Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 181: Just Do What You Need to Do.

The voice of his mother was the most important in that situation for him, he hadn’t heard about her nor Charlotte, since morning when all the shit happened suddenly, but now he could hear her, and it was more important than Marco’s dead body or the cartel.

"Where are you, mom?" He asked as he walked through the tunnel into the basement then to the garage and sat in one of the cars.

"We are in a... " She waited a bit. "An embassy I think, was it you who did it?"

"Yes, it was me." He said with happiness that finally they touched down and were in a place where he knew was protected well. "How was the flight? What about Charlotte?"

Silence. She didn’t say a word, and James knew very well that she was angry at him and well... she had every right to be angry.

"She was furious but cried herself to sleep." She said, and her voice was now lower. "Me too, cried a lot, James... but what about you and the others?"

Should he lie, should he tell the truth, that they’re currently at war, that he doesn’t even know if Ferucci is alive, that dozens have died since the morning... but for a fact he knew one thing, his mother wasn’t dumb.

She knew that James flew her out of the country because something big was happening, because their house was shot up, because their life was in danger, but she had no idea how big it was, that a war had broken out. freēnovelkiss.com

To be honest, he didn’t care about any of it. All that mattered to her was his son and the fact that he was still alive.

"We’re good." A simple answer for James, but Erika knew that nothing was good, but she didn’t press on it.

"I love you James, but you know that, so do what you need to do and then let me hug you, okay?" She asked, and it was a hit to James.

Because there wasn’t any promise that they would meet again, and both of them knew for some extent.

"We will, mom, I’m sure of it... but until then, with the money you have, buy a house and start a life. Bella will help you, as do the others too, okay? Also I want Charlotte to know that I didn’t abandon her. I never will."

"A new life?" She asked back, and yeah, James already thought about it the moment he sent them to the airport.

There is no way he would get them back, no way he would deal with the consequences of one of them being kidnapped or killed, no. He couldn’t have them on his side, while all of this kept going, even after it, if they would come out on top. He knew very well that his life would be alone without any kind of love the moment it all happened.

"Yeah mom, a new life that you can live in peace."

"In peace... and what about you, James? You’re trying to save us, save the family, but who saves you?" She asked, and her voice this time was firm.

The voice that only meant she was more worried than ever before, but it was true... James has people to protect him from harm, from bullets, but he has no people who can truly understand him, his emotions, his pain... no one can understand it like a mother.

"Who knows, mom, maybe it’s my time." He said, and it was like it came out on its own, it was so light like he didn’t even realize what he just said... but his mother did realize it.

He could hear it in the silence, her breath became deeper as she tried to get herself together, to not collapse, to try to not understand what James just said. Try to erase the fact that James just said it might be time for him to die.

Her last son, her last child... saying something that just broke her even more, but also brought out the self of Erika that was buried deep under everything.

"Kill them..." Her voice came through, it was hesitant a bit, but it came from deep, it came from emotion from only one thing, caring about her last child. "If that’s what you need to do, do it. I don’t care anymore, James, I really don’t, just do whatever you need to do to stay alive, to meet your mother, your daughter. Do it for me, do it for us... okay?"

Yeah, she gave up on false hopes, she gave up on everything since Rafael died, since James almost killed his own father... yeah, James said it was all just a misunderstanding, that he is not who people think he is, but as time passed, as these things happened, as much as Erika wanted to believe in him, she couldn’t, because James was exactly who people said he is.

A monster, a ruthless killer, a gangster, the leader of the most influential family in the country... her son, yeah, the last person she truly cared for. Somebody she will never abandon even if the world is against them, and exactly that James heard from her voice, the same mother that fought to give them everything when they grew up, the mother who was the hope, the model, the hero for them.

"Don’t worry, mom." James said, his voice laced with something dark, something that just told the danger that he himself was. "I will kill all of them."

Silence again, a long one, the silence to understand the words.

"Good, son... now go and rest." She answered, her voice still firm, but beneath it, there was something else. Something like pride. She sounded proud of James, which seemed strange.

Why would she be proud? There was no reason to be. James made a lot of money, sure something a mother might be proud of, but her morals rejected it. Blood money. Money earned through killing and selling drugs.

That wasn’t something to admire... and yet, James did something she never imagined he could do, he built an empire... and he did it for them. To give them a better life at least that’s what she believed.

But many died in the process. Rafael died too.

Her baby was gone... and still, she felt something pulling her toward James. Maybe she needed to feel proud. Maybe it was something a mother had to feel, no matter what.

Pride that her son would protect them now, that he would kill anyone who tried to hurt them. That he would avenge his brother. That he would bring down everyone involved.

Pride... or maybe just the need for it.

"Then good night mom."

"Good night darling."

Silence. Complete silence as he hung up the phone and sat in the car staring up at the ceiling.

Fuck, am I doing... is it even me?

He looked down on his hands at the signet ring and the other one that he bought with Charlotte, the butterfly ring.

Those two rings made the perfect difference between two worlds.

One of the rings was harsh gold, a color that represented wealth, power, and influence, with the black diamond that was just rare, which can be said to James. A person like him is rare to find, a person like him to become the top, to even work with the government is nearly impossible to find, and the B on it.

Bellinis’ wealth, influence, and power... a family that stepped on every single competitor that was fighting, that was taking over the whole country.

And on the opposite, the other ring, the one which Charlotte wanted, the matching pair, the butterfly and diamond on it... yeah, that actually represented freedom, the peace.

Something that was laughable now. Freedom? Peace? None of them existed anymore, but as he thought about it, as he was reflecting on the past that was not even that long ago, the guilt crept upon him again.

He was a millionaire, a billionaire when he got beaten up by the NSBI. When Charlotte suddenly came into his life.

He could have just packed up their stuff and left behind everything.

He could have lived a normal life in freedom with his family, with Rafael, with their mother, and Charlotte... a perfect life, in a house with millions, drinking some beer, maybe finally get closer with Rafael, and also just helping Charlotte to slowly grow up and forget about the past, who was his father and all of that.

Just being a normal person.

"Yeah, how good would that have been, huh Rafael, if I would have cared more about you... about us... fuck me–"

His phone rang again, and now the caller was none other than Hector himself.

But it was a hard decision to pick it up.

There were only two possibilities, Ferucci was either dead or alive. Nothing else.

He took a deep breath as the phone kept ringing and picked it up.

"Hector."

"James."

He immediately knew it. Just one word... only his name, but he fucking knew it.