Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss-Chapter 29: Prison

The next morning, James mother looked confused as she saw him up at seven.

"So why are you up this early?" She asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"We're going with Charlotte to see her dad, I told you yesterday."

For a moment, his mother froze. Her grip on the mug tightened slightly.

"That's going to be hard for her, don't you think?"

"Maybe..." James said with a shrug. "They didn't know each other that much. She'll just check, I'll sign the paperwork, and that's it."

His mother sighed, shaking her head. "James, he's still her father. Seeing him dead on a table isn't easy, no matter how distant they were."

"Mom, this is reality." James said, his tone even. "She's his only living family. She needs to see him."

She studied his face for a moment before sighing again. "Okay, I won't argue. Should I iron a black suit for you?"

"Yeah. And something black for her too."

She nodded and went upstairs, leaving James alone in the kitchen.

Still feeling groggy, he turned on the news, something he rarely ever watched.

But it snapped him awake for sure.

"The Mayor election will take place in one week, and the strongest and most supported candidate is Mr. Takoi Mario, a former NSBI agent. In his latest speech, he declared his mission to purge every criminal from the city."

The screen cut to Takoi standing at a podium.

"Today, Hangurn has fallen into chaos, a playground for drug trade, murder, bribery, and gang wars. But if the people put their faith in me, I will serve with all my might. I will reform our law enforcement. I will ensure that every mobster, gangster are not only imprisoned but wiped out. They will never see the light of day again."

"I promise to personally speak with Prime Minister Salvatore and Justice Minister Jessica Timber to secure the necessary authority. I will push for full military intervention and we will destroy the last remnants of this chaos."

But then the candidate's next words caught his attention.

"One of the worst criminals of our history, Augustus Lucian, is dead. And while people say we should not disrespect the dead, he deserved it. He deserved every stab, every agonizing minute as he bled out"

"I promise you, this is exactly how we will deal with the rest of them."

James eyes widened for a moment. "Fuck me... if they elect that man, a disaster is going to play out here."

"Disaster?"

Bella's voice came from behind him, soft yet curious.

"Who is the current mayor?" James asked.

"That would be Perez, the one who loves street girls and white magic."

Oh, then that explains why they're supporting this new guy like hell... Well, we were the ones who sold him the drugs... No...they sold, not me... not me...

James's thoughts trailed off when Bella suddenly hugged him from behind.

"James?"

"Y-Yeah?" He responded, slightly caught off guard.

"Why are we sleeping separately when we're supposed to love each other?"

Before James could say anything else, his mother came back, holding up a black suit and a dress for Charlotte.

"I'm done with your suit, and this is what I chose for the sleeping princess."

She held up an elegant black dress for Charlotte.

"I thought this would be best." She handed the outfit over. "She should look presentable when seeing her father one last time."

James took the suit from his mother's hands, glancing at the dress she had chosen for Charlotte. It was simple yet respectful.

Bella reached out and traced her fingers over the fabric. "It's a good choice."

James gave a small nod and he folded his suit over his arm and turned toward the stairs. "I'll wake her up."

When he entered Charlotte's room, she was still curled up in bed.

He sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Charlotte... wake up."

She stirred, her blue eyes blinking open sleepily. "Mmm... what?"

"We have to go."

"I don't want to see him."

"Charlotte—" He began, but she cut him off.

"He wasn't in my life! He never came for me! He never played with me! He didn't hug me—" Her voice cracked, and she bit her lip hard. "I don't wanna go."

"Charlotte, it's not just about him. It's about you, too. Closure matters."

"What closure? That the man who ignored me my whole life is finally gone? That I should feel something? Because I don't. I feel nothing." She shouted and pulled the blanket on her head.

"It doesn't matter how you feel about him. He's dead. And you're his only living family. Whether you liked him or not, whether he was a father to you or not, you should at least go. Just once."

"I don't want to." She said it with a faint voice.

James pulled the blanket away and petted her head.

"I won't force you, but you need to understand something, Charlotte. In this world, the dead don't care if you say goodbye or not. But the living, you? You might regret it later. Even if you don't think you will now."

Charlotte sniffled. "Why should I say goodbye to someone who was never there..."

"Because, whether you loved him or not, he was still your father. And sometimes, we don't say goodbye to them, we say it for ourselves."

