Nurses rushed in and out of the delivery room, carrying newborns and
delivering more babies. Inside the room, five mothers lay on beds, legs
propped up, foreheads dotted with beads of sweat. One mother, Serena
Moriarti, screamed as she pushed one last time, giving birth to her new
baby girl.
"She's so pretty, can I hold her?" Serena looked up at her father, who was smiling, but his brows were knit in a tight knot.
"Serena, you know we can't have any emotional attachments. The baby is already up for adoption; she isn't ours anymore. Now, what is her name?" Asked Massimo Moriarti, Serena's father.
"Anastasia. Anya for short. Daddy, why can't I keep her? Please!" Serena begged her father, grasping his hand in her own while fighting hot tears.
"The Mafia will not allow a sixteen year old girl, no less the daughter of one of the leaders, to keep a baby! You knew when you chose not to abort the pregnancy that this was your consequence. I will make sure that Anastasia is adopted into a well off and loving family, I promise. Now, please, nurse. Take the baby away." He stiffened, fighting his own tears. Serena watched as one solitary tear escaped his eye, her heart dropping at the pain he must be reliving.
-Flashback-
"Natalia, push hard! One last time! Oh, love, it's a girl!" Exclaimed Massimo joyfully. He leaned in and kissed his wife's forehead, her smile lighting up her face. As he stood back up, she whispered quietly to him the name of their child.
"Serenity... please," she pleaded breathlessly.
"Of course, Nat, of course!"
"She's flat-lining, hurry!" The doctor screamed, beckoning the nurses to his side. They rushed to Natalia's side, leaving Massimo drowning in tears and confusion. He stood there, silent; not knowing how to react in a time when joy was mixed with sorrow.
"Sir, Mr. Moriarti... we've lost your wife. We're so sorry, we tried our best. I'll leave you to grieve." The doctor and nurses left, one stepping forward carrying the new baby.
"Sir, we need a name for the baby. Would you like to hold her?" She held out the baby to Massimo and he grabbed her, bringing her tight against his chest.
"Serenity. Serenity Moriarti. Serena, for short."
-End Flashback-
Serena lay back on the bed as she was wheeled into the recovery room. Her father followed closely, fearing that if he left her he'd never find her again.
Serena awoke to the hot sun already flooding her room at 11:00 AM. It had been five years since that fateful day, the one that had haunted her dreams ever since.
She rolled out of bed sleepily, heading to the bathroom to shower. Today was a big day for Serena, the culmination of a year of private investigator's work.
Serena's father, Massimo, had told Serena that he missed his granddaughter terribly after her 20th birthday. Serena had rejoiced at this, and hired a private investigator immediately. Today was Serena's 21st birthday, and her father's present to her was the news that her daughter had been found. Anastasia was living in an upscale New York penthouse in the United States with a single man named Darien Shields. He owned the hotel he lived in, was only 25 years old, and had adopted Anastasia when he was 20 with his then girlfriend Beryl Samsonite. The pair had split when he was 22; he'd raised Anastasia on his own after that, giving Beryl no visitations or custody over her.
Serena's head had swirled at this. Finally, after years of hoping, waiting for a sign of her daughter, she'd gotten one on her 21st birthday. This year was significant in another way, as well, for Serena was inheriting a 25 million dollar trust fund from her grandfather, a wealthy Italian land owner.
"Now, remember, Serena. Just because you have money now doesn't mean you don't work. You need a job like everyone else, missy." Massimo added jokingly to show his daughter he was only looking out for her.
"Of course I'll get a job! I can't just sit around all day, you know! But, I have to tell you something. You won't like it, but it's something I have to do." Serena looked into her father's face, wrinkled with age and hardships.
"Yes, honey? What is it?" Massimo looked at his daughter curiously; his eyes lined with fear.
"I'm moving to the US, namely New York. I have to find Anastasia, daddy, I have to! She's my baby girl, I want her back! Or, at least, for her to know me and I to know her." Serena waited cautiously until her father replied. She hoped he wouldn't be angry with her, but she'd have to do it anyway. There was no turning back now; she'd already bought a home there.
"I was wondering when this day would come, Sere. I agree, you should find her, but keep one thing in mind: this Shields boy, he adopted her. She's legally his, and he most likely loves her to death, as any father loves his daughter. You can't expect to waltz in there and take Anastasia home with you; she has attachments to her father and should be kept near him until she says she's ready to make the choice between you two." Massimo hugged his daughter and watched as she grabbed three bags she'd hidden carefully behind the table.
"Good, now, do you want to take me to the airport?" She winked at her father playfully.
"Come on, let's get going. I knew you couldn't wait!" The pair walked out of the house, closing the door behind as if to signify the end of Serena's life in Italy.
