Chapter 135
"Vitale, calm down. This has nothing to do with Laura. You and I both know those people were after us. Ms. Lorraine and Laura just got caught in the crossfire!" Amboni stood in front of Laura, blocking her.
Vitale stared at him coldly and shouted, "Move, Amboni."
"No, I can't." Amboni's reply was firm and unyielding, "I won't let you hurt the person I love, Vitale. Listen, I'm not one of your lackeys who just follows orders. You know me!"
"We've got the same blood in our veins. To protect the ones we love, we'd both risk our lives. Right now, the best thing you can do is go back to Isabella, not stand here taking out your anger on an innocent woman."
These words, almost like a challenge to authority, made the henchmen in the hallway hold their breath and quickly step aside.
Vitale didn't respond right away. He was completely enraged.
"Efren."
Almost as soon as he spoke, Efren walked in.
Behind him were two silent, burly guards, clearly under Vitale's direct command.
"Boss." Efren bowed slightly, his usual playful attitude gone, replaced by absolute obedience.
"Take Amboni aside to rest," Vitale's order was short and ruthless, "I need to talk to Laura alone."
"Amboni, sorry about this." Efren apologized with words, but his actions showed no hesitation. With the two guards, he quickly moved forward.
Amboni tried to resist, but Efren skillfully grabbed a pressure point on his arm. The two guards pinned his hands behind his back, easily overpowering him and dragging him to an empty examination bed on the other side of the medical room, pressing him down onto it.
"Let me go! Efren, you bastard!" Amboni struggled hard, his eyes bloodshot, yelling at Vitale's back, "Vitale! If you dare touch a hair on Laura's head, I swear I won't let you off! Isabella won't forgive you either! Laura's her best friend! She's the only one at the company Isabella can open up to! You know that!"
Vitale's steps toward Laura's bed paused almost imperceptibly when he heard Isabella's name.
But it was just a moment.
He kept walking and stopped in front of Laura's bed.
Laura, already weak from the drugs and shock, was now fully awake from the terrifying scene. Her face was pale as a sheet, and she looked at Vitale with pure fear.
Vitale towered over her, suddenly reaching out and grabbing her slender neck with one hand.
Caught off guard, Laura's throat was squeezed tight, her breathing cut off instantly. Her eyes widened in panic, her hands instinctively clutching at Vitale's iron-like grip, struggling uselessly. Her legs kicked uncontrollably on the bed.
Her face turned red from lack of air, her eyes filled with extreme fear and confusion.
"Vitale!" Amboni let out a heart-wrenching scream, struggling even harder, almost breaking free.
The emergency alarm in the medical room was accidentally triggered, either by Laura in her struggle or by a stunned nurse. Its sharp sound pierced the air.
Several medical staff rushed to the door after hearing the alarm, but seeing the scene before them, they froze in terror, too scared to step forward.
Vitale's other hand rested casually at his waist, where the strap of his gun holster was unfastened, revealing a glint of cold metal.
No one dared to bet their life on whether an enraged mafia boss would pull the trigger.
"Vitale..." Laura forced out a broken whisper through gritted teeth, tears streaming down her face, mixed with fear and pain, "What... did I do wrong... for you... to do this... to me..."
Her faint voice reached Vitale's ears clearly.
His fingers loosened slightly, allowing a tiny bit of air into her lungs, but his grip was still tight enough to cause pain and fear.
His voice was ice-cold as he questioned her, "Why did you take Isabella to that bar?"
Laura was stunned by the question, then overwhelmed with confusion and grievance, "Wha... what? I... let go... I'm... dying... I can... explain... if you..."
Vitale stared at her for a few seconds, as if judging whether she was telling the truth or just stalling.
Finally, he let go abruptly.
Laura, freed at last, clutched her neck and coughed violently, gasping for air, tears flowing even harder.
It took her a while to recover. Still shaken, she looked at Vitale, her voice hoarse and trembling, "Why? Isabella was feeling down and wanted a drink. She thought the usual bar was too noisy and wanted somewhere quiet. That's why I took her to Haven Bar. It's usually really peaceful there. I go often."
"I didn't know those people would be there tonight. I swear I didn't know!"
"You didn't know?" Vitale sneered, "Then let me tell you something. I checked the restored surveillance footage from the bar and intercepted snippets of conversations from the hidden communicators they were wearing."
"I heard one of them, in the middle of the chaos, clearly say they were looking for you, Laura."
Vitale's voice grew colder, his gaze sharp as a blade, locking onto Laura's suddenly pale face, "They were after you, Laura. Those cheap aphrodisiac drugs floating in the air were meant for you at first. But since Isabella was with you, she got caught up in it too, inhaling that filth and going through that horror!"
His voice suddenly rose, the last sentence almost a roar, making the glass containers in the medical room tremble slightly, "You dragged her into a trap meant for you, putting her in danger because of you, scaring her because of you! Now she's like a child, unable to even speak. Tell me, don't you deserve to die for this?!"
This accusation hit like a thunderbolt, leaving Laura dumbfounded. Even Amboni, struggling on the other side, froze instantly, his face drained of color, eyes full of disbelief.
The atmosphere in the room dropped to freezing, the air seeming to solidify. Only Vitale's heavy breathing and Laura's suppressed, despairing sobs could be heard.
"I don't know why they'd be after me! I don't know anything!" Laura finally broke down, crying out. She looked at Amboni, her eyes full of pleading, fear, and deep confusion, "Amboni, why? What did I do? Why are they after me? And with drugs..."
Seeing Laura collapse, Amboni felt his heart being torn apart.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he struggled again and shouted at Vitale, "Vitale, enough! You shouldn't scare her like this."
"You've already dug into her background. It's clean as a whistle. She couldn't possibly betray us or deliberately put Isabella in danger. This has to be a misunderstanding, or those people were using her to get to me."
Vitale slowly turned his head to look at Amboni.
There was no expression on his face, but the cold, all-knowing glint in his eyes made Amboni's heart sink bit by bit.
"Misunderstanding?" Vitale repeated the word slowly, the corner of his mouth curling into an almost cruel smirk, "Amboni, my friend, you really should go back and watch those recordings yourself."