CLXXX

[GIOSEFFO]
My men looked at me as if they didn’t quite grasp my words. I shot them a withering look. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
They quickly obeyed and released Rory. He knelt and placed both hands on the floor before slowly raising his gaze to me, clearly bewildered.
I crouched toward him, gripping his hair so tightly that he winced. “I gave you the chance to live and stay away from us… from my wife. If you had done that, your end wouldn’t be this gruesome.” I released his hair and stood. After a brief moment, I kicked him forcefully.
His body went flying across the room. Before he could recover, I violently stomped on his chest. He groaned in agony, exactly the expression I wanted to see.
“Desiring my wife is a sin I won’t forgive, but hurting her will be the end of you, Rory,” I hissed, my anger blazing in my eyes. “You should have stayed away after the warning I gave you the night I beat you to a pulp. When I saw you kissing Millie that night, I merely had my men beat you. I allowed you to live, knowing you would suffer, and I preferred to see your misery while you remained alive. I just didn’t expect you still had the audacity to attempt on my life, you motherfucker.”
“I didn’t intend to shoot Millie! I didn’t want to harm her-” He couldn’t finish his sentence before I grabbed the leg where I shot him. I could feel his fake leg, and I wanted to rip it off him.
“You should have just hidden, never letting me see your face again,” I told him, as though I couldn’t hear his words. “And for that, I will make you pay tenfold for what you’ve done to me.”
I ruthlessly snapped his prosthetic leg, which caused him to scream in agony. I did the same to his other leg, which made him scream even louder.
The screams, mingled with his pain, were like music to my ears. Cry for it, beg for it, and suffer for it.
“I will make your family pay for your sins as well.”
Exhausted, he looked at me and shook his head violently. “Don’t involve my family. They have done nothing to you-”
“And that’s supposed to be my problem, why?” I retorted with a sardonic tone. “I’ll involve whomever I want to involve. That’s why you shouldn’t dare threaten me. I’m not a kind person. Retribution is my forte.”
I subjected him to numerous torment. I used a horsewhip to lash him until he nearly passed out from the pain. His blood oozed from the wounds. Looking at his face, you couldn’t even recognize him anymore. I had beaten his face beyond recognition.
“K-Kill me…” his voice was barely a whisper. I grabbed his hair and slammed his head against the wall so forcefully that some of his teeth fell out.
“You’re not the one to decide that,” I released him and looked at my men. They just stood there, as though they’d forgotten to breathe because of what I was doing to Rory. Of course, they were shocked. This was the first time they had seen me like this. They were accustomed to seeing me as composed as possible, never losing my cool like this.
“I need a knife,” I instructed them.
They swiftly complied, as if failing to give me what I wanted would place them next in line for Rory’s treatment. Dario calmly approached me and handed me a thigh holster. I was surprised to recognize it as Millie’s. It was the holster she always used, and inside it was the knife my wife constantly carried with her.
I wanted to ask Dario where he got it, but I had no time for that. I needed to finish this so I could return to the hospital. Millie needed to see me as soon as she woke up. I took the knife and approached Rory once more. I positioned him against the wall.
“W-What are you going to do?”
I aimed the knife at his chest, the same place where Millie had been shot. “You shot her here,” I said, slowly pressing the blade. “So, I better carve out your heart with this damn knife to even the score, right?”
“N-No!”
Before he could say more, I slowly drove the knife into his chest. It felt like I was dissecting a frog, and I felt nothing, even as his blood occasionally splattered on my face.
All you could hear in the room were Rory’s screams while I took my time carving his chest. When I grew impatient, I suddenly thrust the knife into him, still avoiding any vital organs to prevent him from dying. I opened his chest with the knife, exposing his still-beating heart.
You could barely hear anything from Rory aside from his whimpering. I released the knife and inserted my hand through the hole I had created in his chest. I could feel his heart beating in my palm.
“Say my regards to Marion Huff and Nicolas Belleza. Next time, choose your battles carefully and never cross paths with me.” I crushed his heart with my hand and tore it out. I saw tears fall from his eyes before he finally succumbed to death.
I stood there, observing Rory closely. The emptiness in my chest was far from being fixed. It seemed nothing would fix it until I heard good news about Millie.
Elliott and the others approached me when they noticed I had finished tormenting Rory.
“Your orders, Sir?” they asked.
I walked away from there. “Burn him.”
I cleaned myself up before returning to the hospital. I didn’t want Millie to see any trace of Rory’s blood on me.
When I arrived at the hospital, I felt like a zombie, walking through the hallway. I reached the waiting area just as the doctors were coming out. They had expressions on their faces that I couldn’t quite decipher, leaving me in a state of uncertainty.
I hurried over, almost losing my balance in my haste. “What happened? How’s my wife?” If my dad hadn’t steadied me, I might have accosted the doctor then and there.
They looked at me, taking a deep breath before speaking. A glimmer of hope shone in their eyes. “The operation was successful. We will transfer Mrs. Locatelli to the ICU for close monitoring.”
I stood frozen in my place upon hearing this. While my family was celebrating, I remained there, dumbfounded, trying to process what I had just heard. Is she safe? Did I hear that correctly? She’s safe now?
I glanced at the doctor. “And our baby?” Millie’s pregnancy came rushing back to me. I clenched my hands, my mind racing with various thoughts as I waited for an answer.
Dr. Diaz, Millie’s OBGYN, looked at me and said, “The baby is also safe, Mr. Locatelli.”
I don’t know why I felt weak upon hearing that. I dropped to my knees while trying to absorb everything they were saying. The heavy emotions that weighed me down all day suddenly vanished in an instant.
The doctor approached me and patted my shoulder. “It was a miracle, actually. We thought we might lose the baby… but it looks like your wife and child are both fighters.”
I could no longer fully grasp what the doctor was saying; my mind was flooded with information. Unconsciously, a tear rolled down my right eye. This time, I was certain it was a tear of relief. She was safe. She didn’t leave me. I bowed my head and wiped my face, a smile forming on my lips.
“It seems like this life is really meant for the baby. Even I can’t believe that the baby survived. For now, we will monitor her, and we’ll wait for your wife to regain consciousness. Excuse us.” One of the doctors continues.
Mommy approached me and hugged me. I couldn’t find the right words to express myself. I struggled to articulate my feelings.
“She’s alive…” It felt like I was trying to convince myself more than anyone else. I kept repeating in my mind that Millie was alive, and our child was safe.
It’s as if I’ve finally taken a deep breath since all of this happened. When Millie was transferred to the ICU, the number of visitors and visiting hours were limited.
Both my family and Millie’s family allowed me to be the first to see my wife. I didn’t hesitate. Wearing appropriate attire, I walked toward Millie. Numerous machines surrounded her. I hesitated to approach her at first.
I took a deep breath. I never imagined I would see Millie lying in a hospital bed. I suppose that’s life, isn’t it? No matter how much you want to protect someone, there’s a chance they might slip from your grasp and be in harm’s way.
I quietly approached Millie, carefully observing her. Besides the oxygen mask and the various machines attached to her, she looked almost the same. In fact, you could almost think she was just sleeping.
I held her hand, my movements cautious. I didn’t know what time it was; all I knew was that it was nighttime. I had lost all sense of day and time since this happened to Millie. I didn’t even realize I hadn’t slept yet.