The Plague Doctor [RATED R] ✓

THE OFFICER

SURPRISE CHAPTER: AMORE MIO

"YOU WILL REGRET THIS, Mateo Ricci! You will regret this!" William Romano shouted as he was being dragged by the police. William continuously shouted at the officer, but Mateo didn't show a single emotion. He just stood there and watched as they dragged the town's hero into the police car, reporters stealing pictures of him as the townspeople threw things in his direction.

     After the death of Claudio Romano, Mateo took the box that he presented to him before he died. The box contained pictures of William Romano, Camillio Winchester, and even his own father, Alfredo Ricci, with a woman he did not know.

     The first time he saw it, he couldn't help but vomit at how sick and disgusting it all was. The other officers encouraged him to throw the pictures away as the crime was committed years ago, and exposing this would cause great damage to their town. But Mateo didn't care. He reported the case and instantly arrested the culprits.

     Soon after, the woman in the picture was revealed to be Adele de Vincenzo, the wife of the man everyone once called the Plague Doctor. The town was divided for a while, but eventually, they wept and grieved. They felt guilty for turning their backs on the Vincenzos, who were the only family that was kind enough to help them in the past. But Mateo didn't pity any of them. Regret may make someone feel better, but the dead cannot accept forgiveness.

     As the story about the plague and Adele resurfaced, it didn't take long for Capo di Monte to be all over the news. Mateo Ricci, as the chief of police, had the role to make sure everything ran smoothly, so for a few months, he has been busy trying to make things right.

     "My dear friend, I hope what I did is enough," Mateo whispered as he placed a bouquet of white roses on the steps of the manor that the people once called the Hell House.

     "Rest easy now."

     The townspeople started calling him a hero when the news went down, but Mateo vocally rejected it, claiming that they should stop idolizing others and start thinking for themselves. But despite everything that had happened, Mateo only needed one thing...

     "Krimson, I am speaking to you, not as the chief of police that's supposed to capture you, but I am speaking as the man who is deeply in love with someone named Bishop. If you are able to speak to him, I hope you can tell him that whether it is his darkest or brightest, or whether it is his happiest or saddest, I will hold them all dearly. And I will wait at the place we promise no matter how long it takes."

     That short encounter had left Mateo in shambles. For a while, he was confused, but then, as he continued to ponder over it, he realized how it all made sense.  

     He didn't understand what Bishop went through and what caused him to be what he is now, so during his time alone, he would read records and studies of this disorder to further understand it better. He wanted to understand what Dissociative Identity Disorder meant. He wanted to understand Bishop and everyone else that was in him. He wanted to understand so that when he met him again, he wouldn't end up showing an expression that might hurt him.

     "Sir Ricci, you asked us to make a report if someone named Bishop Lancaster moves to our town, correct? Well, someone did. Just a week ago."

     A year after the plague incident, Mateo searched high and low for Bishop. He didn't know where he was, so the only hope he had was the promise he kept with him.

     Before they went back from their trip, Mateo and Bishop promised that they would one day return to Sta. Rosalia. They told each other that whatever happened, they would find each other there. So with only just a promise, he took the chance.