Chapter 17 : I Didn't Die

Mafia's Nemesis****

A faint voice answered Breanna from the bathroom.

Bracing herself, she charged across the flaming room. Using a half-burnt towel, she flung the bathroom door open.

Inside, Sophia curled in the bathtub filled with water.

She trembled violently, whispering something faintly. Immediately she saw Breanna, she broke into tears.

"You came for me" she sobbed, stretching her hands to Breanna.

"Why wouldn't I?", Breanna's voice cracked. She was relieved that Sophia was smart enough to turn on every faucet in the bathroom.

With a creaky groan from the ceiling, Breanna grabbed Sophia's hand, pulling her out of the bathtub.

“Follow my lead, else we go down with the ruin.” Breanna spoke hoarsely, no waste of time with sympathy.

Sophia’s survival instinct kicked in. She stumbled after her, making for the exit.

The sight of the main office however got her terrified.

It was totally unrecognizable, fire leapt like living beasts, devouring wood and spewing red-hot sparks in every direction.

She rushed at Breanna, curling her hand around her arm in fear.

"Don't worry, I will get us to safety", Breanna assured—an assurance which sounds more like a conviction to herself.

‿‿‿‿‿‿‿.

SUBLEVEL B. END OF THE EAST WING ຶ⁠‿‿‿‿‿‿.

Antonio found the East wing stairwell—barely visible through the flames— He surged forward despite the hot smoke that funneled up from below.

Two steps at a time, he descended into the abyss, his lungs burning, and hot sweat pouring down his face.

He reached the sublevel’s landing and forced the door open.

It was worse, making him doubt if Nevena was still alive.

Somewhere beyond him, inside the dim suffocating cell, Nevena sat motionless in the far corner, knees drawn to her chest.

Her hand lapped against each other as she mumbled a silent prayer,

She had prayed to be saved moments ago, but after hours and the air grew thicker and heavier, she gave up hope.

Her eyes were shut, soot clinging to her lashes as she waited and prayed for a peaceful ending.

At that same time, Antonio reached the final door. Reinforced. Thick and locked.

Grimacing, he fumbled through the key ring with shaking fingers, coughing violently as he slotted the key

Click. The lock turned , opening an inch.

He shoved the door open and stepped in, his eyes scanning for Nevena.

He stopped when he saw her, “You planning to burn along with the building, or were you just bored?” he snapped in his Mexican accent, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths.

Nevena’s eyes opened slowly, blinking through the smoke.

She froze, unsure if he was real or just her hallucinating.

Antonio however crossed the room in a few strides, eyes narrowing at dumbstruck Nevena.

Still, Nevena said nothing. Her lips parted, but no words came out—only the stunned, ragged silence of someone who had just seen their miracle walk through a door.

Antonio crouched down, face inches from hers. “Don’t look at me like that,” he muttered, his tone sharp but low.

Nevena let out a breath—half a laugh, half a sob.

“You're real—what took you so long, I prayed to God—and called out to you a thousand times.”

Antonio felt something in him shift, because Nevena just idolized him as her guardian angel.

“You prayed for a miracle, Tourist" he said roughly, his voice low in her ear. "Well, guess what?" .

For a heartbeat, her breath caught in her throat. "What?".

"God is too busy. He sent me instead—and here I am." He slipped an arm around her waist and hauled her up, steadying her against him.

"Don’t make it seem awkward—Save your tears”

"Thank you" her lip trembled, She pressed her forehead to his chest, her fingers curling tight into his suit.

Without another word, Antonio pressed forward, his boots slipping in pools of water and debris.

Behind them, the reinforced cell burst into flame—the fire roaring forward like it was chasing Nevena's soul.

They however made it out of the East wing stairwell.

Next, Antonio plunged towards the exit corridor, and that's where they met Breanna and Sophia.

“Are you waiting for death to kiss you, or do you plan on moving?” Antonio growled, approaching them.

Breanna met his gaze squarely. “Our exit path is totally screwed,”

Antonio looked beyond them and saw that the ceiling sagged dangerously, while flames burst through inbuilt vents, licking down like tongues of wrath.

"What the f*ck!" he cussed. “Of all the places, why did the sprinklers stop working here ?"

"I got your back, Palooka {Man}" Grinch croaked behind, emerging with two fire extinguisher tanks.

