Chapter 2 - The Deaf Mafia Boss Begged Me Not to Trust His Own Brother—But the Device Hidden in His Ear Revealed Why His Family Had Kept Him in Pain for YearsThe ambulance arrived twelve minutes after Dominic called.
Vincent was conscious, but barely.
His face was gray.
His right ear continued bleeding.
And every few seconds, his body tensed with another wave of pain.
I climbed into the ambulance beside him.
One paramedic checked his vital signs while another prepared equipment.
I held Vincent's hand.
He looked at me.
Then signed slowly.
Don't leave.
My throat tightened.
I signed back.
I won't.
The paramedic glanced toward us.
"Is he deaf?"
I nodded.
"Almost completely."
"Does he use hearing aids?"
"Not that I've seen."
The paramedic nodded.
"We'll communicate visually."
I looked down at Vincent.
His eyes were closed.
But his hand remained wrapped around mine.
For a moment, I thought about the first night I'd arrived at his mansion.
The room he'd given me.
The key.
The notes.
The way he'd asked whether I was comfortable.
And I realized something that frightened me.
I cared about him.
Not because he was rich.
Not because he was powerful.
But because beneath the dangerous reputation was a man who had treated me with more kindness in eleven days than my family had shown me in twenty-three years.
I squeezed his hand.
He opened his eyes.
I smiled.
He tried to smile back.
Then another wave of pain struck.
And I knew we were running out of time.
At the hospital, Vincent was taken into an examination room.
A specialist named Dr. Olivia Chen arrived shortly afterward.
She was in her early forties, with dark hair pulled into a neat bun and the calm expression of someone accustomed to emergencies.
She examined Vincent carefully.
Then looked at me.
"How long has he been experiencing symptoms?"
I swallowed.
"Years, apparently."
She frowned.
"Years?"
I nodded.
"He told me doctors said it was nerve damage."
Dr. Chen looked at the monitor.
Then back at Vincent.
She typed a message on a tablet.
I need to examine your ear carefully. Is that okay?
Vincent nodded.
She used an otoscope.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then her expression changed.
She looked toward the nurse.
"Can you get imaging arranged?"
My stomach tightened.
"What is it?"
She hesitated.
"There's a foreign object."
I swallowed.
"Something black?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
I looked at Vincent.
His eyes were fixed on the doctor's face.
He couldn't hear our conversation.
But he understood that something was wrong.
Dr. Chen typed another message.
We found something inside your ear. We need imaging before removing it.
Vincent stared.
Then closed his eyes.
For a moment, I saw relief.
Not surprise.
Relief.
As though he'd been waiting years for someone to finally believe him.
I leaned closer.
"Vincent."
He looked at me.
I signed.
You're safe.
His expression softened.
Then he shook his head.
He signed back.
Not yet.
My stomach tightened.
The imaging revealed a small electronic object lodged deep in the right ear canal, surrounded by inflamed tissue.
Dr. Chen explained that it needed to be removed by a specialist under controlled conditions.
She warned us that attempting to pull it out ourselves could have caused serious injury.
I felt sick.
I had almost tried.
If I hadn't stopped, I might have hurt him.
Vincent noticed my expression.
He reached for my hand.
Then typed.
You called for help. That was right.
My eyes filled.
I nodded.
"Thank you."
He smiled faintly.
The procedure took less than an hour.
I waited outside with Dominic.
He paced the hallway.
For the first time since I'd met him, he looked genuinely frightened.
I sat beside the window.
Then asked, "Who is Vincent's brother?"
Dominic stopped.
His expression changed.
"Why?"
I swallowed.
"Vincent mentioned him."
Dominic stared.
For a moment, he didn't speak.
Then he sat across from me.
"His name is Luca Moretti."
I nodded.
"Older or younger?"
"Younger. Thirty-four."
I looked down.
"What does he do?"
Dominic hesitated.
"Handles several parts of the family business."
I swallowed.
"Does Vincent trust him?"
Dominic looked toward the operating-room doors.
Then answered quietly.
"He used to."
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
Dominic shook his head.
"I don't know."
I stared.
He continued.
"But something changed about two years ago."
I frowned.
"Two years?"
He nodded.
"Vincent became more withdrawn. Stopped attending certain meetings. Started relying on Luca to communicate with outside partners."
I looked down.
"Because of his hearing?"
Dominic nodded.
"That's what everyone believed."
I swallowed.
"And now?"
Dominic's expression darkened.
"Now I'm not so sure."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked, "Who chose Vincent's doctors?"
Dominic looked up.
His expression changed.
I knew the answer before he spoke.
"Luca."
My blood turned cold.
Dr. Chen returned shortly after midnight.
She carried a sealed specimen container.
Inside was a small black object.
It was longer than a hearing-aid component.
Its surface was coated with dried blood.
A tiny red indicator light blinked intermittently.
I stared.
"That's what was inside him?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
My stomach tightened.
"What is it?"
She hesitated.
"We'll need technical examination to identify it."
I looked at Vincent through the window.
He was resting.
His face looked calmer.
For the first time since I'd met him, he wasn't pressing his ear.
Dr. Chen continued.
"Whatever this device is, it shouldn't have been there."
I swallowed.
"Could it have caused his pain?"
She nodded.
"It may have contributed to inflammation and injury."
I looked at her.
"And his hearing loss?"
She shook her head.
"We can't determine that yet."
I nodded.
For a moment, I felt disappointed.
