The Mafia’s Endgame

| 17 | They are safe now.

E M E L I A N A

I stand with my arms crossed in the infirmary, trying to steady myself as I watch Dr. Shaw flip through the papers on her clipboard. Luca is right beside me, his hand resting on the small of my back, offering silent support as we patiently wait for Dr Shaw to give us her report. Mattia is also present, having arrived at the mansion close to 30 minutes after we got here, just as eager as I am to hear the state of Emelio and Franky.

As selfish as I want to be, they are his brothers as well, and it will only be detrimental to our relationship if I decide to seclude them from Mattia. Unfortunately, we have become bonded by Sergio Bonavelli trying to tear our lives apart...

The soft hum of the medical machines fills the silence, making me anxious as I wait for her to speak, and finally, after what seems like forever, she does.

“They’re stable, they suffered only minor injuries from the crash, nothing too serious. We've given them medication to help with whatever pain and their rest will aid the recovery process” she says, her voice gentle as she explains and I can tell she is trying to make sure I remain calm.

“They should wake up any moment.” She finally says and I exhale deeply and turn to look up at Luca, a weight lifting off my shoulders just as I glance towards my brothers, watching as they sleep peacefully, their chests rising and falling slowly as their heads rest comfortably on a set of pillows. I take a step closer to them, feeling Luca's hand slip off my back, looking particularly at Emelio, my twin, and smile to myself. He's grown so much, and still looks exactly like me, and my father. My eyes then shift to Franky, my smile faltering once I begin to remember that Franky and I don't share the same father and instead, Bonavelli is his biological father, which only opens up a whole can of worms...

“What about their memories?” I then ask, keeping my voice steady despite the anxiety churning inside me. I can’t shake the fear that they might not even remember me when they wake up. But Emelio was able to right before they were taken away, so he should still be able to once he is conscious, and Franky as well...

Dr. Shaw nods, glancing at her notes. “Thanks to Mr. Bonavelli, I’ve administered the drug specifically designed to help with their amnesia." She lets out, glancing in Mattia's direction, finding him carefully looking at Emelio and Franky as well, right before he turns to face her, listening attentively.

"It should assist in restoring their memories, but it might take some time..." She tells us and I take in a deep breath, not liking the uncertainty of the situation we're in.

"Thank you, Dr. Shaw. Please, may you give us a few minutes?" Emeliana then asks just as she nods swiftly, and proceeds to walk out of the room, leaving Emeliana alone with Luca and Mattia. Once the Doctor is gone, Mattia walks closer to them, exhaling sharply and running a hand through his hair frustratedly.

“I can’t believe my father did this to them,” he mutters, anger flickering in his eyes as he shakes his head.

I feel a pang of shared rage and pain as I think of how Bonavelli kept them in the first place, how he destroyed my family and tried to keep us apart. But he wasn't successful in the end.

"They are safe now. Bonavelli won't be able to hurt them anymore,” I reply, my voice stronger than I feel. “Thanks to you, Mattia. You helped get that drug. Without you…” I begin to say.

“Don’t thank me yet,” he interrupts, looking back at the boys. “First we need to make sure it works and they're able to remember you,” Mattia says and he's right...

It's only a matter of time for us to see if the drug is actually successful, or we'll be right back to square one...

. . . . .

Amethyst remains standing alone in the guest room, one she had stayed in before... in fact, this is the very same room Demetrio had brought her after the night at the club, when she was incapacitated, and he decided to break up with her... talk about karma, if it even exists...

Amethyst sits at the edge of the bed, recollecting her thoughts. This thinks of everything that led up to this moment, from the first time she met Emeliana, to when she left with Fernando Liacari, to meeting Emeliana and becoming her friend, to meeting Demetrio for the first time and instantly becoming attracted to him. She finds herself smiling as she begins to think of how things were for them in the beginning... how shy she was around him, their first kiss. But she already remembers how difficult it was for her, especially because Demetrio was still trying to get over Emeliana and that ended up creating further issues in their relationship, even where they were none...

She thinks of how she overreacted at times, and turned against Emeliana even though she tried to assure Amethyst that nothing was going on between her and Demetrio, nothing she needed to worry about. Perhaps it was her that began to drive Demetrio away, right into the arms of another woman. Perhaps she should have controlled her jealousy, but what's the point if Demetrio ended up falling for someone else anyway?

Amethyst's thoughts are interrupted by a few soft knocks on the door, making her heart jump as she tries to figure out who may be on the other side and who may have come to see her. She stands to her feet and slowly approaches the door, her hands hovering over the handle for a few seconds before she takes a deep breath and finally decides to open it... revealing who is standing on the other side...

"Demetrio..." She speaks as soon as she meets his gaze, looking up at him curiously.

Demetrio stands in the doorway, a calm expression on his face as he meets Amethyst's gaze, but despite that, he feels his heart race for some reason. His brow furrows slightly as he stares down at her, their memories together immediately collapsing over each other; the good, the bad, and ultimately what led to their downfall... It all seems like it happened just yesterday...

He exhales slowly, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders but it is not enough.

There is a lot... they need to talk about...

“Amethyst…” he finally utters, his voice low and steady, and once Amethyst hears his voice, she shudders, preparing herself for the conversation they are about to have...