CHAPTER 9

RENZO

 

“…he shouldn’t still be here.”

Time didn’t pass the way it used to or the way I wanted it to. It seeped or rather pooled annoyingly, like I was buried under something soft that refused to let me surface.

A week could have been a minute. A minute could have been a lifetime... I had no way of knowing, except for the way sounds began to change.

At first, there had only been noise. Then slowly… so slowly, those voices began to separate themselves from the ringing.

I couldn’t tell my body to breathe deeper or faster.

But I could still hear and recognise the voices of those around me the most. That was why I recognised Elix and not because of how loud she was.

“He’s safer here,” Richard replied, calmly. My father never raised his voice unless he wanted the world to know it was ending. “The hospital was compromised. You saw what happened.”

There was a pause. I imagined Elix standing with her hands clasped in front of her, chin slightly raised and eyes lowered just enough to look respectful.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “For taking him away from there. If they had tried again… if I hadn’t been there when it happened”

“You did more than enough,” Richard cut in. I heard something almost like warmth in his voice, a rare thing. “But don’t mistake this. If you hadn’t been there on time, my son would be dead.”

Dead?

Who tried to kill me?

“Against Lugard,” he continued. “This wasn’t a coincidence. It was an assassination attempt that failed because of timing, nothing else.”

Elix inhaled sharply. It was quiet, but I heard it.

“Lugard?” she asked, her voice smaller now. “Who is Lugard?”

Richard let out a short breath, almost a scoff. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

“But…”

“No,” he stopped firmly. “You tell Emilio Vescari that he doesn’t need to hear it from anyone else. Nothing has changed. The arrangements still stand.”

Arrangements. That word meant blood where I came from. It meant debts to be paid only in violence.

“And now that Renzo is here,” Richard added, lowering his voice, “you’ll be the one taking care of him. You, alongside the house staff. Grace. May. You’ll meet them properly.”

“I will,” Elix said immediately. “Of course I will.”

“Elix,” my father said, “this is Grace. And May.”

“Hello,” Elix replied warmly. I could hear the smile in her voice. “Thank you for staying with him. I know it hasn’t been easy.”

Grace murmured something respectful. May followed, her tone careful, almost reverent.

“It’s nice to meet you finally,” May said. “We’ve heard a lot.”

“Only good things, I hope,” Elix replied lightly.

“Only the best,” Grace answered.

If I had been conscious enough to laugh, I would have. Saints were always spoken of that way before everyone knew the stuff they were truly made of.

Richard moved closer. I felt the shift in the air as he leaned down, close enough that his words brushed against my ear.

“They’ll find her,” he whispered, “Zaria won’t get far. And when we do, she’ll pay for what she’s done.”

Something inside me twisted violently.

“I’ll leave him to you.”

My father's heavy footsteps retreated. A door closed softly.

Elix exhaled slowly.

“Alright,” she said after a moment. “Grace, can you help me get him into the bath?”

The words startled me. Bath? Bath meant movement. My mind surged uselessly against my body as panic flared and died at the same time.

It was all the same anyway.

“The doctor will attend to him here,” she continued. “The VIP room is ready. He’ll be more comfortable if he’s cleaned properly.”

Grace hesitated. I heard it in the way her feet shifted. “Ma’am, we can do that. You don’t have to…”

“I want to,” Elix replied gently. “Please.”

There was a brief pause, then May spoke. “Are you sure? We don’t want to burden you.”

Elix laughed softly. “You’re not.”

Their hands touched me carefully and my body was lifted gently as though I were something fragile. The sensation was muffled, but the awareness of it was enough to make my thoughts go crazy.

The water ran warm. Steam thickened the air. There was a rustling of clothes…

Grace inhaled sharply.

“You really don’t have to do this,” Grace said again. “We know who you are.”

Elix paused. Then, quietly, she said, “I may be a mafia princess, but my father taught me well.” Her hands touched my skin thoroughly. She cleaned me the way one would clean a weapon after use, careful not to miss any trace of what had been spilled.

“You see,” Elix continued softly, “people think care is about softness. But that’s not true. Real care is knowing where the dirt hides.”

Her fingers lingered on my wrists. My throat. Places that could kill if pressed just a little harder.

“You have to scrub,” she added. “Otherwise it festers.”

An uncomfortable tension filled the air, but the two housekeepers said nothing.

“Ma’am,” Grace began.

“I fucking told you it's fine!” Elix snapped, “He’s mine to look after now.” She leaned closer, though I couldn’t tell if it was meant only for me or for the room.

“You trusted the wrong person,” she murmured. “That happens when you believe love should be gentle.”

Her thumb brushed along my jaw, tender enough to pass for affection.

“But gentleness is a luxury,” she went on. “And luxuries are always taken.”

Water splashed softly as she rinsed my hands, my arms, my chest. “You’ll wake up,” Elix said quietly. “You have to. There’s so much that still needs to be done.”

She straightened, nodding to Grace. “Help me lift him.”

They moved me again, settling me carefully and wrapping me in clean fabric. I felt clean and lighter. As they stepped back, Elix stood at my side for a long moment.

“Rest,” she whispered, brushing my hair back. “I’ll take care of everything.”