CHAPTER NINETY THREE—Damian— Savio went to a lot of bars last night until he found Adam passed out in a bar in enemy territory. It's like the kid is trying to get killed, but we're not going to let that happen. But for the life of me, I have no idea how we're going to get through him. But I do know the first step to take and that is to dry him out, and Tristan and Saviour agree with me. When Saviour came back last night with Adam passed out and leaning on him, we carried Adam to the room that Tristan kept Ellie when he kidnapped her. It was the only room in the house that had bars on them. We couldn't take the risk of Adam escaping while we were trying to get the drugs out of his system. I know how withdrawal is, it's like you're burning up from the inside and you would do absolutely anything to make it stop, you don't care who you hurt in the process, be it your family or friends. You're not the one in control, the addiction is. Now we can't send him to a rehab
—Tristan— "Now you're going to tell me who has been selling drugs to you and please don't make this hard on the both of us." I tell Adam. I'm already irritated right now and if he gets me any more mad than I am, I will snap. "It will be way easier if you just talked to me kid." I tell him. "Way easier on who? And stop calling me that, I'm not a kid." He tells me as he staggers up to stand. "Oh, you're not, well your actions make it seem otherwise. You got hurt and so instead of dealing with your shit you decide to turn to drugs and partying and then when we confront you about it, you throw a tantrum and run away, I'd say that's a textbook definition of you acting like a kid. And as for who this will be easier on, I was referring to you." I tell him. "No, you won't torture me, we're family." He says but I can see a flicker of doubt in his eyes, good he should be scared. "You're right Adam, I won't torture you but I can torture someone you care abo
—Damian— I need to go after my brother, he's not thinking straight right now, he's driven by rage, he has to remember that it's not only him right now and he can't go off like how he used to, he has Ellie and the twins to think about now. I look back at Adam and he has this resigned look on his face. "I didn't mean to start using drugs Damian you have to believe me, I just wanted to forget for a while." He tells me and I actually believe him, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place and I failed to see that he was in pain, sometimes I forget that he's not like me or Tristan, he's still innocent and what he went through in the hands of Ellie's family really messed him up. "I know that you didn't mean to Adam, but now that you know you have a problem, you have to fight through it ok, you have a family that loves you that you can always lean on, instead of drugs." I tell him. He just hangs his head low, he doesn't say anything but I know he heard me. "I'm g
—Kate— I walked Damian out of the house and then he got in the car with Fabian who was already at the driver's seat and had the car running, Damian turns around oneast time and looks at me, I can see the worry in his eyes, but I just smile at him so that he doesn't worry about me when he's out there, he has to give his one hundred percent to whatever he's going to do. He gets in the car and I stand at the door until they drive out and I can't see the car anymore. I step back into the house and close the door. Ellie and Anna are out back in the pool with the kids and Tristan and Savio are probably back in the game room, with Adam or in Tristan's office. With the silence of the house pressing down on me, the one thing that I've been trying to push back comes to the forefront of my mind again. My period is late, two days late to be more specific, but the way things have been going for me, it likely doesn't mean anything, it might be stress, but still I can't help but hope.
CHAPTER NINETY SEVEN —Kate— I blink at him in shock, not believing what just came out of his mouth. "I'm sorry, what did you just say Tristan?" I ask him. "You heard me the first time Kate, I said is my brother shooting blanks?" He asks me with a very serious expression on his face. I blinked at him, still shocked, after all these years living with him, I'm still not used to how direct he can be. "I don't know, I don't think so. The truth is I don't think he's the problem. It's my fault, I just know it, that all this is my fault. Maybe I don't deserve to be happy, maybe I'm just not meant to be a mom." I tell him and I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes again, but I don't allow them to fall. "Kate, stop it." Tristan tells me. But I can't, I can't stop the tears that are now falling down my face, or the overwhelming sadness that seems to want to suffocate me. Tristan grabs my ankle, shocking me, he barely touches me, he barely touches anyone apart
—Kate— A few minutes later I walked out of my room now dressed in a bikini and a black sundress over it. By the time I got to the pool, Tristan wasn't there yet, he told me that he would go and see if Adam was in the mood to come out and hang with us, I hope he agrees, I miss him so much and I know they're keeping him locked in for his own good but that doesn't mean that I like it. Ellie and Anna are already in the pool with the twins, the twins were in their cute cartoon themed floaties that Ellie ordered online for them, both Ellie and Anna were pushing them around the pool and they seemed to like it, they were both screaming. I look to the side and Savio is on one of the lounge chairs and he is putting on only shorts that are pulled down extremely low, any lower and he'll be showing off, I look and I see he has a tattoo peeking out. He sees me looking at him and he smirks and lifts up his sunglasses. "You like what you see Kate?" He ask me. "No, I wasn't
—Kate— The next day, well not really the next day, more like in the evening, I was busy making banana bread that the family could snack on when Damian entered the kitchen. Do you know that feeling you get when you see your favourite person in the world after they've been gone for a while? That's how I felt right now, Damian was only gone for a day but still seeing him at first I feel a huge relief that he's back home and he's safe and then I feel the overflowing happiness, but that feeling quickly leaves me when I realise that I have to tell him that it didn't take and I'm not pregnant again. He walks to where I am and hugs me from behind, he kisses the top of my head and then when I turn around to face him, he kisses my lips. "It'll work out mia cara, we're both young, it'll happen." He tells me and I look up at him in shock. "How'd you know?" I ask him, I'm very sure Tristan didn't run to him and tell him everything the minute he stepped into the house.
