403: Too young to bring a boy home

Too young to bring a boy home

[FLASHBACK]2

"Hera!" 

Vicenzo kicked the door open, looking around the cramped and dark room in a panic. Relief instantly swelled in his chest as he caught a small figure in the corner. 

"Hera," he breathed out, dropping the body he had been dragging around as he marched toward his daughter. "Oh, thank goodness."

The little girl slowly lifted her head, only to see her father squatting down in front of her. There were splashes of blood across his jaw and clothes, but his eyes swirled with thousands of unspoken genuine worries. Quite a contrast to his violent display before finding his daughter.

"Dad..."

"Princess, why are you — are you hurt anywhere?" he inquired, seeing the ugly frown plastered on her face. "Did those retards hurt you?"

"Daddy, you are so loud!" Hera harrumphed, hugging the boy on her lap. "Why did you come here while dragging someone with you? He got so shocked he passed out!" 

"Who?"

Vicenzo furrowed his brows, and only then did he notice the boy on his daughter's lap. His lips parted, confused. 

"Had he been there since the beginning?" he asked as he lifted his eyes to meet his daughter's eyes. 

"His situation already traumatized him and you made it worse." Hera pouted, gazing down at the boy on her lap. "Say sorry!"

"Uh..." Vicenzo scratched his temple with the muzzle of his pistol. "Sorry?"

Hera then shook the boy. "Hey, my daddy already said sorry. You should wake up now." She kept shaking the boy mildly, but he wouldn't wake up.

"Is he dead?" her lips curved down deeper, looking up at her father with teary eyes. 

"He is dead? That soon? Wait, I didn't kill him." Vicenzo reached for the boy's wrist, checking his pulse. He heaved a sigh of relief when he felt the boy's wrist beating. "He's not dead."

When he raised his head once again, a smile turned up on his face. "Don't worry, princess. He's just in shock, but he'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Has Daddy ever lied to you?"

Hera pressed her lips into a thin line, gazing down at the boy. As she did, she couldn't help but remember that look on his face when they peeked through the gap in the door. 

"I want to take him home," she mumbled, putting a deep frown on his father's face. 

"Princess, you're too young to bring home a boy."

"But..."

"That boy has parents who are surely looking for him, worried sick." Vicenzo let out a deep exhale, holding his daughter's gaze. "We should bring him home."

Hera bit her inner lip while looking back at her father. "But his family just wants to hurt him."

"Hmm?"

"I heard his uncle's plan on putting him in a septic tank and sending him back dead. Daddy, where's that bad uncle?"

"Uhh..." Vicenzo scratched his temple again. "I don't know who that uncle was, but maybe he's dead?"

"Did you seize everyone?"

"No?" he shrugged. "I don't know them and I don't have anything against them. I only fought those who stepped in my way, but let go of the guys who fled."

"Mommy will be angry if she finds out you didn't finish the job!"

'No, she would kill me if she knew I almost lost you.' A deep exhale slipped past Vicenzo, having too many worries aside from this unconscious boy. 'Damn it!'

"Hera, my princess, let's take the boy home, hmm?" 

"I want to take him home." Hera frowned as she gazed down, stroking the boy's hair. "Daddy, why is everyone so cruel? He didn't do anything, but people want him dead... just like me."

She looked up at his father once again. "I understand my situation because Mommy and Daddy are crazy, but this boy doesn't look crazy to me."

"Princess, I'm not crazy. Your mom, probably."

"She'll really hurt you this time if she hears you say that."

"Don't tell her, okay?" Vicenzo placed his index in front of his mouth. "About this boy... well, he really is pitiful. That's why we need to bring him back home. If my assessment is correct, his uncle abducted him. He probably came from a wealthy family and was simply victimized by an adult's greed."

Another sigh slipped past his nose, lips closed. "Just how long would adults keep disappointing children? Well... I'm not the one to talk." He snapped his eyes back to his daughter and smiled.

"Don't worry, Princess. I'm sure you'll meet again someday," he said, nodding at her reassuringly as he patted her head. "For now, he needs to go home."

"Are we going back here again?"

"If fate allows it, we will. If that time comes, I'll make sure you will get to play with him."

"You won't scare him so he plays with me, will you?"

"Do you really see your father like that, princess?" Vicenzo frowned. "All I need to do is smile and I'd be friends with this boy's family. But I can't do that for now because I just taught someone a lesson in his own territory. They're still after my ass as we speak."

"Father, you shouldn't live so carefree."

"Trust me. Those words are supposed to be for your mother." He shook his head, eyes falling on the boy on his daughter's lap. "Anyway, don't run off like that again. I know we're playing hide and seek, but you literally disappeared and somehow got into trouble."

"I wasn't in trouble and those guys didn't even know I was here." Hera also gazed down. "I just found this boy here and kept him company."

Vicenzo planted his hand on top of her head, making her lift her gaze to him. "One day, Hera. One day… you will never be afraid of showing your heart to people. Daddy will do his best to give you the life you deserve."

The corner of her mouth curled up at her father's sincere remarks. She knew, just by looking at Vicenzo, he meant every word he uttered just now. However, despite her tender age, a part of her heart already knew her father's life goal was close to impossible. With the amount of enemies he had and how infamous he was in the underworld, the only way he could go was deeper into hell. He could never resurface back to Earth unless he would reincarnate. 

Even so, she appreciated the thought and his efforts to fulfill that impossible promise. 

With that being said, Vicenzo carried the young Dominic while Hera walked beside him, planning to take the boy home to his parents. 

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