Mia Figlia

Chapter 7 ✔️

PoV Stella

My head pounded. An annoying beeping was the first sound I heard. Forcing my eyes open I closed them right away again. The lights were too dazzling, and it did hurt. My whole body was aching. Got I ran over by a car? And where did this masculine scent come from? It faded slowly the longer I was awake.

"Miss Miller? Can you hear me?" A woman's voice asked me gently. I wanted to speak but something made it impossible. Hence, I opened my eyes again cautiously.

"Oh my dear lord, you are finally awake. I am Amy, a nurse at the Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital. I will get you a doctor."

The small middle-aged brown-haired woman left the room in a hurry. It gave me the opportunity to awake my frozen brain, which was still in the near-wake phase. Well, at least I tried, but so far, I could not recall why I ended up at the hospital. The nurse called me Miss Miller, which meant that I was not married. No idea if this was good or bad. Somehow the name did not ring a bell, like it was not my real one. But I knew one thing for sure. Something was missing, not solely my memory.

"Ah Miss Miller. I am Doctor Hammond. We are so glad you woke up." A man in his fifties entered the room. His thinning hair stuck out in all directions, as if the nurse had woken him up. Perchance that was the case. A look out of the window confirmed my assumption that it was in the middle of the night. Darkness everywhere.

"Miss Miller, we will run a few tests now and if everything is fine, I will free you from the machines. Nod if that is ok for you."

I nodded obediently since I could hardly wait for the beeping to stop. In silence I watched him and the nurse checking everything, then he removed finally the breathing tube. Relieved, I took a deep breath. It did hurt like hell, but at least I was able to breathe on my own again. No matter what and despite not knowing who I was, I wanted to make sure that I would not have to rely on others for long. Thinking about it felt tremendously wrong.

"Everything looks fine. But please don't leave the bed on your own. Your body has to get used to functioning on its own again, since you have been in a coma for a month."

A month? That did not sound good. I shuddered. What did happen to me? Knowing myself and my determination I would find out eventually. But I had to become stronger first, to leave this damn building. Being here sent shivers down my spine. There must have happened something bad in my past. Perhaps a long time ago. Was this the reason why I did not recall my name?

"Miss Miller?" I looked up to meet the concerned eyes of the doctor. Nodding I motioned him to talk further. I rubbed my neck.

"Tomorrow we will determine how we can treat you the best to get you back on your feet. Try to sleep a bit now. You must be exhausted. Waking up from coma is not child's play. I will see you in the morning."

The doctor and the nurse left the room. I waited a couple of minutes to be sure they would not return. A bit later I swung both legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. I gave my blood pressure a moment to adjust, then I stood up and walked carefully to the bathroom. Well, it was a bit wobbly, but I managed to reach it. There I took off the hospital clothes and stared speechless at my reflection at the mirror. A couple of scars were spread over my torso. The newer ones on my chest, but there were older, fading ones as well on my belly. Fuck. Tracing the old wounds with my index finger, I remembered my past again. I had been running away from it for years now. The new scars were from the same type of weapon, a knife. Were both attacks linked to each other? Knowing that I had been careful enough to wipe out all traces of my existence, my gut told me it had been different this time. But what exactly did happen? Looking at my reflection I saw my visible pulse at my neck. Holding back a scream, I put on the clothes and shuffled back to the bed. Exhausted I lay down.

Staring into the darkness I recalled who I truly was. Stella Miller was my fake name, the one which had to protect me. And Isabella. My body started to shake. My daughter. Why wasn't she with me? Why didn't they say anything about her? My chin quivered. Wrapping my arms around my belly, I sat up again, ignoring the big fat lump in my stomach, swallowing down the rising nausea. I had to focus.

Travelling back in my mind to the moment I gave birth to her, I went on from there. The places we moved to, to be safe and far away from the guy who should be her father. I would never allow him to get anywhere near her, this son of a bitch. I truly hated him for the things he had done to me. My hand stroke my belly, then rested there. Isabella and I came to this city, Milwaukee, last autumn. As usual we loved to spend a lot of time at the local library, particularly since I had to choose filthy neighborhoods to stay unnoticed. My parents and the family of Isabella's so-called father were well-known in the United States. Although they thought I had died, I was not going to take any risk. It could not be them, could it? The rising fear tightened my throat, and I could hardly breathe. My pulse was racing like crazy.

Focus, my dear, focus, I reminded myself and inhaled deeply, trying to calm my breath, heart rate and nerves.

After a couple of breaths my mind started to work again. We had been to the decrepit playground in Metcalfe Park. I recalled every moment at that run-down place. From spending the afternoon there, to the Italian man staring at my daughter to the three assholes who took her off me. Were those his men? Desperately I tried to remember. Deep breaths again. Finally, the memory started to play out before my inner eye.

We had left the playground a few moments ago due to the intimidating Italian guy in an expensive suit. He had kept his eyes on her what felt like hours. An aura of danger surrounded him, that's why I decided to leave a little earlier. We walked down the dusty path. Suddenly, three filthy guys appeared in front of us. They looked nothing like the guy before. All of them had no class but were simple crooks. One guy tried to walk away with Isabella. He dragged her away from me. Determined to follow him, I kicked the second guy in the groin. The third one stabbed me, and I fell to the ground. Breathing was hard, and I closed my eyes. The sound of gun shots ringed in my ears.

"Take care of the woman and dispose of the bodies." A deep and rich voice said with a slight foreign accent. My body was too tired, my eyes were still shut, thus I could not see who the man was. I heard him murmur in the distance, but I did not know to whom he was talking. My body started to feel numb. I shivered from the cold.

"Boss, the woman is severely injured but still alive. The ambulance will be here soon. We should leave now." Someone else said, with the same foreign accent. That was the last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me.

I sat up. The accent sounded familiar. Italians. Those men were Italian, and they saved me. But where was my daughter now? My sweet girl who did not hurt anyone. Isabella. Tears started to stream over my face. My poor little child.

"Wherever you are, I hope you are safe." I spoke into the darkness.

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Seems like someone has some issues with their ex and pretends to be dead. 

What do you think will happen when Stella gets released from hospital?