Chapter 16

Juliano's POV

“This is Rome American Hospital. Miss Aver was rushed to the emergency department for attempted suicide and drug overdose.”

Rushing out of my study, I went to my room and changed into shorts and a jersey. Picking up the intercom, I called Tom, my driver.

“Meet me downstairs, we need to go somewhere”

I went downstairs calling two of my bodyguards on night duty. They came out of their quarters, meeting me at the entrance.

“Head to Rome American hospital”, Tom nodded. There's no time for questions.

Hospitals were supposed to be sterile, not suffocating. The strong whiff of disinfectants welcomed me as I pushed through the double doors. I didn't want to be here. I've been here before, memories of my mother’s last days flashed through me. She was in a private ward on the second floor.

The whole situation was hazy - she was rushed to the hospital for overdosing, and I was the next person to call. It sounded unreal.

As I walked through the hallway of the third floor. The sound of my slippers making a muted rhythm through the cold tiles. The hallway smelled like bleach and broken hope. Ignoring it would have felt like negligence.

Room 306.

I almost passed through the door. Voices leaked from behind the half-closed door. Familiar. I peeped through the peephole. It was Aver. Her voice pierced through the silence as I stood by the door.

“When I heard his father was pressuring him to get married, I couldn’t miss the opportunity. Who else would offer me everything I used to benefit from him?. I can't see anyone else having him, I worked for it. I'll be his or nobody else would ”, she threatened.

How did she know?

She paused for a while, the person on the receiving end was talking. I clenched my fist.

“If we get married, he'll be in control of all the companies. How about I file for a divorce after a year, then frame him for cheating? I'll get a percentage of his property. A prolonged stillness.

Then a soft laugh: “Guess I didn't play my games well the first time. Promise me to reshuffle my cards. He'll be here soon. I'll make him closer to me”.

I waited for a few minutes, knocked once and opened the door. Her eyes flapped open-too conveniently timed.

Aver laid on the hospital bed, wrapped in a fresh white sheet, looking too calm for someone recovering from an overdose - a planned job. If demons could spill from someone’s eyes, they’d be crowding this space.

“You came”, she breathed weakly as though death had held her by the throat.

“Why did you ask the nurse to call me?” I said, moving closer to the bed.

My eyes caught the IV drip, it wasn't administered, just the tube taped to her hand. The corner of my lips turned up at the sight. Poorly staged.

“Because I love you”, she said, stretching her hands towards me. An outsider would find it welcoming, but I know it’s one of her multiple façades. The voice the devil would use to lure his victims.

“If staging overdoses, plotting plans in the middle of the night is your definition of love. Then, keep it to yourself.”

“I don't have anything to do with you. Pretenders, liars and frauds are my greatest enemies”, I said as bitterness sliced through my chest. I dragged the chair beside the bed and sat down.

“What do you mean?”

“How does it feel when your whole plan flops?”, I smirked.

“Aver, I heard everything you said, every single word.”

She froze and stuttered. “It-It’s not what you think”

“Getting married to you can never be an option. “Stay away from me”, I marched out of the ward without closing the door.

“I can never stay away from you”, she screamed. The echoes of her voice followed me out of the ward.

It could be because I’m disoriented.

It could be that this is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Or it simply could be that I’ve finally had enough.

As I walked out of the ward, a camera clicked. There was no one in the hallway as I looked back. Maybe it was my imagination.

My guards were waiting in the car, and we headed home.

The streets were lonely. Too silent.

The digital clock read 3:30.I rested my back in the seat. Something appears black from afar. It became more visible as we moved closer.

Just a black van packed in the middle of the road. It took a while before we noticed. Thinking it was a police car.

The doors of the van swung open, and two masked men rushed out, pointing guns at the car. Looked like they had been waiting for us.

“Turn to the right”, I shouted at the peak of my voice, my lungs almost coming out of my throat.

“Tom acted so fast that he gripped hard on the steering wheel. He turned.

Fear gripped my chest. That was unexpected.The men raised their guns as the tires screeched through the silent road. That was a direct attack on my life. A warning. The loud sound of a gun rippled in the air. My palm clutches my heart as sweat breaks over my brows.

They were getting bolder. My heart’s palpitations skyrocket into an irregular rhythm.

Was that planned by Aver too?