THE SHADOWS WITHIN: BROTHERS OF FATE

The Victim Of Tragic Love

Enzo walked downstairs when he saw the old man sitting by the window sipping a cup of coffee. He thought for a while and decided to approach him. The old man glared at him and smiled.

“Are you enjoying your stay here?” he asked, and he shook his head in denial before glaring outside.

“You say you are my grandfather?” He asked, and the man nodded.

“Then tell me, what type of life is this? Why did you raise Antonio this way?” Enzo asked with a bitter tone, and the old man chuckled.

“I think life made him who he is; he found me when he was filled with anger and rage. But he has a heart; he never wanted to add you to this revenge journey, and that's why he never came to you,” he explained.

“But he did, and he came to me like a storm." Enzo chuckled painfully. He will make sure to clear his name and own his name as the sergeant.

“Well, I have a gift for you,” the old man said, and Enzo glared at him, surprised.

“Follow me,” he said, pushing his wheelchair toward the room at the edge of the room, and Enzo followed him. They got to the room, and Enzo was baffled by what he saw.

It was an arms room; it was filled with different types of guns, ranging from revolvers to assault rifles.

“This was the first gun I received from my father; it’s a gyrojet.” He took out the gun from the metal box and held it with a smile.

“Was my mother a criminal?” He couldn't help but ask: If the uniformed men in Slovenia killed her, then it could mean that....

“No, she was the purest person I ever saw. She was the victim of tragic love," he said, and Enzo got confused but didn't ask further.

"I need to return to Slovenia, "he said again, and the old man sighed heavily.

"They will put you behind bars," he said.

"Not if they knew I have a twin brother."

"So what? Will you live with the thought that you were the reason your brother died?" He asked, and Enzo went into thought. Even if he didn't grow up with Antonio, he had to admit they still had that special bond—the bond that they were not willing to accept.

"I just have to return," he said and walked out without taking the gun. He walked upstairs and checked around for a phone, then found a fixed phone in Antonio's room and quickly dialed a number.

Soon, it got connected. "Hello?" A voice echoed from the other side, and Enzo hung up immediately.

What if he puts Suzy in trouble by calling her, then the phone rings again?

Enzo picked it up. "Enzo, is it you?" Suzy's voice came from the other end.

"Yes, it's me," he said with a tone filled with regret.

"Where are you? How are you doing? Why are the authorities being unfair to you?" She asked on the verge of tears.

"I will explain everything when we meet up. First, I need a favor from you... I am in Italy and want to return to the country," he explained.

Unknown to him, the fixed phones in the house were connected when Suzy called back. Antonio had picked up the phone in the sitting room and heard their conversation.

"He still wants to return there?" Antonio got furious; he thought his brother was smart enough to forget about Slovenia and make a life here in Italy.

He dropped the phone and hurried upstairs to his bedroom. When Enzo saw him come in, he hung up.

"Everything okay?" Antonio asked, and Enzo nodded. He couldn't tell Antonio about his plan to return to the country.

"Okay, I came to make a deal with you," Antonio said, walking towards the window.

Enzo became curious: what type of deal was it?

"What's the deal? Not that I am interested," Enzo said briefly.

"You will be interested," Antonio assured him.

"I will let you go back to Slovenia with me as your culprit; that way everyone will know you are not the shadow," he said, and Enzo was shocked.

Will he do such a thing?

"On the condition that you pretend to be me tonight at the club," he added.

"That's all?" Enzo couldn't believe such a deal; his brother was not being honest with him.

"Yes, that's all. Just make everyone at the club believe you are me. Put on my clothes and go have a drink there with Damon and my men," Antonio explained, and Enzo shook his head in denial.

"You will never give yourself up."

Antonio chuckled, "I am not giving myself up after everyone has seen me. Then I will leave."

"You will be my culprit, so how will you leave? You will be killed immediately."

"Don't be stupid; I am Antonio De Luca. I will never die by a bullet," he said firmly, and Enzo nodded. It seems to be a clean deal.

So he accepted.

****

At 7 p.m., Damon walked to Enzo's room with Antonio's clothes.

"Okay, brother, put them on," he said, and then a lady walked in; she was naked, and Enzo looked away immediately.

"What the f*ck?" he said in a tone filled with disbelief.

"Haha, get dressed, bitch," Damon said, and the lady pouted before walking out.

"It's her job; you just broke her," Damon said, and Enzo glared at him, confused.

"It's her job to walk naked in front of me? Why is she here, and who is she?"

"She is the tattoo designer. Antonio had a tattoo on the neck. She will make one for you, and yes, it's temporal. You could always wash it away." Damon explained, and Enzo nodded.

Since he had agreed to the deal, he must do everything it required.

The lady walked in dressed in a tight-fitting silk gown. She held Enzo's hand, but he pushed it away.

"Just draw the tattoo," Enzo said with an irritating tone. He didn't like indecent women, and this woman was the height of what he had ever seen.

The lady nodded and took out her equipment from the bag she walked in with.

*** 

It took her an hour to replicate the tiger tattoo on Antonio's body on Enzo's; it was around 9 p.m. that he got dressed and drove to the club with Damon.

Damon suggests Enzo drive and also keep a gun with him because that's how Antonio always arrives at the club. Enzo doesn't know why Antonio wanted him to do such a thing.

Then they arrived at the noisy club and got inside. Immediately, they walked in with their men, and the DJ stopped the music.

"Antonio," he chanted, and the members replied.

"De Luca" kept hyping, and Enzo glared at Damon, who signaled he should go with the flow.

It was not long before they stopped, and some half-dressed lady walked towards him with a tray of drugs as they led him upstairs.