Passing one to Breanna—they both unleashed the extinguisher’s foam on the flames skeptically.

Antonio and Sophia trail behind them—getting to the point of the sagged ceilings, Grinch instinctively ducked, barreling forward.

Breanna followed suit, the same with Antonio.

But as Sophia attempted the same, her ankle twisted, and she stumbled with a sharp wince.

Breanna and Grinch paused, snapping their heads back at her—but Antonio kept moving.

Grinch reached out to her, gritting. “No time to die, Shamus.”

He dropped to all fours, and Sophia slumped onto his back without protest.

With steady footing and undiminished strength, Grinch piggybacked her through the smoke and flames, carrying her out to safety.

Outside, paramedics rushed to meet them, quickly loading Sophia and Nevena into the ambulance before speeding off toward the hospital.

‿‿‿‿‿‿

Later that evening, MAVERICK HOSPITAL

‿‿‿‿‿‿

Antonio stood motionless by the glass-paneled corridor, arms loose at his sides.

His gaze burned through the transparent ICU glass door and locked on unconscious Nevena, lying on the hospital bed.

Her lips were slightly parted under the oxygen mask, while monitors beeped non-stop beside her

Though it was nothing fatal like fire burns or hemorrhage—just a case of trauma and smoke in the lungs, yet Antonio hadn't left her side since then.

Under his piercing gaze, a nurse adjusted the IV, while another held a stethoscope to her chest, listening to the rattling breath that was yet to steady.

With a deep sigh, he folded his arm—his shoulders squaring like a wall.

He still didn't understand why he did what he did.

She wasn’t related to him. Nor was she logically his.

But still—He’d push his ego aside and charge into the building when the beams were on the brink of collapsing—and carried her out like she was something worth saving.

The doctor barked a low instruction, but Antonio didn’t hear it.

All he could focus on was the slow rise and fall of Nevena’s chest. Proof that she was still alive.

"Damn it—what's wrong with me?" He grunted like a man possessed by an entity.

“I never thought we'd meet in a burning structure,” Breanna’s voice floated from behind him.

Her voice had that forced calm, the one she used when interrogating a man she didn’t want to kill.

Antonio didn’t turn. He didn’t need to. Her presence was unmistakable—he could feel the quiet tension she always carried, like a chaos waiting to unleash.

“Tony—You could’ve died in that fire,” Breanna's voice cracked. “You're not some guy who could afford to be this reckless—for someone you barely know”

“I didn’t die,” Antonio answered flatly.

He went on to roll his shoulder like he was shaking her off.

With a bitter laugh, Breanna stepped closer, her boots making the faintest sound against the polished floor.

She stopped just an arm’s length from him—but close enough to see the tension in his jaw.

Her right arm was resting in a sling, the wound beneath the bandage throbbing—but not half as much as her chest.

Her eyes travelled from Antonio to Nevena’s still form, then back again

“Funny how some people vanish from your life like smoke, only to resurface next to strangers. Risking everything—what is she to you, Brain Box?”

Antonio didn’t blink neither did he answer.

Despite the heat of his silence that burned like hot coal, Breanna wasn't deterred.

She looked at him, really hard. His profile hadn’t changed. Same sharp jaw. Same piercing, unreadable eyes.

But the man beside her wasn’t her Brain box from college. This one was colder and emotionally detached.

Then—quietly, in a clipped tone, like she wasn’t sure why she was saying it—

“I’m fine—in case you were wondering.”

There was a long stretchy pause—then, his reply came through, frosty and sharp.

“I never asked you.”

Breanna's heart dropped. Not at the words—but at how easily he said them

“Tony! I expected a little more humanity,” she muttered, tears already brewing in her eyes. "Do you still hate me after all these years"

Though he wasn’t looking at her. Still, his next words cut like they’d been held back for years.

“No. You were a mere complication—and I had to remove it.”

She turned to him slowly, her eyes narrowing.

“So, was I just another thing you needed to walk away from, to become this— this man? God! You haven’t changed, you’re still so—so damn cowardly.”

“Yes,” Antonio murmured in response. “And I got worse—but the best thing is that I don’t feel regret. That’s what makes me more resourceful.”

Breanna let out a bitter chuckle, blinking against the sting in her eyes.

A bitter silence pressed in between them for a long time, until she broke it again.

