21 His Promise

After she finished eating, Tony brought her to the hospital. He took her in through the rear entrance that was closer to the mortuary.

The mortician was there, and he led them to the room where they kept her sister and brother-in-law. There were cops guarding the mortuary since this was a high-profile case.

Tony patted Marcella's hand gently and she stopped. Tony walked to the cops and she saw how suave he was as he clandestinely offered money to the cops. The cops went for a coffee break.

The mortician knocked on the door and the coroner stepped out. Marcella noticed that both of them had the same surname. They could be related.

Marcella noticed a little movement at the end of the hallway and she observed closely. There was someone hiding in the corner. But they didn't have cameras or recording devices.

Tony walked to her.

"It's very awful, Marcella. The coroner thinks a woman won't be able to handle the horrendous…" He sighed seeing Marcella's determinant gaze.

Marcella was scared. But she needed to see how her sister died. Only then she can repay the ones who killed her appropriately.

Tony opened the door for her. Marcella shivered as the ice-cold air hit her. Tony removed his jacket and placed it on her shoulder. Marcella accepted his generosity.

Her eyes ended up on the tables in front of her. A white cloth was covering the tables. Marcella walked toward the one in the right side. The body looked smaller and she guessed that must be her sister.

She walked to the table. Her heart sank to her stomach as she pinched the white cloth. She suddenly didn't find he courage to look under the cover.

No…

She took in a deep breath trying to manifest courage from thin air. Clenching her jaws, she pulled the cloth down. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes.

She didn't have the guts to look.

Shutting her eyes as tight as she could, she found her hands trembling. It definitely was not because of the cold. She almost broke down crying when she felt a warmth covering her hand.

Tony's warmth gave her the courage to open her eyes. And what she saw…

The corpse on the table definitely belonged to a woman. But it can't be her sister. Her sister was the prettiest woman on the planet. But the woman on the table…

Her face was swollen in many places. Her eyes were blackened and her lips were split in many places. Although she was washed, there were a lot of dark patches on her face and neck. Those were bruises.

Marcella's heart skipped a beat. She took a step forward and got closer to observing more.

"You cannot touch the body, Miss," the coroner said.

Marcella didn't even look at the coroner. Tony nodded at him and the coroner took a step back.

She picked up the hands and her heart fell seeing the bloody mess. Her left hand missed a couple of fingers, the fingertip of the middle finger in her right hand was sliced off, and none of the remaining fingers had fingernails.

Marcella knew what went on. She checked the abdomen for more clues. There must have been internal bleeding the entire abdomen looked black. She checked inside the mouth and a few teeth were missing.

Her sister was tortured before she was killed!

While Marcella was looking at her sister, Tony walked to the next table. The coroner walked with him and showed the wounds on Andrew Romano's body.

"He was tied and beaten up. But his wounds were not as severe as hers. The bullet wound on his back was the only major wound on his body. The bullet hit his heart and he died within minutes. By the angle of the entry wound and the abrasion marks on his wrists, we can assume that he got out of his tie and tried to protect his wife when the bullet took his life," the coroner explained.

Tony stood by the side clenching his jaws. His hands were stiff and went cold as he saw Andrew's body.

Marcella staggered back and hit on the trolley where the various medical equipment was kept. Tony rushed to her side and held her.

"I'm…" Marcella patted Tony's chest and turned to face the coroner.

"Doctor, how long was she tortured for?" she asked. The tears that she managed to hold back started rolling down.

"For at least four to six hours," the coroner said. "After the torture, she was left to die on her own. They must have panicked after they shot her husband and ran away… It's definitely gang-related. I've seen this tactic used on many victims involved in gangs. But maybe killing this couple was never their deal and that's why they panicked," the coroner gave his two cents.

Marcella didn't hear much of what the coroner said.

Six hours! Her sister was tortured for six hours! Was Maggie telling the truth? Was my sister tortured for my location?

"It should've been me…" Marcella slumped on the floor. "It shouldn't be Mellissa…"

Tony held her by the shoulders and pulled her up. "Marcella…" his voice shook. "Do not say that…"

"No, Tony…." Marcella sniffed. "You don't know. Maggie told me that they were only looking for me! They tortured my sister because of me! Of me…"

She wept covering her face. She lost strength in her knees and almost stumbled down. Tony held her.

"Marcella, no one knows what happened. You cannot blame yourself… Please…"

"No…" Marcella shook her head. "I know my sister died because of me. They killed my sister because she protected me…" She started to sob. "Why wasn't she selfish? Did she forget about her son? They'd beaten her black and blue… she just gave birth… How much pain was she in? It should have been me…"

"No!" Tony pulled her into his embrace.

She couldn't even stand straight. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her close to his chest.

It can never be you, Marcella! I can never let anything happen to you…

When he left his secret lair, he went to his office. There, they told him that a woman came looking for him. He figured out it was Marcella. Just by the direction she went, he figured that she must be planning on visiting Paul Romano.

With Paul Romano receiving the blackmail, Tony knew Paul would hand over Marcella to those kidnappers to preserve his family's pride. Paul didn't care about Marcella.

Tony couldn't let that happen. That's why he used the power of the congressman's office to have her detained. The entire night, they tried to figure out where they might be keeping the couple but they couldn't find out.

Only in the middle of the night could they find the deceased body of the couple. Tony couldn't be assured that Marcella was safe and that was the reason he kept her in the holding cell for the entire night to assess the situation.

He has his men keep on looking for anyone suspicious.

"We will find out who did this, Marcella," he patted her head. She was trembling in pain. "I promise."

I promise to make them pay for this!