23. Chapter Twenty-Three
23
Sofia
Sofia,
I'm not good with words, but you know that. I'm not a poet, or a writer, or any of that shit. I'm just a guy. A guy who fell in love with the wrong girl. Or maybe the right girl at the wrong time. Who knows? All I know is, from the moment I saw you, I knew that you were meant to be in my life. I just didn’t realize how deeply that ran. You were the one I was supposed to be with, and I was willing to do anything, go anywhere, just to be near you. I would have given up everything for you.
But I fucked it up, didn't I? I wasted so much time chasing after Emilia, trying to get her to love me the way I loved her, and I ended up losing the one woman who was actually right for me. I guess I was just so focused on what I thought I wanted that I didn't see what was right in front of me.
But I see it now.
I see you. And I love you. More than anything in this world. I'm just sorry it took me this long to see it.
There's no easy way to tell you this, but that day you made me go see the doc? He found something. A lesion. A bad one. Inoperable. He couldn't even give me a timeline, but it's terminal.
I'm dying, Sofia.
And the worst part is, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm going to die, and there's not a single thing I can do to stop it. There is nothing I can do to change it. And the thing that kills me the most is that I'm leaving you behind. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I'm so fucking sorry. You deserve so much better than this.
But I want you to know that I'm okay with it. I'm ready to go. I'm not afraid of what comes next. Because I know that wherever I end up, I know you'll be safe. What I'm doing tonight is going to ensure that fact. And the reason I didn't tell you this before was because I knew you'd try to stop me.
Don't mourn me, Sofia. Don't cry for me. Don't waste a single tear on me. I'm not worth it. Just live. Live your life. Be happy. Find someone who will love and cherish you the way I won't be able to. Someone who will give you the world. Someone who will make you forget all about me. Because you deserve that, Sofia. You deserve everything.
Maybe someday you'll be able to forgive me for this, but know that tonight, I carry you with me in my heart, as I always will until its last beat.
I love you, Sofia. I always have .
Luca
***
My hand trembled as I dropped the letter to the counter. I could hear my own breathing in the silent kitchen, ragged and desperate. My pulse thudded in my ears, and I felt like I was going to be sick.
Luca was dying.
The words echoed in my head, over and over again in time with my pulse. Dying. Dying. Dying. And he was planning to take the rest of the Moretti family with him in one final blaze of glory. He was going to get himself killed, and he didn't want me to stop him. He wanted me to stay away, to be safe. To let him go without a fight.
Like hell I would.
I grabbed my keys and ran down to the parking garage, but—no. Luca's car was gone. Pulling out my phone, I called the only person I knew who could help me, who would help me.
"Sofia?" My brother's voice was groggy when he answered on the fourth ring. I'd obviously woken him up. "What the hell, Sof? It's the middle of the night. Is something wrong?"
"Julian," I said, my voice shaking. "I need your help."
"What's going on?"
"It's Luca. He's..." My voice trailed off as tears filled my eyes. "He's dying, Julian. The bullet did something to his brain, and he's not going to make it. And now he's going to sacrifice himself taking down the Moretti's to try and protect us all. I need to stop him. I need to save him."
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "I'm coming to get you. Stay put."
The call disconnected and I leaned back against the kitchen counter, trying to catch my breath. Julian would know what to do. He always did.
A few minutes later, I heard a knock at my door and opened it to find my brother standing there, looking rumpled and disheveled, but alert. His eyes were bloodshot and he had a bandage on his arm, but otherwise he looked healthy. “How did you get here so—”
“I checked out AMA. Tell me everything," he said as he stepped inside.
"I don't have time," I said, grabbing my jacket. "We need to go. Now. Luca might be there already, and if he is..." I didn't finish the sentence, but Julian knew what I was thinking. If Luca was there, he was already in danger. And if we didn't hurry, he could be dead before we even had a chance to save him.
"I'll drive," Julian said, holding out his hand for the keys. "You're too worked up to be behind the wheel."
I handed them over without argument, and we hurried down to the parking garage. Julian drove like a maniac, weaving in and out of traffic, honking his horn at slow-moving cars. I sat in the passenger seat, gripping the door handle, praying that we'd get to Luca in time.