How Lilies turn Black Chapter 33 - The Rabble of West Peal (7)

Bang—!

 

A .45 caliber bullet tore through the air and slammed into his abdomen.  

 

If it had pierced his heart, it would have been an instant death.  

 

Fabrizio clutched his stomach with his mangled hands and let out a scream of agony.  

 

The sight and sound reached the woman’s eyes and ears unfiltered, and she staggered backward before collapsing to the floor.  

 

“Hic, hic… Ah… Ahhh!”  

 

She must have finally realized what she had done. She tore at her hair and wailed. 

 

Meanwhile, Silvano laughed uproariously as he watched the scene of hell unfolding before him.  

 

“Haha! Look at this wretched woman! She really shot her own husband to save herself?”  

 

“Ahhh… Honey, honey…!”  

 

“Now this is what I call tear-jerking love! Hahaha!”  

 

He laughed so hard that tears formed at the corners of his eyes.  

 

“Is that what your precious Lord taught you? Haha! Didn’t you learn the Ten Commandments?”  

 

No act of cruelty could be more brutal than the words Silvano spat out. The woman writhed and screamed as if her entire body had been torn apart.  

 

Silvano, who had been looking down at her, suddenly stopped laughing and kicked her body.  

 

“You call yourself human? Struggling to save your own skin?”  

 

Without a moment’s hesitation, he pulled the trigger.  

 

“Ugh, ugh…! Hic!”  

 

A fountain of blood gushed from the woman’s convulsing body. 

 

The hot blood soaked his face, but Silvano didn’t even bother to wipe it off. He simply tilted his head back, inhaling and exhaling slowly.  

 

“Haa…”  

 

As if the thick scent of blood were the fragrance of flowers, he closed his eyes and savored it to the fullest.  

 

When he finally opened his eyes again, his pitch-black eyes fell on Fabrizio, who was writhing pitifully on the bed, his lips trembling.  

 

“Pa… Pao… la…”  

 

“What was that?”  

 

Silvano stepped over the lifeless body of the woman and walked toward the bed.  

 

Even at that moment, Fabrizio, with his body in ruins, was desperately trying to crawl off the bed. It seemed he wanted to reach his motionless wife.  

 

But as a dark shadow loomed over him, Fabrizio, who had reached the edge of the bed, had nowhere left to go.  

 

“What? Say it clearly.”  

 

“Ugh, hic… You… promised…”  

 

“Ah, I did promise, didn’t I?”  

 

Silvano let out a hollow laugh, finally understanding.  

 

Of course, he had never intended to spare the woman.  

 

“Why would you trust someone who came here to kill you?”  

 

Silvano smirked, his lips curling into a sinister smile. Then, he fired the last bullet into Fabrizio’s head.  

 

Bang!

 

That night, several more gunshots echoed throughout the rainy streets of Demercy. But no one heard them, drowned out by the thunder and pouring rain.  

 

As the deep night faded away, countless lives quietly left the world, unnoticed by anyone.  

 

The blood-stained sun rose on the morning of November 22, marking the dawn of a new day.  

 

✨

 

Ring ring! Ring ring!

 

The phone rang incessantly, loud enough to make his head spin. Theodoro, who had been sleeping soundly with his face buried in the pillow, grimaced and tossed in bed.  

 

His blurry eyes glanced at the clock, which showed it was barely 7 a.m.  

 

“Haa…”  

 

Who could be calling so early in the morning? He pulled the pillow over his head, trying to block out the terrible noise.  

 

The call soon ended, but within seconds, it started ringing again.  

 

By the time Theodoro kicked off the covers and got up, he couldn’t take it anymore.  

 

Thud! Thud, thud!

 

It was as if the whole world was determined not to leave him alone. This time, the sound of knocking on the door joined the chaos.  

 

There was only one person who could be visiting. The only one who knew the location of his hideout was his secretary, Paul Galliano.  

 

Since Paul wouldn’t come in person unless it was something serious, Theodoro ignored the ringing phone and headed to the entrance.  

 

Sure enough, the face that greeted him when he opened the door was Paul’s.  

 

“What is it?”  

 

His voice, rough from sleep, cracked as he spoke to Paul. Paul bowed his head and began with an apology.  

 

“I’m sorry. The situation demanded it.”  

 

Theodoro had already sensed that something unusual had happened, so he waved his hand dismissively and let Paul in.  

 

“So, what’s going on?”  

 

“There were two explosions at the Lora Club.”

