Chapter 2: the phone call that changes everything
1108 Words
Maria's hands trembled as she pressed harder against her mother's wound.
"Mom... please... stay with me."
Blood continued to seep between her fingers.
"No... no... this can't be happening."
Around her, the restaurant was filled with screams. Broken plates covered the floor. Chairs lay overturned. People rushed toward the exits while others hid beneath tables, praying the gunfire would stop.
Maria ignored everything.
Her world had narrowed to the woman lying in front of her.
"Mom, look at me."
Her mother slowly opened her eyes. They were losing their focus.
"M... Maria..."
"I'm here." Maria's voice cracked. "I'm right here."
Her mother tried to lift her hand but lacked the strength. Maria immediately grabbed it with both of hers.
"Don't talk," Maria pleaded. "The ambulance is coming. You'll be okay."
A faint smile appeared on her mother's pale face.
"You've... always been... a terrible liar."
Fresh tears streamed down Maria's cheeks.
"No... I'm telling the truth."
"You have... to be... strong."
"Stop saying things like that!"
Her mother struggled to breathe.
"I... love..."
The words never finished.
Her hand slipped from Maria's grasp.
The warmth slowly disappeared.
Maria froze.
Her lips trembled.
She shook her mother's shoulders.
"Mom?"
No response.
A little harder this time.
"Mom!"
Nothing.
"No... wake up."
She shook her again.
"Please wake up!"
A police officer rushed over.
"Miss, we have to move."
Maria pushed him away.
"No!"
"You need to come with us."
"She's still alive!"
The officer looked at the woman on the floor before lowering his head.
"I'm sorry."
Maria screamed.
The sound echoed through the ruined restaurant.
Outside, sirens grew louder as ambulances and police cars flooded the street.
Paramedics rushed inside carrying stretchers.
The injured were carried out one after another.
Three bodies remained covered with white sheets.
Then a fourth.
Television cameras arrived almost immediately.
"Breaking news," one reporter announced into a microphone. "Multiple people have been shot during an apparent gang-related attack at Riverside Café. Authorities have confirmed several fatalities while the number of injured continues to rise."
Across the city, Antonio Rossi stared blankly at the television mounted inside his office break room.
His coffee slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
The words barely reached him.
Restaurant shooting.
Several casualties.
Riverside Café.
His wife and daughter had gone there for lunch.
His heart began pounding.
"No..."
He quickly pulled out his phone and called his wife.
Once.
No answer.
Twice.
Still nothing.
He tried again.
Straight to voicemail.
His breathing became uneven.
"This isn't funny..."
He called again.
And again.
Five times.
Six.
Seven.
Nothing.
His coworkers noticed the panic spreading across his face.
"Antonio?"
He ignored them.
His fingers shook as he searched for Maria's number.
"Come on... answer..."
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Finally—
"Dad..."
Maria's voice was barely a whisper.
Antonio stood so quickly his chair crashed to the floor.
"Maria!" he shouted. "Where are you? Is your mother with you? Put her on the phone!"
Silence.
Only quiet sobbing.
His stomach dropped.
"Maria?"
"D... Dad..."
"What happened?"
More crying.
"Talk to me."
"Dad..."
Her voice broke completely.
"M... Mom..."
Antonio's knees weakened.
"What about your mother?"
"M... Mom..."
His heartbeat thundered inside his ears.
"Maria!"
"Mom is dead..."
The world stopped.
The phone slipped from Antonio's hand before he caught it again.
His legs gave out.
He collapsed onto the office floor.
Everyone around him rushed forward.
"Antonio!"
He couldn't hear them.
His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.
"No..."
His voice was barely audible.
"No..."
Tears filled his eyes.
"This has to be a dream."
On the other end of the line, Maria cried uncontrollably.
"I wish it was..."
Antonio covered his face.
His shoulders shook violently.
For years he had protected his family from every danger he could imagine.
But today...
He hadn't been there.
After several moments, he forced himself to speak.
"W... which hospital?"
"Saint Mary's."
"I'm coming."
He ended the call without another word.
Within seconds he was running.
Ignoring traffic.
Ignoring people shouting after him.
Nothing mattered anymore.
At Saint Mary's Hospital, the emergency ward overflowed with victims and grieving families.
Doctors hurried through the hallways.
Nurses called out names.
Police officers questioned witnesses.
Maria sat alone outside the emergency room, still wearing bloodstained clothes.
She stared at her hands.
No matter how hard she rubbed them together...
She could still feel the warmth of her mother's blood.
She heard hurried footsteps.
"Maria!"
She looked up.
Her father ran toward her before pulling her into a desperate embrace.
For a long moment neither of them spoke.
They simply cried.
Antonio gently touched the side of her face.
"Are you hurt?"
Maria slowly shook her head.
"It should've been me."
"No."
"I couldn't save her."
"You couldn't."
"I held her hand..."
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
"And she still died."
Antonio hugged her tighter.
"This isn't your fault."
"It is."
"It isn't."
He repeated the words until she finally stopped fighting him.
A doctor approached carrying a clipboard.
"Mr. Rossi?"
Antonio nodded weakly.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
The words felt like another bullet.
The doctor continued explaining procedures.
Autopsy.
Paperwork.
Identification.
Antonio heard none of it.
His eyes remained fixed on the room where his wife's body lay.
Several minutes later, he quietly entered the viewing room alone.
His wife's body rested peacefully beneath a white sheet.
She looked as though she were sleeping.
Antonio slowly reached out and held her cold hand.
"I promised..."
His voice trembled.
"I promised I'd always protect you."
Silence answered him.
He lowered his head.
"I failed."
Tears fell onto the sheet.
Then something inside him changed.
The grief remained.
But beneath it...
Something darker was born.
He slowly lifted his head.
His eyes had become cold.
Whoever caused this...
Whoever turned innocent people into victims...
Would pay.
Even if he had to burn the entire underworld to the ground.
Outside the hospital, hidden inside a black luxury sedan across the street, Victor Romano watched the building through tinted windows.
A subordinate looked toward him.
"Everything went according to plan."
Victor remained silent.
He looked at the grieving father entering the hospital.
Then at Maria sitting alone on a bench.
Finally, he spoke.
"Good."
The man beside him frowned.
"Should we eliminate Rossi before he reacts?"
Victor slowly shook his head.
"No."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Let him grieve."
He looked back toward the hospital entrance.
"A grieving man is far more useful than a calm one."
The sedan quietly pulled away into the afternoon traffic.
Behind it, the first move in a much larger game had already been made.
- Writer
