Chapter 4 A Punishment

Venice, Italy. 1 a.m.

Mikael Alexandre William walked with firm steps towards a passage connected to the main hall. His eyes stared intently—ignoring everyone who bowed respectfully to him. The dark atmosphere in the tunnel made his eyes look even more terrifying. Tension enveloped the room, making everyone shudder as if they knew that tonight's meeting would not go well after they heard the shocking news from their leading family.

"Mr William, all the secret leaders are ready at the meeting place," Orlando spoke while walking behind him.

Michael turned his head and nodded slowly. His steps moved decisively—staring straight at the room at the end of the hall.

Two guards immediately opened the door for him—bowing respectfully to him.

As soon as Mikael entered, an eerie silence immediately took over the room. Everyone was silent. No one made a sound. As if they were worried that the sound of their sighs might provoke Mikael's anger. It was as if they already knew what consequences they would receive if they made Mikael angry with his uncontrollable emotions.

"I don't care how you guys find Hernandez, but whoever manages to break through his system's defenses will get a reward from me." Mikael only reached his seat when he spoke with great pressure—confirming his undeniable order.

The room has a large table extending from one side to the other. Mikael sat on the far right—right at the head of the table. Meanwhile, ten secret leaders sit in a circle in the chair. They are all the top leaders of each division under them. They were Mikael's henchmen— the ones tasked with passing on his orders in person.

"We have investigated the accident with your brother, Mr William. The accident was intentional by Hernandez."

Mikael turned around with a face full of anger. “Did I ask you to convey such insignificant information?” He hissed sarcastically. "You think I don't know that the accident was intentional by Hernandez?"

“Forgive us, Mr. William. But we promised to find Hernandez and bring him to you." Lionel rose to his feet and nodded his head respectfully. This man in his early 40s is unlike older men with a pot belly and a wrinkled face. He was still well-built—just like Lionel 20 years ago when he was still working as his bodyguard.

Mikael snorted softly. Even though Lionel was one grade below him, he respected that man, so he never showed his anger directly toward him. Mikael still clearly remembers that he could stand where he is now because of Lionel's help. The Leandro clan has survived to this day because of  Lionel's help.

Michael's phone rings.

Everyone held their breath—some pretended to lower their heads indifferently when Mikael deliberately threw his cell phone against the wall on his left. The phone just shattered, but Mikael didn't care at all. Because just by reading the foreign number on his cell phone screen, he already knows who is calling him.

However, not long after, the ringing of the cell phones came again. All the secret leaders got the calls at the same time.

When the others chose to reject the call while turning off their cell phones, Lionel did the opposite. He received a call connected to his cellphone, then walked over to Mikael and placed the cell phone on the table.

"Wow, apparently there is one person who dared to receive a call from me." There was laughter on the other end of the line.

“Hernandez…” Mikael hissed as he clenched his fists.

"Wow, you also still remember my voice, huh?" once again, the sound of Hernandez's laughter was heard in the air. “Straight to the point. I admit that I was indeed the wrong target. However, this failure was not as bad as I thought. Looks like I managed to kill your brother, but I missed one important thing that is far more valuable than your brother. I remember you telling me once…”

“Stop damn it!” Michael shouted.

"Isn't her name Claire Thomson? I remember you always trying to find her, right? Then why did she even marry Michael? Is there something I missed?”

***

“Deploy all troops to guard the hospital. I don't care how many people you have to send to the hospital or how many projects you have to suffer because of this.” Mikael said as he walked into his car.

Orlando nodded his head obediently. "Regarding Hernandez and your order to arrest him, is the assault team allowed to kill him?"

“Killed him? Death is too easy for him.” Mikael hissed softly. "He deserved more to rot in our custody than to die quickly."

"Very well, Mr. William."

"Prepare my plane. I'm going back to Manhattan for Michael's funeral. Tomorrow night I will go straight back to Italy. When I get back, make sure you find Hernandez."

Without waiting for an answer from Orlando, Mikael immediately drove his car at high speed—cutting through the streets of Venice, which looked quiet in the morning. The longer the speed of the car, increases. Even without realizing it, the speedometer needle had touched 350 km/hour.

Mikael's hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. Occasionally he stamped his hand roughly.

Mikael exhaled slowly. For a moment, he recalled the words his mother had said when they met at the hospital.

“Why are you doing this? Why did you take Michael from us? From Claire. What should we tell Claire, Mike?

Mikael's hands clenched tightly.

Why is he doing this? Why does he always make mistakes? Both now and in the past, why was he always guilty?

***

Josephine's puffy eyes became the thing that Mikael avoided the most when he attended Michael's funeral which was held in Manhattan, New York, United States. Dozens of close relatives filled the burial area, most of them approached Josephine while offering their condolences. Some recognized Mikael, so they approached and greeted him for a few minutes.

There wasn't much that Mikael could do other than watch the funeral procession from a distance. Every second, every breath, every step he took to get closer to Michael's casket felt like a torturous punishment for him. No matter how bad their relationship was or how bad their brotherhood was, Mikael never thought Michael would die before him. Every day he challenges death, going through danger after danger that threatens his life, but why is it Michael who dies first?

Behind the sunglasses covering his eyes, Mikael felt his eyes heat up. He almost cried when he saw Michael for the last time before his coffin was lowered into the ground.

Then things went fast without Mikael noticing. The only thing he knew was the fact that now he wasn't in a hotel room but in the living room of the William family's Manhattan mansion.

Sitting across from his parents was far more difficult for Mikael than being held at gunpoint by his opponent, especially when he heard his mother's heartbreaking cry.

"Calm down, Josephine. Calm yourself. Be strong, Darling.” John William stroked Josephine's back gently.

To be honest, Mikael also wanted to do the same thing—hug his mother and comfort her. However, how could his hands be appropriate to calm her? How could he hug his mother when she was the cause of his tears?

“Mike…” Josephine looked up at him with red swollen eyes.

Michael took a short breath. His head started to dizzy because he had not slept for the last three days. However, that wasn't what bothered him. But the fact that now he will face punishment for the umpteenth time.

"I will go if you are not comfortable with my existence." Mikael nodded slowly as he stood up.

"No!" Josephine screamed. She grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly. "Please don't go, son. We need you.”

Mikael felt his hands shake as Josephine pulled him close and cried in his arms. It felt as if he was pulled back in time, where his mother used to hug him when she heard bad news about Michael.

The same. Everything is still the same.

His existence was only a shadow needed to replace Michael when he was not around.

"Please don't go, Mike. Mommy wants you here. Mommy doesn't want to lose a second child. Stay here so Mommy can feel Michael's presence.”

When he heard his mother's request, Mikael felt like a large rock had fallen on his body.

Wrong. He was wrong. What he has to do isn't just to find Hernandez to take revenge on him, but to replace the figure of Michael who disappeared from his family—from his mother, father, even from Claire's life.

The real penance is not killing Hernandez and punishing him with his own hands, but being trapped in the figure of Michael, who dies because of his mistake.