My Life's Worth
My Life's Worth
All she could do was cry out her anger and speak through her eyes.
After Nari punch Evelina's face, she said, "I have to hand it to you, you almost succeeded! But you know what? Fate has a way of revealing the truth! Whoever helped you may have successfully hidden Luiz, but as you can see, the truth always prevails in the end!"
The anger inside of Nari was just too overwhelming. For many nights, she could not sleep her body, just thinking about wanting to let Evelina feel her fury. After all, Evelina did not only take the man she loved but the father of her children.
A few feet away, Luiz was seeing everything unfold in his eyes.
Deep inside Luiz, he felt how he was a good soul. However, recognizing the memories that were taken from him - the years of missing his own true family, he could not help but feel the rage growing inside of him.
While it was Nari who gave Evelina a good beating at first, Luiz delighted in Evelina's suffering. Why not? She was the root of his own bleeding.
The fact that he awakened with bruises on his wrist, Luiz realized how he must have been kept as a prisoner and manipulated to believe he was Ramon Russo.
When Nari was satisfied, she turned her attention to Luiz and said, "They are all yours." She walked forward but retreated to say, "By the way... I'm still mad at you."
As she returned to move away, she felt his hand around her wrist. Nari eventually heard Luiz say, "I think you look cute when you are jealous."
'What the!' Somehow, that felt strange for Nari. It was strange in a thrilling way.
She recognized that Luiz was really different now. Gone was the meek and reluctant Luiz.
Turning to him, she objected, "I wasn't jealous!"
A smirk appeared on Luiz's face before he said, "I think you are even cuter when you lie."
"Whatever! Deal with them so we can go to the next!" Nari angrily said before making her way up to the living room area of the Borelli's home.
After Nari left, Luiz got up from his seat.
Evelina was settled in the middle while her parents were next to her. He looked at Donte Borelli and said, "Evelina, Mr. and Mrs. Borelli, it's time that I collect. Maybe the Luiz that you knew before easily fell into your traps, but you have turned me into a grim Luiz who wants nothing more than revenge!"
He failed not to thrust his fist at Evelina, further bruising her cheek. After which he said, "You deserve so much more, but the physical pain is just superficial."
"I'll make you suffer in another way, but first... let me ask you... What path will you choose? Are you going to tell me everything I know in order to bring down the man behind H&G Biotech? If you cooperate with me, I could at least promise... you will live in prison. That is how I will let you suffer."
"It's either that or you overdose on the same medication you gave me!" Luiz added at the last.
He heard them all cry in regret. It took time for the Borellis to make their individual answer.
The first one to nod was Donte Borelli and only then did he order his men to remove the tape around his mouth.
Donte Borelli thought he was left with no choice. He poured out everything, including how they found out about the drugs the pharmaceutical company was developing.
The next to speak was Mrs. Borelli and followed by Evelina.
Apparently, they had other relatives working closely in the company and it gave Evelina the idea of using the same drug to make Luiz hers.
After they all narrating the entire tale, Evelina said, "Luiz, you - you were... supposed to fall in love with me. That was supposed to happen!"
She broke down in tears before she added, "I was that woman who sheltered you through those years... Why did you have to search for the truth? Why couldn't you just love me?!"
"First of all, I did not search for the truth... but the truth found me," said Luiz. "Second, you must be a very disgraceful person that even with my memory loss, I could not bring myself to like you!"
"You have to understand, Evelina. Everything you do comes back to you... sometimes in much worse circumstances."
***
A week passed.
From the headquarters of the H&G Biotech, a knock on the door halted Gustavo Brambilla's phone call. He frowned, recalling to have given specific instructions not to let anyone disturb him.
Before he could react, the door swung open, and it shocked him to see that Luiz Moreno was there, walking in with Anton Yeong and an Asian girl.
Several authorities and that of Anton and Luiz's men came behind them as well, including Luiz's lawyers.
His eyes widened in shock, seeing Luiz, and he dropped the phone that was in his hand.
"I'm sorry, Mr. President, but these police officers here have a warrant to search the entire facility and... a - a warrant for your arrest," said Gustavo's assistant.
Gustavo just froze. His face told it all. He knew what was the warrant for, but before the police officers could serve the arrest warrant, Luiz said, "I need to have a moment with Mr. Brambilla."
"Do you want me to do that talking, Luiz?" Anton Yeong asked.
"No, Mr. Yeong. I can handle it," said Luiz before the authorities returned outside.
While the police proceeding in searching the entire facility, Luiz started with his talk with Gustavo Brambilla.
Anton and Nari remained standing behind Luiz, ready to support him in the settlement.
"You took my life away," said Luiz after he sat on the seat in front of Gustavo's desk. "And I don't want to wait another year to be given just compensation. You see, I need to get my life back."
"We have in our possession, the Borellis and the doctor who issued me your drugs," Luiz added. "How much do you think you my life is worth?"
Gustavo felt a headache coming his way. He leaned back in his seat and said, "How? How did you find out?"
"The Yeongs and I met by accident in China - "
"In China!" Gustavo screamed.
Gustavo was confident that nothing would happen in China, that he merely let Evelina handle the surveillance. Especially since he had been losing a lot of money in the scheme, yet, there were no results whatsoever!
With a trembling voice, Gustavo said, "1 Million Euros - "
"Fuck you!" Anton screamed from behind, but he halted his words, seeing how Luiz remained calm.
A chuckle escaped Luiz's lips, and he said, "Do you think... my life is that low?"
"Oh, come on. You became rich! The son of Massimo Russo! You turned into a Millionaire in just two years!" Gustavo pointed out. "If anything, you have to thank me for it."
"How much will you lose after the public knows that you had illegally released the drugs? You might as well lose your company, altogether. This wasn't a case of marketing accuracy! This was a deliberate act to cause harm and the drug... came from your company," suggested Luiz.
"You do realize that you stand to lose everything!" Luiz pointed out. "So let me ask you again, Mr. Brambilla. How much is my life worth?"