Morris and I waited at home while mom was being taken to the hospital by the gardener and our driver. A while ago, she had been okay and neither Morris nor I could tell if anything was actually wrong with her. Part of my mother's strength came from a deep faith in God and the love she had for me and Morris, and perhaps just as much from her innate ability to inspire Morris and me to know she meant every word she said.
Our growing up with a father was a hectic one, but unlike Morris, I loved dad so much and gave him most of my attention whenever he was at home.Morris wanted to follow behind, but I stopped him from taking another step further. I couldn't bear to be at home all by myself as it was too scary for a young child like me. Morris shoved my hands away from his, but I held them back, this time more tightly, and wasn't willing to let go." If you're going, then take me along," I said to Morris my tiny voice mixed with authority even though I knew he wasn't going to listen to me.Morris and I had grown up caged from the outside world, we both didn't know what the world looked like, and everywhere outside the four walls of our home seemed strange and dangerous. That was one of dad's strict rules among the many he still had.Dad always thought that children who were allowed to step foot outside their home would become wayward immediately and live a tragic life being influenced by bad people outside. Apart from school, Morris and I never knew anywhere else. My school and home were the only places I had been to and neither was I willing to be anywhere else.Unlike me, Morris despised such rules so much, one of the rules he hated most of all was taking 6 complete hours to study. Dad had a timetable plastered on the wall of both I and Morris's room to guide our everyday activities.A rule which I didn't have a problem following but Morris did. He would always complain to Mom about them and because mom fully understood him, she would let him bend and break some of them. But one rule she never for once bent because of him was letting him outside the house, Morris couldn't blame her either because he knew she couldn't go against that particular rule my father had set.We never lacked anything either as long as dad was alive, Morris and u had everything, maybe even more than other kids in the world had and we were satisfied. We had no friends or enemies either because we were always on our own.One might think we would be able to make friends in school and okay around during closing hours but no, we weren't. Our closing hours were scheduled to be 2:30 and before then our driver would have been in the school by 2:00 ready to pick up Morris and me.I never had a problem with that because I saw it as a way of protecting both Morris and me and I always felt like dad wanted the best for us.Morris looked at my teary eyes as I pleaded with him to take me along because of fright. One thing Morris hated more was looking into my eyes because I had dad's eyes and it was something so obvious to anyone who would see me and dad.His deep hatred for dad made him push it all to me because I had almost all of dad's features and I was always shown excess love by dad, but I didn't care. I loved my brother so much and wanted to always be with him. Most times he would send me out or avoid coming closer to me and since when I knew Morris, he never for once opened up and said a word to me. Sometimes I would ask Mom if Morris couldn't talk but she would always laugh and tell me Morris loves me and is probably going through a phase that I wouldn't be able to understand.It was very hard for Morris to choose to go with mom or stay with me. But the fact that mom would be highly disappointed in him made him choose me instead. It wasn't easy for him and I knew he was trying to pull himself together and stay strong, but he ended up bursting into tears. I had to be the one to hug him tight and Pat his back slowly.During this period, Morris was 16, while I was just about clocking 10 years old soon. Our cook Mrs. Roseline a middle-aged woman came out of the house to take Morris and me into to house and told us she would try and contact dad.Before turning back, Morris watched as the car was being driven out of the house. He buried his face in his palm and I had to guess he was probably praying for mom. I didn't want to be left out, so I had to do the same.While we both sat down on the sofa in the living room, Mrs. Roseline kept on dialing dad's number, but it wasn't going through. Morris wasn't surprised at this, because he knew dad wouldn't pick up the call." Don't waste your time calling him, it's always the same result" Morris said when Mrs. Roseline wouldn't stop dialing his number.Since I turned 7, I always wondered why Morris hated dad so much. Was it because dad was always so busy and rarely had time for us, or was it because he just hated most of dad's rules so much? These questions remained unanswered to me till I turned 18.Still, Mrs. Roseline wouldn't stop dialing dad's number and I