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"Gabby is not answering." Giovanni entered the room again a minute later. "She might already be asleep. I'm sure she'll come back tomorrow. She always does."

Gael slowly nodded. He glanced down at his bare torso and saw the gauze covering the lower right of his rib area. He couldn't see his wound, but he could feel a throbbing pain on it, especially when he breathes. 

"When… burial?" he asked with difficulty.

Earlier, his uncle had told him who among their people died. Three of them were distant cousins, and five were soldiers. Their men were buried two days ago while he was still unconscious. But Giovanni hadn't told him when Senior Carlos's was.

"Tomorrow. Noon."

"I'm going," Gael muttered.

"You're not allowed to leave this room."

"Says who?"

"The doctor. You could get an infection. Don't be hard-headed." Giovanni's tone was low.

"I'm going," Gael insisted.

Giovanni's brows knitted as his eyes became sharp, and he spoke with firm persistence, "You almost died during the surgery. You will stay here, Gael. That's an order."

Gael didn't have a choice but to stay quiet for now. He met Giovanni's scowl, and he knew that his uncle was being serious. Though the two were very close, Giovanni was still his boss and his uncle. His orders were the law. 

He looked away and stared at the ceiling. The image of Angela smiling at him floated in his mind. He wondered how she was. He bet she was fuming that he hadn't called her yet.

Seeing Gael closing his eyes, Giovanni decided to get some sleep himself. He settled on the sofa and laid down with his arms crossed. His eyes were closed, but his ears and senses were always vigilant.

…

The next day, Gael woke up and saw that his uncle was not in the room. His back was feeling sore for having been lying for days, so he struggled until he was able to push himself up in a sitting position. He immediately winced because his upper body got compressed due to his position. Swinging his legs off the bed, he instantly felt better. 

Everything in him hurt, yet he felt the need to stand up. Removing the oxygen mask on his head, he tossed it on the bed and also removed the IV attached to his arm, and then he tried to get on his feet. But when he did, his knees almost gave up. 

"Boss!" Riccardo dashed towards him from the door. He had just entered Gael's room when he saw him attempting to stand. If not for him, Gael would have already fallen to the floor.

"Shît." Gael groaned in pain. His hand flew to his side where his wound was.

"You can't get up, Boss. You have to stay in bed," Riccardo remarked.

Gael sat back on his bed and took a few deep breaths before he looked up to the other and told him, "I need to go somewhere."

…

Cemetery

"Boss, Giovanni will kill me." Riccardo huffed as he helped Gael out of the car and into a wheelchair.

"Yes, he will," Gael agreed.

Riccardo frowned at his easy response. He could have at least reassured him, couldn't he?

Gael wore an all-black suit and had a medical face mask on. He was still looking pale and had very little energy, but even so, Riccardo couldn't say no to him.

He was wheeled towards the burial ceremony. There were nearly a hundred people who came to Senior Carlos's burial. It was a lavish funeral—courtesy of Giovanni. But none of that mattered. After all, what's there to be thankful for when a person died?

The closer Gael got to the family, the more pressure he felt in his chest. People started to notice his arrival, and there were whispers here and there.

He spotted his uncle, Giovanni, sitting a few rows behind the family. And Riccardo brought him there.

"You defied my order," Giovanni spoke under his breath. His voice was low that only the three of them could hear.

Without glancing at his uncle, Gael kept his stare at the coffin in front of them. He lowered his face mask down as it was harder to breathe with it on. 

Then he responded in almost a whisper with his shallow breathing, "What are you going to do? Kill me?"

Giovanni could only shake his head. Defying his orders did mean death—but he couldn't do that to Gael, could he?

When the ceremony was over, everyone was allowed the last viewing. The family cried loudly, and the sound of their cries felt like arrows that were driven straight to Gael's heart.

He went to see the older man one last time. He had difficulty standing on his own, so Giovanni helped him up. It was painful to see Senior Carlos inside the casket. Gael believed that he should have been the one inside. The older man was innocent, yet he died because of them—because of their family. If they hadn't been there in the restaurant for his birthday, Senior Carlos wouldn't have died.

Gael clenched his hands into fists. His breathing became labored as he sobbed by the coffin, the guilt enveloping his entire being. He rarely cried, but he couldn't help himself this time. Senior Carlos was like family.

"Leave," a woman's voice sounded behind them.

He didn't have to turn around to see who spoke. Gael knew that it was Senior Carlos's wife. 

"Leave!" she repeated, her sobbing got louder.

"Let's go," Giovanni whispered and then assisted him back to the wheelchair.

They walked back to the car, knowing that people were talking behind their backs. The incident was ruled out to be a 'robbery', when in fact, almost everyone present in the burial knew what caused it. 

The De Lucas lost members of their family too, but that didn't matter to others. For the outsiders who knew how shady the De Lucas were probably thought their men deserved death.

Once they got inside the car, Riccardo sped off and left the cemetery. Giovanni rode with them, and he sat in the backseat with Gael. The ride was quiet for a few minutes and the air was almost suffocating.

"They'll... pay for this…" Gael promised.

"Let's get you back in shape first." Giovanni looked at the other and saw how exhausted he looked. 

Gael had only been out for an hour, but he appeared to be worse than he did yesterday. Giovanni reached to touch his nephew's forehead, and his brows knitted instantly. "Mio Dio! You're burning up! I told you to stay in bed. Shît! Rick! Step on it!"

It didn't take long for Gael to lose consciousness again. They rushed him to the hospital where the doctor told them that he was suffering from an infection. His immune system was still too weak. And after that lung resection surgery because of his gunshot wound, he was supposed to be under strict care. He shouldn't have gone out as it compromised his health.

Gael was a smoker, so his lungs weren't in top condition. And because of the incident, it would take him longer to recover. He was advised to stay in the ICU for a week. 

Knowing the risk of staying in the hospital, Giovanni insisted on having Gael complete his intensive care in the bunk. Only because the doctor knew they had medical equipment were they allowed to go home. His uncle made sure that no one got in or out of the room except for him and the private medical staff he hired. Even Gabriella wasn't allowed to see her brother.

Their enemy found out about their weakened security due to Gael's health condition and their members' death. 

Being unconscious for another week, Gael had no idea what was happening around him. The De Lucas were in a bind. And Gabriella, his sister, got kidnapped.