LUCIANO
I laid Jade on the stretcher as the nurses pushed her towards the emergency room. I squeezed her arm gently, “You’re going to be alright,” I said, looking down at her.
She swallowed, blinking rapidly. “Sir you’ll have to wait here for her,” a nurse said, blocking my way as they closed the door to the emergency room.
I nodded and stepped back, “she’s pregnant, please save her,” I pleaded.
The nurse nodded and entered the room, shutting the door behind her.
Another stretcher rolled past me, one carrying Raffaele, his almost soulless eyes locked with mine for a fleeting moment before he was whisked into the emergency room.
Aurora, her eyes puffy and red let out a cry as she pressed her back against the white walls, sliding down. I clenched my jaw, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat.
“Code red! Code red!” A man screamed from inside as the life support machine started beeping. Aurora and I jumped to our feet, plastering our faces against the glass.
It was Raffaele, he was flatlining. He jerked in the bed as the doctor tried to resuscitate him with a defibrillator. Aurora cried, watching her husband dying.
My eyes were fixed on Jade, who was lying on the next bed. There was so much blood, I watched with my heart in my mouth as the nurses scurried around her.
What was going on with my wife? Petro squeezed my shoulders, “you should sit down, she’ll be fine.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. This was all my fault, I should have given her extra protection. It should have been me.
I settled on the waiting chairs while Aurora sat opposite us on the floor, her back against the wall. She looked like a mess. Who wouldn’t? The woman practically shot her husband.
I didn’t know what to say to her, if not for her, Raffaele would’ve killed Jade and me. But I couldn’t tell her, thank you for shooting your husband now, could I?
After several minutes of waiting, the door finally clicked open, and a woman wearing a lab coat stepped out.
“How’s my husband?!” Aurora cried.
“How’s my wife?” I asked, my voice low.
The woman looked between us. “Ma’am your husband is… he’s in a critical condition, we’re going to keep him in the ICU for the next 48 hours, he’s fallen into a coma.”
Aurora let out a muffled sob, her knees almost buckling under her weight.
“What about my wife?” I pressed.
“Your wife is fine sir, but I’m sorry, we lost the baby.”
It felt like I was just punched in the gut, I took a step back, my head spinning. “We tried everything, but the baby couldn’t make it. I’m terribly sorry for your loss.”
I faced the wall, ramming my fist against it as I let out a feral growl. Petro was behind me, trying to calm me down. I suddenly raised my head, “can I see her?”
The doctor nodded, “she’s been transferred to a private room.”
I shared a look with Petro and he nodded. I took a deep breath and headed to her room. As soon as the door clicked open, she raised her head to face me.
A drip was inserted into her forearm and her face was pale, drained of color. We stood in silence for a bit before I pulled her into a hug. “I’m so sorry, I failed to protect you and our child,” I muttered.
She rubbed my back, her tears soaking my shirt. “It’s not your fault Luciano, our baby is in a better place now,” she whispered against my ear.
We broke apart and she sniffled, wiping her tears. “I’m okay,” she croaked, but her eyes told a different story.
“My parents, do they know yet?”
I shook my head. “They don’t know I found you, I’ve not told them yet.”
“Good. Please don’t tell them yet, I’ll call them by myself when I’m ready, if I see their faces now we’ll all just end up crying,” she chuckled, but her voice was still strained.
“Okay, I won’t.”
“Is Raffaele…” she trailed off.
“He’s in the ICU, in a coma.”
She nodded, “and Aurora? How’s she taking it? She fired the shot right?”
I sighed, ” She did and she’s pretty shaken up.”
“I want to see her,” she said and straightened up.
“Wait, you’re not strong enough yet.”
“Just help me push this intravenous pole, I’m not handicapped, I’ve had enough rest,” she insisted.
I reluctantly obliged and we made our way to the ICU. We hovered in front of the door, and I could see through the glass, Raffaele, lying on the bed. Connected to numerous beeping machines and an oxygen mask.
We stepped in, and Aurora looked over her shoulders. “Jade, Luciano…” she whispered, wiping her tears.
“How are you feeling?” She asked, her voice strained as Jade pulled her into a hug.
“I will be fine Aurora, how is he?” She asked. I stood behind my wife, indifferent. I couldn’t give two shits if Raffaele died right now on the spot, and I was surprised Jade cared, after everything he did to her.
Aurora looked back at Raffaele in his vegetative state. “They removed the bullet, but they said it hit his lungs, they said his lungs collapsed. I-” she croaked, tears streaming down, hot.
“Shhh,” Jade comforted as I stood there, frozen to the spot, peering at Raffaele with nothing but disgust. He deserved everything he got, I’ve put up with him for too long.
The doctor walked into the room, she paused, sensing the tension in the room. Aurora neared her, “Any news?”
“We’ll have to perform surgery on him, it’s the only chance we have for saving him.”
Aurora shot a glance at her husband and then back at the doctor. “Okay, perform the surgery right away.”
“His vitals aren’t stable, surgery on him now would be like a suicide mission, we have to monitor him for the next 24 hours before deciding on our next course of action.”
Aurora nodded.
“But I will say, the prognosis is poor.”
“What does that mean?” Aurora breathed.
“There’s a very low chance of recovery.”
Aurora bit against her lower lips as fresh streams of tears started flowing. The doctor swept her glance around the room before she walked away.
“It’s going to be okay,” Jade encouraged as Aurora was battling with another emotional breakdown, the guilt of having been the one that shot him eating her up from inside out.
******
The next day at the mansion, I called for a family meeting. “Are you sure you want to do this? Face all of them so soon?” Jade questioned.
I grabbed her chin gently, rubbing her cheeks with my fingers. “Don’t worry, I have everything under control, you just stay here upstairs and rest, you need it. I’ve instructed Elizabeth to fix something for you to eat.”
She nodded slowly as I made my way out. I descended the stairs, their faces meeting mine with frowns and indifference.
They all gathered around the sofa, looking at me with expectancy. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I called this meeting, well some of you are,” I stared, my gaze landing on Arturo.
“This is time for us to stand together as a family as we walk through these difficult times,” I continued.
Arturo scoffed bitterly. “Easy for you to say, your wife is upstairs, unscathed while Raffaele is fighting for his life in the ICU.”
“Arturo!” Luca cautioned.
“Unscathed? She lost a child, I lost a child because of Raffaele,” I corrected through gritted teeth, my temper flaring.
“If anything happens to my brother,” he declared, his voice low and menacing. “I’ll get revenge on every single person involved.”
I stepped forward, eliminating the space between us. “Is that a threat?” I asked in a dangerously low tone.
“It’s a warning,” he retorted.
“Do your worst Arturo, I’d like to see you try.”
We stared down at each other for a few seconds before he backed away, shooting his glance across the room before he stormed out.
I turned to face Jose. “Ensure that Jade has maximum security around her 24/7, and send men to the hospital to keep an eye on Aurora, he may have something against her since she’s the one who shot.”
“What about you?” His voice rang, making me halt in my steps.
“I can always take care of myself.”