Uncovering The Boss

CHAPTER 9: REMEMBER US

“Michael, I know you’re very confused right now, but I think your rampage inside of your office is bad enough, and you need to calm down. You’re Michael De Angelo, and you’re the Don, the Boss, the Leader, of the currently most powerful mafia family here in Italy. You are a strong man who made a name for himself after more than twenty years of hardship and abandonment.”

I calmed down as Stephane hugged me from behind while I kneeled on the floor with my bloody hands. I punched the wall multiple times, and by the cuts that I had on the palm of my hand, I assumed that they were from the glass that broke from the frames that I threw on the floor. I was bleeding and in pain, both physically and mentally, and for the first time since Steph and I met, I cried hard.

Steph continued to just hug me from behind as the tears fell from my eyes, and I screamed multiple times to release the pain building in my chest. I felt sorrow and pain, loneliness and betrayal, and I felt confusion.

“You are someone who gets things done because you know your capabilities more than anyone. You are someone who gets things done the moment you put your mind to it. Michael, I know you’re confused right now, and so am I, but what you should not be confused about is who you are as a boss and as a man. ”

I stopped crying and shouting, but I stayed still and maintained my kneeling position while Stephanie was still hugging me from behind. I closed my eyes and tried my best to calm down and catch my breath.

My heartbeat was racing like a wild horse, and an ache that was beginning to form in my head wasn’t helping me think properly. I needed to calm down, and Steph was just hugging me with one hand, while she rubbed my left bicep. She was no longer pressing her body close to mine as she tried to calm me down with her silence and back rubs like a little kid.

I opened my fist, and I slowly stood up as Steph’s hands left my body and she stood looking at my back. I couldn’t take the humiliation of showing my face to Stephanie right after I cried and thrashed my office like a little boy who had  tantrum.

“I know that we’re the same age, but you’re still a few months younger than me, so  you don’t need to hide from me, Michael. You may be my boss right now, and you might be the king of the mafia world in Italy, but you’re still my friend, and you are still my family.”

“I’ve seen you cry multiple times, Stephanie, but this is the first time that you’ve seen me cry and be like a train wreck. How can you say I’m the king of the Italian mafia if I'm in a ditch like this? Sei una vera amica, Steph.”

“I know I’m a good friend, amico, and I also know that I’m an even better Capo to my Don. As the boss, you’re not allowed to fail, Michael. However, I also know that you will never fail because you have me and the entire De Angelo family. This entire mafia family that you have built is not formed by blood that flows in our veins, but by the blood that we have shed for the life of one another.”

I faced her after wiping the last bit of my tears, and I saw the light of hope that was in Stephanie’s eyes. Just by the look on her eyes, I could see that the future of the De Angelo family was in good hands.

“Sono felice che tu faccia parte della mia vita, Steph. I don’t know how I would even be in my place here as the boss if you were not with me in the past. You deserve to be the Don, Steph, and not just the Capo. You were born to be a boss as much as I am.”

“That is a very tempting offer, my friend, but I enjoy my life as the best Capo in the Italian mafia, and serving the best boss that is the current king of the Italian mafia. It’s cheesy, I know, but I have always felt like I was born to be your right-hand man, or woman in my case.”

I still felt like I wanted to destroy everything in my path, but Steph’ presence became my assurance that I could still find the way out of the hole I fell into upon knowing about my brother. At the thought of him alone, my entire aura changed from hope to rage.

“I don’t know about what happened to Gabriel, Steph, but all I know is that my past needs to be solved in order for me to secure my position in the mafia world. An unknown identity can be the downfall of both my reign as king of the Italian mafia, and the downfall of the entire De Angelo family. This is information that my enemies would kill to get, just so they could destroy our family even more.”

“I know that, boss, and that’s why we won’t stop until we find out more about this mystery that arose from that incident at the boat you were in twenty years ago. I’m guessing that a full on investigation is what you’re going to ask from me, and I’d do it gladly. However-”

“However? That’s the first time that I’ve heard that word being part of your sentence, Steph.”

The both of us stood up and decided to go to the sofa where the damage of my outburst was lesser compared to the damage I did at my office table. The sofa only had a few things thrown to it here and there, but it was safer to sit on, and I was sure Steph wanted to fix up my wounds.

“I’ll get the first aid kit first before we begin talking, and then after a quick talk, let’s get you to the villa and call the doctor to stitch up your hand correctly.”

“You and I were both trained assassins before we became the Capo and Don of the De Angelo empire, so I’m sure you could stitch me up right now. I don’t think you need to call the family doctor to treat my wounds, Stephanie.”

“You’re right, we were assassins once, but that doesn’t make us professional and licensed doctors. We still went to doctors to properly stitch us both up whenever we came home from deadly missions.”

