Chapter 55

**Annika…**

Enzo was trying to wake me up, saying my name, "Annika." I was still in dreamland, but he kept at it, so it must've been something serious. I finally opened my eyes and saw his cute little face staring back at me.

"What's up?" I mumbled.

"Mommy's at the door, and Daddy's yelling at her. He told me to go upstairs, but I'm scared," he explained, which made me jump out of bed, still trying to cover up since I wasn't fully dressed.

I glanced at the clock and realized it was already 1 PM. Had I really slept that long? "Who’s at the door, Enzo?"

"Mommy. Daddy yelled at me when I wanted to say hi," he sniffled.

"Hey, it's okay. Don't cry," I reassured him. I got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready. I could hear the shouting, so I quickly threw on some clothes and rushed downstairs, telling Enzo to stay put in his room. I went to grab the other two kids and asked them to keep him company. When I finally made it down, I saw Blanche at the door, and Raffaele was yelling at her, flanked by his guys.

"Why the hell are you here? Who let you in?!" he shouted. They all turned to look at me as I came down the stairs. "What’s going on?" I asked.

"Oh, so that’s why you don’t want me here? You’ve got that slut playing mom to my kids? Is that it, Raffaele?" She shot back.

"Slut?" I gasped, glancing at Raffaele.

"She’s just jealous," he said, making me look back at her. Seriously, how can a mother act like this?

"I am their mother," she insisted.

"No, you’re not, Blanche. To be a mother, you actually have to be there for them. All you did was give birth. You didn’t care about them when you ran off with other guys," he fired back, stepping closer to her.

"They're our kids," she retorted, glaring at him.

"No, they’re not. They don’t even know who you are. What are you doing here? Need money? I’ll give you whatever you want to stay out of their lives for good," he told her.

“I don't care about your money; I just want my kids back. I messed up, and I know that. I'm not who I used to be. I want us to be a family again, with our kids.” She wiped her eyes.

He chuckled and quickly grabbed her by the neck, whispering something in her ear. The fear on her face was clear from whatever he said. "Raffale!" I shouted, pulling him away from her. She started coughing, trying to catch her breath.

"I want her out of my house," he stated.

"Daddy?" Enzo called, making us all turn. I rushed over to him, picking him up, ready to head back upstairs, but the Blanche shouted for him.

"Pumpkin? Put my son down right now!" she yelled, trying to rush over, but the guards stopped her. "He's my son, not yours! He's my damn son!" she screamed.

I turned Enzo around just as the Blanche yelled something else. She quickly pulled out a gun, causing the guards to let her go. She aimed it at everyone, forcing me to back into a corner.

"Bring me my fucking son now!" she demanded, pointing it at Raffaele.

"Put the gun down, Blanche," replied, completely unfazed. All his guards had their weapons trained on her, but since hers was aimed at Raffaele, they held their fire.

"Bring me my son!" she shouted again.

I glanced at Raffaele, who nodded. "She won't let him go unless you lower the gun. I don't want you to scare him," he said. She nodded and holstered the gun. I set Enzo down and walked him over, causing Blanche to tear up a bit.

"Pumpkin?" she smiled, making Enzo look at her nervously. I brought him closer, and she crouched down to his level. "He's getting so big," she beamed, noticing his jeans and black t-shirt, gently stroking his hair.

"He looks just like you," she said, glancing at Raffaele. "Do you still love me?" she asked, but Enzo shook his head no. "I'm your mother, Pumpkin," she sniffled. Enzo looked up at Raffaele, who took his hand. "It's okay, Enzo," he assured him. She hugged Enzo, breathing in his scent.

"Why isn’t he talking? What did you do to him?" Raffaele looked at her and said, "It's because you scared him," which made her shoot him a fierce look.

"Daddy," he called, moving over to him and reaching up to be picked up.

"You turned them against me, didn't you?" she accused.

Raffaele replied, "You did this all on your own, Blanche. Now take him back upstairs." He handed Enzo to me.

"What? No! You’re not his mother; I am!" She screamed, trying to pull out her gun again, but the guards quickly restrained her.

"Get her the hell out of my house right now!" he yelled as I heard her continue to shout while I took Enzo upstairs. Once in my room, I noticed Enzo looked really upset.

"Why is mommy like that?" he asked.

"I don’t know, buddy," I sighed.

"Why didn’t she want us?" he sniffled.

I wrapped my arms around him, comforting him as he let his feelings out. No child should have to cry like this; they shouldn’t have to feel such hurt. I realized that seeing his mother after such a long time was tougher than not seeing her at all. I’ll do everything I can to shield them from the pain in this world, even if it costs me everything.