4

Victoria

I was frightened to see Michael standing in the nursery holding Antonio. My heart began to pound, and I couldn't breathe.

"He looks just like me," Michael said as he looked at me with a small smile.

"Michael," I shakily said; I didn't know what to do. What could I do? Michael had complete control over the situation.

Michael's eyes turned cold as he said, "you made a big mistake, Victoria; you shouldn't have left."

Michael began to buckle Antonio in his carrier. I tried to hold back tears.

"No, Michael. Please, don't take him away from me."

"Oh, don't worry. You're coming with us.

Michael pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. A gasp escaped my lips.

"It's just dinner. It will be fine."

"Michael, I don't know if I'm ready to meet your parents."

Michael had been pressing me to meet his parents, but I kept saying no. After he made it clear I wasn't going anywhere, I still had difficulty adjusting to living with him. One day, a dress was waiting for me when I got home from work. I thought Michael and I were going on a date, but he told me I would finally meet his parents.

Michael had had enough of me protesting, so he pulled out his gun and pointed it at me.

"I've been telling my parents all about you. They want to meet you, so you're coming with me whether you want to or not."

"Go pack your things. NOW."

I walked to my room and did as Michael said. As I packed, Michael had his gun in his hand, ready to fire in case I tried anything; I was too afraid to attempt to escape. Besides, there was no way I would leave without Antonio.

"Alright, that's everything."

"Really?" Michael seemed shocked to see only one suitcase and a small handbag.

"You know I'm a simple person."

"Text your friend Kelly and tell her an emergency came up."

I grabbed my phone and typed up what Michael had said. Before sending it, I let Michael see the message. After reading it, Michael hit send and smashed my phone.

"Now, let's go."

"We need stuff for Antonio," I said, motioning towards Antonio's room.

"I already have everything prepared for him and grabbed all the important documents from your desk."

Michael handed the carrier to me and grabbed my things, still holding his gun in his hand.

"Back door. My car's parked in the parking lot."

As we headed to the back door, I wondered how Michael could park in the lot. It was private property. At the same time, I didn't want to know. Knowing Michael, he probably killed someone to get into the lot.

The walk to the parking lot seemed like a journey. I was so nervous walking with a gun right against my back. When we reached the car, Michael opened the back door for me.

"Get in."

I did as Michael said and secured Antonio's carrier. Michael put my things in the trunk, sat in the driver's seat, and sped away. I stayed quiet; I didn't know what to say. So many questions were running through my mind. How angry was Michael? Would he hurt me? What did he want with Antonio and me? All I could do was try to stay calm, but I couldn't stop trembling.

"You're shaking. Why?"

"I just can't process what's going on."

"There's nothing to process. You and our baby are coming with me; it's simple."

I didn't know what to say. Primarily because I didn't want to anger Michael.

"What did you name him?" Michael asked, eyeing me through the rearview mirror.

"Antonio."

"After me?"

"Yeah."

"I take it he has your last name."

"No, he has yours."

Michael smiled. Although he was still mad, I saw a bit of joy in his eyes. He must've been happy that I still recognized our baby as his.

"How did you find us?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Dylan saw you in the park several weeks ago, and he showed me a picture of you, and things took a course from there. I was really impressed with how you tried to lead us off track. Even more impressive was that you have your entire past set up for your new identity."

I was happy that Kelly's plan worked but disappointed that it didn't work well enough.

"You're still trembling. I'm not gonna hurt you, Victoria, or Antonio."

It was a long silent ride on the highway. Why did Michael come after Antonio and me? Eventually, I knew where we were heading, Michael's mansion.

I had that familiar uneasy feeling as we pulled into the driveway. I was worried about what would happen once we set foot inside.

***

Michael already had a beautiful nursery prepared for Antonio; I knew his cousin had to have designed it. The walls were a calming shade of blue, while the ceiling was a dark blue painted with stars to look like the night sky. There was a crib decorated simply with blue sheets, a blue baby blanket, and a mobile with stars hanging from it. There was a changing table with drawers fully stocked with diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, lotion, baby shampoo, and baby body wash. There was a blue recliner chair for me to sit in. Three shelves on the wall had teddy bears and other stuffed animals. There was a small nightstand with a nightlight, baby monitor, humidifier, and a white noise machine. The walk-in closet was filled with clothes and fully stocked with bottles, pacifiers, formula, snacks, toys, wipes, diapers, and other supplies. Michael made sure Antonio had everything he needed.

Michael and I were on opposite sides of the crib, staring at a sleeping Antonio.

"We made a good-looking kid, "Michael said.

"We did. He's so handsome."

"He obviously gets that from me."

"You are so full of yourself."

"You gotta admit it, though. He looks a lot like me."

"No, he looks exactly like you."

I saw Michael smile when I said that. Something about him changed when he discovered our baby's name, and he took great pride that our little Antonio looked like him.

"We should let him sleep. Tomorrow, I'll talk to my attorney to establish paternity, and we can spend some time playing with him.

"Sounds good."

We both headed out of the room. Strangely, Michael was in a hurry and walked out of the door first, but I was okay with that; it allowed me to look back at our beautiful baby boy. However, I wish I didn't stop to stare. I felt a firm hand grab my arm, and I was pulled away from the room and slammed against the wall.

Michael's eyes turned cold as he asked, "how long?"

"How long, what?"

"How long did you know you were pregnant and didn't tell me?"

"I didn't. Not until a few months after I left."

"Liar."

"It's the truth."

Tears threatened to fall as Michael gently stroked my face with the back of his hand, making me relax. However, the moment didn't last long as Michael's hand tightly gripped my throat and slammed my head against the wall.

"What were you going to tell him about me? HUH?"

"I don't know; I have a few years to figure that out."

"Not anymore. You're both staying here. Don't you EVER hide something like that from me again."

There was a rage in his eyes. His grip on my throat was tight, hovering over me.

"What else are you hiding from me? Why else did you leave?"

"Nothing. I just left."

"WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU?"

He was now yelling in my face. I began to shed a few tears and turned my face away because I was too afraid to keep looking into his eyes.

"Because I love you. I'd never lie to you."

"LIAR! You tried to keep MY son away from me."

I tried to think of a response that wouldn't make him even angrier.

"LOOK AT ME!"

Michael tightened his grip. I started seeing black dots. For a moment, I thought he was going to crush my windpipe. When I looked at him, he looked ready to kill me.

What have I done?

I couldn't help but sob, "Michael, please. I'm sorry. I swear I'm not hiding anything else. I promise I'll never do anything like that again. I promise."

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT, YOU WON'T. You cannot set foot outside this house unless I'm with you."

Antonio began to cry; Michael's yelling most likely woke him up. We both looked toward the room, and Michael looked back at me.

"And you're not allowed anywhere near my son."

With that, Michael threw me on the floor and walked away to take care of Antonio. I coughed as I tried to catch my breath. I leaned my back against the wall, brought my knees up to my chest, and started crying. I didn't know my future here, and I was too afraid to find out. It took a while for me to calm down; once I did, I was so tired I simply closed my eyes and let sleep take over.