by Jolie Damman
I accelerated Paolo’s black sedan, not stopping when I saw the gate in front of me. I made the car go even faster, the whole structure of it complaining. I knew that what I was doing was dangerous, but again, I didn’t have a better choice.
“Hey, stop!” I heard one of them say moments before I slammed the gate open with the car, its chassis suffering from the impact.
Paolo knew about this. He knew I was doing this. He wasn’t going to get mad that I damaged his car.
I drove to Gino’s house, and my intention was only one. I was going to stop Basilio before he could make the worst mistake of his life.
✽ ✽ ✽
Basilio
I kicked his door open. The bastard lived in a poor house in an even poorer neighborhood. Considering that his family lost most of its money, it made sense he wouldn’t have a better place to live with Editta.
They were sitting on a couch, watching TV. Editta gasped and jumped off the couch. Gino stood up and reached for his gun in his waist, but I was already pointing mine at him. He never stood a chance. My plan worked perfectly.
“Gino, don’t be stupid right now,” I said.
His hand calmed down, but his eyes were still fierce. “What is going on, Basilio? Did you come here to kill me?”
“That’s what I want to do.”
“Then, what are you waiting for?”
“I have some questions to make you first, asshole.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Gloria
My mind was a confusion of thoughts right now. Was Basilio really the right man for me all along? Was Editta right? I remembered what she told me, “He might seem like a good guy in the beginning, but don’t be fooled. He will find a reason to make you hate him.”
Her story hit me like a train. I still believed he was a good man, but I wasn’t going to pretend this wasn’t happening. Basilio was heading to Gino’s house, and only one thing could come out of that. I needed to stop him before it was too late.
My heart was beating so fast, pumping blood to keep me alert. I was driving like a maniac through the streets, not obeying the red traffic lights when they lit up.
Basilio was also doing the same, but he was so far ahead of me right now. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get to him before it was too late. I needed to go faster, or else this was all going to be for nothing.
Despite how dangerous this was, I accelerated Paolo’s car even more. I could crash at any moment now. Everything was a blur to me outside, and I could focus only on what was right in front of me.
Maybe Basilio noticed I was chasing him, but I didn’t care. If he did notice, he was ignoring me. I wished he would stop right now and end this madness. He couldn’t kill my brother. He just couldn’t.
I caught a glimpse of his car turning right, entering the road where my brother’s house was. I accelerated Paolo’s car even more, making me worry once again I was going to crash.
But regardless of what had to happen right now, I wasn’t going to give up.
✽ ✽ ✽
Basilio
I settled my finger on the trigger. I was going to do it. Gino confessed everything to me. He was planning to kill my whole family. He and his bitch sister thought they were so clever. Well, they didn’t know I had a brother who knew about their plans.
Maybe I should thank him later for having told me about that meeting. I would never have figured out what was happening without his tip.
I was pulling the trigger when I heard tires screeching outside. What the hell was happening?
I didn’t avert my attention from Gino, who was kneeling in front of me. I beat him up a little. I couldn’t bring myself to end his life with my own fists. Not right now. He deserved every punch and kick he got, though.
And his bitch girlfriend, Editta, witnessed everything. She was sobbing at a corner right now. Fucking woman thought she could cross me without consequences. Well, she got what she deserved.
I glanced at some of my guards, telling them what they needed to do. They hurried outside and I heard her voice. It was Gloria. She had just arrived. What the fuck? How did she leave the premises of the mansion?
I still kept my Colt pointed at Gino. He was a smart man, and he could be dangerous if he was granted the opportunity to kill me now. I wasn’t going to allow him one second to get on top of this. I needed him where he was right now.
But Gloria was being a nuisance outside. Gino heard she was here, and his eyes looked outside, worry permeating his pupils. How the hell did she know I was coming here to end her brother’s life?
Somehow, as if by luck, she got out and managed to chase my car, standing right behind me. She was panting. I could hear she was nervous.
“Gloria, stay out of this,” Gino said.
“No. I’m going to sto-”
Some of my men pulled her out of the house, and I said, “Leave her, boys. She needs to see this.”
I was going to do this. I was going to kill Gino right in front of Gloria. I was…
I was doing the worst fucking thing in this God-forsaken world. I was a monster. Always had been. I didn’t beat up women, but I was worse. I made them suffer by just being with me.
The sudden realization of what was going on here, who I had become, made me lower my gun. Slowly, but I lowered it still.
