Beneath The Mask(sotto la maschera)

Oscar laughed and spat into his victim's face." I warned you, didn't I?" The man groaned as Oscar twisted the knife currently embedded in his legs. His eyes were wide with panic and pain, and Oscar swore he wasn't going to let that sight change. "You crazy psychopath. I'm going to report you to the cops." he gasped out. Oscar Colombo laughed, What a naive boy! "Guess you haven't heard. I own Italy, well not yet, but I will soon enough. Your cries will not take you anywhere, and I will make sure you suffer the consequences of your stupidity." He removed the knife and watched in pleasure as blood drained out, as well as the resounding scream that followed. Let the fun begin. *********************** She patted Niccolo's head and smiled at his mother.” Don't worry about him. All children fall and break something, and he's going to have fun with the cast." Niccolo had broken his arms while he was playing on a swing and from the way his mother was panicking, it was her first experience.. Niccolo's mother, still battling tears, hugged Camila tightly. "Thank you so much, Doctor. I cannot repay all you've done for Niccolo. He wouldn't have been treated if you hadn't intervened." Camila smiled. This was one of the reasons she had chosen to slave for years. She loved putting people at ease and comforting them, and what better way to do that than being an orthopedic doctor. As she was still thinking, she heard the sound of the emergency alarm, she smiled at both of them, patting Niccolo's head before rushing out of the ward. She was met on the way to the operating room by her nurse, who was carrying a file. "Who do we have here?" Camila asked, changing into her surgical scrub. "The patient is a 34-year-old man with a lot of broken bones. We don't really know the extent of the injury, as he's covered in blood. He's also currently unconscious." "Did you check his pulse?" "It's weak, but he is still breathing. It was probably an accident that happened, but we'll see the damage when you start." Camila nodded and entered the operating room. "Is everything ready?" She asked, glancing at her team with practiced ease borne out of experience. Her anesthetist nodded in the affirmative, and Camila started working on the patient. After about four hours in the OR, Camila stretched, sighing, The surgery had been tough. She went to the wash basin and began the ritual of sanitizing herself, hearing her nurses discussing, as always. "What do you think happened to him? Thank God for Dr. Camila, otherwise, he wouldn't have made it." "It is still doubtful he will; he was probably hit by a moving truck, but those injuries look so strange." "I know, right? It feels like a gang attack where each one was carefully placed. Did you notice the precision of the cuts and the breaks?" "That's what I'm saying. I really hope his other members don't come to the hospital tonight. I'm exhausted, and I don't need the stress." "Right back at you." Camila finished washing and left for her office when she was stopped by the nurses. "Doctor, well done. You must be exhausted." She nodded, feeling her tense muscles protesting. It had been a long day." How is the patient now?" "He's stable for now, but we'll keep observing him to make sure his pulse doesn't drop further. But with the look of things, I don't think he will make it through the night." She sighed. "Don't say that. We have to look at the bright side. We were able to clean and mend all the injury, so there is no risk of infection. He might surprise us and make it." They nodded." Are you going home now?" Camila checked the hanging clock and nodded." It's way past my shift, I'll be heading home now." "Please be careful. We still don't know if it was an accidental or intentional accident. We would not want what happened before to repeat itself." She smiled and nodded at them. The incident they had referred to had happened about three years before, when she had unknowingly treated the leader of a notorious gang, and she had been stalked and threatened by the rival gang until, thankfully, the cops had done something about it. Plus, the hospital had tightened security, so there was no need to worry. She couldn't wait to go home and eat her grandmother's food. She was starving. But of course, it couldn’t be that easy. She heard someone calling her name from behind and looked back to find Ashley running to meet her. She opened her arms with a smile and engulfed the 6-year-old in a hug. Her younger sister had been in the hospital for a long while, it had become more of a home for Ashley. “I missed you, Dr. Camila” the child said into the crook of her shoulders. She patted her back soothingly, “I missed you too, my princess”, she said, before she looked back at the girl’s mother. The woman was looking particularly exhausted today, and the day wasn’t over