CHAPTER LXVII
~~~
“Does that mean she’s going to be clingy towards Don?” Lucas asked, resisting the urge to scoff.
“If she feels safe with him, yes. But it still depends on how she feels. Some victims prefer to be left alone,” the doctor assured. “Most importantly, you should all be there for her. Sometimes when assault victims are left alone with no one to be there for them, they tend to suffer from low self-esteem. That would lead to depression and then, mental instability will jump in. Again, having that mental in balance might make her remember the assault. She could also want to harm or kill herself. If you really don’t want her going through something as torturous as that, you should always be beside her. You can also help through therapy. She would not even have to get to the stage of feeling lowly about herself with the help of a therapist,”
“Saige is a strong woman,” Valerie blinked the tears clouding her vision. “She’ll pass through it all. We’ll all be here for her,”
Lucas snorted. Luciano glared at him. Chase remained indifferent.
“I’ll take my leave now. If there’s anything else, do inform me. I’ll be here immediately,”
~~~
His posture screamed dominance and power, daring anyone to disrespect him. Chase’s had his left ankle placed on his right knee, jaw tight, cigar held by his fore and middle finger placed between his lips, dark eyes staring intently at the sixty-something-year old man wearing a multi-colored royal mantle seated opposite him, matching his stare.
One had a look of amusement in his eyes, his lips curled into a sly smile while the other one’s eyes held a brewing storm, ready to be unleashed. His hands itched to just drag out his gun and empty the bullets in the other one’s skull.
None of them made a move to say anything. They simply stared at each other, the thick silence in the room occupied by only the two of them, engulfing them.
The one with the sly smile broke the silence. “When last did we meet or speak to each other, Romano?” He showed off his brownish-yellowish set of teeth. “What pleasure do I owe you for this unexpected visit and that, as early as six A. M. Don’t tell me you spent the night on -”
Chase cut him off by flinging his cigar at the man’s face. “Cut the crap, Mirza and tell me why the fuck you decided to evade my territory when I didn’t do the same to your fucking empire,”
Mirza chuckled, hiding his displeasure towards the way Chase just treated him with his cigar. “I’m sure my message was clearly sent to you. Give me the girl,”
Chase scoffed, maintaining his demeanor. “And you think like a fucking coward I’ll give her to you? Nice try, Mirza. Give me another threat,”
“Romano, you wouldn’t want to know what I would do if you don’t hand over the pretty girl to me,” Mirza said.
“Having your men to assault a high member of the Romano empire didn’t compel me into giving her to you. What other way do you have?”
Mirza rested his back on the couch, and a grin took over his features. “So it’s true? You value a mere teenager over a high member of your empire. You chose a nineteen year old girl over your fiancee. Never heard of that,”
Chase snorted out loud, not saying a word.Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.
Mirza continued. “Give the girl to me. I’ll make her much happier than you’ve ever done. After all, her father used to be an old friend of mine. He wouldn’t have a problem with me tying the knots with her,”
“You have a fucking family and here you are lusting over a girl whose grandfather you can be,” Chase’s hands were already shaking beside him as he tried hard not to just shoot Mirza there and then and take his life. “Aren’t you the least ashamed?”
“For someone who was trained by a wonderful uncle, your hands are shaking,” Mirza sneered. “Your father’s brother didn’t teach you to refrain yourself from shooting someone who deserves to die, did he?”
“We’re not talking about him, Mirza,” Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Mirza’s words reopened his past wounds. The ways his uncle used to train him flashed through his mind.
“Ahh!” Mirza smiled widely. “Let’s talk about my men. The ones whose dead bodies you sent to me last night,”
“I want those men here right now, Mirza,” Chase stated the main purpose of his visit. “I want those men that dared to assault my fiancee last night,”
“You want them sent out for your sexy cousin?” Mirza raised a brow. “Valerie Romano is a walking sexism, I must say. I would love to try her out before -“He was cut off by the sound of Chase’s gun going off and a bullet piercing through his shoulder. He groaned.
Chase was already standing, glaring at him as Mirza’s men rushed into the room, pointing their guns at him.
“What are you all waiting for?” Mirza growled in pain at his men. “Finish him,”
Before the men could start shooting, Chase already had his arm wrapped around Mirza’s neck, the barrel of his gun placed on the old man’s temple. They all halted.
“If any one of you makes a move, I swear I’ll fucking end his miserable life. You all know I’m capable of it,” Chase pressed the barrel tighter. “Drop your guns!” He bellowed.
Another groan of pain left Mirza’s lips, and one of the men stepped forward to help him, but before he could reach them, Chase shot him in the chest. He fell to the ground instantly.
He returned the gun to Mirza’s temple. “If you don’t want this old bastard dead with his brain splattered here for you all to eat, drop your guns on the coffee table. Now! “He tightened his hold on Mirza, pressing his forearm into the old man’s shoulder where he had shot him.
The men all dropped their guns on the coffee table.
Chase leaned in to whisper to Mirza’s ear. “Ask those five fucktards to come out. Ask your men to call out the five men that dared to assault my fiancee. They’re all going to pay for what they did,” Chase pressed the gun tighter against his temple. “Will you order them to come out, or should I just take matters into my hands? Should I blow off your brains? Answer me, old man, Dammit!”
Mirza was shivering. He had indeed underestimated Chase. “You-,” He groaned, motioning to one of his men. “Call them. Call those five colleagues of yours’ that I asked to rape the lady,”
The guard didn’t move.
“Will you go and get them, or should I send you to your death like I did to this fool lying here on the ground?” Chase glared at him. “Go!”
The guard scurried away.
In less than five minutes, the guard returned with five of those men, all staring at the ground.
The moment Chase saw them, he waved his guns at them. “Less talk, more action. Five of you move here,”
They did as instructed.
Cowards. Chase pointed at the guard who had called them in. “You’re a betrayer. In my empire, my men never succumb to the enemies. No matter whose life is at risk even if their held at gunpoint. They don’t rat out their friends,” With that, he shot the man between the eyes and the man laid dead on the ground.
“Are you out of your mind?” Mirza growled. “You can’t come here and kill my men like that,”
“Do you want to be next? You want to lay down your life for them?” Chase gritted out. “If you don’t want to join both of your men, shut the fuck up. This is nothing compared to evading my territory or asking for her. It’s nothing compared to assaulting my fiancee,”
“I’m sorry, Romano,” The old man begged as dizziness washed over him. The pain from the gunshot wound on his shoulder was becoming worse. It was soon going to make him slip into unconsciousness.