He Was There

Marcella ran behind Karl Benjamin. "Uncle Karl, did my sister mention who gets to~"

"I cannot reveal the will prematurely, Bambi. You'll learn who gets what tomorrow with the others. I am a lawyer. I am bound by the~"

"I just want to know about my nephew's future, uncle," Marcella blocked him. "Please tell me that the will was written after Joseph's birth."

Karl sighed. "I admire you for caring more about your nephew than for the inheritance. Your parents raised you right. But… Look at you, Bambi… You… you're so... Are you even ready to take care of a baby? You are 28. You don't earn enough to sustain yourself. You can't even look after yourself. Go, get home, and take a rest. Come to the reading on time."

Marcella was not surprised by how "uncaring" Uncle Karl sounded. But he was worried for her. To be honest, she didn't look like a confident, well-balanced adult.

"But I want to see my sister, Uncle. By the way, do you know what exactly happened? Who~"

"Bambi…" Karl patted her shoulder.

"Uncle," Marcella held his hand. Her eyes watered.

"I was attacked the day before yesterday. I barely escaped. Yesterday I wandered around the city like a mad woman trying to get news about my sister, but I was taken to the police station for no reason. I spent the entire night there. I am not immature or someone who can't hold my own. I am grieving. I am… powerless… I am so powerless I can't even attend my sister's funeral or have a look at my nephew. I have no one on my side… "

"Oh, Bambi…" Karl hugged her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you… You're not alone, Bambi. Never forget that. You are not powerless. You can summon an army with just a flick of your finger… You are Joseph DeAngelo's only surviving daughter. Your father left many loyal people for you. So, never be discouraged…"

Karl patted her shoulder and smiled at her. She knew Uncle Karl was exaggerating when he said that she has an army, but her mood did get a little better.

"Then will you tell me what's in the will?" she asked.

"Go," Karl patted her on the shoulder and walked away.

Marcella sighed seeing Uncle Karl leaving. She decided to ask around if anyone knew in which funeral house her sister and brother-in-law were kept.

But the autopsy! If a police case was filed, they won't hand over the body without an autopsy. So, their bodies must be in a hospital.

"Ella!"

She stopped hearing Aiden from behind. Aiden joined her.

"I heard that they are keeping them at St. Bart's Hospital. And the funeral will be the day after tomorrow…"

Aiden looked proud and expected her gratefulness.

Marcella was grateful. Now all she has to do is to find a way to visit her sister.

"Aiden, will you help me have a look at my sister and brother-in-law?" she asked.

"Look at them? Why? They are doing an autopsy and… Ella," Aiden held her hand. "It won't be pleasant. You won't be able to handle it."

"But I want to… Please…" she begged him. She hated begging Aiden. But he is someone with power. He could help her if he wanted to.

"There will be cops, Ella. They won't allow~"

"Help me sneak in," she asked.

"But that's illegal, Ella…"

"You work for the Senator. You can~"

"No, Ella. Stop acting like a brat! You can't get everything you want," Aiden's gentle appearance disappeared only to be replaced with annoyance. He snorted. "I never should have been here. You've turned worse, Ella… You say I was abusive. But can you see that I am the one trying to be rational here? Acting like a thug with the gun… You stole that guy's gun, didn't you?" Aiden whispered in her ears.

Marcella shrugged. That was a perfect gun with the serial numbers filed off. So, she kept it to build her stash. What else was she supposed to do? Throw a perfect gun away? Did he forget that her life is constantly in danger and she needs all the help she can get to stay alive?

"Apologize. I'll take you out for lunch," Aiden held out his hand.

"What?" Marcella scoffed. "Apologize? To whom?"

Aiden shook his head in disbelief. "Can't you see? I'm not the user, poser, or abuser, Ella. You are!" He pressed his lips in anger. He looked so righteous. "I still love you!"

Aiden expected her to say something, but she had nothing to say. He waited for some time and turned to leave.

Marcella let out a sigh.

Maybe she was a user! What does she know?

She tries her best to do everything alone. It's just this issue is too hard to handle alone. Maybe Aiden is right. She cannot depend on anyone else. If she wants something, she should do it herself.

She sat on a bench in the park wondering if she should storm into the mortuary with guns blazing. But that won't be a good idea. Taking a gun into a hospital is not a good idea. She didn't want to ruin her chance of getting custody of her nephew.

She had a feeling that her sister would have made her the godmother of her son in the will. She just did.

The other option is to bribe her way in. She should withdraw all her savings. She almost has a grand in savings. It should be enough. She just wanted to see for herself how her sister died. She wanted to hug and kiss her sister one last time.

It's not an absurd wish, is it?

She recalled Maggie's words.

Will my sister be alive now if only they found me first?

Covering her face with her hands she sighed. Her wound hurt. Her stomach grumbled with hunger. But she didn't feel like eating.

She felt abandoned and alone. She's been holding herself alone for far too long. Just for once, she wanted help. She wanted a shoulder to lean on.

She sighed. She can only dream.

She wanted to close her eyes and fall asleep. She hoped that when she woke up, everything would have been a dream; a nightmare that was too real.

With her head bowed and eyes closed, she imagined a beautiful scenario.

She woke up from the nightmare. Her sister and her brother-in-law were alive; she met them at dinner with the gift she bought for her nephew; they had hotdogs for dinner.

Eh, hotdog?

She opened her eyes as she smelled hotdog. In front of her was a big manly hand holding a hotdog. The charcoal grey trousers fitted perfectly around his long legs.

And his shoes…

"Tony?" she looked up. Without knowing, she smiled. "What are you doing here?"

Again, he was in front of her right when she needed help.

Her heart skipped a beat as Tony's eyes met hers. He smiled softly at her. All of a sudden, the nightmare she was living became bearable. Everything around her blurred and her sorrows halve. She could breathe the fragrance of the flowers around her again.

"Eat it. I'm taking you somewhere," he said holding out the hotdog. He had another paper bag in his hand.

"Okay…" she got the hotdog. She felt like eating, all of a sudden. "Where?"

"What did the Romano family say?" Tony asked. With no qualms, he sat beside her. He opened the paper bag and munched on a hotdog.

"They weren't keen on letting me attend the funeral," she said. She stared at the hotdog in her hand.

"Eat," he leaned to her ear and whispered.

Marcella almost yelped. His hot breath on her cheek made her feel weird. She turned. He was so close to her. He didn't lean back and he stared at her. A pinch of mustard was sticking on his upper lip. He must have felt it, he licked it clean.

Marcella cleared her throat and took a bite. It tasted bland. She didn't think it was the hotdog's problem. The problem was in her heart.

"I knew they would treat you unfairly," Tony said.

He was looking to the front and his eyes looked pensive and depressed. He then took a deep breath. "That's why, Marcella…" he let out the breath. His shimmering blue eyes fixed on her. "I have talked to the mortician. I can take you to the mortuary… that is if you want to…"

"Yes, please…" Marcella said.

Before she knew it, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Again, he knows what I need…