Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 89: Bomb?

As they arrived back at the house, James’s mother and Charlotte immediately stepped out, waiting for him.

When James got out of the car, it was a little heartwarming scene. Charlotte was jumping up and down with a big smile on her face, while his mother still looked a little worried.

"I’m back—" As he stepped up the stairs, a sharp pain shot through his body, and he knelt down.

"James?!" Hector grabbed his arm while his mother ran toward him, kneeling down.

"Are you okay, darling?" She asked, touching his face.

James took a second to respond but looked up with a smile, making sure Charlotte wouldn’t start crying.

"God, the medicine wore off, I think… Maybe I really do need a cane after all." Hector grabbed him more firmly and pulled him up. "Well, shit, I need a disabled card too." He laughed with Hector, while his mother and Bella exchanged glances.

James had to take more than ten pills every day to make sure he was okay, but sometimes, he forgot to take them even when he was in the hospital.

"Are you really okay, Dad?" Charlotte’s worried voice came as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, just a little cramp, you know." He patted her head and headed into the house, where they sat down in the living room while James’s mother took Charlotte to bed.

"Do you hate it?" James asked Ferucci as he eyed the ring on his finger.

"Not really, it’s just a strange feeling… I only saw things like this in movies. Our life in the future could be like a movie, how cool would that be?" Ferucci said, trailing off the subject. "Yeah, like me starring on the poster in a white suit with my signature smile. That would be a billion dollar movie, I think… What’s y’all’s opinion—" He noticed James shaking his head while Bella had already had enough of his bullshit.

"Your opinion, Bella?" James asked turning to her.

"I’m with you, even if you work with him, and that’s it." She said without hesitation.

"Okay then—"

"Can I say something?" His mother returned with a box in her hands.

"Yeah." James said, eyeing the box.

"I’m very curious about what the meeting was about, but…" She lifted the box slightly. "This came when you left, and the sender’s name is Silas Ricci."

Silas…

"Mom." James stood up quickly, locking eyes with his mother. "Put the box down slowly, okay?"

"What?" Erika asked, but as she saw the others standing up, she started to realize that the box might be something dangerous.

"Bella, go upstairs for Charlotte." James ordered her, and she immediately rushed up the stairs. "Mom, do what I said, slowly put it down on the ground." He pointed at the floor.

Her hands started to shake uncontrollably as she slowly knelt down, placing the box on the ground.

"Okay." James took a deep breath. "Now, everybody go outside."

"What?" His mother looked at him, confused.

"I’m going to open it."

"I’m not going to let you open it alone." Hector said, standing beside James.

Erika on the other hand, stood frozen in place, unable to move.

"Is it heavy, Mom?" James asked, stepping closer to her.

"No… maybe around two kilograms…" She whispered.

"Ferucci, go outside with mom."

Ferucci hesitated for a second before nodding. "Alright, come on, nothing bad is going to happen." He gently took Erika’s arm, but she didn’t move at first. Her eyes stayed locked on James, filled with worry.

James forced a small smile, trying to reassure her. "I’ll be fine, Mom. Just go."

As Ferucci led Erika outside, James steadied himself, shaking his head. "Please say that Silas didn’t send his son’s head in a box, and mom actually held it…"

"If it was a bomb, it would’ve already exploded. Your mom was shaking it." Hector said, stepping closer and kneeling down beside him. "I don’t smell anything crazy from it."

"Let’s open it." James knelt down slowly and ripped off the top of the box.

No wires. No ticking sounds. No strange smell.

Inside, nestled within the packaging, was a small wooden box.

James exchanged a glance with Hector. "Not what I was expecting."

Hector nodded. "Could still be a trap."

James reached out and slowly pulled the wooden box out of the package.

As he held it in his hand it was as her mother said maybe tow kilos in weight but, it looked like a high end watch case.

He slowly pressed the button on it and opened it.

"Fucking hell…." James as he stared into it.