Hey guys! This idea just popped up in my head a few days ago, so I decided to write it. My computer at home had a virus so I couldn't work on my other fic, but I'll try to have a new chapter up in a few days. Thanks!
"She's so pretty, can I hold her?" Serena looked up at her father, who was smiling, but his brows were knit in a tight knot.
"Serena, you know we can't have any emotional attachments. The baby is already up for adoption; she isn't ours anymore. Now, what is her name?" Asked Massimo Moriarti, Serena's father.
"Anastasia. Anya for short. Daddy, why can't I keep her? Please!" Serena begged her father, grasping his hand in her own while fighting hot tears.
"The Mafia will not allow a sixteen year old girl, no less the daughter of one of the leaders, to keep a baby! You knew when you chose not to abort the pregnancy that this was your consequence. I will make sure that Anastasia is adopted into a well off and loving family, I promise. Now, please, nurse. Take the baby away." He stiffened, fighting his own tears. Serena watched as one solitary tear escaped his eye, her heart dropping at the pain he must be reliving.
-Flashback-
"Natalia, push hard! One last time! Oh, love, it's a girl!" Exclaimed Massimo joyfully. He leaned in and kissed his wife's forehead, her smile lighting up her face. As he stood back up, she whispered quietly to him the name of their child.
"Serenity... please," she pleaded breathlessly.
"Of course, Nat, of course!"
"She's flat-lining, hurry!" The doctor screamed, beckoning the nurses to his side. They rushed to Natalia's side, leaving Massimo drowning in tears and confusion. He stood there, silent; not knowing how to react in a time when joy was mixed with sorrow.
"Sir, Mr. Moriarti... we've lost your wife. We're so sorry, we tried our best. I'll leave you to grieve." The doctor and nurses left, one stepping forward carrying the new baby.
"Sir, we need a name for the baby. Would you like to hold her?" She held out the baby to Massimo and he grabbed her, bringing her tight against his chest.
"Serenity. Serenity Moriarti. Serena, for short."
-End Flashback-
Serena lay back on the bed as she was wheeled into the recovery room. Her father followed closely, fearing that if he left her he'd never find her again.
Serena awoke to the hot sun already flooding her room at 11:00 AM. It had been five years since that fateful day, the one that had haunted her dreams ever since.
She rolled out of bed sleepily, heading to the bathroom to shower. Today was a big day for Serena, the culmination of a year of private investigator's work.
Serena's father, Massimo, had told Serena that he missed his granddaughter terribly after her 20th birthday. Serena had rejoiced at this, and hired a private investigator immediately. Today was Serena's 21st birthday, and her father's present to her was the news that her daughter had been found. Anastasia was living in an upscale New York penthouse in the United States with a single man named Darien Shields. He owned the hotel he lived in, was only 25 years old, and had adopted Anastasia when he was 20 with his then girlfriend Beryl Samsonite. The pair had split when he was 22; he'd raised Anastasia on his own after that, giving Beryl no visitations or custody over her.
Serena's head had swirled at this. Finally, after years of hoping, waiting for a sign of her daughter, she'd gotten one on her 21st birthday. This year was significant in another way, as well, for Serena was inheriting a 25 million dollar trust fund from her grandfather, a wealthy Italian land owner.
"Now, remember, Serena. Just because you have money now doesn't mean you don't work. You need a job like everyone else, missy." Massimo added jokingly to show his daughter he was only looking out for her.
"Of course I'll get a job! I can't just sit around all day, you know! But, I have to tell you something. You won't like it, but it's something I have to do." Serena looked into her father's face, wrinkled with age and hardships.
"Yes, honey? What is it?" Massimo looked at his daughter curiously; his eyes lined with fear.
"I'm moving to the US, namely New York. I have to find Anastasia, daddy, I have to! She's my baby girl, I want her back! Or, at least, for her to know me and I to know her." Serena waited cautiously until her father replied. She hoped he wouldn't be angry with her, but she'd have to do it anyway. There was no turning back now; she'd already bought a home there.
"I was wondering when this day would come, Sere. I agree, you should find her, but keep one thing in mind: this Shields boy, he adopted her. She's legally his, and he most likely loves her to death, as any father loves his daughter. You can't expect to waltz in there and take Anastasia home with you; she has attachments to her father and should be kept near him until she says she's ready to make the choice between you two." Massimo hugged his daughter and watched as she grabbed three bags she'd hidden carefully behind the table.
"Good, now, do you want to take me to the airport?" She winked at her father playfully.
"Come on, let's get going. I knew you couldn't wait!" The pair walked out of the house, closing the door behind as if to signify the end of Serena's life in Italy.
Hey guys! This idea just popped up in my head a few days ago, so I decided to write it. My computer at home had a virus so I couldn't work on my other fic, but I'll try to have a new chapter up in a few days. Thanks!