Chapter 3

After a few minutes, I regain composure as I had no time to be miserable. I wipe away the tears and stuffed everything in my pocket. I walked back into the hospital to check on Adriano. "How is he doing," I said to the doctor. "It wasn't a severe hit so we stitched him up, he should be fine" he replied. "Thank you". I walk into the designated room where Adriano was. "HEY!!! Don't come in I'm naked" he yells. "But your just shirtless" I reply with a smile on my face. He lets out a laugh and sits on the hospital bed. I sit with him. "Are you alright"? I ask him. "Nothing too bad, don't worry" he replies. "That's good," I say, I start to lose track of what's around me, and Adriano notices, "I should be asking if you're okay," he says to me. I snap back to reality and stand up in front of him. I remove the envelope from my pocket and give it to him. He starts to read and I could see how his smile quickly faded. "WHO THE HECK IS MR.A" he yells to me while clenching the terrifying letter. "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW" I yell back at him in a broken voice. He notices how I'm on the verge of crying and puts his hands on my shoulders. "I guess we know who we are looking for," he says to me and pulls me in for a hug. I push myself out leaving him confused. "I'm going back to Italy alone," I say to him. "I can't risk you getting hurt or worse for my sake, this is my mission and I want to accomplish it alone" I continue. "And you think you can do that" he replies in a very concerned tone. "Look we've been friends for so long, I don't mind getting hurt if it's for you" he continues. "But I can't risk it, losing my parents was enough, I can't imagine losing you" I yell out. "That's my decision to make, from the day you told me I was ready to give it all up for you," he said. "You're like the brother I never had and I don't mind risking my life if it will make you happy" he concludes. "I'll always be here for you, no matter what," he says will holding my hand. I think for a second and knowing Adriano, I trust him. "Okay fine, you can come," I tell him. "Don't worry, I'll help you get the vengeance you deserve" he tells me still rubbing my hand. I know that with Adriano by my side, Mr. A is no match for us.

I walk to where our car is parked while Adriano gets his things ready to continue our journey. I notice something strange, the car is quiet. I figured that the driver was asleep so I walk up to the driver's seat. I could have never guessed what I saw next. The driver dead, sitting in his blood with a note in his hand. As horrified as I was, I saw the note was signed by Mr. A. I quickly grab it and rush back into the hospital to inform the emergency team of what happened. I quickly dial 999. "Hello, my driver has just been murdered at Lilac Hospital"…

Mr. Romano comes to the hospital to check up on us. "Are you two okay?" he asked nervously. "We're fine" I reply. "Good". "I brought a new private driver to take you to Italy" Mr. Romano continues. "Thank you, sir" Adriano remarks. "Son," he says while placing his palm on my shoulder, looking me in the eye. "Are you really okay, you can relax for a bit if you need" he continues. "No sir, don't worry" I reply. "I'll handle the board meeting if you want" he offers but I decline. "Don't worry sir, I'll make it up to you I promise" I assured him. "Well okay, the case is being investigated so you go quickly," he says to both of us. "Thank you once again, sir" I reply. I walk out with Adriano and enter the car. In the car, I fill Adriano in on what happened and pull out the note. "Are you okay reading it now?" he tells me. "Better now or never" I respond with a broken laugh. I rip the envelope open and pull out a notebook paper. It read "How do you like my surprise, just know I'm watching. Give up and die like your worthless parents, Mr. A". I crack a smirk and ripped the paper into shreds. "STOP IT!!" Adriano screams and he holds my wrists tightly to prevent me from further destroying that horrific message. "HE'LL PAY, I SWEAR HE'LL PAY!!!" I scream and let out a frustrated cry. Adriano hugs me tight and I cry even harder. "Don't let him get to you okay, BE STRONG" Adriano says as he wipes my tears away. "You've come this far so don't let him walk over you. "You need to kill this demon so be ruthless and emotionless. You can do it I believe in you" he continues. "Your right" I reply to him. "Nothing is going to stop me from, AVENGING THEIR DEATH"…

Italy, a place of romance, good food, and wonderful scenery. It's hard to believe that one of the world's most dangerous organizations is rooted in this beautiful place. The mafia has been around for many years and has always been led by powerful people with the mind of a psychopath. But, am I ready to spare my sanity for vengeance, for people who've been hurt by this horrid line of work. The answer is YES. Because you need a true psycho to beat another psycho.

Looking out the window, I see the beautiful rivers as the plane lands. Even though the flight was just for 2 hours and 30 minutes, it felt like a whole eternity. I was so anxious to start work today and even more intimidated by this so-called Mr. A. I got off the plane with Adriano and was immediately greeted by some executive board members and my new secretary, Rose. "Good morning sir, I am Rose your secretary". "She's hot" Adriano whispers in my ear resulting in me hitting the back of his head. "Ah, thank you" I respond trying my best not to sound anxious. We walk to the limousine where I, Rose, and Adriano step in. A couple of minutes later, I see the huge skyscraper with the logo Romano Group in big block letters. The state-of-the-art building amazed me and I was still shocked as to how I just inherited this. The car parks at the reserved spot and I take a deep breath before getting out of the car. I walked into the main entrance and couldn't believe my eyes. The place was decorated with flowers, signs, and posters all congratulating me. I thanked all the employees and was quickly escorted to my office. "Welcome to your office sir" Rose quips. The office was well furnished and organized. Everything was neat, tidy, perfect. I dismiss Rose and Adriano takes a seat in my office chair, spinning around like a child. This makes me giggle. "Nice place you got huh," He says as I walk around admiring how beautifully decorated the office was. "Yeah" I reply with a big smile on my face. Out of the blue, Adriano says "I'm going on a break from music to help you". "But you can't, don't worry I'll be fine" I assure him. "No, you can't so let me help". "Thank you" I reply knowing I couldn't change his mind. But deep down I know I needed all the help I could get. I walk toward the huge desk and spot a red envelope with the words "READ IT NOW" in red ink. I pick it up and show it to Adriano. I can see his smile vanish quickly as we both started to panic. I open the envelope slowly and pull out a piece of paper. It was a picture of an abandoned house, partially burned and overgrown. Behind the picture, there was an address and the instruction "go here". Looking at the house I felt a wave of familiarity but I shrugged it off. I hand Adriano the picture and say "I guess real work starts now". He smirks and nodded his head in agreement.

What could this house be, what was Mr. A planning, who is Mr. A? All this question I didn't have answers to but one thing was certain. I've found my target and I'm going to shoot my arrow directly through his head no matter what it takes…