—Damian— "Did you handle your business?" Kate asks me as I steer my car down the driveway. "Yes, me and Fabian were able to track down the men that sold the drugs to Adam." I tell her, I don't bother to tell her what we did to them, she already knows that there's no way that we would leave them alive. Kate nods her head and just stares at me with concern written all over her face. She worries about me, about how all these killings affect me, she oure like that even after everything the world and life has thrown at her, she still has light in her, but not me I'm as dark as they come, she's the only light in my life. "I haven't seen him since that day you know, He hasn't left the room, Tristan has tried to get him to come out but he won't and Tristan also won't allow me to see him." She tells me. "Kate you have to understand, Adam is going through withdrawal right now, and you can't see him without us and Tristan isn't been partial towards just you, he hasn't let
—Kate— Seeing his cousins run around, Alexei at only ten months, has been trying to walk. I was on the sofa in the game room laying down while he was on his play mat. He was currently on his hands and knees with with his little butt in the air, then he looked up at me not sure what time do next, not knowing how to stand straight. “Damian!” I called out, I was a three days past my due date and I couldn't do much of anything except lie down and rest and pray that this little boy is ready to make his debut soon. So I.couldn't carry Alexei, I needed help. Damian ran into the game room, panic and worry written all over his face. “Is it the baby? Is it time? Are you having contractions?” He asked me. “Calm down Damian, it's none of that. Your son is still very comfortable in my womb. But I really hope he comes soon because it's starting to get really uncomfortable.” I tell Damian. He walks over to me and then sees Alexei who is still in his awkward position and
—Damian— Months later, we were all gathered by the pool, Samuel and Isa ran around the garden, but Samuel was faster than his sister but that didn't stop her from doing her best to catch up. Me, Kate and Alexei were in the pool, Alexei was in his shark floaty what his uncle Savio got for him, it was his size but at the same time it looked like it could swallow him whole. “Soon you're going to be able to run around with your cousins.” Kate said to him and he just laughed and smiled at her. I swam and pushed him through the water, Kate was a few days away from her due date and she wasn't able to do much. She just leaned at the edge of the pool and watched everything with a smile on her face. I didn't think it was possible but pregnancy made her even more beautiful. She says she looks and feels like a beached whale so I spend every single free moment of my time in bed reminding her that she's not. Tristan and Ellie were on the lounge chairs as they kept an eye o
—Kate— It's been a week since that horrible day, and today is also a sad day in the house, Adam is leaving to New York today. I completely understand his reasoning behind his decision, but my cousin and Tristan are on the same level, Luca might even be worse, but if Adam survives a year under him, he'll he a better man for it. We were all gathered in the living room, saying goodbye to Adam. “You be good in New York ok.” I tell him and then I hug him, I'm really going to miss him, the house won't be the same without him. Adam nodded his head and then pulled back. “It's ok Katie, there's no need to worry, I'll be good, and I'll come back home for Fabian and Anna's wedding and also when you give birth to your little guy.” He tells me. I raised my eyebrows at him. “Little guy?” I ask him. “Yea, you're going to have a boy, I just know it.” He tells me with a little smile on his face. I just laughed. “Alright, we'll see if you're right when we check. But wil
—Damian— I walked into the game room the next day and all traces of the previous day were all gone. The blood, bullets and glass, they were all cleared and the whole room was back to normal. I looked up and the glass doors that led into the garden were open, Adam sat on the ground, his back to me. I went over to the garden and sat down next to him. I looked at him and he had bags and shadows under his eyes, it was clear he hadn't slept, then I looked at his hands and they were red. “Did you stay awake and clean the game room?” I ask him, because that had to be the only explanation, both Ellie and Kate were asleep and the cleaners had not come in. “Yea, I did, it was the least I could do.” He said but he didn't look at me, he was still staring at the grass. “You didn't need to do that Adam, you should've slept. Yesterday was hard on all of us, plus you're in withdrawal so you're tired that the rest of us.” I tell him, I know he feels guilty but this isn't