Hector leaned over, took one look, and burst into laughter.

"Shit, he really cut off his finger." Then he reached in and picked up the severed finger and held it up to the light. "Damn, this is definitely his. You can tell….it’s an old man’s finger."

"Put that shit back, Hector." James shook his head, almost laughing as Hector looked at it like it was a gemstone.

He stared at it for a moment long, but then he placed it back into the box.

"When did you send him the message?" James asked as he stood uőp and stepped away from it.

"After I left your office, but I never thought he’d actually do it."

"Yeah, but it also tells us it wasn’t him, it was his son."

Fuck, so it was his damn son who stole from us... and with this it like a message that says we are in peace…But what if I don’t let Aubrey slide... he killed my workers…

"What should we do about it?" Hector asked.

"It’s his apology, so we do nothing. If it was really his son, we let him slide, at least until he does something dumb again."

"But he’s weak. You can see that. We could at least try to control them, or something like that." Hector said.

"No. Silas’s background is filled with betrayal and backstabbing. I trust Benjamin more than Silas at this moment. And if I’m right, he’s got a heart problem. I’d give him a few years before he dies."

"And when he dies, we take over?" Hector asked.

"If his son becomes the boss, then yes, because he would just cause more death. But if it’s like Lucian, we just sit back and watch how his family crumbles. Until then—"

"So, it’s not a bomb?" Ferucci leaned in from the door, interrupting James.

James looked at him, shaking his head. "No it’s not, tell them they can come in."

Erika was the first that came in, holding Charlotte in her arms.

"What was in it?" She asked while Charlotte mumbled something in her sleep.

"A gift." James replied. "But please, next time, let the guards handle the packages."

"I will…" She said, wiping away the tears from her eyes. "You really scared me, son." She shook her head, then went upstairs with Charlotte.

"You scared me too!" Bella said, crossing her arms.

"You don’t seem scared."

"Yes, because I know that every package goes through the metal detectors. I don’t understand why you need all of this. It just scared your mother even more."

"Yeah, but I think it was a better option than pulling something horrible out of a package…let’s say, a head." As James said Bella’s eyes immediately darted to the box.

"Oh, I actually like that idea. So, is there a head inside? Can I see it?" Ferucci lit up as he stepped toward the box.

"Silas Ricci’s finger is in the box." Hector explained, sitting down with a sigh. "He sent it as an apology for stealing our product.

"Wow, that old fucker really did it?" Ferucci laughed. "I never imagined him to be this scared." As he said that, he took a closer look and opened the box, holding the finger out. "It was a clean and fast cut. They must’ve used a very sharp knife... maybe with a hammer to cut the bone faster."

"Hammer?" Hector asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, like pressing the blade to the finger and using a hammer to cut it in one go." He gestured it.

"It was his only option." Bella said. "I mean, he only has one son."

"I thought he would kill him." James said.

"Why?" Bella asked.

"Silas’s father was ruthless, mentally unstable. He killed his sons, Silas’s brothers, because he deemed them ’weak.’ I thought Silas would do the same and kill his son, but from this, I can see he still has some morality left."

"What a perfect father…" Ferucci started. "I heard the story about one of Silas’s brothers, Galiel. He was shot in the face with a shotgun when he was sixteen, and the other—"

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"Stop it, Ferucci." Bella interrupted. "I don’t want to hear how a father massacred his family."

"Yeah, let’s stop this and go home, guys. It was a long day...and also do something with the finger." He poited at the box and Ferucci picked it up.

"I will do something with it...have a wonderful dream." Ferucci winked at him before leaving the house.

Hector shook his head, then turned and waved goodbye to James.

The only one who stayed was Bella, as she lived with James, but she looked like she wanted to say something.

"You can say whatever you want," James said as he noticed her expression. She was clearly holding something back. "Is it about Benjamin? I know it’s a decision that—"

"No, it’s not him… it’s about Rafael…and the book he wrote."

—--

Please read the author note.