Chapter 88

Nai went back to the center, broken yet calm. She didn't want to have him by her side as she already lost, she wanted him to stay safe away from the traitor leader who will eventually face death no matter what, she didn't want his pure feelings to grow deeper, yet thanks to him, she was ready to face anything

"I knew you would come back", the snake said once she entered

"You knew from the start, didn't you?" she asked

"Yeah… I knew that you were a Leo since the start", he said

"Then why didn't you kill me? You did you leave me stay this close to you when you knew I will kill you one day", she asked

"He asked me to keep you close, and she also did", he said

"Who are they?" se asked

"Your uncle, and my granddaughter. When she died, he was the only one that stayed beside her till the end, so when he came to me and asked me to let you become the next mafia snake, add to that that he gave his life for it, I couldn't say no", he said, yet she understood nothing at all

"Come with me, sweetie", he said, then they both walked and walked until they reached a normal room just like all the rooms in that building, yet the brown door, wooden floor, and white walls made it so much different from the other dark rooms

The snake opened the carpet, then he pressed on a number plate and the floor suddenly started moving

"652037. The password", he said, then he started getting down the stairs that the moving floor uncovered, and so she did

"This button here can destroy the whole country, and it's programmed to auto activate if no one pressed on this other button here once every year", he said, then he took out a pistol and gave it to her saying "the country will be safe now as you know all this. Kill me, become the mafia snake, and end it all right here right now"

She looked at him, at his smile that was on his face since the start, his hair that was full of gray, and his eyes that were tired yet still looking warm and soft

"Why? Why did you become the mafia snake if you are a good person", she asked, holding the pistol with shaky hands

"Who said that the mafia leader can't be a good person?" he said

"But you killed so many people", she said

"Your family did as well sweetie", he said, and those words were enough for confusion to take over her mind completely. What's good, what's bad, what's the difference between them in the first place, however, he patted her shoulder softly, then he pulled her closer and hugged her tightly, running his fingers through her black hair, and he said "I became the mafia leader for the same reason as you, yet once I found out about the bumps, I couldn't find someone to be my heir, someone with the same intentions as me, that's why I became stuck in this hell. I'm too old now, but you have a long life to live and you can fulfill your dream, our dream", then bang

"Wait, wait, why did you do this? you can't die now, I need you, I don't know what to do I really need you", she said, pressing on his wound and trembling

"Sweetie, I knew you wouldn't be able to kill me so I did it myself. In the drawer in the room above us, you will find the truth, and more than just the truth. Be wise, stay calm at your worst times, and please, please remember me as a grandfather rather than the mafia snake", he said, with a shaky muffled voice that she could barely understand, then he smiled for the last time, called her name for the last time, and closed his eyes for the last time and forever. Silence covered the place, with no sound at all, not even her breath that was slow rather than speeding up. For the second time, Nai had to face death, yet this time, she stayed silent, even with tears running down her chin and blood spreading on her clothes. She stayed silent, holding his hand and wiping his tears with her shaky hands. She pulled his hand and held it close to her heart, then she whispered "I promise you, I promise you that our dream will come true, grandpa"

She stood up, not knowing where her legs got the strength to stand from, and once she opened the drawer, she found things she never expected to find. A photo of her uncle smiling with a woman who was laying on the hospital bed and laughing, he was looking at her with his eyes filled with sparkles as she never saw before, and the girl was laughing softly with needles embedded in her arm and a hairless head covered with a hat, and next to that photo, there was a letter, a letter for her from her beloved uncle himself

"Hello kid, I know you will hate me once you know the truth but please don't hate me a lot as you need to know it. First, I asked Ice to kill me and take my place as the southern mafia leader. That boy is loyal just like his father who I truly wish is still alive even though I doubt it. You can trust that man blindly, so keep him close, kid, even if you hate him, it's an order and a wish from your dead uncle. The one who took the photo you just saw was the mafia snake himself, and that girl is his granddaughter and my first and last love. years later, I asked him to keep you safe in this nest, and as his natural enemy my death was an offer that he couldn't refuse. I had to die for you to enter the mafia nest and for that nest to be safe for you, and you needed to enter the mafia in the first place for your brother's plan to work out and for the family curse to break. I know my decision was selfish, I left and left everything to you both, but sweetie, my sunshine, don't let me down. lead the mafia to the good side, those people aren't any different from us yet they chose the wrong path. This family suffered a lot of pain and loss, so end it all, Azora, end this pain, lead the enemy that we couldn't defeat, and bring peace to this country by that young brat's side. Tell your mother that I love her, and tell your father that I'm sorry for everything he had to go through. I love you all, sweetie, and I will always look after you from where I am now, hoping that it wouldn't be hell. Stay strong and don't lose your faith, and finally, don't dare come here before it's your time"

Nai fell down, with no energy left in her body to breathe. That letter was more than she could take, and the snake's death was making it harder for her. She cried silently as her voice was blocked in her throat and blocking her airway, she took her phone out, and she called Levi without saying a word, yet thankfully, he really came for her.

When L entered the room, Nai was on the ground, covered with blood and tears, with her head tilted down as she was more tired than raising it up, he shook her fast thinking that she was hurt, yet her empty eyes erased his fears for the first time rather than worrying him. He said nothing at all, he only carried her and took her to his apartment silently. Levi entered while carrying her, then he took her to the bathroom where a warm bath was prepared for her under his order.

"There are clean clothes there. Take as long as you want and feel free to call me anytime you need", he said while she was still in his arms, yet once he tried to put her down, she hugged him tightly, refusing to let him go.

"Please.. don't", she said, with her body shivering and her arms tightening around his neck, so instead of letting her go, he entered the water with her in his arms

Levi sat under the water with her sitting on his lap and hugging him tightly, and after a while of deadly silence he said "I entered the mafia as I had nowhere else to go. I was a child living in the street, not knowing my parents or my past or even what kept me alive for years, however, the snake took me in and raised me as a weapon. I did everything he told me to do without even thinking about it. I lived like a robot all this time, yet since you first sat beside me at the class, since you first entered the center as the black lady, I started feeling more like a human, experiencing new feelings and having my own thoughts". He brushed her hair, and he wiped the blood on her face, then he raised her head softly and said "can you share your pain with me?"

His words cooled down her burning chest and mind, yet instead of telling him what happened she just said "You don't have to know anything to share my pain, being with you is enough"

"Then.. are you saying that…"

"No, Levi. I still can't let the fact that I was about to kill you out of my mind. I don't deserve your love, that's why I will not accept it", she said, getting out of the water as she realized that she was way too relaxed, yet before she could get out, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back

"I don't care, I want your love and I will get it no matter what", he said, looking into her eyes with a sharp eyes and an expressionless face

"Levi, I can't accept it I really…", she was saying, yet he kissed her lips and cut out her words

"Stop, stop it I don't want to have your love", she said, yet another kiss forced her to stop again

"LEVI, STOP", she shouted, yet he flipped her so he would be above her, holding her hands away

"I don't care, even if you really killed me I wouldn't care. It would be a pleasure to get killed by you", he said, then he got out of water and wore his robe after taking his shirt off, and he walked out saying "I promise you that I will have your heart one day", then he left, leaving her alone to burn in her thoughts while drowning underwater