—Damian— Adam looked at me hoping that I would be the clear headed one and understand where he's coming from. “It's not forever, just for a year. If I'm under Luca's rule I know that there will be no mercy for me, he'll treat me like one if his soldiers, he won't care that I'm a Russo. Especially if you tell him not to be lenient to me, Luca is as cold and violent as you, he'd relish at the opportunity.” Adam explained. “There is a fragile peace between us Adam and Luca knows that if anything happens to you Tristan will rain hell down on New York to avenge you.” I tell him. “Yes but that's only if he kills me which he won't do. If I make a mistake he'll punish me and get me back in line because I'll be his soldier but here I'll always be your little brother.” Adam said. “If Luca catches you using drugs, he won't just punish you, he'll torture you and this time Ellie won't be there to save you. He'll do whatever he wants to you and you cannot object.” Trist
—Damian— As I walked down the stairs to the basement, I had to admit to myself that I wasn't at my full strength, the blood loss had taken enough from me, but I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. And just because I wasn't at my full strength did not mean that I wouldn't be able to do what needed to be done. I walked into the corridor of the basement and Tristan was standing there. “You're joining me?” He asked me. “Yea I am.” I tell him. He looked at me, scanning my face like he was looking for something but I had no idea what he was looking for. “Fabian has gone to pick up Anna from campus and Saviour can't join us because he has a concussion and needs to lay down. So it's just me and you.” He tells me. “No it's not.” A voice says from behind, both Tristan and I turn around and see Adam coming down the stairs. With everything that happened we haven't even been able to handle his matter, he's the cause of everything, I don't know if I can even fully bla
—Kate— “I don't think so, but it's better to be safe than sorry.” Fabian tells me and I nod my head, he's right. I walked over to where Tristan was and Ellie came around and hugged me. “I'm so happy that you and Alexei are okay.” She tells me and I hug her back. This woman that crashed into our lives has become like a sister to me and she almost lost her husband today because Tristan was ready to lay down his life for me and Alexei and even my unborn child. “What about Samuel and Isabella, are they okay?” I ask her. “Yea they're up in their room playing, I have their monitor here with me. They don't know that anything went wrong, they saw Tristan and thought it was paint on his body.” She tells me. “That's good.” I say then pull back, none of the kids will remember this day, they won't be scarred by it. I turned to Tristan and tears welled up in my eyes, this man that acts so cold, like he doesn't have a heart, but out of all the brothers, I think he
—Kate— Damian let go of my hands and walked towards his brothers, all of them except for Adam, were covered in blood and were still bleeding from their cuts but these stubborn men wouldn't do anything about it until they end their mother. Fabian gets up and walks towards me, he has a cut on his head that's bleeding. “Come on Katie, you and Alexei need to get out of your clothes, take a shower and put on fresh clothes.” He tells me. I nodded my head at him but still I didn't move, my eyes were fixed on the brothers kneeled around their mother, this moment here had been years in the making and I'm just happy that finally they'll be able to put the past behind them. Tristan and Damian both put one hand on the hilt of the knife. They looked to Savio and Adam who nodded their heads, giving their concent and then they changed the angle of the knife and plunged the knife deeper into her stomach. She gasped and then she released a breath and stopped moving, she was dead, final
—Kate— I watched as the man I love and his brothers that I cared about, bleed out to save me and my baby. I looked down as their blood pooled on the floor beneath them and I couldn't breathe. I couldn't let this happen, they couldn't die just like that. Alexei and I needed Damian, Ellie and the twins needed Tristan and Savio, sweet Saviour he hadn't even had the chance to find love or happiness in this life, I couldn't let it end like this. Their mother gestured at one of her men. “You, get me that knife, we don't want them doing anything stupid with it.” She said. “I'm not your dog that you can order around, remember we're just helping you and we've done everything you've asked so give us the rest of our money.” The man told her. The smile on her face got wider, she wasn't phased at all. “I know what I promised you and there's plenty of money in the backseat of the car, it's under the arm rest, now get me that knife.” She ordered them again, I looked at her an