo is busy with some papers. Again, I'm dragged into the black abyss.