In The Cemetery
Guido stayed behind to take care of his grandson while the others traveled to Milan to bury Tadeo. Morgana would take care of Camila when the others returned to Hawaii to be with Mateo. The redhead was afraid that something would happen to Max.
The funeral was very sad, the sky seemed to sympathize with the pain of those present, and a light drizzle began to fall at that moment.
Camila embraced the coffin before it was lowered. She was once again alone in the world, although soon she would have her little one by her side. By marrying Tadeo under joint ownership, everything he owned would pass into her hands, so she would not be left helpless. Even after his death, he had fulfilled his promise to prevent her from suffering in that way.
When the funeral ended, Camila refused to leave the cemetery. She didn’t want to leave him alone.
“Please, I can’t leave here. I have to accompany him. He didn’t want to be alone anymore.” Her heart-wrenching sobbing broke the hearts of those who heard her.
“Cami, he has already left this realm. What is inside that grave is just his body. Your baby needs you to rest. You can’t lose him. Your son is an extension of Tadeo here on earth, and you have to protect him.”
Upon hearing Morgana’s words, Camila seemed to react. She had been completely selfish. She hadn’t thought about her baby, who was the most beautiful thing Tadeo had left her. A part of him was growing inside her womb. She understood that she had to be strong.
She made her way to where Ava was, and Morgana held her by the arm, thinking she might try to attack her.
“Forgive me, Ava. I know you didn’t want this to happen. I know you’re suffering too because of Mateo’s condition. I genuinely wish with all my heart that he wakes up soon. Believe me, the pain I’m feeling, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It’s like dying while still alive.”
Ava cried as she listened to Camila’s words. She felt as if she couldn’t move, as if a dagger were being plunged into her chest. She thought that Camila was right in what she had said earlier, and she felt guilty.
Suddenly, Camila hugged her tightly, and the two of them cried uncontrollably.
Ava returned to Hawaii the next day to be with Mateo. Now that she was in the room, she could be with him. Max insisted on accompanying her, but Ava refused because she feared another tragedy might happen. However, he didn’t care about what she said; he owed it to Mateo. He left enough security at the mansion, and Lola stayed there with the child, along with Aurora.
Guido was waiting at the hospital for Ava to arrive. He had to settle some matters and find one of his employees, someone to whom he had given an important position. Despite asking for his help, the man seemed to be avoiding him.
Guido would manage the company remotely via the internet. The vice president would take over in Italy. He had no intention of staying away from his grandson. He would only do so temporarily to take care of his pending affairs.
A month had passed since Mateo’s incident, and Guido kept insisting on returning to Italy. His grandson showed no signs of waking up, and Ava asked him for a little more time; it would be complicated to move him.
That day, she went to rest for a while in the hotel room, and Guido stayed with his grandson. His phone started ringing insistently, and when he answered, he realized it was the man he had been looking for.
“At last, you call. I’ve been trying to reach you through every means. We need to talk in person. I won’t be able to continue; I’m leaving my position to you. You’ll continue organizing the auctions and sending the shipments in the containers. I can’t believe that for years I had that damn Teodoro Miller under my command without knowing it, the bastard who almost killed my grandson. I had no idea that the Black Wolf was that man.”
“He still doesn’t know your identity. I told him that you want to meet him, that you wish for him to take your place at the helm of this operation. I said that you’ll meet in exactly one week at Kailua Pier, near a warehouse. The meeting will take place there at nine in the evening.”
“Perfect. I’ll see him exactly one week from now at Kailua Pier. There’s a warehouse nearby, and the meeting will happen there.”
“I’ll inform him right away to figure out how to approach. The police are looking for him, and he doesn’t want to take any risks without careful planning.”
Guido was engrossed in his phone conversation, not noticing that tears were streaming from Mateo’s eyes.
Later, Ava arrived to take over from Guido. She would stay with Mateo all night. Once Guido left, she approached him and hugged him.
“I know you’ll wake up soon. I know because you promised always to be with me and our child, and I know you’ll keep that promise.”
She said in desperation while embracing him, hoping that he would hear her words.
In such a short time, Ava had lost weight, and huge dark circles adorned her eyes. She felt sad, physically and mentally exhausted. Every day, she dreamed that when she woke up, Mateo would be by her side.
She hugged him tightly, resting her head on his chest. Suddenly, she felt a caress on her head. When she looked up, she saw Mateo watching her while silently crying.
“Mateo, you’ve woken up! I knew it, I knew it. You wouldn’t dare leave me. You have no idea how much I love you.”
She covered his face with kisses, then rushed out to call the doctor.
“It’s incredible, ma’am. Mr. Licciardi’s recovery has been truly remarkable. We had meetings with the other doctors, and upon closer examination of his case, we concluded that he either wouldn’t wake up or it would take years.”
“Well, as you can see, Mateo is strong.”
Mateo smiled weakly, feeling confused, still not fully oriented, but sure that he hadn’t misunderstood what he had heard his grandfather say on the phone.
He was about to speak up to let them know he was awake when his phone rang, so he decided to pretend he was still unconscious.
When Guido returned, he was surprised to see his grandson awake, he cried tears of happiness, noticing that Mateo looked very serious, he thought maybe it was because he still felt unwell, it had only been a few days since he fully recovered.
The following days, the doctors ran several tests, although Mateo was still weak, his condition was excellent.
Four days after waking up, he was discharged, Ava and Max arranged everything to return to Italy, but Mateo asked them to wait a few more days, saying he wanted to feel a bit better to endure the flight.
“And tell me, how is our son?” Mateo was eager to see him.
“Matt is perfect, fortunately he’s still young and couldn’t understand what was happening.”
“I spoke with Akiro a while ago, but I’ve been calling Tadeo’s number and it’s turned off, do you know if he changed it?”
Ava didn’t want to worry him, but she couldn’t help but cry at that moment. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t hold back the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“My beautiful, what’s happening?” he asked, intrigued.
Ava looked at Max, with a nod he indicated it was okay for her to tell him. Either way, he would find out when they arrived.
“A little over a month ago, when we were leaving the hospital after visiting you, a man tried to shoot me. Tadeo protected me with his body, he died instantly,” Ava said without further explanation, tears wetting her face.
Mateo’s face flushed, he couldn’t help but cry upon learning that Tadeo had died, he had fulfilled his promise to protect Ava until the very end.
He hugged Ava tightly, the death of someone he had come to consider one of his closest friends pained him terribly, as it did Max and Akira, but he was deeply grateful that Ava was alive.
“That damn Teodoro Miller will soon pay for everything he’s done to us, and his organization’s boss will pay too. I don’t want any of you to mention a word about this in front of my grandfather, I don’t want him to worry again.”
Max noticed a strange tone in Mateo’s words, he knew him too well, and for a long time, but with Ava present, he didn’t want to ask, the girl had already had enough problems during that time.
On the day that marked a week since the incident, while in the hotel, a little before seven in the evening, Mateo asked Max to call him.
“Hello, yes, the police chief, I’ll come down right away.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
Ava looked at him worriedly, while Max on the phone didn’t understand what Mateo was saying.
“My beautiful, I’ll go to the restaurant, the police chief wants me to testify again, and it seems they’ve found clues about your uncle. Don’t leave the room, don’t even open the door that leads to the balcony. Some bodyguards will stay to watch the hallway, you know that the surrounding rooms are occupied by them, so no one can come close.”
“Please don’t take long.” Now it was Ava who felt that strange sensation in her chest as she watched Mateo leave.