Benjamin’s face changed again. It was almost like he was smiling for no real reason, like soone special had just called him and made his mood shift in an instant.
And of course he changed because it was Jas who was calling him and he cared about nothing at that mont.
Didn’t care about the HRC mbers or the fact that he was supposed to deal with a whole prison operation. No, Jas mattered more to him than anything else. They had not talked in a long ti, so seeing Jas calling him now ant sothing important.
In Benjamin’s mind, it always ant either sothing very good, or sothing very bad.
"Jas?"
"Yeah, it’s , Benjamin. How are you?"
A bigger smile spread across Benjamin’s face as soon as he heard Jas’s voice. Even more than that, Jas had asked how he was doing. That alone made Benjamin feel like a fan eting soone he admired, though he knew Jas was not calling just to check on him.
"I am good. What about you?" Benjamin asked.
"Good, but I need to ask for so help." Jas said.
"Help?"
"Yes. Almost everything got damaged by the earthquake, and we need extra hands to move and receive so of the remaining product we still have. I already sent a lot of my n ho to their families, and I also lost many of them. So, can you send so guys to help us?"
"Of course I can! But what about you?" Benjamin continued. "Are you alright? I heard you got hurt too."
"I am fine. I just fell, that’s all." Jas answered.
"That’s good to hear. I am working right now, so give a day and I will send them to help, okay?"
"That would be good. Thank you." Jas answered but this ti, his voice felt different to Benjamin.
It sounded tired like he had not been resting properly and well Benjamin had already received the reports. Jas had lost a lot of n, even more resources.
But the worst part was not just the physical loss.
It was the people.
His n had lost family mbers and were severely demoralized.
So Jas had done the only thing he could do. He sent them ho to let them search for their loved one and mourn them.
And now, he was left with only a handful of people he could actually work with.
"What did he say?" Hector asked.
"He said he will send people tomorrow, so we are good." Jas replied while looking at Hector.
Hector did not look happy about it. In fact, he looked like he was still trying to accept the situation they were in.
"How surreal is it," Jas said after a short pause, shaking his head a little, "to have to ask an agency for help?"
"I did not even once think we would reach a level where we would need to do that." Hector said. His voice was lower now, more serious. "I would normally be against it, but right now... we really need help. Or we will just cease to exist."
"What a twist that would be." Jas said with a small laugh. "The Bellini family’s end... caused by an earthquake."
Silence followed his words because it had truth in it.
All the warehouses had been destroyed. It was not just damage, it was complete collapse. And as if the earthquake was not enough, heavy rain had followed during the night. Because of that, even the White Magic that had been packed and stored was ruined. Water mixed with the rubble, soaking everything, destroying what was left.
The entire logistics chain they depended on was now completely broken.
And then ca the people.
One hundred and six were confird dead. Forty were still missing. So what Jas had said as a joke before was not really a joke at all.
It was the truth Hector did not want to say out loud.
"What about Bella and Charlotte? I didn’t call them."
"They arrived safely and now with your mother. But of course, Charlotte was crying and swearing at you, saying you betrayed her."
"Huh." Jas turned slightly toward Hector. "Well, that is kind of true." He let out a small laugh again."But it had to be done. I feel like we get fucked every single ti when we are together.
"Don’t you think this will have so effect on her? I an she is still a child." Hector said.
"You compared her to a dog, don’t you rember?" Jas smiled slightly. "But I am sure she will understand why I did it. And let’s be honest, a child cannot stay with . Though I really lied to her many tis," Jas continued, "but all of those lies were to protect her. But it just feels a bit odd?"
"Odd?" Hector asked.
"When we ca back, I said sothing to Charlotte." Jas went on. "So wise words. I told her how to control things, how to be a Bellini, how to act like the mafia, how to take power over others." He shook his head slightly. "And then just hours later, an earthquake hits." Jas smiled again, but it was a strange kind of smile. "It is like my words to her... were my last lesson. Like I was preparing her for sothing final."
Nothing. Of course Hector said nothing, because he was not sure what Jas ant. It sounded like Jas was losing his mind a little, but at the sa ti, there was still so truth in what he said.
Jas had told Charlotte sothing that day. How to be a Bellini, how to be in the mafia, how to control others, how to win power. And just hours later, the earthquake ca.
But the way Jas spoke about it, like the earthquake was sent by soone to kill him, made it sound like sothing only a crazy person would say.
"Crazy huh?" Jas said but this ti his laugh was genuine. "But think about it. As soon as Charlotte stepped into our life all the shit happened. Like if she is a magnet to death."
"I an, that is true." Hector answered as he thought about it and well yeah all the shit happened as soon as Charlotte stepped into their life. "But now it can change again, maybe a new era cos."
"What do you an?" Jas asked as he had no idea what Hector ant by "new era," as they were the ones who had already created it.
"You sent Hans’s daughter to Marci too, so Charlotte will have soone her age to stay with. Also Ferrucci is there, so when he finally wakes up he will be with them. The era cos back when it was just us."
Now there was silence from Jas as he looked to the side where the house had collapsed during the earthquake, just watching it, and maybe deep down he started feeling the sa collapse, but now he was accepting it rather than resisting it, as he leaned back on the bench in the garden.
"Maybe this is the sign." He glanced at Hector. "That the end will be lonely."
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