Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 56: The Abyss Calls.

He felt nothing at that moment. All the pain suddenly and all at once vanished as he stared straight into the gun barrel.

It was as if life itself had urged him to die without pain, to let him smile in his last moment before the darkness swallowed him whole.

He stepped forward and fell to his knees, his gaze still on the officer, but his eyes were hollow, his face bloodied, and the smile slowly faded as his head slumped forward, still awake, but when he tried to open his eyes, all he saw was darkness, all he smelled was blood.

He felt it, the warmth of the gun barrel that had shot him, the gun that would send him off. His last thought was Charlotte.

Is she still watching?

Then—

A shot rang out, and he felt the officer dropping before him. He heard his body collapsing against the road, his gun clattering on the asphalt.

And he heard more and more gunshots ringing out.

That was the sound that kept him awake, the sound that made him realize that Charlotte was going to live.

But he?

The abyss claimed him.

His body gave up on him, tipping to the side. Cold. Everything was cold

It was Hector who shot the officer in the head. If he was late for a second, James would have been executed.

"James!"

Hector’s voice ripped through the chaos as he ran toward him.

Blood. That’s all he saw.

He didn’t know what to do. His hands shook as he tore James’s shirt open. The second he did, more blood poured out, thick and endless. It was everywhere, too much, too fast. He pressed his hands against the wounds, but the blood wouldn’t stop.

"Mike!"

Mike, another bodyguard, sprinted toward them, gripping a medical bag.

"Boss! Stay awake!" He yelled, ripping the bag open. His fingers fumbled for bandages, his breath ragged. "Boss!" He slapped James’s face, but there was nothing. No reaction. No response.

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Panic set in.

Mike shoved a bandage into the wound, Hector grabbed another bandage, pressing it hard against James’s stomach. His hands were slick, covered in warm, sticky blood.

Behind them, gunshots still echoed through the street.

The guards weren’t just killing.

They stormed forward, gunning down anything that moved. They weren’t afraid to die. They didn’t hesitate.

The few officers left realized that they had no chance. They threw down their weapons, hands raised in surrender.

"Please! Let us live!"

One of them shouted and they answered with bullets.

The rest didn’t even get a chance to beg, they turned their rifles on them, executing them one by one.

It was over for them.

But Hector and Mike was still fighting to save James’ life.

His chest barely moved.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck…"

Mike was pressing down hard on the wounds, but the blood wouldn’t stop. It seeped through his fingers, thick and dark, pooling beneath James’s body.

"We need to move now!" Mike snapped.

Hector didn’t hesitate.

"Get the car!"

A second later, one of the SUVs pulled up beside them.

They grabbed James, lifting him carefully. His head fell back, his body limp and his blood dripped onto the asphalt, leaving a trail as they rushed him into the car.

Then Hector looked back and noticed Charlotte getting out of the crashed SUV, in shock just watching the ground, he ran and picked her up and get into the car where James blood covered the seats, pooling beneath his motionless body in the back seat.

"Boss, listen to my voice!" Mike shouted, tapping his face but he wasn’t responding.

Hector pressed down on James’s stomach, hands slipping from the thick, endless stream of blood spilling from his wounds.

"Stay with me, James!" His voice cracked. He shook him hard, but James’s head fell to the side.

Mike reached over, fingers pressing against James’s neck.

Nothing.

"No pulse…"

Hector felt something snap inside him. His whole body trembled. "Fucking do something!"

Mike was already moving. He placed his hands over James and pushed.

One. Two. Three. Four.

"Come on, breathe!"

Five. Six. Seven. Eight.

He pushed harder, feeling the resistance in James’s ribs.

"Don’t you fucking do this, James!" Hector growled, his own hands shaking as he grabbed another bandage, pressing it against the worst wound.

Mike tilted James’s head back, pinched his nose shut, and sealed his mouth over his. He blew in a deep breath, watching his chest rise slightly.

Nothing. Another breath. Still nothing.

Mike went back to compressions, "Come on, damn it! Breathe!"

James wasn’t moving.