Then I remembered something.
Vincent had told me his hearing loss began after a childhood accident.
But if someone had been interfering with his medical care for years, how much of that story could I trust?
I looked at Dr. Chen.
"Can he recover?"
She smiled gently.
"First, we need to treat the infection and assess the damage. Then we can discuss his hearing."
I nodded.
"Okay."
She looked at me.
"Are you his wife?"
I hesitated.
Then answered.
"Yes."
For a moment, the word felt strange.
Wife.
Eleven days earlier, I'd married Vincent to escape my father.
Now I was standing in a hospital corridor, terrified that someone had been deliberately hurting him.
Dr. Chen smiled.
"Then I suggest you get some rest too."
I laughed weakly.
"I'll try."
Vincent woke around three in the morning.
I was sitting beside his bed.
He opened his eyes.
Then looked toward me.
For a moment, he seemed confused.
I smiled.
"Hi."
He reached for his phone.
Did they remove it?
I nodded.
"Yes."
His eyes closed.
A tear slipped down his cheek.
I froze.
Vincent Moretti.
The man who supposedly feared nothing.
The man whose name could silence an entire room.
Was crying.
I reached for his hand.
He looked at me.
Then typed.
How long was it there?
I swallowed.
"We don't know yet."
He nodded slowly.
Then typed.
I thought I was losing my mind.
My heart broke.
I shook my head.
"No."
He stared.
I signed carefully.
You weren't imagining it.
His eyes filled again.
For a moment, he couldn't move.
Then he reached for my hand.
I held it.
And for the first time, I understood the true cruelty of what had happened to him.
It wasn't only the pain.
It wasn't only the hearing loss.
It was the years of being told nothing was wrong.
The years of doctors dismissing his symptoms.
The years of people convincing him that his suffering was inevitable.
Someone had taken away his ability to trust his own body.
And I knew exactly how that felt.
Because my father had spent years convincing me that I deserved the way he treated me.
I looked at Vincent.
Then signed.
I believe you.
He stared.
For a moment, he looked unable to breathe.
Then he squeezed my hand.
And I knew something had changed between us.
The next morning, Dominic arrived with alarming news.
Luca Moretti had called the mansion six times.
He demanded to know where Vincent was.
He claimed there was an urgent business matter.
And he had ordered the security staff to provide Vincent's medical records.
Dominic refused.
When he told me, my stomach tightened.
"Does Luca know about the device?"
Dominic shook his head.
"Not yet."
I looked toward Vincent.
He was reading something on his phone.
I approached.
Then typed.
Luca is asking about you.
Vincent's expression changed immediately.
His jaw tightened.
He typed.
Don't tell him anything.
I nodded.
Why?
Vincent stared at the screen.
For a long time, he didn't move.
Then he typed.
Because I think he knows what was inside my ear.
My heart pounded.
I looked at him.
How long have you suspected him?
Vincent closed his eyes.
Then typed.
Two years.
I stared.
Two years.
He had suspected his brother.
But he hadn't been able to prove anything.
I swallowed.
Why didn't you tell Dominic?
Vincent looked down.
Then typed.
Because Luca controlled the doctors. The reports. The appointments.
My chest tightened.
He continued.
Every time I questioned something, they told me I was confused.
I stared.
He typed again.
Luca said the accident damaged my memory.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
The childhood accident.
The hearing loss.
The doctors.
The pain.
The device.
Everything was beginning to connect.
I looked at Vincent.
Then typed.
What really happened when you were a child?
He stared at the screen.
For a long time, he didn't move.
Then he began typing.
There was a fire.
I swallowed.
Where?
He hesitated.
Our family house.
My stomach tightened.
He continued.
I was twelve. Luca was eight.
I stared.
Vincent typed slowly.
I remember smoke. Glass breaking. Someone shouting.
Then he stopped.
His hands trembled.
I waited.
Finally, he typed.
After that, I couldn't hear properly.
I swallowed.
Did anyone explain why?
He shook his head.
Then typed.
They said I was injured.
I looked down.
For a moment, I thought about the device.
The years of pain.
The doctors Luca had chosen.
Then I asked.
Did your hearing get worse recently?
Vincent nodded.
Much worse.
My heart pounded.
When?
He hesitated.
Then typed.
After Luca took over my medical appointments.
I stared.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then I looked toward Dominic.
He stood near the door.
Watching us.
I took a breath.
"We need to investigate Luca."
Dominic nodded.
"I agree."
Vincent looked at me.
His expression was serious.
He typed.
Carefully.
I nodded.
Carefully.
But before we could decide what to do next, Dominic's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His face changed.
"What?" I asked.
He answered.
"Russo."
For several seconds, he listened.
Then his expression hardened.
"Where?"
Silence.
He looked toward Vincent.
Then back at me.
"Lock down the mansion."
He ended the call.
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
Dominic swallowed.
"Luca's men are at the estate."
I stared.
"Why?"
He looked at Vincent.
Then answered.
"They're searching your bedroom."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Vincent reached for his phone.
His fingers moved quickly.
He typed a message.
Then showed it to me.
They're looking for the notebook.
I frowned.
"What notebook?"
Vincent's expression changed.
He looked toward Dominic.
Then back at me.
And typed the words that would turn our marriage into a fight for survival.
The one containing proof that Luca has been stealing from the family for years.
I stared.
May you like
Then Vincent added one final sentence.
And proof that my childhood accident wasn't an accident at all.
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