“Seven years,” Breanna whispered, turning fully to face him. “Seven years. Not a reason—and you still won’t even look at me, without that disgust in your eyes.”

Antonio didn’t deny it, he had his eyes fixated on Nevena the whole time.

“I gave you everything,” she continued, trembling despite herself. “And yet, you walked away like I never existed.”

“Why?” she asked, quietly now. “You didn’t just destroy us, Tony. You let me believe I was the reason.”

Antonio’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing. Not a word. Not even a glance.

Deep down, he cursed his thoughts for wanting to snap life out of Breanna that instant.

“Why did you leave? Why couldn’t you just say it back then?" Breanna went on, her voice growing louder.

“After everything we were, everything we had—you still despise me like I burned you alive. Why?”

“I don’t owe you any explanation,” Antonio said finally. His voice was low and frigid.

“Total bullshit.” Her voice cracked. “You owe me the truth—It matters to me. You were the best thing that happened to—”

“So what?” Antonio interjected with a tone of detest.

He finally turned, facing her. His eyes were laced with undeniable hatred.

“I was the best thing that happened to you and so fucking what—I ended us, but you survived, didn’t you?”

Breanna flinched, though not visibly. But Antonio saw it. He always saw through her.

“I gave you silence. You should’ve taken it as mercy—There’s nothing to say”

“That’s what you’ve told yourself?” Her voice lowered, while her throat bobbed as she swallowed

“Or is that what you tell every woman you stop caring about?”

Antonio's eyes turned crimson in rage, he menaced closer to Breanna, his veins tracing out on his skin.

One look at his eyes, Breanna took steps backward. It wasn’t hate in there, rather something more dangerous.

Deep down, she knew she had pushed him to his limit.

Her back eventually hit the wall, a clear definition of dead end.

With twitching eyes, she waited for him to unleash his beast.

“You want a reason, right ?” Antonio growled, pressing his domineering figure against hers “Hear it if you can—Your dumba*s Father is the—”

"Antonio!", a masculine voice interrupted.

Antonio paused mid-sentence, curling his fist tightly.

"I'm in the middle of business", His voice came low, nearly a growl.

"Palooka {Man}—we got to go, snap out of it already". Grinch unhesitatingly grabbed Antonio's arm, pulling his weight away from Breanna.

“I said—I am in the middle of something", Antonio roared, shoving Grinch aside.

"Bro-code Antonio!" Grinch uttered with urgency, since Antonio's anger had exceeded its limit.

Suddenly, behind the glass, Nevena stirred, and a long piercing beep erupted from the monitor.

Antonio's gaze instinctively travelled back at the glass, at Nevena—awake and breathing.

Slowly, he distanced himself from Breanna, returning back to his previous position.

Breanna stared at him, numbly—the way his gaze lingered on Nevena… told her enough.

“She’s alive,” Breanna said, her voice measured. “You can stop acting like you’re the one who almost died.”

"Breanna, that's enough" Grinch croaked.

"No me dirigía a ti, pinche perro faldero. {I wasn’t addressing you, f**king lapdog}.”

Snapping Grinch out, she transferred all her attention back to Antonio.

“Was it instinct that made you save her, Antonio? Or something else—guilt, maybe a way to atone for your mistake” she added, stepping closer.

“I saved her because she’s not like you.” Antonio straightened to his full length.

“Obviously, she's dumb” Breanna’s throat tightened. “Moreover you don’t strike me as the heroic type anymore—unlike her.”

Antonio cracked his knuckles and signalled Grinch, with coordinated steps they marched towards the elevator.

"You might have succeeded in erasing HQ and the Sketch, Blade Knuckles" Breanna confronted in outrage.

The two men paused mid-step but didn't turn.

"Surprise ?", the word dripped out sinisterly from her lips. "Nothing hides from Breanna Stewart's microscopic eyes".

Without lingering around, they continued their journey.

"Sombra Azul!, Vincenzo!, Liza Minnelli!, Maya—Does it ring a bell? The case of New Mexico's serial killer is solved". Breanna echoed, falling into step behind them.

With a ding, the elevator door opened and the two men stepped in.

"Stop bluffing, Shamus—get your facts right and arrest me, That's my challenge". Antonio initiated coldly.

"Very well", Breanna chuckled, a bitter tear dropping down her cheek. "Challenge accepted"

The elevator door shut to her face, while the challenge hung in the balance like a threat.