Chapter 34

"Giovanni, Ivan Smirnov is here to take his son back. He is preparing to take him."

"What? Who?

No one could take away the man he loved, even if he had to fight to protect him. "He can't take him from me," he shouted as he boarded his helicopter.

Ivan Smirnov was in his office at home when he received a call from Nikita informing him that his son Aaron had been attacked by Yuri Stepanov, the son of Roman Stepanov. His son was in critical condition at St. Louis Hospital in Italy.

Without telling his wife anything, Ivan immediately brought in the best doctors from Russia working at his own hospital and took a plane to Italy.

Upon arriving at the hospital, he found his son in a small room, connected to various machines. Aaron was still in a coma. Ivan asked his doctors if they could transfer his son on a medical plane, equipped with more advanced equipment than the Italian hospital. His doctors agreed, and they prepared for the transfer.

Meanwhile, Kira, Aaron's sister, felt guilty about the entire situation. She believed it was her fault that her brother had been attacked, as they wouldn't have been in this predicament if she hadn't insisted on participating in that ridiculous contest. She also felt responsible for Yuri targeting her brother to seek revenge against her.

Yuri had been sent by his father to seduce Kira and then extract information from her. To him, she was just a pawn, an instrument he used.

"Kira," her father urged. But Kira remained silent, just staring at the ground.

Her father approached and sat beside her. "Kira," he repeated a third time, and Kira burst into tears, clinging to him and apologizing.

"It's all my fault. Everything is my fault," she cried.

"No, it's because of me," her father told her, trying to reassure her. He explained to Kira that it was actually part of a revenge plan against him, not her fault. But she couldn't shake off the guilt.

Aaron had been wheeled out of his room, still weak after his coma, escorted by armed men through the hospital corridors. As they neared the exit, Giovanni Rossi stopped them, pointing a gun at them. Ivan Smirnov, noticing Giovanni, realized he was the son of the famous Italian mobster Alberto Rossi, who had a connection to his son.

"What are you going to do?" Ivan asked, his own gun also aimed at Giovanni.

"He belongs to me," Giovanni replied. "No one can take him without my permission."

"Think twice, young man. What do you think Aaron would prefer? To be with his family or with you, just a fling?"

He knew. He knew the answer. Aaron didn't even love him. Despite his selfish desire to keep him close, he knew Aaron's choice would be in favor of his family. However, he couldn't bring himself to leave him behind. Fortunately, Kira stepped in to find a solution.

Aaron was wheeled out of his room, his weak and irregular breath echoing in the dark hospital corridor. The armed men, menacing shadows watching over him, escorted him towards the exit. But halfway there, their progress was abruptly halted by the sudden appearance of Giovanni Rossi, the Italian mobster whose burning gaze betrayed an unmatched determination.

Aaron's father, Ivan Smirnov, immediately recognized the man standing before him. Giovanni Rossi, the son of Alberto Rossi. "The" Italian mobster. The person who supposedly loved his son. The tension was palpable, weapons pointed at each other, ready to unleash in a deadly clash.

"He belongs to me," Giovanni spat, his hoarse voice filled with possessiveness.

"Think twice, boy. Aaron would want to be with his family, not with a...who are you for him exactly ?," Ivan retorted, his icy voice resonating in the narrow corridor.

Deep down, Giovanni knew it was true. Aaron wasn't his, he didn't belong to anyone. But love was a cruelty that drove him to risk everything for the one he desired, even at the peril of his own life. He couldn't bear to lose Aaron, even in the name of reason.

Giovanni and his men had their weapons aimed at Ivan and his men, and vice versa. Giovanni could see part of Aaron's body, dressed in white, the hospital attire. This man he was determined to rescue from the clutches of the man before him.

And Kira intervened.

"He's dying. He'll die if we leave him here," she said softly, trying to bring him back to reason.

"I'll take him to another hospital," he replied.

"Young man," Ivan interjected, stern and imperious. "You can do nothing for him. If you love him, don't waste any more of our time. And...you couldn't even protect him."

Ivan's words were like blades plunged into Giovanni's heart. He realized the truth in those words. His love was now in the hands of those who held power. He should have protected him better, not left him alone because of a conflict over a stupid stolen item. He was wrong. So very wrong and he could never forgive himself, but he still wanted to be there, by his side.

He lowered his weapon, slowly advancing towards the bed where Aaron lay. Ivan's men made way for him. Giovanni approached, observing Aaron who seemed to struggle to breathe, his skin paler than usual. He knelt by the bed, positioning himself on his left, gently stroking his hair before taking his hand. Tears streamed down his face.

Giovanni knelt by Aaron's bedside, his hands intertwined with Aaron's as he whispered, "Bambino." Olivia couldn't hold back her tears at the sight of her brother so vulnerable and broken. "Mio mondo. Cuore mio. Wake up, I beg you." But Aaron remained unresponsive. "Open your eyes," Giovanni pleaded, but they remained shut. As the bed shifted beneath him, Giovanni held on to Aaron's hand, refusing to watch him slip away. Tears streamed down his face as he cried out in anguish, the sound piercing the sterile hospital air. No one dared approach him, not even his sister.

Upon hearing the Smirnovs' plane taking off, Giovanni leaped to his feet and sprinted after them. He had a change of heart. He wanted to keep Aaron by his side, to summon the best doctors from around the world to attend to him, yet it was too late. The plane had already departed. In a fit of desperation, Giovanni pounded his fists against the hospital wall. He raised a gun to his head, contemplating ending it all, but couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. It felt like a cowardly act, and Giovanni was anything but cowardly. Olivia approached him, offering reassurance.

"He's not gone, Giovanni. He will pull through."

At those words, Giovanni crumpled to his knees, tears blurring his vision. His sister knelt beside him, enveloping him in a hug, but he remained unresponsive, hands splayed on the floor, grief consuming him. Olivia instructed their men to escort him home.

For the first time in twenty years, Giovanni fell ill with fever yet adamantly refused hospitalization until Yuri was in his grasp. After two days of relentless searching, they finally located Yuri holed up in a warehouse, injured and infected. Without a word, Giovanni set forth to torment him, inflicting pain upon pain in retribution for his own suffering.

Giovanni's cruelty knew no bounds as he whipped Yuri mercilessly, lacerating his back and body until consciousness ebbed away, only to be revived with a splash of water. Each time Yuri plead for mercy, it only fueled Giovanni's wrath. His mouth gagged with barbed wire, Yuri was subjected to unspeakable torment, enduring unimaginable agony at Giovanni's hands.

Summoning the most ruthless thugs in the city, Giovanni facilitated Yuri's further degradation before ultimately slitting his throat and selling his organs, ensuring a macabre utility in death. Yet even amidst the brutal retribution exacted, Giovanni found no solace. Instead, a gnawing ache persisted, unyielding even in Yuri's demise, the very architect of his torment.

Exhausted and wracked with turmoil, Giovanni eventually collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. Meanwhile, tragedy struck in Russia, as Roman Stepanov's family met a gruesome fate under mysterious circumstances, leaving devastation and despair in its wake.