*JANIE*Exhausted from another day at school, I rushed back home. My dad was sitting in the living room, on the black couch that I had dribbled writings on as a child. He said he wasn't going to get rid of it because he wanted a lasting memory. Cute. He had his eyes fixed on the TV, perhaps watching the ABC Entertainment channel he loved so much, with the remote in his hands.He greeted me with a smile on his face the moment he realized I was at the door, and with that I quickly rushed over to where he sat and gave him a hug, a nice warm embrace."So, how was school today? Any trouble?" He asked, as we both pulled apart from the hug "It was fine," I replied with a little smile on my face. I guess it wasn't that convincing because he decided to ask me again."Are you sure?" I could notice the hint of worry on his face."I'm being serious Dad. It's actually going well. The school's environment is unique, and blending in has really been good," I explained, but he still shot me a weird l
*LUCIANO*For every second I pondered on it, I felt more confused than the last. The truth is, I barely know what to believe. As I paced around in Janie's room, thinking about the letter I had received. The thought of Sebastiano being alive was something I couldn't understand. "It can't be him," I mumbled to myself, trying hard to disregard the fact in front of me; his letter. His death was something I could vividly remember, and it had no survival plot, no means of escaping death.I remember never wanting his death to occur, never wanting to path ways with him being family, but his jealousy was something I couldn't comprehend. He changed overnight, or maybe I didn't notice on time. Sebastiano was a lying, sneaky, and cunning bastard who wanted to take over my empire, disguising himself as a trusted ally.Three years ago, Seb, as I liked to call him, and I worked hand in hand. He was my cousin, and a trusted accomplice. Apart from Romano, I could count on him whenever I needed some
*JANIE*My eyes flung open to the blinding light in the room but I was forced to shut them back momentarily. Letting out a small groan, I let my mind dwell on my Parent's disappearance and then Mr Luciano being shot. "Mr Luciano?" I tried to say but it came out in a hushed whisper. Tears gathered in my eyes as I tried to move, but found it quite difficult. Have I been shot too? Am I going to die? "Janie!" I heard someone's voice call out to me. It was a familiar one. Straining my neck toward the direction of the voice, I saw a worried Mr Luciano walking across the room to me. But. . . But he was just,Was that all a dream? His hand touched my arm and it was surprisingly soothing. "Don't try to move, just lay down," he urged me, as I lay down trying to comprehend what was going on. "Luciano?" I found myself repeating, obviously surprised to find him in good shape when he had just been shot a few minutes back. "I'm here," he said, his hands squeezing mine softly.For some reaso
“But Sir-" The nurse began to say only to shut her mouth as she noticed the dead gripping glare Luciano issued her. She seemed perturbed. She didn't feel it was right to move someone who had just regained consciousness, and for reasons she wasn't sure of."Why are you still standing there?" Luciano growled, "Get her dressed, I am moving her now!” He commanded before lowering his head back to the cell phone in his hand and typing ferociously on it. Still, the nurse stood her ground. She did not make an effort to move. Deep down, I could have warned her not to mess around with Luciano, but I did not understand the situation also and was as confused as the nurse. A few seconds later, Luciano raised his head from the phone to look at the nurse. When he noticed she hadn’t made a move yet, he clenched his jaw and reached for his back pocket. Before I knew it, he brought out a pistol, cocked it, and then aimed it at the nurse. “I do not like to repeat myself over and over again.” Terri
*LUCIANO*As I stepped out of the van, I dipped my hand into my back pocket, ready to pull out my pistol and start blowing off the heads of these motherfuckers obstructing my way. But before I could, a voice cut through the atmosphere. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Immediately, I froze.Even without seeing the face of the person who had just spoken, I knew. That voice was all too familiar for me to miss. I grew up with him, dined with him, joked with him, cried because of him when he lost his parents, and mostly especially tortured myself for days after supposedly ending his life. I clenched and unclenched my jaw as I sharply got a grip on myself and looked around, searching for the face of the bastard who intended to stab me in the back years back but he was nowhere to be found. Not in the mood for silly games, I hollered. "Come out wherever you are and face me!" With my fingers still curled around my gun, I waited hoping little Sebastian would be man enough to stand in fro
SEBASTIAN’s POV“Now, the choice is yours. I want to leave here this instant with Janie or the van blows up and your girl alongside your right-hand man dies."The moment those threats left my lips, my heart jammed painfully into my chest and I did not know the reason why. Maybe because standing in front of Luciano after all these years brought back some nostalgia or because I wanted to see him cave in. I want to see him through defense. I want him to be broken up until the extent of going on his knees to beg for my mercy. But fucking Luciano seemed to remain unwavering despite being in a distressful situation. With a gunshot wound on his arm oozing out blood and running in fine lines down his arms and cascading in droplets to the ground, he still stood as though he had the whole situation under control. Fucking hell…I mean that’s what I have always admired in the man. All those times I worked alongside him, I wanted to be him so bad. However, when I realized I’d never measured up t
