Phoenix
Chapter Eleven
Michael informed Della she would be staying the night in Peggy's room, but he stressed to her there was no time to unpack, because in a few short hours, the three of them would be leaving again.
"You certainly don't believe in keeping Peggy in a place long enough for her to have roots, do you?" Della muttered under her breath.
She was lucky he hadn't heard her, because in the next moment, Michael called Mrs. Meyers to escort Della and little Peggy to the girl's room. With just a glance he signaled the woman to be on the alert, knowing Della might try use any ruse or trick to get through to Mason. Before the three women left the office, he asked his housekeeper to send the man who had delivered Della to the mansion.
Few minutes after, there was a knock on the door.
"Come ahead!" Michael called.
His trusted lieutenant—nothing more than a hired gun in a suit—entered the office and waited. There was never a rush to break the silence. When Michael was ready, Michael would speak.
"Okay, Pete, first, I want one of the men to stand guard outside the kid's room. I'm positive Mrs. Street won't sit idly by, looking for an avenue of escape."
The man's eyes widened in surprise but he quickly averted them. I somehow doubt she will try to escape as long as her daughter is here.
"Boss, I assure you there's nothing to worry about with Mrs. Mason." At the mere mention of hearing Mason's last name, Michael shot a look of fire at his man's. "So sorry... That Mrs. Street can do something. I've already ordered my men to keep an eye on her, I have one of them stationed outside the room. The others are found wandering around, there is even one standing guard under Miss Domenico's window."
Suddenly, a wistful smile lit up Michael's face. "That sounds good to me! I have no doubt that Della would be able to tie up some sheets and try to escape through the window with her daughter. As a child and teenager, she tried it out many times. We both did."
"Don't worry, Boss. If she tries, she'll quickly get caught by Jimmy."
"Well! But just remember to warn your men that I don't want any of them to be mistreated or hurt. If any of them suffers a single scratch, they will pay with their lives. It is understood?"
Pete stared up at his employer and nodded. "It's understood all round, Boss. No harm to either of them. Leave it to us."
"Okay, now tell me. Do you have everything ready, so that tomorrow we leave very early for my cabin?"
"Of course! I arranged for someone to clean and air it out. I also ordered the pantry to be filled. That way, you won't have to go out looking for anything." He was a little proud of himself for that touch, but as usual, it didn't register with his boss.
Michael mentally reviewed the details in his head, then said, "Good. Now I want you and Jimmy to get ready, because you're coming with us to the cabin. I'm sure you two will be enough to keep an eye on Della and the brat. Once we're there, I know the inhospitableness of the place will convince Della any attempt to escape would be suicide. Now get out of here!"
Pete, just limited to nod and then quickly left without saying word.
After seeing that his employee closed the door, Michael walked over to his desk and sank onto his chair. Pulling open the center drawer, he drew out the picture frame with his and Della's picture on it. He sat there, staring at it for minutes before he snorted.
"Della… my dear Della! Now that I have you, not even the devil himself will be able to take you away from my side. I swear that I will never let you go."
XXXX XXXX XXXX
When Della and Peggy finally found themselves alone in the small bedroom, the former couldn't help but gather her daughter in a tight hug again. It was the kind of hug she had reserved for her daughter for so long. Though the chance to never hold her newborn still stung, the ability to shelter her now more than made up for the deprivation. At last she knew how it felt! And now, despite the pain of the circumstance and the fear that they both felt, nothing could remove that intense sense of happy completeness from her. Especially not Michael Domenico.
"Mommy…" Peggy protested, tasting the word on her mouth, "Mommy Della! You're squeezing me too hard! I can't breathe!"
Della released her and smiled reassuringly. "I'm sorry, Peggy. It's just that—I've only just learned that . . ." Her words fell away. It was too much, much too soon. She needed Perry for this conversation. They needed to do it together.
Peggy cocked her head. "What did you learn?"
Della's laugh was soft and sweet. "It can wait until Daddy comes. Are you excited to see him again?"
The young girl's eyes brightened. "Yeah! Daddy Michael is very good to me. He knew I was upset because I missed you and Mr. Mason. So, he told me he would invite you both to come see me. He kept his promise and now you're here with me! Although... Mr. Mason isn't." Her mouth quivered, and her voice reflected her sadness.
"Daddy? Daddy Michael?" Della blinked, then blinked again. "Peggy, why do you call Mr. Domenico that?"
"Oh, I finally know whole truth. He and you are my parents! He told me there was a mistake at the hospital when I was born and you two thought I had died. And since you were both suffering a lot from my supposed death, you decided it was better to part ways. So, you went to work for Mr. Mason, forgetting about Daddy Michael, to marry your boss." She took a deep breath, then continued, "But when Daddy found out I was alive, he decided to look for me. Since you were married and he didn't want to cause you problems with your new husband, Daddy decided that it was best to say nothing and let my new parents take care of me. But when they died in the accident, since he couldn't take care of me alone, he took me to boarding school, but he never forgot about me. He was just waiting for me to be a little older to tell me the truth."
