Axel exhaled heavily as he heard his children crying, Max and Nora were trying to get them to stop but it felt like they were making it worse.
Axel stared at them and creased his forehead, they had them in their arms and walked around the room.
“So what now Axel?” Max suddenly asked.
“I’m thinking.” Axel replied.
“Well, can you think faster? I am staring to lose it.” Nora replied.
She groaned and pulled out her phone from her pants pocket as she heard it beeped, she saw a notification and she drew her eyebrows together.
“Axel, turn the television on and put it on channel 7.” Nora said and Axel looked at her before picking the remote up and turning the television on.
He put it on the channel. It was emergency news.
“I am reporting live from Beacon Street, a few minutes ago, a fatal accident occurred. A car blew up in the middle of the street, according to the cops, a body was found but it hasn’t been identified yet…. ” The news reporter said and Max exchanged looks with Nora.
“Beacon Street is the last street before getting to the airport.” Nora said and Axel hurriedly grabbed his phone. He called the chauffeur that drove Lily but he wasn’t picking up.
“No, no. Axel, don’t tell me it was Lily that got into a fucking accident!” Nora yelled and Kendra flinched in her arms and cried louder.
“Axel, is this part of the plan? Tell me this is part of the plan and you have everything under control.” Max said and Axel’s hands started to tremble.
Max and Nora started to talk at the same time and it sounded distant to him. He started to breathe heavily and his phone fell from his hand.
It all went wrong, it all went wrong!
He placed his hand on his chest as he gasped for breath, he fell on his knees and gasped.
As he did, his phone suddenly rang. He looked at the caller and saw it was an unknown caller.
He slowly picked up his phone and picked up the call, he exhaled heavily and placed the phone on his ear.
He heard the familiar deep laughter at first, then the person fell silent. A few seconds passed and the person spoke up again.
“I beat you at your own game, mafia lord. I won.”
The call ended and Axel ran his hands through his hair. He had it under control, he was sure he did.
He was one step ahead of him, he was sure of that. How the hell did it all go wrong?
~
FOUR DAYS EARLIER
Axel sat in his seat as he went through the files in front of him, he had a lot of paperwork to do and he was getting exhausted.
The door to his office opened and he looked up to see one of his men.
“Sir, Dexter Robbin is here.” He said and Axel raised his brows. He was confused, why was Dexter visiting? They are rivals but he was sure to abide by the code. He had no business with Dexter.
Curiously, Axel answered.
“Let him in.” Axel ordered and the man bowed before walking out. Seconds later, Dexter walked in.
“Blackwell.” Dexter called dramatically and walked towards his table with a smile. He sat opposite Axel and his smile grew wider.
“What? What’s with the smile? What do you want?” Axel asked and he chuckled.
“I am here to deliver a message.” He said and Axel stared at him confused.
“Huh? A message? From who?”
“El Diablo.”
~
PRESENT DAY
Axel paced in the living room as he waited for Max to show up, Nora was also with him. They were both waiting.
It was late already and they got the kids to fall asleep.
The door opened and Max walked in, they both turned to him and he nodded sadly.
“It’s her. They identified the body already, it’s Lily.” Max said and Nora burst into tears.
She placed her hands on her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud. Max moved closer to her and hugged her tightly.
Axel remained on the spot as he tried to take in the news, hours ago when he told her she would be dead to him once she leaves, he was bluffing.
Everything he said wasn’t real, their kids were going to grow up knowing her, and she would be their mother. She would be there for them.
All he wanted to do was end everything at once, he wanted to solve all the problems with a solution. He thought he had it all under control.
It was his fault, it was his fault Lily died. Now, their kids would really grow up without a mother.
Nora’s loud cries snapped him out of his thought, tears welled up in his eyes too and for the first time, he didn’t hold them back. He didn’t fight them. They streamed down his cheeks and he cried silently.
Lily died! His Lilyana died and it was his fault.
“This is all your fault, Axel. It is your fault she is dead!” Nora yelled at him as she pulled away from Max.
Axel ignored her, he had a lot going in his head. He is left with two kids, he would raise them by himself. They won’t have a mother. He was just starting to learn how to be a father and he wasn’t so sure he was great at it.
Nora walked to Axel and grabbed his shirt, she yelled at him in tears.
“Do something, Axel. Do something. You can’t raise those kids yourself, they need their mother, they need Lily.” Nora yelled at him in tears as she held his shirt.
Axel didn’t do anything, he just kept staring.
Max pulled her away from him.
Axel kept staring, he wasn’t saying anything too. He recalled the phone call he had minutes ago and the words rang in his head.
“I beat you at your own game, mafia lord. I won.”