Chapter Twenty-One

Dimitri, Ivy, and Alexander sat in stunned silence for a few minutes once they were no longer on the phone. "I can't believe that she's finally been found," Ivy said in a whisper.

Alexander wrapped his arms around his wife and held her close. "After all these years we finally get to have our daughter back." He mumbled into her hair as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I just hope that she remembers us." Dimitri quietly sat there and stared at an old photo of him and Evangeline together. "She was taken when she was four. It's been years. I'm not sure if she'll remember us very well."

Ivy looked at Alexander in despair with fresh tears in her eyes. "What if she doesn't remember us?" She asked with an aching heart.

Alexander shushed her as he glared at Dimitri. "She remembers us." He said softly as he turned his attention back to Ivy. "She wouldn't want to see us if she didn't remember us. Even if she doesn't remember much she definitely remembers us."

Ivy relaxed into him for a few minutes before jumping to her feet. "I'm going to pack our things." She looked at Alexander. "You let Viktor know that he's in charge." She turned to Dimitri next and pointed at him. "You lose your negativity and go pack a bag. We're leaving in an hour." She said with a fiery determination on her face.

Alexander chuckled as he stood up. He pressed a kiss to her lips. "As my queen commands."

Dimitri rolled his eyes as he picked up his office phone. "Hey, Ben." He said after a minute. "We're going to need the jet ready in an hour."

He listened to Ben as he watched his parents leave his office. "Alright. Let the pilot know that we're going to Milan." He listened for another minute as he stood up. "Yeah. Thanks, Ben."

He hung up the phone and made his way to his room. He quickly got his bag packed with everything that he was going to need. Once he was completely ready he sat on the edge of his bed. He pulled the top drawer of his nightstand open and grabbed a long jewelry box. He slowly opened it and stared inside.

Laying inside, having been untouched for years was a long necklace that he had gotten for Evangeline a few days before she was taken. Of course, Ivy had helped him since he was still young at the time but it was all his idea. He had gotten Evangeline another unique, one-of-a-kind necklace. It would layer very nicely with the butterfly necklace that she already had. It was a white lily with emerald green leaves. Lilies had always been one of her favorites and the emerald leaves were for their meadow. She always said that the leaves reminded her of emeralds.

He felt his heartache at the thought of not being able to give it to her. He had planned to give it to her that very next day but she had been stolen from them before he had the chance to give it to her. He closed the jewelry box and slid it into his bag. Now he had a chance to give it to her.

There were so many things that he wanted to share with her. They had been so close before she was taken from them. He was more than overjoyed when Alessandro said that he had found her. For the first time since she's been taken he felt the weight of her loss leave his heart.

Ivy couldn't believe that her little girl had finally been found. And that she was alive. It was a miracle.

She would never admit it to anyone else, hell she could barely even admit it to herself, but she had started losing hope. It had been so many years since Evangeline had been stolen away from them. Every lead that they got always led to a dead end. It seemed impossible. Over the last few months, she had begun to give up hope that they'd ever find her. Even if all they found was a dead body.

Now Alessandro was saying that he had found her. That she was his saving angel. He said that his saving angel had the same hair, eyes, and middle name as her little girl. She would know for sure once she met with her but her hope had been fully restored.

She couldn't contain the smile on her face as she walked into her room and started packing. She was done in no time. Once she was finished she sat in front of her vanity mirror. She grabbed the framed photograph of Evangeline and Dimitri. It had been Evangeline's third birthday then. They were so happy then.

She sighed heavily as a knock sounded at her door. "Come in." She called out as she set the photo down.

Dimitri stepped in with his bag in hand. "Are you ready mom?" He asked with soft eyes.

Ivy nodded as she stood up. "Yes. We're just waiting for your father now." She said quietly.

Dimitri nodded. "I'll help you with the bags. We have to get going soon." He said as he picked up a couple of her bags.

Ivy nodded and they made their way downstairs to wait in the family room.

Alexander went into his office and picked up his office phone. "Hey, Viktor. I need to see you in my office for a minute."

