บท 19: It was that darned destiny’s fault if destiny were real
Her kidnapper’s piercing gaze made Leona gulp. It pinned her down not because of the irresistible charm but because those gunmetal gray irises bore through her soul. The intensity felt like they were suddenly in an interrogation room, and Leona knew that if she lied, she would suffer until Ignatius learnt the truth.
“I was sleeping on the floor when the door opened suddenly and hit my head. ”
Hearing her reply, Ignatius finally let her chin go. However, his tone was still icy.
“Who opened it?”
“Uhh…” Leona hesitated for a while. She didn’t want to land the guard in trouble, but her survival took precedence. “The blond man with glasses.”
Ignatius knew everyone in the famiglia, even the newest members. He was involved in giving them codenames as the leader of the group, similar to baptism in a church. If the man was blond, had glasses, and was assigned as one of Leona’s guards, Ignatius knew of only one member who fits the description. He had to be Sandman, one of the recruits. Although he hurt the mafia boss’ favorite author unintentionally, there were still consequences for his recklessness.
Ignatius started thinking of the best way to punish the lad when the door burst open.
“Great! Miss, you’re awake,” Dr Ivan kindly smiled as he approached Leona with his thermometer to check her temperature.
“You’re done eating?” Ignatius questioned, feeling irritated at the interruption.
“Not yet. The guards informed me they heard you two talking, so I came immediately to check on her. Was I disturbing?”
Ignatius’ older brother internally smirked at Ignatius’ reaction. For the mafia boss to act so annoyed when he normally made Ivan the exception for any interruption, the woman must be someone of importance in Igntius’ heart.
“No, of course not,” Ignatius glared at his older brother dead in the eye.
Ivan laughed a little at his younger brother’s reaction. It was cute how Ignatius never changed. Ignatius would claim not to want to play with him in the past. However, the child would wait for him to return home. The members may not notice it because they did not know him that well. Only Ivan knew whenever Ignatius lied.
Leona stared at the doctor as he assisted her, ignoring the death glare from Ignatius. The writer felt more at ease seeing someone kind and civilian-like. She wondered if he looked more normal than everyone else in this base as he wore a neat striped polo and stylish eyeglasses.
Noticing how Leona was staring at him, Ivan offered her his kindest smile. “Don’t be afraid. I’m Ivan, a doctor.”
“Oh, nice to meet you, Doc,” Leona nodded in slight confusion. What was an angel like him doing in a demon’s territory? Was he kidnapped too?
“She needs a change of clothes,” the civilian-like doctor turned to Ignatius, shocking Leona.
Did Dr Ivan order her kidnapper to fetch her a change of clothes right before her eyes? Leona gulped as she glanced nervously at her kidnapper. What would the mafia boss do to her doctor? Was he going to be fed to the sharks?
Fortunately, Ignatius just nodded at Ivan. Leona closed her eyes and relaxed a little, thanking the lucky stars for saving this poor ignorant doctor.
As Ignatius walked towards the door, he kept glancing back at them. Envy coloured his veins, and for the first time, Ignatius seriously considered murdering his brother to change places with him.
What was it about his brother that made Leona trust him so easily? If they swapped bodies, would his favorite author show him a relaxed expression?
Snorting inaudibly as he closed the door behind him, Ignatius shook his head. That was an impossible wish. Ignatius met Leona through a series of unfortunate coincidences. Even if he could rewind time back, it wasn’t so easy to change the complex relationship between them.
It was that darned destiny’s fault if destiny were real.
Sighing, Ignatius resigned to fate. There was nothing he could do about the current situation. The best he could do was start protecting Leona from the shadows. It would be nice if she could slowly warm up to him over time, but Ignatius did not want to harbor any hopes. Ivan could do that on his behalf. On the other hand, anyone who intended to harm her would pay the price, even if they were from his famiglia.
Ignatius did not have to go far to find the recruits lined up near the door. He looked for the person Leona described as the ‘blond man with glasses’.
