Mine Through Lies

The first shot was fired at 2:13 a.m. By 2:15 a.m., the empty road outside the city had fallen into complete silence. It was a road rarely used by anyone — far away from the noise of the city, surrounded only by darkness and the sound of heavy rain. Tonight, it had become the place where a war came to an end. The sound of gunshots had already disappeared. The smell of gunpowder hung heavy in the cold air. Only the rain remained. Broken pieces of glass from the damaged vehicles covered the wet road. The headlights of the parked cars reflected against the shattered windows, creating flashes of light through the darkness. A black SUV slowly approached the scene and stopped a short distance away. The back door opened. A man stepped out. Black suit. Black gloves. Grey eyes that held no mercy. Rain fell over his black suit as he walked forward, his eyes moving across the scene in front of him. No one spoke when “Salvatore Bellamonte” arrived. They never did. ——————————————————————- In the underworld, people did not whisper his name out of respect. They whispered it out of fear. —————————————————————- Salvatore’s gaze moved across the bodies scattered on the road. “Is he dead?” One of his men lowered his head. “Yes, Boss.” The only man who had dared to challenge the Bellamonte Empire lay motionless on the wet pavement, his chest torn apart by bullets. Salvatore felt nothing. War was not personal. It was business. He turned to leave. Then— A car door opened behind the corpse. Everyone froze. A young woman stepped out of the back seat. She was not supposed to be there. Her hands trembled as she stared at the dead man on the ground. Shock had stolen the scream from her throat. Rain soaked her dress, turning it translucent beneath the streetlights. She took one step backwards. Then another. Salvatore’s eyes narrowed. “Who is she?” No one answered. One of the guards swallowed hard. “We don’t know, Boss.” For the first time that night, something unreadable crossed Salvatore’s face. The woman turned. Headlights appeared. Too fast. A black car tore through the empty road. She never saw it coming. The impact threw her into the air. Her body hit the pavement with a sickening crack. Silence followed. By sunrise, the Bellamonte Empire had swallowed everything that once belonged to its greatest enemy. Territories. Businesses. Weapon routes. All of it. There was only one king left. Salvatore Bellamonte. —————————————————————— Before dawn, one of Salvatore’s men informed him that the woman had survived the accident and had been taken to a private hospital. That evening, Salvatore walked through the quiet hospital corridor. His men assumed he had come to finish the job. Dead people told no stories. Just before he reached her room, two doctors passed by. “The patient is stable.” “She’s lucky.” “The head injury caused complete retrograde amnesia.” Salvatore stopped walking. “She remembers nothing,” the doctor continued. “Not her family. Not her marriage. Not even her own name.” For a moment, the corridor became completely silent. Then, slowly… Salvatore smiled. It was not a smile of happiness. It was the smile of a man who had just discovered an opportunity no one else could see. When he entered her room, she lay there unconscious. Without the fear in her eyes, she looked almost fragile. Salvatore stood beside the bed for a long time, saying nothing. A doctor approached carefully. “Sir… are you family?” He did not answer immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the woman. Then he spoke. Calm. Effortless. “I’m her husband.”