yet. “Hi, Dr. Camila,” the woman greeted her with a smile. “Hi, Rosie” she arched her brow in question, but the woman just shook her head and nodded at her daughter. She turned back to the child squirming in her arms and tickled her a bit before releasing her. “And how’s my favorite princess, today?” She was still laughing, but she managed to pout and fold her arms, “You didn’t drop by today” She squatted down so she was eye level with the girl, “I’m sorry, sweetie. But I was really busy today” Her eyes widened, “Is that because you’re a doctor? Because Mom is always around” She threw a worried glance at the woman, but she just shrugged and hid her face. To Ashley, she laughed, “You can’t compare your Mama and me, darling” She just shrugged, already uninterested in the topic, “Are you going home?” “Yes, why?” she moved to tickle her again, but she danced out of reach, “Nothing” Ashley laughed, “I just wanna go home too, sometimes” “And you will, dear. Lorri will get well soon, and I’ll be all alone in this big hospital” Ashley laughed again before she ran back to her Mom, “See you tomorrow?” “Sure thing” “Alright. Bye, Dr. Camila” she waved her little hand and blew her a kiss which she caught and patted on her chest. “Bye, sweetheart. Bye, Rosie” “Bye, Doctor” She mimed a phone on her hair, and the woman nodded in relief and blinked back tears. She turned around before she could join her. Lorri had low bone density, and struggled with basic movements and her father had abandoned the family the moment her sickness had come to light, so Rosie was the only one taking care of the two girls. She was almost at the car when she was stopped again. She closed her eye in exhaustion. It was on days like today that she regretted being too nice. “Hi, Doctor” Brian, one of her widowed colleagues who insisted on the fact that they could still be together, greeted. It wasn’t his fault, though, she’d agreed to that one disastrous date and had gotten much too drunk for her liking. “Hi, Doctor” He swept his hair back from his forehead, “I heard about the new patient. How is he doing?” “We’re monitoring him through the night to see how he does, but it’s not looking good to be honest” “Oh wow,” he lowered his voice to a whisper, “I heard rumors that he was attacked and intentionally injured. Shouldn't we call the cops? She shrugged, “I guess the hospital is waiting for a guardian or for him to wake up. We can't exactly take a step without a guardian” He nodded, and she opened the door of her car to drop the bag in her hand, “Aren't you heading home?” “Oh, I'm on the night shift.” “I guess I'll leave you to it, then” “Camila,” he said all of a sudden, “about that question?” She smiled, “I've given you my response, Brian. If you insist on getting another,” she shrugged, “I don't know what you want me to say” He opened his mouth to say something, but then an ambulance drove in. “Looks like an emergency,” she said, not even trying to hide her relief. He looked annoyed for a second, but his face smoothed out almost instantly, “Bye, doctor” She waved at his back, and finally got into her car, breathing a sigh of relief. As she drove the 15 minutes distance back to her home, the day came back in flashes. For Rosie to be as worried as she looked, it meant Lorri wasn't doing well. She should have gone for a visit, but her schedule had been really packed. She shook her head to remove the sight of the worried woman, but her last patient plagued her thoughts. The cuts and breaks had actually looked too intentional to be an accident now that she thought about it. She shuddered as she remembered the last time something like that had happened. She hasn't been able to go home for weeks. It had been a horrible experience. A smile split her lips as she got closer to the house and saw her Nana sitting in front of the house. Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, there was no use worrying about it. Her luck wasn't that bad, right? For the first time in her life, she could finally say she was happy. She had her dream job, her mother was doing better for the first time in years, and she had an amazing grandmother who doted on her. The universe definitely owed her this. ********************************* Oscar wind down his car window and smirked. He had noticed something interesting today, and he was not going to be satisfied unless he had her. He had also seen the look of irritation the doctor had given to the other man, so there was no i***t to take out, he could assume. Even if there was, there was always a way to get rid of them. Oscar nodded absently, already planning his strategy. His mind was once again focused on his pretty doctor. Because she was his. He took out another cigarette and lit it, inhaling deeply as he imagined their encounter. Yes, this would be interesting indeed. He turned to his driver, “Take me home” “Yes Boss.”