It almost didn’t make sense, and yet, it did. I didn’t think twice before deciding to come here. I thought I loved her, and fuck, I did. How could I have thought that doing this was okay? Gloria would never forgive me if I were to kill her dear big bro.
The definition of ‘Monster’ in the dictionary needed to be redefined, and my name needed to be included in it.
Gino suddenly jumped over to me and made me fall over on my back, noticing my hesitation. The gun slipped from my hand, and he picked it up.
“No!” I shouted moments before one of my guards could kill him. Their Colts were all aimed at him already.
“Boss, you said you wanted to kill this man.”
Gino smirked. “Well, try killing me now. I’m going to pull this trigger the moment you open fire.”
I made this mess myself. I made Gloria hate me. I knew she was hating me right now to the point of wishing my death. How could she not? I beat up her brother again, and pointed a gun to his sorry face.
Well, now things turned for the worst for me. Gino had every reason to kill me, but he wouldn’t because my men had their Colts trained at him. They were keeping me safe, but for how long? Gino could kill me now and have his revenge.
Maybe he was crazy enough to do that.
My father would be devastated if he were to learn I perished. He would be mad I couldn’t finish his mission, and Paolo would take my place. The asshole would have everything he wished for. He wanted to be me, and now it seemed he was going to be.
“Kill me right now, asshole. I don’t care,” I taunted.
“You don’t care? Maybe I should.”
“Gino, don’t!” I heard Gloria shouting from the outside.
What was the worst she could do right now? “Men, let her come in,” I ordered them.
And they obeyed me. They didn’t have much to worry about, other than me being killed right now. If Gino were to do the right thing, he wouldn’t survive for long. Gloria would be fine, probably. They wouldn’t kill an unarmed woman like her.
Editta was still sobbing at that same corner. The bitch was still worried her boyfriend was going to get the short end of the stick here. Did she even realize who had the gun now? Did she know that things changed?
All I knew, right now, was that I fucked things up. I thought I was doing the right thing by coming here to kill him. Little did I know I was making the worst mistake of my life. With Gloria, it was different. I loved her.
It was a very different kind of love. I thought I loved Editta, but I broke up with her so easily. Guessed she was nothing more than a woman I could spend some time with after all.
Gloria helped me with my addiction. Editta,
on the other hand, only made it worse by complaining about it all the fucking time. She kept making me drink more and more. Gloria was different. She was better. She was the right woman for me. How blind was I not to remember that before coming here?
Fuck. I really wanted to die right now.
“Hey, asshole. You better kill me while you still have the chance,” I said.
He cocked his gun, daring to open fire. “I want to kill you, trust me on that.”
“Then, why-”
“Basilio, shut up! I’m going to fix this,” Gloria said before standing right in front of him and lowering his gun.
“Gloria, what is the meaning of this?” He asked.
“Stop this nonsense. I’m going to talk to him. Don’t you see that he doesn’t want to harm you anymore?”
Gino flickered his eyes at me, and then lowered the Colt. “Alright. You are not wrong, but I hope these men won’t kill us both right now.”
I stood up and said, “Men, lower your weapons.”
“But, bos-”
“Shut the fuck up. It’s what I want to do.”
He shook his head, and in other circumstances, I would have shot him dead, but things were different now.
Editta finally stopped sobbing, and she walked over to Gino, taking his hand in his. “My love, come with me.”
“Gloria, I hope you know what you are doing. If anything happens, you come right to me, okay?” He questioned, his eyes filled with determination.
She looked at me, and then at him, her eyes wondering about something I couldn’t figure out on my own. “Nothing bad will happen, brother.”
Basilio
I took her home and forgot about her brother. He wouldn’t be an issue anymore. Gloria saved me. I thought I was going to become the monster I had always been right in front of her, but she made me see the light. The light at the end of the dark tunnel that was my life.
I knew she was distraught by what happened. I beat her brother up right in front of her watering eyes. But there was something about Gloria that spoke volumes about who she was. She forgave me. She didn’t have one single, good reason to do so, but she pardoned me anyway.
She held my hand in hers. “I should kill you right now.”
“Gloria, I don’t deserve this.”
“Maybe you are right, but you can’t live without me. You’d just end up killing yourself, and that is something I can’t allow to happen.”
“You are not mad at me?”
She squeezed my hand in hers, hurting me a little. “Of course I am. I am fucking mad at you, but it’s over. Let’s put it all behind us.”
“You are really sure you want me, after everything I’ve done?”
She nodded her head quickly. “Yes, I do. You are the love of my life. What you did for me, I’m not going to forget it.”