was beginning to wonder why dad wasn't picking up too. Because I was beginning to get worried she came closer to me and took a seat." Don't worry Alexa, daddy's soon going to be on his way here " I nodded my head back and smiled. I was still a little child then so I didn't feel as much pain as Morris. As long as it wasn't dad being taken to the hospital like that, I was sure mom would survive it and come back home to us.My stomach began growling and I held it in pain. Normally on days like Saturday, mom would always be the one to cook for Morris and me instead of Mrs. Roseline. I looked at Mrs. Roseline and she instantly understood me, the sad look on her face was because she was worried about Morris and she couldn't cheer him up either. Instead, she took my hands and made me follow her to the kitchen to prepare some snacks for me.Just hearing the word snacks made me forget about mom, not because I chose snacks over her, but because as a little child I couldn't understand the pain yet and I just didn't know what mom was passing through.Mrs. Roseline made me prepare some snacks with her, and while doing so she began crying watching me stair the flour roughly. I hated watching people cry so much and because of that, I ran to her and held her hand smiling." Mrs. Roseline, why are you crying, did I do something wrong?" My innocent tiny voice questioned with a sad look on my face. But instead, she cried the more pulling me into a tight hug.I had thought she was in tears because I had mixed the flour the wrong way and it made me feel bad, but little did I know that her tears were because she knew mom wasn't going to come back alive.While hugging me, she promised to stop crying and disagreed that I mixed the flour wrongly but complimented me for doing it the right way.Mrs. Roseline said the oven was to be the last stage and the snack would be ready in no time. While waiting, I wanted to watch some cartoon, but I was a little scared of telling her because mom had been the only person I told when I needed to do so.I suddenly summoned up the courage to tell her and walked up to her. " Mrs. Roseline, can I put on the television?" Mrs eyes were as cute as that of a puppy and I was sure she couldn't resist them. She softly rubbed my hair and nodded for me to do so.I couldn't fathom the happiness I felt inside me as I rushed out of the kitchen to turn on the television but when I got to the living room, I couldn't find Morris there.I sat down and took the remote from the center table and turned on the television changing it to my favorite channel. The one thing I loved watching most of all was kids like me engaging in school activities like painting, drawing, and coloring too and maybe after that, I preferred watching funny cartoons.Minutes later, I could perceive the delicious odor of freshly made cookies making my stomach grumble more. I stood up not minding that I wanted to badly see the next part of the cartoon I was watching and ran to the kitchen. Mrs. Roseline burst into laughter when she saw me and handed me a full plate of cookies with a glass of orange juice." I'll take this to your brother, he must be hungry too." I wanted to tell her to stay back because I knew Morris wasn't going to accept it. In fact, on Saturdays like this, Morris only ate meals and snacks made by mom and no one else. Today was also supposed to be the day mom was taking him shopping for his birthday next week Tuesday.I finally agreed and nodded my head walking out of the kitchen and heading to the living room to continue my cartoon. I had a bite from the Cookie and suddenly remembered Mom, but I couldn't cry because I thought mom would be back later at night or noon.I watched as Mrs. Roseline came down the stairs with the tray of snacks and pineapple juice untouched and I ran to meet her. I wanted to ask her why he didn't take any but she answered my question even before I could bring it up." Your brother's not hungry, he said he would have a bit later when he takes his bath". I didn't even think she was lying to me, and instead and ran back and continued with my cartoon.I was also beginning to miss dad, and I couldn't wait to see him too. Earlier yesterday, mom had said dad would be back by noon today and it made me so happy that I had to go outside the house and sit on the veranda patiently waiting for him.Of course, one of dad's rules again was the fact that Morris and I had to go to bed before 6:30 pm, dad believed that children needed much sleep to grow healthy and keep fresh brains. To me, anything dad said was always true and best. So, I considered his words and rules important and always abide by all of them, especially the studying aspect.It was starting to get late and still, dad wasn't even home yet, on days like this, before 6:00 pm mom would sit I and Morris outside the house and tell us a story, stories which we would always enjoy. Her absence that day left a huge hole in my heart and I could feel it but I kept telling myself that she would be back.Without seeing