Chapter 2: The Wrong Target
1190 Words
Theo felt shiver down his spine. Did he make a mistake? He thought.
“T..the target, Capo.”
Luca marched towards Theo, then gave him a punch.
“Sh**t! Does this look like Luciana Montenegro?!”
“She matches the description, capo. The exact street, the time. It all pointed to her being the one.”
“No, no! This is wrong. You brought the wrong person.”
“What do we do to her, Capo?” Theo asked.
“I don't know, dump her wherever you found her. Sh**t! You just screwed up Theo! How could you be so stupid!”
“I'm sorry, Capo. I'd take care of This.”
“Well, you better.”
Theo pulled off from their black van, as he and Jeff dumped Melissa off the roadside like she meant nothing. They drove off not risking being sighted.
Melissa was unconscious laying by the roadside. She remained there for a few minutes until some passersby saw her then called the cops. Melissa got lucky that she was still breathing when the ambulance arrived.
The police then took reports from the good Samaritans.
Later that same night, Victoria's phone rang. She's been up all night waiting for Melissa's arrival. She's been calling her number non-stop but no answer from Melissa. The moment she received a call from the hospital, she bursted into tears.
“What? You mean, Me.. Melissa, my daughter? Okay, thank you, I'd be there.”
She quickly rushed to the hospital not even with a care in the world that her outfit was all dirty from her baking of that day. She couldn't do anything the moment Melissa stopped picking her call. She was enveloped in worry but decided to wait till Melissa comes home to give her a valuable explanation for her lateness. But that didn't happen. Instead, she was called to come see her daughter in the hospital.
“P.. please, which ward is my daughter in?” She asked the nurse at the reception. Her face was all painted in her tears.
“What's her name, ma'am?” The nurse asked.
“Ring ring ring”
“Hello?” Sebastian answers with sleep enveloping his eyes.
“Sebastian, I'm sorry. I know this is a bit late. But, Me.. Melissa was rushed to the hospital,” Victoria says with a hint of sob in her voice.
“What?!” Sebastian says as he stands up from his bed abruptly. “Which hospital? Okay I'm on my way.”
Sebastian swiftly took his car keys without a care in the world to change from his pajamas.
“Where's she?” He asks Victoria, breathlessly.
“They're still examining her. I'm also waiting for the doctor.”
“Okay. Let's wait then.”
****Few minutes Later****
“You must be Melissa Jones' family,” the doctor says as he steps into the waiting area.
“Yes, I'm her mother, and this is her fiance.”
“Okay, please follow me to my office,” the doctor gestures to the door down the hallway.
“It's a good thing she was brought to the hospital on time. She'd have risked being in a coma.”
“What do you mean doctor, what happened to my child?”
“Her bloodstream was found to contain a high dose of an unidentified drug.”
“What?” Sebastian asked, his voice quivering. “What sort of drug?”
“We haven't yet been able to determine the identity of the drug,” the doctor said. “But, we do know that a high dose of such a substance can be lethal. Thankfully, we were able to neutralize its effects, so she should recover soon.”
Victoria and Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief hearing what the doctor said.
The doctor continued, his expression solemn. "Unfortunately, we also discovered traces of her blood on her dress, which suggests she may have been a victim of abuse. However, we didn’t find any signs of physical trauma on her body. We will continue to investigate this matter."
Sebastian couldn't help but feel his stomach twist into a knot as he tried to make sense of the doctor's words. He couldn't help himself but punched the wall in aggression, “No, no, no.”
Victoria couldn't help herself either as she felt her feet numb, then, she fell to the floor with a flood of tears streaming down her cheeks.
“God, no. My Melissa.”
“I'm sorry. But know that she'd need the support of her family at this time. Please try and be strong for her,” the doctor said as he stood up. “Excuse me, I have other patients to attend to.”
Sebastian walked to the room Melissa was. He watched her looking helpless on the hospital bed. He held her hand as tears streamed down his cheeks, “Melissa, forgive me. I should've come pick you up even when you told me not to bother. Only if I had persisted, this wouldn't have happened.” He gently placed a kiss on her finger where they both had matching tattoos.
***A day earlier****
"What do you mean, you want out?" Luca questioned Damian.
"I can't go on like this. I want a normal life," Damian replied.
"Remember your oath: born in blood, sworn in blood. Do you know what that means?" Luca inquired again.
"Capo, you know I'd always lay down my life for the Bratva. All I'm asking is to retire and live a normal life. I've served the Bratva since I was 13," Damian pleaded.
Luca let out a loud laugh. "Men have served the Bratva until they became grandfathers. Why should your case be any different? Have you forgotten how I picked you up from the streets? You've served me faithfully all these years. Hell, you're my best hitman and my second-in-command. And this is how you repay me?"
"I know I'm nothing without you, Capo. You took me from the streets and made me who I am today. But I can't do this anymore. I just want a normal life," Damian responded.
Luca slammed his hand on his marble desk. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Growl. That's the name I gave you because of how ruthless you are when executing assignments."
Damian knew that when Luca called him by that name, he meant business.
"Who's the target?" Damian asked.
Luca handed him a photograph.
"Carmine Hernandez?" Damian
questioned, looking at the picture.
"Complete this task, and I'll consider granting you your freedom," Luca offered.
Damian understood how difficult the assignment would be. His previous targets had been much easier. What concerned him was that Carmine "The Hammer" Hernandez, the corrupt Mafia leader controlling the port's illegal activities, was no ordinary individual.
"Consider it done, Capo," Damian assured him.
"The information you need is in the envelope. I need it done within 12 hours," Luca instructed.
Damian nodded as he left the room.
"Capo, are you really going to let him go?" one of Luca's men asked.
Luca let out a laugh, saying, "We'll see about that.”
- Writer
