Part One Hundred and Twenty-One

Part One Hundred and Twenty-One
The trial had dragged on for two more weeks and Dominic was glad that the end was in sight. The jury was deliberating the outcome but he wasn’t focused on that anymore. They were back in the city and headed to Rafaella’s gynecologist.
Hudson had accompanied her to her other appointments while he was stuck in court and they’d decided to wait until he could be with her to find out the genders of their babies. Dominic couldn’t remember a time he’d been more excited about something.
“Mrs. Vittori?” The nurse called out their name, and Dominic stood up to help Rafaella to her feet.
Dominic had his hand on the small of Rafaella’s back as the nurse led them down a hallway and into an examination room. She took Rafaella’s blood pressure and made notes on the chart for the doctor.
“You can get comfortable on the examination bed with your shirt up. Dr. Rehmeyer will be in shortly,” the nurse said and left the room.
“After this trial, I think we should go away for a bit, someplace you can relax,” Dominic said as Rafaella got comfortable on the bed.
“I’m fine. We can’t go anywhere right now. There’s too much going on,” Rafaella said.
The door opened and Dr. Rehmeyer walked in and gave them both a smile. “Good morning, I’m Dr. Rehmeyer.” He shook Dominic’s hand since the two of them hadn’t met yet. “How are you today, Rafaella?”
“I’m good. Gaining weight like it’s a national sport,” she said with a laugh.
“That’s good, twins take a lot out of you,” he said.
He spread the gel over her stomach and Dominic moved closer to the bed as the doctor picked up the wand and got started. He took measurements and asked questions about her diet, how she was sleeping, and her exercise routine.
“Everything looks very good, Rafaella. Their measurements are perfectly in line with where they should be. Unless you’re spotting or bleeding, there’s absolutely nothing to be worried about,” he said and adjusted the machine’s settings.
“She could relax more,” Dominic said and Dr. Rehmeyer glanced up and smiled at him.
“Every pregnant woman can relax more,” he said and focused on the screen of the machine. “Here you can see baby one’s spine. It’s nicely developed and lower here … this one’s a boy.” He moved the wand over and found the second baby. “This one is a girl.”
Dominic gripped Rafaella’s hand and then he was kissing her. The doctor chuckled and a moment later the door closed, giving them privacy. Dominic leaned his forehead against hers and he laughed softly.
“Are you happy, Dominic?”
“I’m so fucking happy, Rafi.” Dominic kissed her forehead and wiped the gel from her stomach. He couldn’t stop smiling.
There was a knock and the door opened. “Mitchelson called. The jury’s back.”
Rafaella turned toward Dominic and gripped his hands in hers. “Tonight we’ll celebrate your victory.”
Dominic’s smile widened because he really was the luckiest son of a bitch to walk the earth. His wife was perfect and he was lucky that he’d been able to keep her. They left the doctor’s office feeling happy and Austin just shook his head.
“Now’s a good time to tell Dominic that you love Bianca,” Ethan said loudly and Austin glared at him.
Rafaella gave Dominic a look and he smiled. “Austin.”
“Ignore Ethan, he’s being an asshole,” Austin said as he closed the door and settled in his seat.
“Not if it’s true. Is it?”
“Fuck.” Austin wiped a hand over his face. “Yeah, she’s got my world upside down.”
“We’ll talk when we get back to the house,” Dominic said and the rest of the drive to the court building was in silence.
The court room itself was deathly quiet as Dominic made his way to the front where Mitchelson stood next to their table. Isadora and Halden sat next to each other on the other side of the room but Dominic ignored them.
He was too lost in thought to listen to what the judge was saying. Thoughts of having a son and a daughter soon made him feel even more protective of Rafaella. He was also thinking about Austin and Bianca, not that he minded her ending up with Austin, he just didn’t want to lose the guy and not just as an employee. Austin was his friend and a trusted one at that.
“Will the jury foreperson please stand? Has the jury reached a verdict?” Judge Matthews addressed the jury with a stern look and a woman stood up clasping a piece of paper in her hand.
“Yes, your Honor.”
The bailiff walked over to her and took the piece of paper to the judge. His face remained impassive as he read the verdict before giving it back to the bailiff. The woman took a deep breath and looked down at the paper.
“We, the jury, find Dominic Vittori in the case of murder in the first degree, not guilty,” she said.
“The jury is thanked and excused. Mr. Vittori, you are free to go. Court adjourned.”
Loud cheers erupted from Dominic’s side of the courtroom and he shook Mitchelson’s hand with a grin. He looked over at Isadora and he could see the fear in her eyes. She had good reason to be afraid.
Halden was muttering under his breath and the state prosecutor, Duncan Pattinson, lowered his head into his hands. Their star witness, Isadora Watkins, had lost the case for them. Dominic knew he’d have to wait before he took care of Halden too.
He wasn’t sure killing the man was the right thing to do. He’d never been as aggressive as Haverley but perhaps now the man would move on after this loss. Dominic couldn’t be retried for Zhang Wei’s murder and that had to leave a bitter taste in his mouth.
Dominic grabbed Rafaella in a hug and kissed her as his hand rested over her abdomen. She had tears in her eyes and he wiped them away gently. “Everything’s going to be fine, Rafi.”
“Yes it will be,” she said and kissed him again.