The Plague Doctor [RATED R] ✓

(51) Sinful Crimes

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"CLOUDED BY ANGER, MY father plagued the entire town using the knowledge passed down to him by my grandfather. He also confronted William, Alfredo, and Camillio, but instead of running away or asking for his forgiveness, they found out my father's connection to the manor and used that to scare the townspeople.

     They told them that my father was actually evil and that plaguing their town was his original goal all this time, so the waves instantly changed and people went against him without even questioning the story.

     During my seventh birthday. My father gave me a letter. It's the letter you read in the attic. On the same day I received the letter and the wooden horses, the townspeople raided the manor," Claudio explains, leaving me speechless as he continues to tell me this insane story that has now left me in tears.

     "My grandfather welcomed them at the entrance, hoping to talk to them, but they killed him with no hesitation. Everyone tried to run away after that, but some weren't able to make it.

    I hid inside a cabinet in the dining room, and then I heard gunshots. I peeked through as the remaining people in the manor tried to protect me. During the first five gunshots, our gardeners died and then followed by the cooks, the maids, and finally the butlers. On the last gunshot, everyone was gone," Claudio explains, no longer wearing the plague doctor mask he had on early.

     "After the chaos ensued, someone eventually found me. It was William Romano, my loving and caring stepfather," he says, a mischievous grin suddenly present on his face. "When he saw me, he instantly knew who I was. I thought he was going to kill me, but I begged him not to. I pretended like I hated my father and that I was held hostage here, so he ended up taking me."

     I listened to him attentively, trying my best not to lose focus so I could fully understand why he was doing all this. But as I paid attention to him, I couldn't help but feel like my own heart would burst from extreme pain and anger, while Claudio, on the other hand, looked indifferent. He told the story like he's said this a million times before and he was growing tired of it. There wasn't pain in his eyes, nor was there anger. He was just telling a story, and the way he was approaching this matter made me pity him somehow, which was something I never thought I'd feel about someone like him.

     "When the manor was already empty, my father surrendered, and then they took him to the town square, where they tied him in a post. People shouted at him, cursed his name, and even threw things at him, but my father didn't falter. He didn't scream. He didn't cry. He was just still," Claudio continues to explain, moving his head to look at the mask he's holding.

     "William wanted to see if I really didn't care about my father, so he forced me to watch what they were about to do to him, which was to burn him alive. I thought for a second my father would finally scream and beg. But as I watched from afar, do you know what he said?" Claudio asks, now looking straight into my eyes."

     "'Capo di Monte is my home,'" Claudio recites, and the moment I heard those words come out of his mouth, a cold shiver instantly went down my spine.

     Those words, though harmless, sounded so powerful that I could imagine that exact scene unfolding in front of me. I thought I was going to cry, and I thought Claudio would feel something too, but he didn't. He still looked indifferent despite all that.

     "He said such pathetic words that when they finally burned him, I didn't feel a single thing," Claudio then continues. "After that incident, the Romano family moved to the city and brought me with them. They saw the potential in me, and I was obedient, so they eventually treated me like their own. The other things that followed aren't really important, but that's about everything."