One thing Leonelli couldn't condone was the face of a doctor bearing bad news.
He stood in the waiting room of the private hospital that Daciano, the family doctor, worked at. He consulted with the gynecologist that he'd invited after they'd struggled to stabilize Emilia.
Watching her still body from the glass window brought back unwarranted memories. The intermittent sound of the EKG machine lulled him into a trance, his mind clouded with the image of a woman he'd once watched die from that vantage point.
Her blond hair was disheveled, an oxygen mask assisting her lungs that struggled to keep up with the stress. She had a blue patient gown on, her hands overlapping one another as she lay unconscious.
The waiting room was slowly filling up with his men, all wearing black suits, some with dark shades and intercoms. All to protect him, but he was more concerned with the woman that was at the verge of death.
She was too valuable to his plan and the risk of inciting a war with the De Santigo clan.
He paced aimlessly, his men apprehensive of his temper as the time passed by, with no news from Daciano about her progress.
Damiàn Gianpiero made his appearance just before the doctors. His dark brown hair cropped neatly, his hands dug into the pants of his black three-pieced suit with shiny loafers to match.
He possessed a similar aura of dominance and respect that Leonelli did, taking quick and precise strides towards his distraught brother.
"Leon, I hope I'm not too late," he says, embracing his brother briefly before observing Emilia alongside Leonelli, "How did this happen?"
Leonelli stares at Emilia as he recalls the events that led to her collapse to his right-hand man and brother. Damiàn listened intently, his fingers on his chin as he conjured his assumptions of the cause.
"It's safe to believe that the pregnancy was the target, not the woman," He said after a moment of silence. "We have to narrow the suspects from the person who had contact with her to the source of the attack"
"It could have been her own family" Leonelli muttered, his eyes still fixed on her, "Probably not Fariello, I've heard he adores his daughter, more than the others"
"What comes before family, brother?" Damiàn inquired, smirking as he watched his brother from his peripheral vision.
"The Mafia" Leonelli answered, "the honor of his family's name could have influenced his action and this could be a reason for him to rally others to go to war against us"
"That's a valid point but if it happens to be someone from her family, Fariello or otherwise, we can't strike until we're done with our plan for vengeance against the Tolland family" Damiàn muses, as they ponder on their next move. "We need to take out their link to our family. There must have been a mole who was sent to her"
On cue, they both turned towards the gynecologist. The short man sat in between two of their men, his eyes set at the floor as the men assessed him.
Damiàn patted his brother's back with a mischievous smile playing on his lips, "I'll handle all the suspects and get to the culprit, once we get her report we need to leave this country immediately"
Leonelli gave his brother a knowing nod as they both watched the approaching doctor, fiddling with his hands nervously as their intense stares bored holes into his head.
"Good day" he acknowledges Damiàn briefly before offering Leonelli his tab to observe, "We were able to detect the presence of a very potent abortion pill that was consumed by the patient, we attempted to salvage the damages caused by the ingested pill"
He frowns now as Leonelli stares at her charts intently, "I know it's not my place but I'd like to inquire if the child was yours, Leonelli. If so, then please accept my—"
"was?" Leonelli questioned, his brother mirroring his distress as they stared at the doctor in awe. "What do you mean?"
"We tried our best sir. The very best to save the child but the pill had taken effect the moment it was ingested. The fetus was still in it's early stages, we weren't able to do much but to retract the dead fetus from her body" Daciano said, sighing as silence took over the atmosphere in the room, "on the bright side, the woman is fine, we made sure it didn't affect her organs and vital parts of her body. She'll be fine to leave by morning"
Damiàn took the tab from Leonelli's grasps as he witnessed the wrath that threatened to burst out at anyone who was unfortunate to interact with the mafioso at that moment. "Thank you Daciano, you may leave us. Please"
He frowned as his brother refused to look up from his hands, "Leon, please take a seat. I'll handle the rest"
He turned to the men that littered around the room, they averted their gazes to the ground, all solemn as they dreaded relieving the same rage that ensued the last time a similar scenario had taken place.
"Brother, we can't mistake Gianna's possible involvement in this case. It seems quite convenient that she appeared right at the moment things took place. I suspect she was in cahoots with the gynecologist—"
"Do whatever you see fit, I'll wait here for your results. I don't care how you get to the bottom of this" Leonelli utters, straightening his posture and taking a deep breathe. "I'm done condoning her bullshit. If she's involved, take care of her"
This brought a cunning smile to Damiàn's lips, widening at the statement that he accepted as an order from his Don. He'd been adamant about punishing Gianna since the incident but Leonelli had resisted. He prayed she was involved, so he'd take pleasure in making her pay for his brother's sorrows.
"I'll be sure to yield results, Fratello" he beckoned to three of his men, instructing them to seize the gynecologist with a flick of his wrist, "You know what we have to do concerning this Emilia woman, right?"
Leonelli only nodded as he stared at the young woman who lay unconscious, oblivious to the news he was about to deliver, "I do" he uttered, "By the time I'm done, We'd have taken a step closer to getting her on our side"
Damiàn patted his brother's shoulder with a proud smile stuck on his face, "Confido che lo farai, fratello maggiore"
[translation: I trust that you will, older brother]