CHAPTER 68: ALLERGY

Luciano walked into the room from the bathroom, and his brow lifted in wonder when he found it empty.

He walked over to his closet, and changed into something loosely fitting for the night.

Taking a shower had taken a lot of edge off him. Not only could he think clearer now, he knew he had to create a balance.

So as he stepped out of his room, he made up his mind to go straight to Daniela’s room.

Since he was pushing their wedding forward, it was time to start acting like a groom—and to stop thinking about another woman.

On his way to Daniela’s room, Luciano caught sight of Marcello running from one corner through another, and frowned.

Now that his mind was a little less in his head, and more observant, he noticed a troubling thickness in the air.

The moment he got to the point Marcello had run from, which was also the route to Daniela’s room, he switched directions, following his gut.

"Carpo!"

Marcello, who had slowed down, called out, the second he took the turn.

He jugged back hastily. "I thought I saw you, Carpo," he said through a heavy breath.

"Yeah, why are you running around like that?"

"It’s Natalia, carpo. She’s very sick."

His eyebrows shot forward, and the thought that followed was about Valentina, and the hell she would raise if something happened to her friend.

"Let’s go!" He said, his feet already in motion.

There was a sense of urgency in the room when Luciano arrived at the door. But he couldn’t go in, because there were already about three others there, including Dr Hernandez.

"Boys, I need some space please. The patient needs air," doctor Hernandez said, as he gestured with his hands for them to move.

Salvatore and Elio turned around at the same time to see Luciano standing by the door.

"Luce!" Elio ran to him.

However, his eyes were fixated on Vittorio, whose face had wrinkled lines spread all over.

"Please Signor Vittorio," doctor Hernandez turned to Vittorio who was unmoving.

His hand balled into a fist, but he nodded in compliance.

Turning around, he walked towards the door where Luciano stood.

Luciano didn’t say a word. His hand only reached out and touched Vittorio’s shoulders in a comforting grip.

They may have a score to settle, but when the curtain closed and the dust settled, he was still the closest and dearest friend to him.

Doctor Hernandez leaned over Natalia whose mouth hung open, but no sound came out of it.

Her eyes rolled almost behind, and her skin was ashen.

"Allergy," doctor Hernandez said.

She tried to nod her head, but the slicing pain that followed produced a whimper from her otherwise dumb lips.

Doctor Hernandez swiftly reached into his medical bag, and pulled out an EpiPen.

"This will help, okay? Just breathe," he encouraged.

A sting of tears rested at the corner of her eyes, as doctor Hernandez administered the injection.

She instantly started to tremble, and Vittorio moved a foot forward.

Doctor Hernandez head shot behind. "It’s fine," he said. "Just her body trying to adjust to the foreign body. It’s fine," he repeated for clarity sake.

Vittorio pressed his heels to the floor, to keep him from going any further.

"Signora, breathe okay?" Doctor Hernandez encouraged her softly.

He moved his hand towards her head, but paused halfway.

"May I?" He questioned, following the rules.

They all turned to Vittorio. Although Luciano was the boss, it was Vittorio’s permission to give.

"Go ahead," he said hastily.

Doctor Hernandez ’s hand touched Natalia’s forehead, as he showed her how to breathe.

She followed him, until her throat and chest unclogged, and she could breathe easily again.

"Peanuts," she muttered, before drifting into sleep.

"What happened?" Vittorio asked as doctor Hernandez rose to his feet.

"She’s sleeping," he explained amidst returning his tools back to the bag. "It was a peanut allergy."

"Pay up, you loser," Marcello blurted.

He froze when every last pair of eyes looked at him.

"What is that about?" Salvatore questioned.

"Nothing–" he quickly shook his head negatively.

"No, I insist. If it was important enough for you to interrupt, then I’d love to know what it is."

"Look at what you’ve done, you idiot!" Elio’s piercing gaze said to Marcello.

"We just made a bet if the stir fry chicken mix thing we had for dinner had some peanuts in it or not. It was stupid of me to interrupt that way. I apologise," Marcello said.

Vittorio’s nose wrinkled with disgust as he shifted his attention back to the doctor. "Is she fine now?"

"She should be when she wakes up. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave."

"Walk with me, doctor Hernandez," Luciano spoke up for the first time.

Their curious gazes followed Luciano, as he walked out of their midst together with doctor Hernandez.

"Is there something wrong with your health? Why do you need me?" Doctor Hernandez asked, concern etched in his voice.

"You were a friend of my father’s, weren’t you?"

"That’s true."

"Did you know Allen Wallace?"

Doctor Hernandez’s breath caught. "That name is not welcomed in Italy. You know it."

"So you knew him then. Why did you not tell me that the girl you treated the other day looks exactly like Bianca Barone."

He stopped dead in his tracks, with a face so pale one would think he had seen a ghost.

"Luciano–"

"You’re not in any trouble with me," Luciano stopped walking too. "I just want to know."

His eyes took a faraway expression. "I couldn’t believe my eyes either. It has been so long since I or anyone has seen Bianca Barone. After her death, her father ordered every last picture of her be kept away. She was an icon, but her name brought pain and the greatest sense of loss. So when I saw the girl, I had to trick my mind into believing there were no similarities between them. Because the mere thought that—"

"That the daughter of the Italian mafia’s biggest enemy is alive? A girl that has the biggest controversy surrounding her, considering the fact that she may be a Wallace, but also has Barone blood?"

Doctor Hernandez blinked multiple times, as he looked up to search Luciano’s gaze. "Are you telling me what I think you are telling me?" His voice cracked.

"I’m telling you exactly what you think I’m telling you. Not only is she the daughter of Allen Wallace, she is troubled with something that you will have to help me find a cure for."

Doctor Hernandez ’s mouth parted, but no sound came out of it as he stood frozen.

"When you snap out of the shock of discovery, see me in my office tomorrow. There are things that need to be discussed. Goodnight, doctor Hernandez."

He took a turn straight towards Daniela’s room.

On arrival, he knocked just once, and the door opened up for him.

His pupils dilated when he saw Daniela standing before him, stark naked.

"I thought we were having dinner—"

"Yes we are, baby. But first, I need you," she drawled.

Her hands roamed seductively around his body, and in a snap, their lips met.