"Peggy!" Della protested, "That isn't what happened at all!"
But there was no stopping the rehearsed speech Michael had obviously drilled into her.
"But that all changed when he found out you and Mr. Mason wanted to adopt me. That's when he realized the time to tell me the truth had come. Mommy! Daddy Michael loves you! Please leave Mr. Mason and go back to him."
Della took in the wide eyes, so much like her father's, and her heart smarted. She felt the anger burning against Michael again, but she refused to take it out on Peggy.
Peggy poured salt on the already raw wound. "So, if you do, we will be a family, the family I always wanted." She snorted angrily. "Besides... Mr. Mason already forgot about me! I know Daddy invited you both, but he didn't want to be here with me. But that, I don't care! Because, I know you and Daddy love me!"
It was more than she could stand. It was one thing to listen to a rant Michael had planted in the sweet girl's mouth, but it was something else again to malign Perry or assume he loved her one iota less. But what really steamed her was the way Michael implied that he, rather than Perry, was her father.
"MAE ELIZABETH MASON! I want you to listen to me carefully! Michael Domenico is not your father! Your father is… Perry, Perry Mason. And you must never, ever think that he doesn't love you!"
Peggy's eyes were wide and wondering. If that were true, then everything Daddy—Mr. Michael has said could be a lie.
"At this point I can't explain how things actually went," Della soothed, "But I just want you to know that I will find a way for you and I to get out of here and be reunited with him."
"Mommy?"
"Yes, Peggy?"
"Could you tell me more about Daddy—about Mr. Mason? I know all about the lawyer stuff, but . . . how is he when he's fun? Do you love him? I know he loves you. Even when Mr. Michael was talking badly about him, I knew he was wrong. I might be 9, but I'm not blind. Daddy is crazy about you. Will he be crazy about me?"
XXXX XXXX XXXX
Perry couldn't believe what was happening. Less than twenty-four hours ago, Della and I were so happy! We were so positive, thinking the process of adopting Peggy would be smooth and easy. What a fool I was! How blind could I have been, to miss seeing little Peggy's resemblance to Della! And now, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, she had been restored to them. It was a miracle. Only to have it snatched brutally away by Michael Domenico.
With anguish, Perry reviewed the scene he and Paul had found. He had hoped to have missed her by minutes. But his heart had stopped the instant they entered the apartment. Realizing that Della, his beloved Della, was not there. If it weren't for Paul's timely intervention, he was now certain that not a single item would have been left in that place intact.
He had become a madman, sure she had left him a note—a sign, something—that would give them a clue as to her whereabouts. There had been nothing of the sort. All he had found was a chill, a vacancy that would never be lifted without her return.
But now he and Paul were on a plane bound for Chicago, looking as much for Della as they were for Peggy. His mind kept wondering: Why? Why, Della? Why didn't you tell me about you tell me about the engagement or about Michael? Didn't you trust me?
Trust me. That's a laugh. Based on how I've reacted recently, I don't blame Della for keeping her past private. She knew me better than I knew myself. It would have taken me a long time to accept her having had a previous engagement. But, in my defense, I would have come around.
Assuming Michael was someone irrelevant in his wife's past, Perry trusted that Della would have mentioned him before if he were significant. But no, not Della. She bore her secrets alone. She never told him she had been about to marry that man. That same man who took their daughter from them twice. But even that he could understand. It wasn't easy to accept that you stood someone up at the altar.
Damn it, Della! Why? Why didn't you tell me? That damned man showed up in front of us, to take Peggy away. Perry squeezed his eyes closed, fighting the tears back. He was hurt, angry and beyond frustrated. That beautiful little girl who entered my office months after, the girl who stole my heart from the first moment I saw her. My princess... Our daughter!
Guilt wrecked him. He had been helpless at the courthouse. He could see the hurt bewilderment in his wife's beautiful hazel eyes. She had looked to him to come riding to the rescue, to have the backup plan ready, but. . . He did nothing.
He knew what his wife was like. They hadn't really talked on the way back to the office. It was the kind of silence he had grown used to, the kind he respected and allowed, because it meant Della was thinking and processing, just as he was. But he should have known something wasn't right. He should never have left her alone and vulnerable. He just ran off to Paul's office, leaving her there alone in office, dealing with her pain. How stupid was he!
And there he was, sitting on that plane, not knowing if he will be able to win back his two great loves, the two most important women in his life.
"Hey, Buddy," Paul leaned in, shattering Perry's thoughts, "The pilot just announced we'll be landing in soon. You'd better adjust that expression, or all the reporters in Chicago will think you're on trial for murder."
The road to the Domenico mansion was terribly distressing. Every second seemed like an eternity. Hamilton had managed to use his influence to get a Chicago judge to sign a search warrant on Michael's house. And now Perry was going along with the police in search of his wife and daughter. And nothing and no one would prevent meeting them again. Because if someone even dared to try... He would make sure that person would know hell itself.