Raphael immediately went rigid. Standing on the spot and staring face to face at his mother who he hadn’t seen for more than fifteen years got him as rigid as a statue.
Nicole watched the scenery unfold, anxiety eating her up. She knew fully well Raphael hated his mother and she never thought she would actually get to meet his mother.
Hell she hadn’t even met his father yet!
Nicole had her eyes focused at Raphael before darting it to the teary orbs of Raphael’s mother, Maya.
Raphael really took after his mother in facial features.
He was her exact replica. Same blue orbs, full eyebrows and long lashes, dark, long raven locks cascading over their shoulders and their peach lips.
But Nicole noticed something else; she looked frail and sickly. Her blue eyes were dull and her eyebags were fully out. Dark spots could be spotted carving its markings all around her face.
Her peach lips seemed dried and stains of blood tainted her blue shirt.
“Raphael” she faintly whispered breaking the unsettling silence that had taken control of the atmosphere.
Maya was struggling not to break down but her body betrayed her as few hot tears dropped from her eyelids.
Nicole whipped her gaze to Raphael’s only to spot him raising his gun once again, pointing it at his mother’s head.
“Why were you following I and my wife?”Raphael savagely asked. His Adams gobbled with each word he uttered.
He was brooding with anger. The astonishment that had once carved its abode in his features had totally vanished like it was never there.
What now stood in its place was raw, bloody anger.
His hold on his gun didn’t waver for even second.
Nicole was horror struck. Her restive eyes faced Maya who didn’t look scared. She probably was expecting this type of reaction from Raphael… Nicole thought.
Maya pressed her lips tightly so as not to break down but her traitorous body gave her away once again as the tears streamed like flood waters out of her.
“Raphael please..” She pleaded in between tears.
“Why were you following I and my wife Maya!?” Raphael seethed in anger.
Maya took few mortified steps backward because it seemed Raphael would shoot at any moment.
“Raph calm down please”Nicole interceeded trying to pacify him.
“Do not interfere in this Nicole. Have I made myself clear?” he gravelly ordered with such an authority that got Nicole fearful.
Nicole could only nod, her trepadised gaze now focused on Maya.
“I–i got informed by homero that you were in Cuba Raphael” Maya confessed with trembling lips.
“That doesn’t answer my question bloody bitch!” Raphael spat not minding how hurt Maya would feel.
Nicole gasped on hearing how he addressed his mother.
Maya gazed at Raphael with her swollen eyes. She knew fully well she deserved all what she was getting from Raphael.
She never treated him right from childhood and she expected him to be this rude towards her.
“I wanted to just catch glimpses of you and my daughter in law before you both would travel back to italy” Maya added in one breath.
Raphael let out a breathy laughter “Who is your daughter inlaw? You mean my wife? Is she the one you are referring to as your daughter inlaw?”
Maya felt confused and so did Nicole.
Her eyes locked with Nicole’s for a second before diverting back to Raphael’s amused expression.
“Y–yes” she timidly nodded.
“She is not and will never be your daughter inlaw. What status do you hold in my life that Nicole should be addressed as your daughter inlaw? Never in your miserable life call my wife your daughter inlaw you got that?” Raphael commanded inching closer to Maya and pressing the cold opening of the gun in her head.
She stared open mouthed at Raphael, words finding it difficult to make way out of her mouth.
“You don’t have to behave this way towards me Raphael”Maya begged after finding her voice.
“Really?” Raphael asked with a dark chuckle.
“Ok wait you expected me to welcome you back with open arms on seeing you?” Raphael rhetorically asked, lowering the gun.
Maya shook her head frightfully.
“Open your mouth to speak bitch!” Raphael suddenly thundered causing Nicole and Maya to almost leap out of their skin.
“No Raphael”Maya uttered sorrowfuly.
Nicole could feel tears pooling in her own eyes as she watched.
“Filthy bitch! I hate you Maya. Seeing you just brought back memories that were never forgotten. Seeing you reopened wounds that were never healed” Raphael spat trying so hard not to choke Maya on the spot.
“I’m sorry Raphael”Maya cried bitterly, her knees buckling to the ground on its own accord.
Raphael clenched his fist in anger and the veins in his hands became so evident as he went as red as a bull.
“You are sorry? You are sorry Maya!? Huh? God, I hate you so much! You really expected me to be happy on seeing you after everything you did to me Maya? After how you would abuse me emotionally, physically and mentally? Other kids my age would always run to their mother even Dante could count on Camilla but my own mother was my worst enemy. Damn! You tortured me every single day of my life till the day you finally divorced your husband and ran off to Germany with your lover. You never cared about me. I—i–you birthed me Maya!”
