Death sentence
Luca's POV
I couldn't believe my ears.
Or maybe I could.
A part of me had expected it, but not this sudden.
The diagnosis came on a Thursday.
It was raining. Of course it was.
The kind of rain that blurred glass, blurred reality; blurred everything except the sound of my heartbeat in my ears.
Everything around me froze. Including the doctor.
He held his breath after speaking.
"What did you say?" I repeated coldly, without moving.
The doctor trembled. I didn’t have to raise my head to notice.
His feet stumbled backward.
“Sir, I…” he stammered.
The rest of his words faded.
I couldn’t bother with him now. Not after hearing something like this.
I had heard him clearly the first time.
I was going to die.
“You understand what I’m saying, Mr. Moretti?” the doctor asked cautiously after a while. “The cancer...”
“I understood the moment you walked in with that face,” I said coldly, silencing him.
The man clasped his mouth shut and nodded. “Spare me the pity.”
He nodded nervously and slid a stack of prescriptions across the desk.
I didn’t bother to look at them. Slowly, I raised my head from the ground to look at him.
I rarely came to the hospital. Only in times like this, when I absolutely had to.
The pain... I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Painkillers weren’t doing it anymore.
He’d been my personal doctor for years, yet we’d only met a handful of times.
That explained why he was still so afraid of me despite knowing me since he was little.
Then again... there were only a handful of people who weren’t afraid of me. And most of them were already dead.
I stood up, picking up my coat from the chair.
“Doctor, tell me straight,” I began, my voice cold. “How long do I have?”
The old doctor gulped. “Sir, I…”
My eyes turned colder. I glared daggers at him.
The old man nodded. “About six months, Mr. Moretti.”
Six months.
I had just six months.
I nodded at the doctor, then exhaled deeply.
“Thank you,” I muttered, turning away and walking out of the hospital.
Six months.
...
The drive back to the Moretti estate was silent. No music. No talking.
Just like I was used to.
But today, it felt quieter.
The driver was more tense than usual, almost as though he knew...
Or maybe it was just me.
Maybe, as much as I hated to admit it, I still couldn’t come to terms with the fact that in six months, I’d be gone.
I stared out the window, watching the city blur.
Life was so noisy out there.
People laughing, rushing, building futures they assumed were guaranteed.
Pathetic.
They were all going to die too.
Everyone was going to die.
I’d spent over fifteen years building an empire on blood and fear.
I’d crushed people. Killed people. Destroyed families and homes.
Everyone feared me.
My name brought tremor to people’s lips. But now...
In six months, all that would be over.
My enemies would celebrate around my deathbed.
Those bastards.
I shut my eyes as an unbearable pain washed over me.
It wasn’t physical pain. I could handle those.
But this...
The pain of not being able to torment the one person I wanted to the most...
The person responsible for Jared’s death; That was impossible to ignore.
My chest felt tight and I exhaled.
I didn’t fear death.
No.
Everyone died.
But I didn’t want to die without making them pay.
I shook my head and took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind for the rest of the ride.
As soon as the car came to a halt, I stepped out and walked straight into the house.
...
“Boss…” Payson walked up to me almost immediately.
My feet paused. I took a few seconds to stare at him.
He’d been here a long time.
The man didn’t flinch at my gaze. He was one of the few people who didn’t fear me.
He respected me.
He was one of the few people I considered a friend.
With a sigh, I looked away and resumed walking.
He followed me.
“Boss, how was your meeting with the doctor?” he asked, walking beside me.
I didn’t answer.
The news, It was just...
“I finally found a lead on the person responsible for Boss Jared's death." Payson said after a while.
I stopped in my tracks. My gaze shifted to him.
“What?”
Payson nodded. He stretched out his hand and handed me a file.
“Here. I found out that Boss Jared’s death is related to the Bellani family.”
My fingers trembled slightly as I opened the file.
There was a picture of a beautiful lady at the front, wearing a bright smile and a light brown dress.
Under the picture, there was a name.
Aria Bellani.
My eyes locked on the photo, burning it into my mind over and over.
“She; Aria Bellani...is the daughter of Diego Bellani. The man who murdered your brother.”
My jaw clenched.
This...
My hands tightened around the file, still fixed on her smiling face.
It felt like she was mocking me.Like she was laughing at how long it took to find her.
“Why are you giving me the girl’s picture?” I asked through gritted teeth, my voice sharp with anger.
I threw the file to the ground and looked up at Payson.
“Her father killed my brother. I want him; and all his family members.”
Payson nodded, moving to pick up the file.
“Boss,” he said calmly. “I understand. But Mr. Bellani is a very hard man to track. He is very cautious."
“That’s why I pay you?!” I snapped, cutting him off.
My chest heaved with rage.
I pointed at the papers in his hands.
“This...what am I supposed to do with this?”
Payson didn’t flinch.
He stayed calm, even with my outburst.
“Boss, the daughter, Aria, is getting married in three days. I showed you this because she’s getting married to Noel Jackson...”
“That white idiot?” I interrupted. “Huh? She’s marrying that clown? Funny. But what’s that got to do with me?”
Payson sighed, like he was explaining something to a child.
“Boss, you can use this opportunity to get her. You can kidnap her before the wedding.
Because once she’s married to Noel…”
“She’ll be too far to reach,” I muttered, finishing the sentence.
My body started to calm down.
Now I saw where he was going with this.
I’d been
too angry to think clearly.
I exhaled through my nose and rubbed my temples.
“When is the wedding?”
“This Saturday, Boss.”
I nodded.
Fine.
If I couldn’t get the father,
I’d mess with the daughter.
Aria Bellani.