Raphael raged in an extreme fury. He subconsciously lets go of his mother’s cold body and lurches out of the hall.
He wanted to kill the shooter himself. Nothing else would give him more satisfaction than embedding bullets into the body of the person that dared to shoot his mother.
Nicole wrapped her hands around Maya’s body, crying deeply into her chest as the panic soared in the air.
Hysteria filled the room. Confusion and chaos was the order as everybody stood on their toes not knowing who would be the next victim.
The shooter was uncovered in an underground tunnel not far away from the hall.
Raphael had his men surround the area, ready to spill his blood.
In the speed of light, the assassin pulled out a revolver and in a flash, he pulled the trigger, aiming it for Raphael but Luis was quick to jump in the way, taking the bullet in his arm.
“Fuck. Luis!” Raphael yelled as Luis body made contact with the dusty ground.
That was enough distraction for the assassin to slip out of Raphael murderous grasps.
“We need to get this treated” Luca said in an alarming tone.
“Why the fuck would you take a bullet for me? You could have died!” Raphael yelled some more.
Luis gave off an agonizing laugh. “You are more than a business partner to me Raphael”
The blaring sound of the ambulance cut into their discussion. It could be heard some few metres away.
“Lorenzo and Luca help Luis to his feet”Raphael sharply ordered as he tucked his gun back into his pants and ran for his mother.
Pain like razor sharp blades cut into him the moment he spotted the pale body of his mother. Colour was absent from her face and her dress had become awfully ruby red.
“Raphael…”Nicole lost her voice on spotting Luis who limped into the hall a moment later with Lorenzo and Luca aiding his steps.
He was bleeding profusely. Fear and shock got her void of tone.
Who was going to be the next?
Nicole had no idea of when the paramedics took Maya’s body from her frightful hold and laid her on the stretcher.
“She will be alright raph” Nicole whispered repeatedly as they all drove in their various cars, tailgating the ambulance.
Raphael was far too deep in his sorrow to hear Nicole. He tuned out everybody and everything that the only sound he could make out was the erratic and palpitating beat of his own heart.
The drive to the hospital was very quick given the urgency of the situation.
The doors of the operating ward welcomed maya in an instant while a seperate doctor treated Luis’ gunwound in a different ward.
Nicole stood petrified and so did everyone else. Elisa sobbed quietly whilst Homero comforted her.
Micheal stood by with Alessio.
They were men trying to control their surging emotions.
Aurora and Sofia sat by a corner, the Gracias children coming over to them.
Nicole watched as they spoke in Italian and she saw faint smile etching on Aurora’s lips.
Probably Anton had cracked up a lighthearted joke… she thought.
The only person that wasn’t present was Armani.
Raphael stood by himself. Refusing to sit down, he perched by the doors of Maya’s operating ward.
Everyone felt terrified to reach out to him including Nicole.
He hadn’t said a word to her ever since the incident.
Who knows what could be brooding in his mind?
It didn’t take long for the doors to burst open.
Expecting good news, everyone who was seated bolted up to their feets.
The doctor walked up to Raphael and shook his head with a neutral look on his face.
Nicole had her eyes elongated.
“What do you mean by that doctor?” Raphael asked, his tone becoming fueled with rage.
An unsettling, disturbing silence spread like wild fire amongst them even though the hospital was rowdy.
“We lost her. She died before you brought her in”
NICOLE
Shock and disbelief ran through the atmosphere the moment the doctor informed us of Maya’s death.
How could she die?
My breathing got stumped in my lungs and I lost my voice.
My eyes pooled with tears and so did everyone else’s.
I turned to touch Raphael but he at once erupted with such a fierce rage that I had never seen before.
“How could you let her die! Your job was to save her not to let her die!” Raphael yelled so loudly, drawing out his gun and aiming it for the doctor.
I let out a petrified scream and cried more.
What was going on?
The doctor was horror struck and he motioned for Raphael to drop his gun but Raphael was to enraged to listen.
The other capos bolted towards Raphael, trying to disarm him but he pushed them all of, maintaining his hold on his gun.
“You were not suppose to inform me of her death! She was suppose to be alive!” Raphael exasperated, a blaze of anger burning furiously in his blue orbs.
“Calm down boy!” Homero urged, as they all struggled with Raphael in disarming him of all his weapons.
I couldn’t believe what was going on. Who was doing this to us?
I couldn’t even comfort my husband as I was too scared to even come close to him.
Who is attacking us?
Suddenly, Maya’s warning clicked in my head.
She warned me of an imposter within us.
Micheal.
I looked at him admist the chaos happening around.
Maya told me she would die as long as he was around and she did die.
He killed her.
I angrily walked towards him and yanked him by the collar, catching him and everyone else off guard.
“Why did you do it?!” I yelled in tears.
The others turned their attention to me having managed to disarm Raphael.
Micheal seemed stunned-if he really is micheal.
“I don’t know what you are talking about” he replied sounding confused and yanking my hands off his collar.
“You do! You killed Maya!” I boiled with rage.
“Nicole don’t start this” Leila sternly told me but I shot her an icy glare.
I promised Maya I would protect my husband and I would even if I had to stand against the world.
“He killed Maya. He is the murderer. He sent the assassin! He orchestrated it all!” I cried, hitting him by the chest.
“What nonsense is this!?” Micheal roared.
“Raphael don’t you know how to control your wife?” Micheal asked Raphael.
He didn’t say a word. He was too heartbroken to say anything.
“You’ve been the imposter all along! Maya warned me about you. I should have done something. Maya would have been alive today. But you killed her and I’ll kill you too”
The words slipped out of my mouth before I knew it and my hands seized the gun Homero held. In a quick flash I had it pointed at Micheal.
Gasps flew in the air by my sudden action.
“What the fuck! Is the black woman mad?!” Dante angrily vented coming over to me but I used my elbow to hit him in the stomach which got him lurching back and tightened my hold on the gun.
Micheal stood unfazed.
As expected the other men tried coming over but Raphael upheaved his hands at them, signalling for them to halt.
“Give me the gun principessa” his tone was strangely soft and soothing.
It wasn’t the horrifying tone he used some minutes earlier on the doctor.
He took slow steps towards me but I shook my head in tears.
“Raphael he killed your mother. Please don’t let him go scot free” I begged.
They all looked at me like I was deranged.
“You’ve been letting Maya feed you all that nonsense shit haven’t you?” Micheal spat.
“Nicole child please drop the gun” Aurora pleaded.
I peaked a glance at her and she gave me pleading eyes but I shook my head in response.
This man standing in front of me wasn’t Micheal.
I don’t have the proof but I know deep down maya wasn’t lying.
“Nicole” Raphael called in a more serious tone which got me jerking.
“Give me the gun” he ordered, taking the words out of his mouth very slowly.
“No!” I yelled back at him.
“Why can’t you all see that he is evil!? He will kill us all. We have to kill him. He killed Maya. Who knows who his next target will be”
“So you won’t give me the gun?” Raphael asked calmly once more.
“No” I replied facing micheal.
Now I was ready to pull the trigger.
“You leave me no choice my love”
I instantly faced Raphael the moment he uttered those words and he had a gun pointing at my head.