A Woman's Empire

XLV

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

The helicopter ride back to the manor was dead silent. Except for Antonio screaming and cursing as the doctor on board was trying to pull out the bullets in his wounds. Leo had his arm wrapped around Audrielle's bare shoulders as he just stared out at the view of the passing city. Audrielle leaned into his embrace to try to keep warm.

When the helicopters came to a safe landing on the rooftop of the mansion, Leo hopped out while carrying Audrielle. She was too tired and sore to fight back. They headed straight for the doctors wing where there were several rooms with hospital beds and a surgery room. Audrielle lied in the clean bed as a doctor rushed Antonio off into the surgery room down the hall.

"Will he be okay?" Audrielle asked, concerned for Antonio's health.

"He'll be fine. He just needs a few stitches." Leo replied as Audrielle anxiously waited for a doctor or nurse. She needed to know if her baby was still alive.

"Are you okay?" Leo suddenly asked, looking at Audrielle with sincerity. Audrielle shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know if she was okay. She had been kidnapped for two weeks, had a bruise on her head, had a cut on her throat and didn't know if her baby was alive or not.

A nurse rushed in with an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry about being late." She mumbled, pushing up her glasses before putting on a pair of gloves.

"As you should be. What was more important than this? I do not pay you only for you to slack around all day." Leo grumbled and Audrielle sent him a threatening look.

"I-I'm sorry sir, but your father, he has lost a lot of blood and there wasn't anything else we could do. I'm sorry about your loss." The shy nurse replied.

"Good, there shouldn't be much else you could do to save him considering those three bullets I put into his pezzo di merda brain. He deserves to rot in hell." Leo spat and the nurse was taken back.

(Translation: piece of shit)

The nurse didn't reply. Instead, she started to examine Audrielle and the bruises all over her body. Occasionally, she would hiss in pain or flinch when the nurse would apply too much pressure to them.

"Miss, are you aware that you are pregnant?" The nurse asked and Audrielle nodded her head. "I'm going to do an ultrasound now to see if the baby is okay." The nurse left the room before coming back in with a trolley that had a small tv monitor on it.

As the nurse applied the cold gel, Audrielle gasped at how icy it was. A continuous thump could be heard coming from the monitor and the nurse smiled smally at Audrielle.

"Fortunately, your baby still seems to be healthy. However Mrs. Amour, you do have a couple of fractured ribs. I suggest you take it very easy over the next couple of months. I will prescribe you some aspirin pills to help ease the pain but I can not give you anything too strong as it may result in harming the baby." Audrielle had felt like a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. She was happy to hear that no matter how much physical and emotional pain she had endured during the past two weeks, her baby was still healthy.

After giving Audrielle a packet of pills and dressed the cut on her neck, the nurse left the ward, leaving only Leo and Audrielle in the room. There was an awkward silence and Audrielle looked down at her fidgeting fingers in her lap.

"Where'd you learn how to use a gun?" Leo suddenly asked and Audrielle's cheeks blushed.

"Y-Your mom. She taught me how to use one after you had visited." Audrielle shyly said. She wasn't embarrassed or afraid that she had learnt how to use a gun. In fact, she was eager to learn. Especially after finding out she was pregnant and after the stunt Tanner had pulled that nightmare of a night, Audrielle thought what better time to learn.