Chapter 4 Marked

• ~ Damon ~
• “Skip the pleasantries, will you?” Damon scoffed. He knew that the consigliere wouldn’t come to him without any news. “What do you have?”
• “Well, I got the reports from Dr. Lee,” Adrian said as he opened the file, reading some of it. “Honestly, you got lucky. We got to you just in time and the doctor was able to get the bullet out. It was a clean surgery, and it seems like you’re recovering… relatively well,”
• “Hm. Yeah, right,” Damon stifled a dry laugh. “I’m very lucky,”
• Adrian let out a sigh and closed the folder. Then he walked closer to the bed and sat at the chair next to it.
• “We also managed to trace the gun that she used,” he said, pausing for a beat before continuing, “It’s registered to Dylan James Carvey. Her brother,”
• Huh.
• Damon narrowed his eyes and thought hard. When did Dylan give her the gun? Was it the week before the wedding when he came to see her?
• “What about Hugo and the rest of them?” Damon asked. He received plenty of flowers and messages from Hugo and the other families, but everyone had left the estate.
• “Well, after the… incident, Hugo and everyone went their separate ways. The wedding got canceled and they know it’s not safe to be here,” Adrian explained. “And we can’t continue with the plan since… you know,”
• Since my life was hanging by a thread. Right.
• “Don't worry though, no one suspected anything. As far as everyone’s concerned, you’re just a poor bastard who got shot at by your fiancée,” Adrian said with a dry chuckle.
• Oh, that was a low blow.
• Damon rolled his eyes and turned his head to the other side, refusing to see Adrian’s face.
• “Hey,” Adrian said after a while of silence. “We’ll find her,”
• Damon didn’t respond and just closed his eyes. Adrian knew that this meant he wanted to rest. Getting up to his feet, the consigliere took one last look at his boss before turning for the door. But once the door was closed, Damon’s eyes were open again.
• We better find her.
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• - - - - - ONE MONTH LATER - - - - -
• “Damon, it’s been over a month. You can’t keep doing this forever. You gotta get up some time. There are people who are waiting and counting on you!”
• Talia was standing in front of the bed, giving Damon her daily dose of encouragement. Although he was almost fully healed, Damon hadn’t left his room at all. Every few days or so, Talia would come in there and try to talk him into getting up, but every day, he would find a reason not to.
• “Get out,” he told her and thrashed his head back. “I’m not in the mood for this,”
• Talia was about to argue some more, but the door suddenly opened and Adrian appeared.
• “Hey,” he said.
• “You too, get out,” Damon barked.
• Adrian looked at Talia, but she just shrugged. Instead of obeying Damon’s command, Adrian stepped further inside.
• “Well, okay, I can leave, but I got a piece of information you might be interested in,” he said.
• Damon’s interest was piqued. He lifted his head up and nodded to him.
• “Keep talking,”
• Adrian let out a smile and pushed the door open further, revealing Liam at the doorway.
• “Boss,” Liam said breathlessly like he had been running to get here. “We found her!”
• Damon’s eyes jolted open and he got up from the bed almost instantly. He walked over to Liam who was holding onto a file folder, and he grabbed it away briskly. Damon quickly opened the file and scanned the report.
• According to the report, Violet flew to Texas with her mom and brother on that very day. She was now residing in a small town in Austin. They got her address and there was even a picture of her taken in secret.
• Damon took a moment to study the picture. This was the first time he saw her face in a month. It was hitting him like a brick wall. The picture showed that she was walking through some street with a bag of groceries in her hand.
• She seems good, happy, and healthy…
• “What do you want us to do, boss?” Liam asked. “We can fly out there right now. The jet’s already waiting at the tarmac,”
• Damon took one last look at Violet’s picture. His thumb slowly grazed over her beautiful face. But suddenly, he closed the file shut and shoved it back to Liam.
• I used to have it all. A family. A future. A life worth living.
• Liam looked at Damon in confusion as he held onto the file. Meanwhile, Damon turned around and went for the nearby mirror. His shirt and signature black suit were hanging next to it. It was always prepared there for him just in case he wanted to wear them today.
• “Boss?” Liam asked again.
• Damon didn’t say a word as he stood in front of the mirror. He wasn’t wearing anything but slacks and a bandage over his wound. Slowly, he peeled the bandage away and it revealed a scar over his tattoo. It was hauntingly ironic how she shot him right at the tattoo of her name. The tattoo was somewhat ruined now, but he could still make out the letters… V R C.
• Yeah. All I have now is just a broken heart and the scar you left behind.
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• - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -