Uncovering The Boss

CHAPTER 13: DERANGED

Blood was dripping on the floor, and an immense pain shot through my upper body at the impact of a hard object that hit my wrist. The body tackled me to the ground, and now whoever was the one who was above me was now pinning me to the ground with both my hands pressed together at my sides. The blood that oozed at the bullet wound that scraped my neck now stained my white shirt.

I looked up at Stephanie who had a look of pure anger and worry, and in the corner of my eyes, I saw Fred and George wearing their pajamas with guns pointed in either side of Steph and me. I heard footsteps amids Steph and mine’s breathing, and three of the guards who were assigned to do the rounds around the mansion were not in the open door of my office.

“What in the world do you think you’re doing, Michael?! What came over you, you stupid i***t! How could you attempt to shoot yourself?! I was gone for a couple of minutes and then when I received that stupid email from the investigation department, I came rushing here to see you kneeling with a stupid gun pointed straight at your idiotic head?!”

Stephanie made sure that she had me under control and shocked at her sudden outburst that I now failed to even move my arms. I could easily overpower her, but I was shocked about what she told me. The insults never hurt, but the pain in her eyes made me freeze in shock as to what I was about to do , and the intensity of worry that I caused her.

I just realized that the door was never locked, so Steph was able to come in without me hearing anything. I looked back at her and saw that she was just wearing a sports bra and her jeans. If it was worn by one of the ladies I was dating, it would be a huge turn on. However, Steph was like a sister, so instead, I felt protective over her as I realized she was partially exposed to the men at the door.

“I’m-I’m sorry, Steph. I was just-I was-I mean-”

“Shut up, Michael. Right now I don’t even care if you are the boss of this mafia family, or the boss of the entire world. What you did just now is inexcusable, and I will never let you do that again.”

There was a single tear drop that fell on my right cheek, and I realized that it was Stephanie’s tear that fell on me. Her eyes were watering, and I knew that it was because of the fear of possibly losing me.

“You are like a little brother to me, you stupid mafia boss. I will help you to get up, but if you ever attempt to do that again, I will make sure that you would regret even thinking about shooting your own head.”

I tried to nod my head with my awkward position on the floor, and Stephanie decided to let me go. However, her eyes never left my gaze, and I proceeded to turn around, and go sit at the office chair. It was like nothing happened except Fred and George looking like little kids playing with guns. Steph stood up, and I quickly threw the coat that was on my chair for her to cover herself.

“Thanks for stopping me, Steph. Fred. George, and gentlemen you can all leave now. I’m sure that your Capo Dela Mayor would be capable of being left alone with me.

I saw all of the men leave the room reluctantly, but the look on Stephanie’s face made me realize that I am in so much trouble. However, I felt like I was more afraid of the disappointment in her eyes than of what I have done.

“I knew that you were going to do something stupid like destroy the whole room, but I never expected you to be this dumb and use an actual gun, Michael. What would have happened if I didn’t get here in time and the maids or whoever, would walk up to this office and see you laying on the floor with your skull opened by a bullet wound?”

I stared at my shaking hands and then decided to remain silent as I looked at Stephanie's eyes without blinking for a few seconds. The atmosphere became static, and you could cut the tension with a knife. Steph took a shaky breath to calm her nerves, and she sat at the chair that was in front of my table, and we had a staring contest.

"The email that the head of investigation wasn't supposed to be sent to you abruptly without informing me first. I don't know how or why the email was sent to you first, Michael, but you have to calm down."

"I'm trying my best to calm down right now, Stephanie. I have no idea what has gotten into me."

"Ogno muro é una porta, Michael. Every wall is a door. So this wall that you are facing now is not the end. Don't be deranged just because you feel like you're facing a dead end, because your skills and optimism can make the wall a door. You've made multiple doors out of dozens of walls, and this is the biggest door you need to make. Don't give up the fight, boss, because the De Angelo family is still helping you build that door."

I smiled sadly, but somehow, I felt a bit of encouragement even if it's not complete, but at least, I smiled. I saw how optimism was a trait that was common between me and Steph, but the trials I now face regarding my identity are testing and changing me.

"You are too poetic today, Steph. I'm sure that you practiced that thoroughly at some point when we were still newly appointed assassins.”

I earned a death glare from Stephanie, and I saw how much she was holding herself back. Her entire composure is telling me that she was trying to force herself to calm down, but her eyes were warning me that she would definitely kill me if I said another thing to piss her off. I took a deep and shaky breath as the shaking of my hands and body began to stop.

“Alright, tiger. There is no need to kill me with your eyes, Steph. I thought you stopped the gun and bullet to save my life?”

“I did, but another useless word or sentence from you that could trigger my anger will make me put a bullet inside of you. I won’t kill you, but I can surely belay your trip to Asia with a single bullet and hole you here for a few months of recovery. Remember that I was always a better shooter at close ranged fights than you.”

The both of us laughed, and I knew that Steph was only doing this to make sure that I had finally calmed down enough to talk to me clearly. When we were both done laughing, an uncomfortable silence fell upon the both of us.

“I want to ask for forgiveness for nearly killing myself with the gun and leaving you with a mess on your own, Stephanie. I just-I just felt weird and vulnerable when I found out about the completely missing past that I had. The information made me feel like I didn’t even deserve to be alive, yet alone rule the Italian mafia and the world. I felt like I couldn’t take on the sorrow of finding out everything you are has always been a lie.”

I clenched both my fists together so the shaking would stop, and that there would be enough force to prevent myself from destroying anything else. I had to control my emotions, because the moment I lose control of my mind, both my business and my empire will fall to the ground.

“The one thing that kept me alive and striving for the best kind of life was my past life with my brother. It was never a perfect life, and it was often questionable, now that I think about it, but it was a life that made me fuel my aim for revenge to those who murdered my brother that night.”

Once again, I allowed the fresh tears to fall from my eyes, but these tears were tears of hope and a promise. No matter what my brother did, or where his real corpse is, I could never deny my love for him. This entire thing that I have created is for him and myself.

“Michael, boss, I'm going to make you coffee to help keep you up a little bit, just enough to get everything done without any problem. You still haven’t made the choice as to who your chore secretary is.”

“I chose Uriel Hope Knight who graduated top of her class, and has multiple activities that were cited in her resume. She has something that was able to convince me that in their test, I could invest in your broken business.”

“Well, I personally know that woman because we finished college at the same time and in the same class. However, I’m sure that one of the reasons you also chose is the fact that she is an innocently gorgeous assistant that is hard to get.”

Stephanie knew that we would both leave the room in a few minutes, so without talking or meeting my eyes, she took the phone from my hand, and I saw that the light on Stephanie’s eyes was fading again. By the way she held my phone and the way her eyes moved, there was another emergency.

“Boss, it looks like the war between us and Italy's biggest family is approaching. The Mondragon family has not made it clear when the fight is going to happen and for how long, but the Mondragon people have made sure that nothing can get in their way. Well, except for the De Angelo family. ”

“Steph, make sure that Uriel will be with me starting tomorrow by training her as what you are doing now. I need my secretary to be with me in Asia so my job would be easier.”