neither my mom nor dad, I began crying and soon drifted off to sleep on the cold tiled floor cuddling myself with traces of dried tears on my face.The next morning was a Sunday. I only woke up to find myself on my bed covered properly and a tray of bread with fried eggs laid on the small table at the center of my room. You would say dad loves me so much and gave my room the best design. I never got to lack anything and I had a heap of toys in a store room still in my room. Everything I ever wanted even those I didn't need was provided and I didn't see any reason why I should feel sad or unsatisfied. I yawned stretching both my hands and God I had completely forgotten about mom for just a second when I woke up. I badly wanted to see dad again, but I was sure he would be out of the house by now and it pained me most that I didn't get to see his face last night. My door opened and Mrs. Roseline walked in carrying a small jug of water along with her. " Good morning Mrs. Roseline" I greeted and sat up straight to eat my meal. Even though I was born in a rich home, Morris and I were never spoilt. We had so much respect for elders
A nine years old girl was supposed to know everything right? But I don't think so. One would say I was so stupid for leaving out my mom in my life, especially for letting her take just a little place in my heart, unlike my dad who took a massive part. When people hear/ read my story, I might be marked the foolish kid and Morris the good kid, but I was nothing like that. I loved my mom so much, no I did love all of my family but I only gave dad exceptional love and I was sure he loved me back even more than the much love I had for him.Dad and I were what you would call inseparable and we couldn't do without each other but even as much as dad loved me, I wanted him to love Morris just the same." Where is my momma?" I asked Mrs. Roseline, my eyes teary as I looked at Morris and my dad. I wanted to go meet dad and ask him too, but for the first time, I was scared of him. His eyes were terrifying and so red that I couldn't go and when I heard Morris say he killed my Mom, I wanted to ful
Alexa POV.I haven’t seen so many people at our house before, it felt so surreal. They were all dressed in black suits and came back home with us in their various cars. When we got home, Mrs. Roseline had already made some food and the aroma made my stomach growl. I went straight to the kitchen, Mrs. Roseline understood because she was already putting some snacks on a plate for me. “Thank you Mrs. Roseline,” I said as she handed it to me.I walked out of the kitchen and I put a big muffin in my mouth and it tasted so delicious. As I was about to take the last turn out of the hallway, I heard some ladies whispering, they were talking about how my mom abandoned her children at such a young age. But I didn’t want to believe their lies, mom would never abandon Morris and I.The plate on my hand fell because I lost my appetite. I immediately ran in search of my dad, to ask him about what those people were saying, but both my dad and Morris were nowhere to be found. I headed to my dad’s ho
Alexa POV.This last week has been painful. After I read that note from Morris, I ran to his room to find him, but I noticed some of his things were missing. I remember running down to the kitchen to look for Mrs. Roseline, and asking her if she saw Morris leave, but she only stared at me confused.I showed her the note he left me and after she read it, we both started crying and hugged each other. She tried giving me food that day but I just couldn’t eat. It was not easy to wrap my head around what was happening, how I thought Morris was already warming up to me but he ended up abandoning me just like mum. I remember Mrs. Roseline calling my dad and telling him about what was happening, but he just shunned her and told her he was busy and would be back sometime this week. He hasn’t been back since the day I heard him on the phone in his home office. I had to go to school last week, hoping to wake up from this nightmare but anytime I come back home I always come back to an empty hous
Alexa POV.I remember the day I made my first friend. I was looking up the closest investigator nearby when I noticed someone walk up to my table in the library and take a seat opposite me.“Hi,” she said, looking me in the eyes. “Hello,” I replied dumbfounded. No one has ever spoken to me before except probably when they need me to excuse them or hand something over to them. I examine her. She has brown eyes, her nose is so perfect and her cheekbones, ohh they look so well curved. Her blonde hair is laying perfectly on her shoulder and she is putting on a black dress with a very bright shade of red lipstick.“I am Thelma.”“I a-am Alexa,” I responded breathlessly. My brain cells are screaming. I decided to calm down and not get ahead of myself.“Wanna hang out, there’s a frat party tonight?”“Hmmm, y-yess, n-noo, I have to get home today after school,” I reply painfully. The thought of my father finding out that I didn’t return home is scary. The new driver apparently has to report