“Sandman,” Ignatius summoned when he saw the man a foot away.
“Y-yes, boss?” Sandman asked, barely meeting the boss’ intimidating eyes.
“I will be transferring you to another dangerous hideout.”
Sandman’s eyes widened with surprise. The guard could barely contain his excitement at being recognised by the boss. Was Ignatius going to assign him to Chrisvan’s team, whose hideout was near the police headquarters? Finally! It was his turn to shine and get in some action!
“You will be assigned to Einstein’s hideout,” the mafia boss declared coolly.
As fragile as glass, his dream of being in the front lines shattered. The mafia boss was right. It was indeed a dangerous hideout, but for a different reason.
Sandman shuddered. It was dangerous in that laboratory, not because of enemies or propellant experiments. Although there could be serious accidents in the lab from time to time, all the accidents were caused by the number one danger of the Teivel Famiglia - mad scientist, Einstein.
Although Sandman had never been there, he heard stories from his seniors. Those who were ‘chosen’ by Einstein were dragged inside a chamber, and nobody left the experimental chamber alive. Even if they did, they would no longer be sane or considered human.
Despite his fear and reluctance, Sandman accepted his reassignment. The boss’ orders were absolute.
Bowing at Ignatius as a sign of respect, Sandman’s knees quaked in fear. He hoped he wasn’t one of those unlucky human experiments. He had no idea what Einstein would do to him if he were ‘chosen’. Maybe the mad scientist would use him as a target to test the latest bullets. Whatever the case was, Sandman could already imagine his bloody demise.
Seeing how ghastly pale Sandman had become, the mafia boss felt satisfied. Ignatius knew the newbies were afraid of Einstein because of the rumors spreading within the famiglia. Although he did not know who started those rumors, it came in handy this time.
With his objective completed, Ignatius visited the janitorial supplies room where Leona’s worn-out bag was. He rummaged through her tattered clothes with a disappointed sigh. This wouldn’t do. If Ivan saw this, he would think that Leona was mistreated under his care.
“You,” he pointed to a random guard on duty. “Buy her a pair of pajamas, red ones.”
Even if Leona seemed to prefer yellow, Ignatius thought that red would look good on her pale skin.
The random guard who received a new order felt his eyes popping out of their sockets behind his sunglasses. They knew that Ignatius was merciless. However, they did not think he would go to this extent even on a feeble woman!
As Ignatius returned to his bedroom, they talked about how wise he was. The boss chose red so that no one would notice the blood on the captive! Quickly, the guard ran out to buy the bloodiest shade of red.
Blissfully unaware of Ignatius’ actions, Leona took the chance to convince Dr Ivan to escape with her. The doctor was different from the men in suits, and staying here would only bring harm to him.
“Doc,” she asked quietly. “Have you ever thought of escaping?”
“Escape from what?” Ivan blinked, not quite following Leona’s train of thought.
“This place,” Leona declared with determination shining in her eyes.
Ah, so that was what it was about. Did Leona think he was a captive like her? She was hilarious!
Startled that her doctor would burst into sudden laughter, Leona raised her brow.
“Did I say something funny?”
“Sorry,” Ivan choked on air in between laughter. “I couldn’t help it. It’s just that-”
Thinking that the doctor was laughing out of helplessness, Leona clamped her hand over his shaking shoulders and shook them.
“Doc, you should not give up! When my condition gets better, let’s escape together!”
Dr Ivan only smiled at his adorable patient and slowly removed her hand.
“You should focus on your health. I will prescribe some vitamins. Make sure you rest plenty.”
As Ivan wrote his prescription, Leona frowned.
“Will they let me rest?”
With a mysterious smile, Ivan nodded.
“They should.”
After all, the plans would fail if she died. Ivan simply did not have the heart to tell the clueless lass and watched as she laid back on the bed with the blanket enveloping her body.
Leona felt her eyelids getting heavier with every second and eventually drifted back to sleep.
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