 

Theodoro’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.  

 

“…Was it the Goths?”  

 

“It seems so, based on the circumstances.”  

 

Things had really gone south. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling.  

 

At least he was fully awake now.  

 

Who could have guessed that the stagnant conflict would escalate overnight to a scale requiring his direct involvement?  

 

Theodoro shoved his arms into the shirt he had carelessly discarded the night before and asked,  

 

“What about places other than the Laura Club? What’s the situation like now?”  

 

“Well… four of Antonio’s lieutenants have all been found dead—”  

 

Ring ring!

 

The sudden ringing of the phone cut Paul off mid-sentence. Theodoro glanced at the phone and muttered under his breath,  

 

“…Damn it.”  

 

How many times was this now? Wasn’t this already the third call?  

 

He barely suppressed the urge to yank the phone cord out and picked up the receiver.  

 

“Hello—”  

 

— Theodoro!

 

A deep, angry voice cut him off. The irritation that had been building up subsided, and Theodoro furrowed his brow.  

 

“…Brother?”  

 

The caller was none other than his only blood relative, Luciano Benedetti.  

 

— I’ve called you several times.

 

“…Because of West Peal?”  

 

— Ah, so you’ve heard. I won’t explain in detail. The situation isn’t good. Antonio’s also unreachable.

 

Even if Antonio was out of contact, it was clear that the Goths had come out in full force this time.  

 

Theodoro pressed his sunken eyelids and let out a sigh.  

 

Should he have acted sooner to prevent this? But what exactly could he have done? Should he have rounded up and killed all the Goths?  

 

Theodoro found the thought almost laughable. He knew full well that he couldn’t have turned them into enemies like that.  

 

But by staying neutral and watching the situation grow out of control, things had spiraled too far.  

 

Now, there was no choice but to confront the Goths head-on.  

 

“…I’ll handle it and call you back.”  

 

After hanging up, Theodoro leaned on the table for a moment, steadying his breathing.  

 

Yes, there was no other way now. Whether he liked it or not, he had to subdue them.  

 

‘Whether that damned club collapses or burns to the ground, it doesn’t matter…’  

 

But he couldn’t let the Benedetti family’s reputation be dragged through the mud.  

 

As soon as his thoughts settled, Theodoro straightened up. He quickly buttoned his shirt and downed a glass of water.  

 

“Call everyone and gather them at West Peal.”  

 

“Yes.”  

 

“We’ll go over the details on the way.”  

 

✨

 

A fierce gunfight was underway at the Lora Club.  

 

The most noticeable figure was a man with black hair flying like a mane as he fired his gun wildly—Silvano Giacone.  

 

‘…This lunatic.’  

 

Sean, watching from the sidelines, couldn’t understand it at all. Silvano’s job had been done last night, so there was no need for him to be here now.  

 

While Sean and the gang members had clear reasons for their anger-fueled shooting…  

 

‘Why is that guy here, going berserk?’  

 

Look at him.  

 

“Come on, you bastards! More! This isn’t even fun yet!”  

 

Somehow, the submachine gun that one of the enemies had been firing moments ago was now in his hands.  

 

Ratatatatatat!

 

Silvano unleashed a barrage of bullets in every direction. Wherever he aimed, furniture shattered, and debris flew everywhere.  

 

Sean, who had been staring in disbelief, snapped out of it. He rushed over and snatched the gun from Silvano’s hands.  

 

“Are you insane?”  

 

Silvano, who had been having the time of his life, suddenly found his favorite toy taken away. He scowled and shoved Sean.  

 

“Not letting go? Go do your own job. Aren’t you busy?”  

 

“If you’re going to get in the way, get lost.”  

 

“What nonsense. I’m helping, aren’t I?”  

 

Sean’s face turned as red as his hair at Silvano’s cheeky tone. He glared fiercely and grabbed Silvano by the collar.  

 

“Helping? You’re about to bring the entire Demercy police force down on us!”  

 

“Whoa, whoa.”  

 

Silvano wasn’t the type to be intimidated by threats. He smirked, his eyes narrowing as he patted Sean’s shoulder.  

 

“Calm down, friend.”  

 

“Since when were you my friend?”  

 

“I’m being nice here, so don’t talk back. The cops won’t even come near this place anyway.”  

 

Silvano grinned shamelessly, not a care in the world.  

 

“The Benedetti bastards have dumped so much money into the police department.”  

 

He wasn’t entirely wrong. Except, he hadn’t accounted for the variables of the day.