Leonardo POV.You don’t get to where I am without knowing exactly what you want and taking it by any means necessary. I took over the family business after my father passed away five years ago. Although it's all rosy now, I still have to look over my shoulders. I was studying abroad when I heard about my father's death in an explosion. His best friend, Don Caro of the Rossi Cartel was also killed which led to the death of both cartel’s Don.After my return, the other Dons tried to take over my father’s position as the Capo Dei Capi, The godfather, the boss of all bosses. That time was messy because there was blood on the streets. I hunted down every Don that could have a hand in my father's death or any Don who wanted to take his place and ended them. I stop the treadmill, breathless, and head down to the shower ready to start another day.By the time I was done, there was a mouthwatering aroma coming from the kitchen. I headed straight down and followed my nose to the kitchen. I al
Alexa POV.It has been some days since I was drugged and kidnapped by someone who I called a friend. I remember waking up on the first day, disoriented and scared. I was bound by a rope on both my hands and legs to a pole. I try to remember what’s happened, the water, the water was poisoned. “Help, someone please help me!” I screamed.“Ohh would you shut up,” a voice said walking towards me.I tried adjusting my eyes in the dark so I could see clearly. It was Thelma, she looked different, more fierce.“Thelma, what’s wrong, where are we and why am I tied, what happened,”“Ohh Alexa, Alexa, you poor girl, I never thought you would be so stupid.”“I don’t understand what's going on, please Thelma, untie me so I can go home.”“My little princess, there is no going back,” she says with a smirk.“But you are my friend, why are you doing this?” I ask, beginning to realise I am in danger and the Thelma I know is gone.“Friend, friends?” she screams and throws her head back laughing.“My lov
Leonardo POV.As I stare out the window, the familiar boredom seeps unwelcome into my consciousness. My mood is as flat as the weather. My days are blending together with no difference, and I need some kind of deviation. I've worked all day and now in the confines of my office, I'm restless.I frown, the annoying truth is that the only thing that captured my interest recently has been my decision to end the life of the man that tried to smuggle in a child with my shipment. This reminds me, Natalia, my secretary wassupposed to come back to me with logistics regarding my new purchase. What the hell iskeeping her?. I head back to my chair and go through the documents that require my signature.“Natalia, where are we with those logistics?” I say into the intercom.She knocks at the door and comes in with files. She hands me the documents and runs through my schedule for the day reminding me of Dante’s party tonight, well I could use the distraction. I head to the conference room for m
Leonardo POV.I have to leave here, get as far away from her as possible. I adjust my pants and pick up a key to my sports car and head down to the basement.“Did you change your mind?” Alberto says immediately he spots me.“Go up and protect her,” I say, staring him down.“I want to be alone, I will be back by morning, bring my brothers to the bunker,” “What about Carlo?”“I will handle that in the morning,” I say, stepping into the car. I get a message from Dante, “Enjoy your catch! My congratulations, can’t wait until the morning. Have fun ;) Ps. Drive her wide.” This pisses me further, the thought that I wasn’t going to spend the night with my new purchase. I tap the ignition and the engine growls, coming alive. The Audi R8 Spyder is my favourite. I drive down the empty streets and head to my favourite spot, the cemetery where my mum was buried. I lost my mum when I was ten years old, over seventeen years ago. Enzo and Dante were too young to remember her. I come here whenever I
Leonardo POV.My eyes narrow on the brown haired bombshell up on stage and a feral growl rolls off my lips causing the men in the chairs closest to me to turn and shoot me a look.Mine. She. Is. Mine.I turn and give them a death stare, letting them know if they even think about bidding, I will unscrew their heads and fuck through it."Do I hear three million dollars," the announcer says.“Fifty million," I announce, standing up so the whole room knows just who they're fucking with if they're stupid enough to try and go over the top of me.The announcer clears her throat, disoriented.“Fifty million dollars, going once, going twice and sold!”The Circle prided itself on its exclusive, invite-only memberships for the underworld’s wealthiest and most powerful. A good number of those members, including myself, engaged in different illegal activities. I have heard tales of what these old Dons do to their slaves and I wouldn’t want them to breathe close to her. My Jewel. My Isabella. Mine.