Maya cried more and more listening to Raphael let out all his built up anger and resentment for her over the years.
Nicole on the other hand had begun sobbing. She wasn’t even brave enough to touch Raphael as he looked so enraged.
“Raphael I am so sorry for every thing. I really am”Maya whispered.
Raphael could feel stray tears rushing to his eyes. He gave a pained smile and shook his head. “You know maya even with your endless abuse, I yearned for the day you would actually tell me you loved me as your son. But you never did. Infact you were the most happy whenever some thing bad happened to me. You made it known to me day after day and night after night that you hated me right from the bottom of your heart”
“What sort of a mother hates and tortures her own son whom she birthed? What sort of a mother starves her own son? What sort of a mother wishes her own son dead?” Raphael added crouching down to face Maya.
Maya was speechless and tongue tied. She couldn’t give a reply to Raphael’s question. Hearing it all made her feel hatred for her own self. She couldn’t believe she did all this to her innocent son and abandoned her family for a lover who ended up betraying her and ripping her off her entire savings.
“I never asked to be born Maya” Raphael cooly said, standing up and facing the clouds.
“I never asked to be brought into this goddamn world. So what was the need of bringing me into the world if all you would ever show me was hatred? Now you are appearing out of the blue telling me you are sorry for everything and you really expect me to just forgive you? You must be a very big fool if you think that”
“I know you won’t forgive me Raphael… I know… I know I am the worst mother on earth. Raphael I just want you to know that I truly am sorry and for the past twenty years I’ve been thinking of you my son”
“What happened to your German lover?” Raphael mischievously asked with a sadistic grin.
“We ended things a long time ago. He left me and uhm also dissapered with my savings. I was stranded in Germany. I had to leave from hand to mouth.
When I finally saved enough to travel out, I was too ashamed to come to Italy. I couldn’t face you nor my father; Armani and my ex husband; Micheal. I couldn’t even face Alessio; my brother. I had to come to my mother’s side here in Havana to cover up my shame”
Raphael let out a dark chuckle and nodded his head. “So karma finally caught up with you”
Maya shamefully nodded. “I am so sorry for everything Raphael. You won’t believe me but I mean it”
“Lying bitch”Raphael Scoffed.
Turning to face Nicole, he gripped hold of her one hand firmly. “Let’s leave here wife”
Maya was shattered into pieces. She knew it would be hard convincing Raphael that she had changed but a tiny part of her believed he would accept her but now she doubted it totally.
Her heart slammed and palpitated repeatedly with her breathing suddenly becoming rapid, her chest heaving in such a fast manner.
As she watched Raphael and Nicole go, black dots began appearing in her vision.
She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Her body shivered and her head spinned.
Stretching out her hand, she struggled to call out Raphael’s name with all her might.
“Raphael”Maya called out in one breath before collapsing to the ground.
Raphael immedately spunned around on hearing the thud of his mother’s body hitting the ground.
“Maya?” He called, him and Nicole now retracing their steps towards her.
Nicole at once ran to her side and knelt down beside her.
“Raphael she’s bleeding” Nicole informed urgently as she raised up her shirt to reveal the bandage that was soaked with blood glued around her abdomen.
“What?” Raphael became wide eyed, running over to Maya.
He was surprised at how she could even last this long with that amount of blood flowing out of her.
“Who did this to my mother” the words slipped out of his lips before he could even stop himself.
In a fluid motion, Raphael carried Maya in his arms as him and Nicole raced to stop a taxi that would convey them to the hospital.
Nicole quickly stopped a taxi and Raphael got in first with Maya in his arms before Nicole proceeded to enter.
He quickly told the taxi driver of their destination.
“She will be fine” Nicole attempted to calm Raphael as they drove in such an urgent state to the nearest hospital.
“Who did this to you Maya?” Raphael subconsciously asked ignoring Nicole’s attempt to soothe his nerves.
* * * * * * * *
RAPHAEL
I tried racking my brains to figure out what was going on in my life but I got nothing. All these unfortunate events began the very day caravella casino got attacked and I received a threatening note from ‘the ghost’– whoever he is.
From attacks to attacks. Now my mother just showed up out of the blue with a stabbed injury on her abdomen.
Worst of all, after gaining consciousness she said she didn’t know who stabbed her.
According to Maya, she was attacked by a masked man in her little apartment in Havana and she barely escaped with her life.
Everything felt so foggy and confusing.
All these villains in the shadows were making my blood boil.
I was literally loosing it.
Heaven spares each and every one of them when I finally discover who they are.
First things first, I’ll have to deal with Diego Perez and find out who gave him details about my arrival to the strip club.
“Ouch” Maya’s whimper cut into my thoughts.