“Come on, I didn’t do anything important. I just made sure you had someone you could rely on in here.”
“Maybe you are right. Maybe you didn’t intend to fall in love with me, but right now, I don’t care about that. I care about you.”
“Gloria…”
I leaned down and kissed her, sealing our fate. I knew it was almost like a fairy-tale, but it was a good one. She was going to become my wife, and I was going to marry the woman that did so much for me.
Maybe I didn’t deserve her love, but she was willing to spend the rest of her life with me, and that was… good. It was a good thing, and so much more than I deserved.
She ended the kiss, and asked, “What is wrong? What is worrying you right now?”
“Paolo.”
Chapter 17
Letting It All Go
Gloria
Maybe I should have felt worse about everything that was happening, but I didn’t. I felt at peace with myself. He beat up my brother again, but… It wasn’t all his fault. I had my share of blame too. I shouldn’t have ever found that information in his bedroom and given it to Gino. And I should have told him that I did that a lot earlier.
He could be aggressive sometimes, but not because he wanted to let it happen.
All the questions I had for him about his former relationship with Editta had been answered. Deep down, he was a good man that always did the right thing, and he had a terrible alcohol addiction I needed to work on.
I made that an objective of mine. I was going to cure him of his addiction. He had a good heart. That’s one other reason why I couldn’t hate him, despite what he did to my brother.
I gripped his hand when he was going to Paolo’s bedroom. “Please, don’t beat him up.”
He nodded and looked calmer. “I won’t.”
It was the day after, and the events of what happened in my brother’s house here in New York were still vivid in my mind. That’s when it all became clear to me. Basilio could have killed him, and he had so many reasons to do so, but he didn’t.
He made the right choice. He told me what went through his mind before he lowered his gun. He couldn’t continue being a monster anymore. It was killing him from the inside, and he also said he needed to change.
He opened the door, my eyes immediately noticing the light coming through the windows on the other side. I had never been in Paolo’s bedroom before - and I meant, really been in it. When I got his key and used his car to chase his brother, I didn’t pay attention to what his room was like.
It was a very simple one. Very bland. My mom would have a couple of things to say about it being a waste of space. I almost smirked at the thought of her being her former self. Would that ever happen again? She loved my dad so much, and was still suffering because of his death.
“Basilio, it’s nice to see you here.”
“Let’s cut the crap out, Paolo. I am through with your scheming.”
“Oh, but I just told father about what happened, and I think he wants to talk to you.”
His landline phone was in his hand, and it was clear he was talking to someone before we came into his room. He was talking to his father. That had to be it. He was getting to the end of his plan, and he was going to make sure we were getting the short end of the stick here.
I marched toward him and slapped his face, hard. His eyes found mine as his hand caressed the cheek I hit.
I tipped my chin up. “Don’t you dare to do this.”
“Do what, princess?”
I attempted to slap him again, but his free hand gripped my wrist. “Not this time.”
Basilio got in between us and towered over his brother. He wasn’t much taller than Paolo, but he was bigger and more muscular. His hand freed me, and I stepped away from the two of them.
For a moment, I worried the worst was going to happen. I grabbed Basilio’s hand, and he caressed mine in response. That answered the one important question I had in mind. He wasn’t going to beat up his brother.
I breathed out and gave them more space.
Basilio grabbed the phone from his brother’s hand, and said, “Father, I’m done with this.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Basilio
“What the fuck are you telling me?” My dad asked, his tone filled with worry.
I knew why he made that question, but there was no need to answer him. He understood what I meant. I was done with trying to make this operation work, and looking at Gloria now, I knew there was only one thing that truly mattered to me.
“Paolo wants to run things here. Fine, he can have this headache all for himself. It’s mostly done, anyway. He won’t have to do much.”
I smirked. Paolo didn’t like that one bit. He thought he was going to get all the credit for bringing down the Lettiere family, but I just told our father the thing he wanted to hear the most since starting all this.
Now, I was getting all the credit, and Paolo would have to do most of the work himself.
“Son, I’m not going to let you just walk out.”
“Don’t I deserve that, father, after doing everything you’ve asked of me?”
A long moment of si
lence ensued. He swallowed hard, and then said, “Okay, but you will still be a son of mine, and I’m not going to give up on you. The doors will always be open.”
“Just make my brother do your dirty work for you from now on,” I said before ending the call, slamming the phone back into its support.
I turned and looked at Gloria. “Come on, we are leaving this place.”
Epilogue
Gloria