Alexa POV. Fifty million dollars, I was just sold for fifty million dollars. If someone would have told me that I would be happy to be sold for that amount of money, I would have spat in their face, but here I am happy that at least I was worth more than a mere thousand dollars. At least I wasn’t worth pennies. Whispers erupt from the other side, although I couldn’t see them, I bet they are also shocked at the extravagant amount I was paid for. The bodyguard standing by the door walks up to me and leads me to a door by my left. We enter a room filled with ladies, if eyes could kill, I bet I would be six feet’s under. They all stare at me like I just stole their treasure, eyeing me up and down and watching my every move.“Don’t mind them, they are just jealous,” a lady said from behind me. She walks up to me and hands me a dress to put on. “Jealous, why would they be jealous? I just lost my freedom, I was drugged and kidnapped, what could they be jealous about ?” I snap.“Your beau
Leonardo POV.As I stare out the window, the familiar boredom seeps unwelcome into my consciousness. My mood is as flat as the weather. My days are blending together with no difference, and I need some kind of deviation. I've worked all day and now in the confines of my office, I'm restless.I frown, the annoying truth is that the only thing that captured my interest recently has been my decision to end the life of the man that tried to smuggle in a child with my shipment. This reminds me, Natalia, my secretary wassupposed to come back to me with logistics regarding my new purchase. What the hell iskeeping her?. I head back to my chair and go through the documents that require my signature.“Natalia, where are we with those logistics?” I say into the intercom.She knocks at the door and comes in with files. She hands me the documents and runs through my schedule for the day reminding me of Dante’s party tonight, well I could use the distraction. I head to the conference room for m
Alexa POV.It has been some days since I was drugged and kidnapped by someone who I called a friend. I remember waking up on the first day, disoriented and scared. I was bound by a rope on both my hands and legs to a pole. I try to remember what’s happened, the water, the water was poisoned. “Help, someone please help me!” I screamed.“Ohh would you shut up,” a voice said walking towards me.I tried adjusting my eyes in the dark so I could see clearly. It was Thelma, she looked different, more fierce.“Thelma, what’s wrong, where are we and why am I tied, what happened,”“Ohh Alexa, Alexa, you poor girl, I never thought you would be so stupid.”“I don’t understand what's going on, please Thelma, untie me so I can go home.”“My little princess, there is no going back,” she says with a smirk.“But you are my friend, why are you doing this?” I ask, beginning to realise I am in danger and the Thelma I know is gone.“Friend, friends?” she screams and throws her head back laughing.“My lov
Leonardo POV.You don’t get to where I am without knowing exactly what you want and taking it by any means necessary. I took over the family business after my father passed away five years ago. Although it's all rosy now, I still have to look over my shoulders. I was studying abroad when I heard about my father's death in an explosion. His best friend, Don Caro of the Rossi Cartel was also killed which led to the death of both cartel’s Don.After my return, the other Dons tried to take over my father’s position as the Capo Dei Capi, The godfather, the boss of all bosses. That time was messy because there was blood on the streets. I hunted down every Don that could have a hand in my father's death or any Don who wanted to take his place and ended them. I stop the treadmill, breathless, and head down to the shower ready to start another day.By the time I was done, there was a mouthwatering aroma coming from the kitchen. I headed straight down and followed my nose to the kitchen. I al
Alexa POV.I remember the day I made my first friend. I was looking up the closest investigator nearby when I noticed someone walk up to my table in the library and take a seat opposite me.“Hi,” she said, looking me in the eyes. “Hello,” I replied dumbfounded. No one has ever spoken to me before except probably when they need me to excuse them or hand something over to them. I examine her. She has brown eyes, her nose is so perfect and her cheekbones, ohh they look so well curved. Her blonde hair is laying perfectly on her shoulder and she is putting on a black dress with a very bright shade of red lipstick.“I am Thelma.”“I a-am Alexa,” I responded breathlessly. My brain cells are screaming. I decided to calm down and not get ahead of myself.“Wanna hang out, there’s a frat party tonight?”“Hmmm, y-yess, n-noo, I have to get home today after school,” I reply painfully. The thought of my father finding out that I didn’t return home is scary. The new driver apparently has to report
Alexa POV.This last week has been painful. After I read that note from Morris, I ran to his room to find him, but I noticed some of his things were missing. I remember running down to the kitchen to look for Mrs. Roseline, and asking her if she saw Morris leave, but she only stared at me confused.I showed her the note he left me and after she read it, we both started crying and hugged each other. She tried giving me food that day but I just couldn’t eat. It was not easy to wrap my head around what was happening, how I thought Morris was already warming up to me but he ended up abandoning me just like mum. I remember Mrs. Roseline calling my dad and telling him about what was happening, but he just shunned her and told her he was busy and would be back sometime this week. He hasn’t been back since the day I heard him on the phone in his home office. I had to go to school last week, hoping to wake up from this nightmare but anytime I come back home I always come back to an empty hous
Alexa POV.I haven’t seen so many people at our house before, it felt so surreal. They were all dressed in black suits and came back home with us in their various cars. When we got home, Mrs. Roseline had already made some food and the aroma made my stomach growl. I went straight to the kitchen, Mrs. Roseline understood because she was already putting some snacks on a plate for me. “Thank you Mrs. Roseline,” I said as she handed it to me.I walked out of the kitchen and I put a big muffin in my mouth and it tasted so delicious. As I was about to take the last turn out of the hallway, I heard some ladies whispering, they were talking about how my mom abandoned her children at such a young age. But I didn’t want to believe their lies, mom would never abandon Morris and I.The plate on my hand fell because I lost my appetite. I immediately ran in search of my dad, to ask him about what those people were saying, but both my dad and Morris were nowhere to be found. I headed to my dad’s ho