Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 57: Gone Forever.

After James was stabilized, they transferred him to a private hospital, one with tighter security.

An entire section was reserved just for him. Guards were everywhere waiting and ready to kill everyone who came close.

For five days, all anyone could do was pray beside his bed.

He was connected to countless machines. His face was barely visible beneath the oxygen mask keeping him alive.

Bella, James’ mother, and Charlotte never left his side. They stayed by him, refusing to let him be alone.

In the next days, the underworld trembled. The news of the attempt on James’ life spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the city.

But what truly shook them was the fact that it had been done by the police.

Yet no one dared to make a move. They knew all too well, when James Bellini wakes up, there will be a massacre. They started preparing for the inevitable.

Hector was no different. He didn’t act. He didn’t retaliate. He only prepared.

Only the police took action.

They broadcasted their version of events, claiming that a notorious underworld figure had opened fire on them and that they had done everything they could to defend themselves.

Thirty four officers died that day.

The city watched as the police held a funeral, honoring the fallen. The President himself attended, paying his respects with the Vice President by his side.

And the Vice President’s speech was everything but a great idea. He waged war the second time.

"Thirty four brave souls, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters taken from us by the filth that dares to call itself a man. A gangster, a coward, who thought he could challenge the law and walk away. But let me make one thing very clear, this nation does not bow to criminals. We do not tolerate their existence. We hunt them. We crush them. And when they spill the blood of our finest, we drown them in their own."

"Mark my words, he will be laid in the ground, just as these officers were, but without honor, without remembrance, without a name worth speaking."

After the speech a lot happened, especially when it made its way into the news and social media.

Takoi used the public outrage to win the election and became the new Mayor.

After the reports came in about the operation and who died in it, the Justice Minister sent her loved ones overseas and the NSBI Director Odin publicly stepped down from his position… and fled the country.

His disappearance sent shockwaves through the government. It’s confirmed what many already feared, this was bigger than anyone had imagined.

But none of it mattered.

The police, once parading as heroes, now found themselves walking on thin ice. The underworld was waiting, holding its breath, counting down the days.

And that day came.

James blinked, his vision blurred, the hospital lights stinging his eyes. His body felt heavy, like he was sinking into the bed, and for a second, he could barely remember what happened.

Then, the pain hit.

A deep, burning ache spread across his body, every breath felt like knives stabbing into his ribs. He tried to move, but his limbs wouldn’t.

Bella gasped, tightening her grip on his hand. "James?"

Charlotte clutched Bella’s sleeve, tears welling in her eyes. "He’s awake…" she whispered, almost as if she didn’t believe it herself.

They stepped aside as the doctor busted open the door, scanning the machines before looking down at him.

The doctor’s voice pulled him from the fog. "Mr. Bellini, can you hear me?"

James blinked. His vision was blurry, but he could make out the white coat.

"You’ve been in a coma for five days."

He couldn’t answer, only nodded slowly.

They examined him for hours. Poking, asking the same questions over and over.

"Do you feel this?" "Can you move your fingers?" "Any sharp pain?"

James answered when he had to. Other times, he just stared at the ceiling.

His body was fucked up, bandages wrapped around his torso, IV lines in his arm, an oxygen mask on his face.

He looked like he was the new sith lord.

Five days. Five days, and he had no control. He was stuck, trapped in this bed while the world outside had already changed.

For the first time since waking up, he closed his eyes. And he let it sink in.

Then a small hand wrapped around his fingers. Weak, trembling.

James blinked slowly, shifting his gaze.

Charlotte.

Tears ran down her face, her lower lip trembling as she clung to his hand with just her pinky, like she was afraid holding him too tightly would hurt him.

She didn’t say anything, just cried.

"You scared us…" Bella whispered, her voice barely holding together.

James just stared at her. He wanted to say something, to tell her he was fine, that everything was okay.

But it wasn’t. Nothing was.

So he did the only thing he could.

He squeezed Charlotte’s hand back.

She smiled a bit, still crying her eyes out, then Bella gently tapped her head "Go get James’ mother, okay? She’s sleeping downstairs."

She wiped at her eyes with her tiny fist, then, with her little legs, ran out the door.

And the moment she was gone, Bella broke. She collapsed onto the edge of his bed, gripping his hand so tight it hurt.

Her shoulders shook violently.

"I thought—" Her voice cracked. She squeezed her eyes shut, as if forcing back the memories. "I thought I’d never see you again."

James just watched her.

Watched the way her hands trembled against his. The way her tears slipped down her cheeks, dripping onto the white sheets. The way her breath kept hitching, like she couldn’t control it anymore.

He had been unconscious. But Bella and the others?

They had to live through it. Every second of waiting. Every sleepless night. Every time a doctor walked in with that look on their face, like they weren’t sure if he’d make it another day.

Five days.

Five days where they thought he was gone.

"I’m here." He simply said.

Bella without thinking, she leaned forward and buried her face against his chest.

James felt her hands clutching him, as if making sure he was real.

After a while the door opened, and James’ mother stepped inside.

Her face was hollow, her eyes dark, swollen from days of crying.

She moved slowly, saying nothing. When she reached him, she pressed a trembling kiss to his cheek, then wrapped her arms around him.

Her embrace wasn’t tight. It was weak, fragile, clinging, and then she cried, silent, endless tears.

Something was wrong.

His gaze flickered to Bella, but she wouldn’t look at him.

"Where is Rafael?"

His mother lifted her head, her swollen eyes locking onto his. More tears fell.

Her lips trembled, but when she finally spoke, her voice was hollow.

"He gone James."

He stared at her. The words didn’t make sense. They felt distant, like they belonged to another reality.

But his mother’s grief was real. Bella’s silence was real.

And the crushing weight in his chest told him, this was real.

"What... but he was with Hans..."

"He’s gone too." she whispered. "They both couldn’t make it."

His mind refused to process it..

James’ breath hitched. His chest tightened, his pulse hammering in his ears.

No.

It wasn’t possible. They were always there.

The machines beeped louder, alarms screaming as his heart rate spiked.

Tubes strained as he jerked forward, his body fighting against its own weakness.

"No—!"

Bella rushed to him, pressing her hands against his shoulders. "James, stop!"

He didn’t hear her. Didn’t feel her.

Everything blurred. Their faces. Their voices. The world around him collapsed.

What a joke...they gone...

"Rafael!" He shouted.

Bella tightened her grip on his shoulders, her own hands trembling. "James, please—"

But he wasn’t listening.

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He wasn’t here.

His wide, desperate eyes were locked on the doorway, waiting. Hoping.

But no one came.

"They’re gone, James…" His mother’s voice was quiet, she already understood what it meant. "They’re not coming back. Never."

"No…" He muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "No. This isn’t real."

Bella hesitated before reaching out again, her fingers brushing against his arm. "James…"

Then, without warning, he turned and slammed his fist into the wall.

His mother gasped. Bella took a step forward, an alarm flashing in her eyes. "James, stop!"

But he struck the wall again. And again. Until his knuckles split open, and blood smeared against the white surface.

His chest heaved, his body trembling, but then suddenly his mother wrapped her arms around him, gripping him tightly.

"I am here darling…" She whispered "...you can cry as much as you want now."

The warmth of his mother’s embrace pressed against his shaking body, grounding him in a reality he didn’t want to face.

"It’s okay...." She whispered, voice breaking. "Let it out...."

Tears spilled down his face, silent at first, then it all came out, crying and screaming in his mother’s arms.

Bella watched, helpless, as the strongest man she knew shattered in front of her.