★JANIE★Freaking finally! A small smile crept to the corner of my lips as I read my acceptance letter to NYU over and over again. At last, my dream of becoming a certified nurse was going to come true!NEW YORK UNIVERSITYIN THE CITY OF NEW YORK.NYU Rory Meyers College Of NursingOffice of Admission and financial aidSeptember 3, 2022.Ms. Janie .H. BraxtonOlvera Str, Los Angeles, CA 90012Dear Miss Braxton, On behalf of the Dean and the committee of admission, I want to congratulate you on your admission to the School of nursing science of New York University for the autumn semester of 2022. For..."Janie!"Dad walked into my room with a bag pack strapped over his shoulder. I stared at him with delight, because he always found one way or another to make me happy. And now, wasn't an exception. He told me last night that one of his friends offered to lend us my tuition fee. Immediately, my once sunken mood elevated into an excited one. My acceptance letter came in one week ago and t
★JANIE★“Please talk to me, dad.” I pled with him. “Tell me what's going on.” My dad took my hands in his and squeezed them softly. With a puzzled look, I searched his eyes for answers. This wasn't the reaction, I expected from him. Now that his wealthy and generous friend had been so nice to lend us the money, we should be smiling brightly. Not staring at each other with lots of sadness radiating from our eyes. “Janie,” He held my gaze. “No matter what happens, I want you to know that I love you....” he trailed off, avoiding my gaze. “I love you too, Dad,” I added quickly without letting him finish his statement. He sighed. “This is for the best. For me, for both of us.” Pressing my lips in a grim line, I replied; “Of course, that's why we came here to lend money from your friend. Isn't it? ” I asked. He inhaled deeply and exhaled afterward. The moment I saw tears welling up in his eyes, I jolted to my feet. Dad has been the strongest human I had ever met in my entire life. All
SEBASTIAN’s POV“Now, the choice is yours. I want to leave here this instant with Janie or the van blows up and your girl alongside your right-hand man dies."The moment those threats left my lips, my heart jammed painfully into my chest and I did not know the reason why. Maybe because standing in front of Luciano after all these years brought back some nostalgia or because I wanted to see him cave in. I want to see him through defense. I want him to be broken up until the extent of going on his knees to beg for my mercy. But fucking Luciano seemed to remain unwavering despite being in a distressful situation. With a gunshot wound on his arm oozing out blood and running in fine lines down his arms and cascading in droplets to the ground, he still stood as though he had the whole situation under control. Fucking hell…I mean that’s what I have always admired in the man. All those times I worked alongside him, I wanted to be him so bad. However, when I realized I’d never measured up t
*LUCIANO*As I stepped out of the van, I dipped my hand into my back pocket, ready to pull out my pistol and start blowing off the heads of these motherfuckers obstructing my way. But before I could, a voice cut through the atmosphere. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Immediately, I froze.Even without seeing the face of the person who had just spoken, I knew. That voice was all too familiar for me to miss. I grew up with him, dined with him, joked with him, cried because of him when he lost his parents, and mostly especially tortured myself for days after supposedly ending his life. I clenched and unclenched my jaw as I sharply got a grip on myself and looked around, searching for the face of the bastard who intended to stab me in the back years back but he was nowhere to be found. Not in the mood for silly games, I hollered. "Come out wherever you are and face me!" With my fingers still curled around my gun, I waited hoping little Sebastian would be man enough to stand in fro
“But Sir-" The nurse began to say only to shut her mouth as she noticed the dead gripping glare Luciano issued her. She seemed perturbed. She didn't feel it was right to move someone who had just regained consciousness, and for reasons she wasn't sure of."Why are you still standing there?" Luciano growled, "Get her dressed, I am moving her now!” He commanded before lowering his head back to the cell phone in his hand and typing ferociously on it. Still, the nurse stood her ground. She did not make an effort to move. Deep down, I could have warned her not to mess around with Luciano, but I did not understand the situation also and was as confused as the nurse. A few seconds later, Luciano raised his head from the phone to look at the nurse. When he noticed she hadn’t made a move yet, he clenched his jaw and reached for his back pocket. Before I knew it, he brought out a pistol, cocked it, and then aimed it at the nurse. “I do not like to repeat myself over and over again.” Terri
