“What happened to make them like this?”
“Luca was in the lead, he’s the best fighter and shooter, plus he’s always enjoyed a good fight, we had everything under control, that’s when the Bratva leader’s son showed up. He and Luca exchanged a few words about something nobody understood, and they started fighting; it was he who fired the bullet that left him like that. Don Henrico went to Luca to help him, and the Russian shot him, too. It was he who fired the bullet that left him like that. Don Henrico went toward Luca to help him, and the Russian shot him too.”
“What happened to him, where is the Russian?”
“In one of our torture rooms imprisoned, we have to wait for orders.”
“Hasn’t Lady Milena made any decisions?”
“Not yet, I think, with her son and husband in surgery, she can’t think about it now.”
“Paolo, I’m a future Di Santis, the fiancée of the future Capo…”
“You can give the orders if you think it’s necessary.”
I look at my dad, trying to get an answer out of him, but nothing, he chooses not to.
“Torture him, make him say why we were attacked, make him suffer.” Paolo nods with a twisted smirk on his lips. “Don’t kill him; keep him alive whatever the cost; get a doctor to give him transfusions if necessary. As soon as you get information about the attack, come and see me, then we’ll decide his fate.”
“With all due respect, Chiara, but he must die for what he’s done.” Francesco’s voice is heard. I look in his direction, and he seems apprehensive, perhaps thinking about our conversation about the devil.
“Yes, he will die. But only after we get the information wewant, I will decide whether he dies straight away, or whether we should wait until Luca is ready to kill him.”
The elevator doors open, and I see Lady Milena with Bella in her arms, crying. The image makes tears well up in my eyes, and I slowly move closer. Lady Milena looks at me and holds out her hand for me to take; I squeeze it against mine and sit down next to her, desperately hoping that she will be okay.
“Henrico Di Santis’ relatives?” Lady Milena and Bella get up immediately. I stand up, noticing Bella’s hands shaking. I hold her hand and give her a smile. “He’s fine; we managed to stop the bleeding quickly, andhe’ll wake up in a few hours. As for the paralysis he complained of when he was admitted… Well, the bullet hit his spine, we tried to reverse it, but the lower part of his body will be paralyzed.”
A painful sob comes from Bella’s lips, and I pull her toward me, hugging her and not allowing her to fall. I look at Lady Milena, and she appears to be in a state of shock; she doesn’t move; she doesn’t cry; she just stands there looking at the doctor in front of her.
“A person can go in and see him.”
Milena finally seems to come back to reality; she looks at me, looking, confused and lost.
“You can go; I’ll stay with Bella.” She just nods and follows the doctor down the long corridor; I pull Bella toward the chairs and let her cry on my lap. “It’s going to be okay, please breathe.”
“He’s a Capo; I don’t know how he’ll react when he finds out. I’ve always wanted to have a normal family, you know, without danger, weapons, deaths… But nothing like this has ever happened; I’ve never sat in a chair in a hospital praying that my brother and father don’t die; sometimes, I think I’d rather not have been born, maybe be born into another family. I love my family, believe me, Chiara, I love them very much, but this world, what they do, I…”
“It’s okay, Bella. You can’t control what you think about, and in situations like this, sometimes we find ourselves thinking that we wish our circumstances were different. The only solution is to stay strong and move on, your father and brother will need you when they wake up, they’ll want to make sure you’re okay, they would die for you, it may seem like all this is the worst that could happen, but we both know it’s not. So let’s just get up and carry on; we can’t show our weaknesses; the enemies are always lurking around, waiting for the right moment to attack us. So hold your head up, straighten your back, wipe your tears, and show yourself to be the strong woman that I know you are.”
Bella gets up from my lap, wiping her tears, gives me a sad smile, and looks in Francesco’s direction. “The Russian who did this to them…”
“Chiara has already given the torture order.”
“I thought you…”
“Thank you for taking care of it and helping me.”
“Family and friends of Luca Di Santis?” the doctor asks without looking in our direction, his eyes fixed on the paper in his hands.
“It’s us!”
He looks at me and Bella with an arched eyebrow, and I see Francesco approaching us, looking at the doctor with an unsympathetic face. “What are you to the patient?”
“Fiancée and sister.” I look at him with a skeptical smirk on my face, showing him my engagement ring. “Now can you tell us how he is or do you have any other questions?”
“The patient lost a lot of blood and two blood transfusions were carried out during the operation, but fortunately the bullet didn’t hit his heart. As for the lung, it was only a shrapnel wound, so it was easier to repair the damage. He also had a gunshot wound to his left arm and a stab wound to his right leg, all under control. He should wake up soon; the anesthesia iswearing off, and the room is 476; as soon as he wakes up, a nurse will let you know; if anyone wants to go in now, I’ll accompany you to his room.”
I look at Bella, and I can see that relief has taken over her face. “Do you want to go in?”