“Yeah, you’re right, plus I saw you stitching your own leg once and I saw that I sawed my wound WAY better than you. If you were a normal girl and stitched your own clothes, I’m sure that no one would hire you to knit or repair clothes.”

I earned a slap on my arm from Stephanie, and the both of us laughed the same way we did when we were in enemy territory in the past. We were young assassins that were always tasked to do one of the most difficult tasks that rookies could encounter. Always going undercover and going home with either bruises, or bullets and knives stuck in our body.

The both of us forgot to talk about the important things, and we just continued our talk about the things that we did as young assassins. Killing people was never fun for us, but we knew it was the only way for us to both survive and get the life we wanted. Every time our conscience kicked in, we always consoled ourselves and one another by reminding ourselves that our targets were far from innocent. 

The moment me and Stephanie came home to the villa near the ocean, she called the family doctor and treated my wounds. I refused to tell him the reason why I was injured, but by the look on the doctor’s face, he knew that it wasn’t caused by an enemy.

“You know, boss, I would be very happy if you called me up in your room one day to treat someone else other than you.”

He gave me a teasing chuckle, and I gave him a small smile in return. The doctor was nearly seventy years old, and he still refused to retire unless his son was good enough to treat the current boss.

“I know everyone is excited for me to have an heir, Dr. Clause, but you know I wouldn’t want just some gold-digger to be the Godmother of the De Angelo Family. We are a growing family, and we need a queen that could rule our family beside me and not just give me kids.”

“I know that, boss, that is why I pray to God that he would give me a long enough life to be the one who would help our boss’ wife to give birth to the heir to the De Angelo throne. As much as I want my son to be the one to take my place when he is ready, I would still prefer it to be me who would be the one to bring your first heir to this world.”

“I hope for the same thing, Dr. Clause. You have always patched up me and Steph whenever we came home covered in wounds and scars. I’m sure if you could help keep him alive and healthy, you could make sure my future child will be in your good hands.”

After Dr. Clause gave me medicine to make sure the pain wouldn’t bother me and the wounds would heal quickly, I did my best to prepare myself to go to bed. I looked outside my window, and I saw that a storm was approaching.

The dark sky and the waves that were crashing on the shore could be seen as I looked outside my bedroom’s window. The memory of what happened to me and Gabriel twenty years ago made me want to destroy my room.

I felt like everything that happened that night was a nightmare that until now, I couldn’t wake up from. I have faced a lot of obstacles in life, but that night will always and forever be the nightmare I have even if I was awake.

I closed my eyes and tried my best to remember Gabriel’s smiling face and tried to ignore Gabriel’s face when I last saw him at the boat. I felt the urge to shoot something, and I knew that I wanted to shoot the men that killed my brother that night.

“Michael, il pugno più forte arriva da dietro. Never trust anyone whom you can’t trust when you have your back turned. Only trust those who have always had your back even when you aren’t looking, mio fratellino. Do you understand me?”

I heard my brother Gabriel's voice one again, and a bitter thought came to me. Was Gabriel a victim of his own saying? Were the men who had the same tattoo as mine his old friends that betrayed him? Did he trust them and got his back punched?

“I promised myself that night that I would find those men who killed you in front of me, big brother, and I will make sure that I will keep my promise no matter what.”

I whispered the words as I looked at the bolts of lightning that I saw at the edge of my sight. The sea was dark and the waves were crashing over each other like my emotions. I decided to call Bruno the moment an idea came to me.

“Bruno, make sure that Annabella wakes up by this week. I don’t care what the doctors would do, nor do I care what it would cost. Make sure that when she wakes up, I would be the first one to interview that w***e. Do I make myself clear, Bruno?”

“Loud and clear, boss. I’ll make sure that the men and all the doctors assigned to her are all informed.”

“Good. Also, make sure that you talk to Capo Dela Mayor about an investigation that I want your teams to handle with utmost secrecy. Make sure that you and Steph would move with as few witnesses as possible.”

“I will, boss. Oh, and by the way, boss. My men and I found a tattoo that was on that woman Annabella’s head. It was on the lowest part of her hairline at the back of her head. The tattoo was angel wings with a diamond in the middle of it. We haven’t found anything else about her yet, but I’ll make sure to update you soon.”

I ended the call with Bruno, but it took me a few minutes before I decided to pull myself away from the window and lay on my bed. The tattoo was something I felt like I knew something about, but I couldn't remember anything.

My phone rang, and I saw that it was the third text message from Alex. The first two showed how Alex was able to prepare everything that was needed for the final meeting for the project in Asia, and the third one was about the search for my new secretary.

I closed my eyes and decided to sleep with all the information swirling around my mind. Tomorrow, the real investigation begins, and tomorrow, I have multiple women to interview and scrutinize.