I glanced down at her and held her firmly as I and Nicole supported her steps into Homero’s mansion.
I wanted to keep her admitted in the hospital but Maya pleaded in such a hysterical manner that I shouldn’t leave her.
She felt scared of almost everyone and everything that was close to her.
What had become of Maya?
The Maya I knew then was proud, bold and daring.
Now this Maya was as timid and fearful as a rabbit.
“Careful Maya” Nicole gently reassured her.
She flashed Nicole a warm smile and continued walking.
Nicole attempted to engage her in a light conversation whilst I remained silent.
She was probably doing that to soothe her nerves.
I pushed open the doors and assisted Nicole in bringing Maya in.
Coming in, I could see the wave of shocked expressions on all my capos faces.
They were all present. From Dante to Luca to Marco to Lorenzo to Thomas and Leila; each and everyone of them had become doe eyed.
The only people that seemed unfazed were the Garcias.
Maya did mention homero told her about my arrival in Cuba so she must have been keeping in touch with them.
“You?” Dante was the first to speak, coming over to us.
I and Nicole gently placed Maya on a chair.
“Dante you look so grown up”maya calmly said.
“How?? I don’t understand?? Maya is this really you?” Thomas asked joining Dante.
“Easy with the questions please. As you can see she is the real Maya and she isn’t doing too good” Nicole replied in Maya’s place.
My capos all came to surround us making me sigh. Maya was literally the last person any of us hoped to meet.
“Where is Homero?”I asked, turning my head at Anton.
I needed to know why Homero kept in touch with my mother.
He was about replying when approaching footsteps cut him short.
Homero alighted from the stairs and behind him followed my father, Micheal.
I scratched my head nervously, wondering how micheal would react seeing his ex wife here.
Maya at once stood up on her own the moment her gaze locked with Michael’s.
“Maya is this you?” He asked in a whisper with eyes like that of a deer in a headlight.
Why was everyone asking her that?
Homero looked amused but didn’t say any thing.
I passed him glances and I’m sure he understood what I meant.
“Micheal” Maya breathed out, coming over to him.
She stared at him for some seconds before engulfing him in a hug, taking micheal by surprise.
As quickly as she hugged him she pulled out.
Her orbs becoming restive and her features disconcerted.
“No.. this isn’t micheal” Maya suddenly said.
What the hell?
“Maya it’s me. What are you saying?” Micheal asked bewildered.
Tension began soaring in the air that instant.
“Maya that is your ex husband” I concurred.
“No!” She suddenly screamed, turning to face me.
“This isn’t micheal” she began crying with her forefinger pointed at micheal.
“Micheal is dead. This isn’t Micheal Raphael”
What the fuck?
What was going on?
I could see the confusion that had spread through out everyone’s faces.
“What are you saying Maya!” Micheal immedately flared up.
“You aren’t micheal!” She repeated what she had said earlier.
She hastily ran over to me.
“He isn’t micheal Raphael please believe me. That is an imposter not your father” she became hysteria.
“Maya calm down ok” I reassured her noticing her tension had began rising.
“Why isn’t anyone believing me!” Maya screamed leaving my side and coming to the centre of the living room.
“Maya you are not feeling too well like Nicole said so why don’t you rest ok”Luca came over to her.
“He isn’t micheal. He will kill us all. Somebody please!” Maya yelled in tears.
She immedately came over to my side once again and griped onto my shirt fearfully. “Believe me please Raphael”
“Maya control yourself what is all these?!” Micheal stepped forward angrily.
“Don’t come any closer else I’ll stab you” she warned him.
“He isn’t who you think he is i swear. He is an imposter. He will kill us all. Somebody believe me please!”
Maya became hysterical; crying and screaming like a deranged lunatic.
She thrashed her hands around and was consumed by a sudden uncontrollable fear.
This was getting out of hand.
Luca at once went over to his bag and brought out an injection.
“Don’t come close to me. I’m not insane. I’m saying the truth” Maya objected the moment she spotted Luca coming with the injection.
“It is for your own good. Luca please go ahead and sedate her” micheal instructed Luca.
Maya ran over to my side and gripped on to my shirt even more tighter than before.
“Don’t let them touch me please. I am not lying. I am not insane. He will kill us all please. Nicole tell him. That isn’t micheal. He is an imposter. Micheal died many years ago please believe me Raphael”
I held on to Maya, my arms embracing her. “Calm down Maya. Just relax” I whispered.
Maya held on to me tightly and I could feel the fear radiating off her body.
“He will kill us all Raphael” Maya cried onto my chest before the cold sting of the injection needle pierced into her skin, tranquilising her and lulling her into a sleep.