The silence stretched, heavy as James was petting her head.

"Will you be there?" She whispered, barely audible.

"The whole time. You won't be alone."

"Okay...I won't cry."

James gave a small, tired smile. "No one's asking you to, so come." He grabbed her and lifted her up.

A few minutes later she was done.

The long-sleeved dress was simple, but elegant, reaching just past her knees. A small black ribbon was tied neatly around her waist.

She looked... small. Too small for what she was about to face.

James pushed down the unfamiliar feeling in his chest.

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"You ready?"

She nodded.

"Alright. Let's go."

And with that, they left.

Charlotte held James hand the whole way to the prison. Her grip was tight, small fingers wrapped around his like a lifeline.

She didn't speak, didn't ask questions...just held on.

And a while after the prison loomed ahead of them, a monstrous concrete fortress surrounded by rusting barbed wire and guard towers.

Armed men patrolled their dogs barking as their car approached the gates.

This is part of the message, isn't it. They kept his body in the prison, like a warning. Like they're saying, 'Look, you'll be here too soon.'

Charlotte squeezed his hand tighter, her breath shaky as they stepped outside.

A guard approached. "James Bellini." His voice was firm, professional, but there was hesitation in his eyes. "Yeah." James said, his voice flat.

"Follow me."

They walked through the cold, sterile halls.

Finally, they reached a room. A morgue.

The guard pushed open the door, and the lights buzzed overhead.

"He's inside." The guard said before stepping aside.

Charlotte squeezed James hand even tighter, her tiny fingers trembling.

She didn't say anything, but he could feel it, the fear, the hesitation, the overwhelming weight of it all pressing down on her little body.

James held back a sigh and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Then, together, they stepped inside.

The air was cold, sterile, filled with the stench of bleach and something deeper...something final.

She didn't want to be here.

One of the men inside moved to the table, his gloved fingers pulling the sheet back.

Augustus Lucian.

Her father.

His skin was pale, deep lines creased his forehead, as if he had died in pain, his lips slightly parted, frozen mid-breath.

Charlotte's breath hitched. Her small body tensed.

James could feel her trembling beside him.

Then the question came that James never thought would, especially a scenario like this.

"Did...he ever care about me?"

James opened his mouth, but no answer came.

What was he supposed to say? That Augustus Lucian, a man who spent his life drowning in blood and crime, had loved his daughter? That somewhere beneath the violence, the corruption, the cold, unrelenting ambition, he had felt something real?

Charlotte let out a breath, a shaky, uneven thing.

Her eyes never left the body.

"I don't think he did."

James chest tightened.

Charlotte was only seven, yet she understood something it took most people years to accept.

She took a step closer, her small frame dwarfed by the cold metal table. For a long moment, she just stood there, staring at the man who had given her life, but never his love.

"Goodbye, Dad."

She turned away and walked toward the door, her movements stiff, mechanical. A child trying to be strong.

He glanced once more at Lucian's corpse.

A father who never was.

A daughter who deserved better.

As James stepped out the room a man in a dull gray uniform stepped forward, holding a clipboard. His face was blank, it was just another dead body to him.

"Sign here." He said, extending the papers toward James.

James took the clipboard without a word, scanning the documents quickly and scribbled his signature and handed it back.

"Look Charlotte, I need to do a little thing, go ahead with Tervor okay?" He glanced at the bodyguard that came with them

As they existed the morgue James stepped inside again.. "Does Lucian have any tattoos on his body?"

"No, nothing. Just the stab wounds."

"How many?"

"Fourteen."

A maximum-security prison, and he gets stabbed fourteen times... This was a setup.

He said nothing and left to form the morgue where Charlotte was waiting at the car.

"Get in. We're leaving." He said, opening the door.

But she didn't move. She just stood there, staring up at the towering prison walls.

"I'm going to lose you too, aren't I?" She asked softly.

James grip on the car door tightened. He looked at her...really looked at her. A seven-year-old kid who had already lost too much, standing there with eyes far too old for her age.

He squatted down to her.

"As long as you love me, I'll always be here. Even if I'm not right next to you, I'll still be with you. Right here." He tapped his heart.

Charlotte sniffled, staring at him for a long time before finally nodding. "Okay."