*JANIE*My eyes flung open to the blinding light in the room but I was forced to shut them back momentarily. Letting out a small groan, I let my mind dwell on my Parent's disappearance and then Mr Luciano being shot. "Mr Luciano?" I tried to say but it came out in a hushed whisper. Tears gathered in my eyes as I tried to move, but found it quite difficult. Have I been shot too? Am I going to die? "Janie!" I heard someone's voice call out to me. It was a familiar one. Straining my neck toward the direction of the voice, I saw a worried Mr Luciano walking across the room to me. But. . . But he was just,Was that all a dream? His hand touched my arm and it was surprisingly soothing. "Don't try to move, just lay down," he urged me, as I lay down trying to comprehend what was going on. "Luciano?" I found myself repeating, obviously surprised to find him in good shape when he had just been shot a few minutes back. "I'm here," he said, his hands squeezing mine softly.For some reaso
*LUCIANO*For every second I pondered on it, I felt more confused than the last. The truth is, I barely know what to believe. As I paced around in Janie's room, thinking about the letter I had received. The thought of Sebastiano being alive was something I couldn't understand. "It can't be him," I mumbled to myself, trying hard to disregard the fact in front of me; his letter. His death was something I could vividly remember, and it had no survival plot, no means of escaping death.I remember never wanting his death to occur, never wanting to path ways with him being family, but his jealousy was something I couldn't comprehend. He changed overnight, or maybe I didn't notice on time. Sebastiano was a lying, sneaky, and cunning bastard who wanted to take over my empire, disguising himself as a trusted ally.Three years ago, Seb, as I liked to call him, and I worked hand in hand. He was my cousin, and a trusted accomplice. Apart from Romano, I could count on him whenever I needed some
*JANIE*Exhausted from another day at school, I rushed back home. My dad was sitting in the living room, on the black couch that I had dribbled writings on as a child. He said he wasn't going to get rid of it because he wanted a lasting memory. Cute. He had his eyes fixed on the TV, perhaps watching the ABC Entertainment channel he loved so much, with the remote in his hands.He greeted me with a smile on his face the moment he realized I was at the door, and with that I quickly rushed over to where he sat and gave him a hug, a nice warm embrace."So, how was school today? Any trouble?" He asked, as we both pulled apart from the hug "It was fine," I replied with a little smile on my face. I guess it wasn't that convincing because he decided to ask me again."Are you sure?" I could notice the hint of worry on his face."I'm being serious Dad. It's actually going well. The school's environment is unique, and blending in has really been good," I explained, but he still shot me a weird l
*Luciano*I stared at the evidence in my hand continuously, finding it hard to agree that my most vile enemy had nothing to do with Janie's situation. There have to be some loopholes. I killed Ramos Ashton's henchmen a few days back for attempting to kidnap Janie, and this must have been the way he decided to get back to me after all. After moments of silence, I watched Romano pace around the room, probably thinking exactly what I was. It was very simple. We were trying to figure out what other rivals I could have. One who was as smart as to aim from a long distance, whose contentment was my death. Even though I had few other enemies, none seemed to match my description of ruthless killing. I had considered this rival a coward because he was scared to come out and face me. Pfft."If he wasn't the one, then who the fuck is?" Romano voiced his thoughts aloud, asking rhetorically."Another rival that we barely know about isn't good, but I will find him and make sure he pays for everythi
LucianoStaring at Janie as I sat on the chair next to her bed, I could feel my heart ache even more. Three days had gone and she hadn't moved a muscle, different from her usual persona of running away and making sure her presence was known. Ramos Ashton was going to pay for his carelessness, and I was going to make sure of it. For every single day, she laid on this bed without a movement, it would be the same amount of bullet I'd put through his chest the moment I saw him.For a couple of minutes, I looked at every inch of Janie's body, hoping to get a sign of her body moving at any point, but I couldn't. I had seen in movies where a patient or loved one would move their fingers after the patient's loved one beckoned on them to get better and they would, but I had been waiting relentlessly for the past three days, hoping she would do the same, an act I had never done for anyone in a long time."It's been three days Janie, please open your eyes," I spoke as I squeezed her right hand s
★...X...★"Boss, please please I'm begging you, I didn't mean to shoot the young lady, she just popped out of nowhere." The idiot begged profusely. Saliva oozing out of the corner of his mouth, irritating the shit out of me. Cocking the gun, I placed the metal on his skull and spat without remorse. "Say your last prayers.""Boss, please... I'm begging you with everything I own. You know I've been serving you for quite a while now and I won't just slack off, but the whole thing was a miss calculation. I had my gun out for Luciano. I was aiming for his chest as you instructed before she emerged out of nowhere and got in the middle of it all." He cried helplessly. My chest tightened. How could this idiot ruin the plan I've been strategizing for months? Months! What was so difficult in shooting someone? Aim, pull the trigger, fire. And down, the person goes. Fucking asshole, I cussed at him. These past few months, I have spent it, cooped up in my hole, strategizing on ways to make L