He was floating in an abyss that stretched endlessly in all directions. There was no pain. No sound. No warmth. Just the cold pull of something…final.

Then—

A voice.

Soft. Familiar. Fragile.

"James…"

Charlotte.

His mind latched onto it. His body tried to move, to turn toward her, but the darkness dragged him deeper.

Another voice. Rough. Angry. Desperate.

"FIGHT, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Shouted Mike pressing harder.

Suddenly, something crushed his chest.

Pain exploded through him, burning, searing, yanking him back.

His body arched violently as air rushed into his lungs, he coughed hard, blood splattering from his mouth.

"That’s it! That’s it, breathe!" Mike’s voice was frantic, but his hands never left James’s chest.

James gasped again, lungs seizing as another wave of pain wracked his body. His vision swam, colors blurring together.

It continued the whole road to the hospital, Mike fought with all his power to keep James alive.

Meanwhile Bella arrived late.

The scene before her was a massacre, so much blood.

The guards weren’t just killing. They were sending a message.

One of them stepped forward, his rifle aimed at a corpse barely twitching on the ground and he pulled the trigger. Another one put bullets into a motionless officer.

A statement. War has begun.

She grabbed the nearest by his collar, yanking him toward her.

"Where is James?!"

"They took him. He was…" He hesitated. "He wasn’t responding."

She looked at the crashed SUV where so much blood was, and he saw one of Charlotte’s shoes

That is when he realized it belonged to James.

"No…" she breathed, shaking her head. "No, no, no."

She didn’t wait. She spun back running to the car and sped away.

He had to be alive. He had to be.

As she arrived she stormed through the hospital doors, and he saw them.

Hector. Charlotte. Ferucci.

They stood in the waiting area.

Hector’s hands were stained red. His shirt, his sleeves, covered in blood. James’s blood.

Charlotte sat on a chair, her small hands trembling, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

Ferucci stood beside her, arms crossed, his face twisted in frustration, in anger…but most of all….he wasn’t there to help.

Bella’s breath caught as she looked back at Hector.

"Where is he?"

Hector lifted his gaze to her, and in that moment, she saw something she had never seen in him before.

Fear.

His usual composure was gone, his face was tight, his eyes red, exhaustion and panic warring inside him.

"They took him in…" He said, his voice rough. "He’s in surgery."

Bella felt her knees weaken. Surgery. That meant he was still alive.

But for how long?

Her gaze darted to Charlotte, the little girl looking so small in that chair. She wasn’t crying anymore, she was just staring at the ground, her shoulders shaking, her fingers digging into her dress.

Bella dropped to her knees in front of her, gently reaching out. "Charlotte…"

The girl flinched but didn’t pull away as Bella took her trembling hands into her own.

"I saw….everything." She said shaky looking at Bella’s eyes. "So much blood…he—"

Bella opened her mouth, but no words came out. She just pulled her close, wrapping her arms around her, holding her tight. Charlotte clung to her, shaking, her small hands gripping Bella jacket as if she’d disappear too.

Across the room, Ferucci paced back and forth, mumbling curses under his breath. Every few seconds, he’d glance toward the closed doors, waiting for any sign of a doctor, of news, of anything.

Hector just stood there, blood drying on his hands, staring at nothing.

Hours passed.

Then, finally, a doctor stepped out.

"Family of James Bellini?"

His eyes flickered across the room, Hector’s bloodied hands, Ferucci standing rigid, Bella gripping Charlotte tightly.

"James is alive. He lost a lot of blood. We did everything we could to stabilize him, but he’s in critical condition. The next few hours will be crucial."

He hesitated for a moment, then continued, his tone more cautious.

"There’s also a possibility he may fall into a coma. It could last for hours, days… maybe even weeks or longer. Right now, we just have to wait and see how his body responds."

Their reaction was relief, at least he was alive. But the doctor didn’t stop there.

His gaze dropped for a moment, scanning the names on the clipboard.

"What?" Bella asked as she stepped closer to him.

"Regarding the others." He looked at Charlotte then back up to Bella. "We did everything we could… but unfortunately, we couldn’t save—"