Underworld: The Mafia Heiress and The Spy

My hand struck the wooden door in another desperate attempt to get the door opened but whoever was on the other side seemed to be unknown to my desperation, taking their sweet time to open it. People on the street gave me weird stares as I pounded on the door in such a way but I had no care for them and my mind was focused on one thing only. My mother. Only when I was contemplating jumping in through the window did someone finally answer the door. "Aunt Heidi, what was taking so long?" barging in, I murmured. "Where's Mom?" The question caught Aunt Heidi in tears. I instantly began to expect the worst watching my Aunt in tears and making a run for Mom's room. My thoughts spiralled around the worst possibility and the ray of hope that it might not be as worst as I was anticipating it to be. The hope, however, couldn't overcome my fear soon enough when I came to find a couple of people standing outside the room. I could only make out a few figures gathered outside through my tears but my blown out state didn't stop until I was inside. "No, you're not going anywhere. You can't leave me, Mom." My voice broke as I knelt by her bed. She lay on it barely conscious and looking worst than the last day. A hint of a smile crossed Mom's face suddenly and despite the looks of it, it seemed to give some hope to me. Her lung cancer had eaten her out badly. She was barely recognizable and so was that smile, except to me. "Come here Noelle-" her voice came out low. "My baby." "I'm here. Do you need something?" I asked in haste, rushing to hold her hand. "Sit." She ordered with a weak voice. The room was silent so, even her frail voice could be hearable. Jack, my cousin stood at the end of the room and he hadn't said anything yet. "I've made mistakes Noelle. I don't have time left to correct them-" Mom began to say. "You can't just say that. Come on, you promised you wouldn't give up!" I sniffled holding her hand. A few teardrops landed on it and her brows creased a little. Our weak and helpless presence alone was frightening. "I'm sorry. I can't protect you anymore." A tear made its way down her cheek and her voice began to break. I was out of words and sat there watching as she took her last breath in front of me. My heart had finally broken and my thoughts centred around the bitter reality of life. The life I had only shared with Mom till the day, not knowing any other family. But this drastic wave in the flow of life was leaving me without my only family now. Months ago, on the day of Mom's diagnosis, I comforted myself by saying that her cancer hadn't spread that far and wouldn't one day snatch her away from me but I had been wrong all along. It happened and I did lose my world. *** "Noelle." A sobbing voice brought me out of the daze and I looked around gulping and coming to my senses. "Would you like to say something dear?" Aunt Heidi asked and giving one glance at Mom's coffin I looked away, shaking my head. A small crowd was gathered at her funeral and barely half of the people were aware of my existence as the daughter of the deceased. Some old friends of Mom had come to town on short notice and others were probably neighbours or friends of Aunt Heidi who had heard the saddening news from Aunt Heidi herself. After a while, the coffin was lowered down to the ground. Overwhelmed with emotions to even comprehend and react to one, all I could recollect were the ungrateful and hopeless thoughts. 8 months weren't enough to save her. Why does it have to happen this way? - another thought made its way inside my head. I sat on the bench after the funeral when I saw Aunt Heidi rush up to be followed by a man. I looked away and seconds later the footsteps came to a stop behind me. "Is that her?" A man's voice reached my ears, from which I knew they stood close behind me or at least the man. "This is not the right time, I am telling you. You should wait, Mr Gonzales." Aunt Heidi whispered and with that, I wiped my tears and turn to them. "It's okay, Aunt Heidi," I said with a hoarse voice from crying and not sleeping enough. Sniffling, I straightened myself and stood up. My eyes paused when they landed on the man. He was in his late forties and had a chilling look to his features. But that was not it. Even through swollen eyes, I couldn't ignore the familiarness of his face and his face seemed to be reflecting mine at that moment. "Well, aren't you a spitting image of me?" He said slowly, never looking away from my face. My brows furrowed and I glanced at Aunt who seemed to be fidgeting. I couldn't blame her, this man had an oddly intense aura to him. "Excuse me?" I replied to the man when he didn't explain his words. "I can't believe she kept you from me this long," he said slowly as if whispering to himself. "What are you talking about?" I asked out of confusion. "Let me introduce myself," he said and extended a hand. "I am Gael Gonzales." I took his hand and shook it while recalling the familiar again and again. "I believe you've heard my name before." He said as if reading my mind. "Mr Gonzales, can we do this some other time?" Aunt Heidi stepped in suddenly and the next moment I found her gulping hard under the deadly glare of Mr Gonzales. "I don't mind. Mr Gonzales only wants to express his condolences, I believe." I said dryly and turned back to the man. He was already staring at me and something danced in his eyes, like amusement. A smile appeared on his lips and he narrowed his eyes on me. "Are you really that naive or did she really raise you like this?" His words hit me like a ton of bricks and I blinked twice. How dare he talk about my Mom like that? For all I know, I hadn't seen this man ever before and now he thought of showing up to Mom's funeral only to judge her upbringing. I opened my mouth to defend my dead mother when he cut me off. "Ah, save it. I am sure we, father and daughter, will have a lot of time to bond after today." his smile grew wider. As much as I hate to notice it then, even his smile resembled mine. Whatever I was about to say was gone. The words either hung in somewhere or I forgot them the moment this man cut me off. "W-what do you mean?" I stuttered after a while. The wheels in my mind were already turning but my overwhelmed self wasn't ready to add two and two together just yet. "Look at me. Haven't you already thought about why we look alike? Or why you never knew your father?" He took a step toward me and tears began to gather in my eyes. It can't be. - that was all I told myself when my mind finally put two and two together. His light brown hair and sterling grey eyes looked exactly like mine and I gulped in fear. If it was really happening, then why now? "You can't be-" I murmured breathlessly. "I am your father, Noelle, and you're the daughter of a cartel leader." He said, standing tall and looming over me. That was perhaps the only thing that I didn't resemble him in. Nonetheless, it wasn't comforting in the slightest bit. My life had somehow managed to throw two blows at me in a single day and I couldn't take it anymore. "Is this some kind of a joke, Aunt Heidi?" I said, turning to my Aunt to find some consolation, but she too seemed to be too shocked and out of words to console me. It was only then that it hit me. Gael Gonzales... With that name, I began to run the news bulletins from a few days back in my mind. About the dangerous cartel leader released after 20 years from prison. "No, no, no-" My breathing accelerated as I shook my head weakly and a moment later I lost my senses and vision. Black clouded my mind and eyes and everything went blank as I lost consciousness.