"Sure thing. Be right there." Viktor said through the phone before hanging up.

Alexander sat behind his desk with so many thoughts and possibilities running through his mind. Alessandro had found their baby girl. After so many years they would finally be reunited. He just hoped that it was truly her. He looked at an old family photo that was framed on his desk and sighed heavily. It was a simple photo of the four of them together in the meadow that she loved so much. It was the last photo that they had taken together before she was stolen. It made his heart ache as he thought about Evangeline and everything that she had been through.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He cleared his throat. "Come in." He called out as he turned to face the door.

Viktor walked in and closed the door behind him before sitting in a chair across from Alexander. "What's up, Alex?" He asked, using his childhood nickname.

Alexander blew out a long breath as he ran his hands through his hair. "We've gotten some news." He said softly.

Viktor raised an eyebrow. "News about what?" He questioned.

Alexander let a small smile slip onto his lips. "News about Evangeline." He said as he leaned forward and placed his forearms on the desk with his hands folded together.

Viktor's eyes went wide as he sat forward a bit. "You have actual news on Evangeline?" He demanded with hope layering his tone.

Alexander nodded. "Yes." He said simply.

Viktor rolled his eyes at his brother. "Well spill it, brother." He said as he leaned back in his chair.

Alexander smiled widely. "We finally found her." He said joyfully.

Viktor stared at Alexander in shock for a minute before jumping to his feet. "You mean you truly found her?" He asked in astonishment.

Alexander chuckled. "Yes." He thought for a minute. "Well Alessandro Galeazzi found her but we know where she is." He explained with a heart full of love.

Viktor stuttered for a minute before he managed to get his emotions back in check. "She's alive?" he whispered out as he rubbed his chest, right over his heart.

Alexander nodded. "Yes. She's alive and well."

Viktor shook his head in amazement. "This is amazing news." He said in awe.

Alexander smiled. "That's why I called you in here." He said after a couple of minutes. "I need you to watch over the family while we're gone." His grin stretched from one ear to the other. "Dimitri, Ivy, and I are going to see her. Our plane leaves in about forty-five minutes." He said as he glanced at his watch.

Viktor nodded quickly. "Oh of course. You go see our angel. I'll take care of everything here."

Alexander stood up and walked over to Viktor. "Thank you, brother." He said as he patted his shoulder.

Viktor smiled as he grabbed Alexander's shoulder in return. "No need Alex. Bring our angel home to us."

Alexander chuckled. "That might be a bit difficult." He said with a shake of his head.

"Why?" Viktor questioned with furrowed eyebrows.

Alexander laughed as he walked towards the door. "Alessandro says that she's his saving angel."

Viktor threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Good luck then." He said once he caught his breath. "We all know how mafia men are with their angels."

Alexander nodded in agreement. "I'll talk them into coming over for a visit though. I know everyone will want to see her."

Viktor grinned. "Yes, we'd all love to see her after so many years."

Alexander smiled as he opened the door. "Feel free to let the family know. I know it'll help a lot of our men who haven't found their angels yet."

Viktor chuckled. "It definitely will."

"We'll see you guys when we get back," Alexander said before walking away.

He met with Ivy and Dimitri in the family room. "Are we ready to go?" He asked them as he pulled Ivy into his arms.

"Yes," Dimitri said as he stood up.

"Let's go then." Alexander grinned as he pressed a kiss to Ivy's temple. "We all know Evangeline doesn't like waiting." He said with a laugh.

Dimitri chuckled. "Such a demanding little butterfly." He said with a shake of his head as he picked up their bags.

They made their way to the airport. The plane was already set to go. Once they were settled on the place Alexander looked at Dimitri. "You should call Alessandro. Let him know that we're on the way."

Dimitri nodded and pulled his phone out. He dialed Alessandro's number and put the phone on speaker. "Hey, Dimitri," Alessandro answered quietly. "What's up?"

"We wanted to let you know that we're on our way. We'll be there soon." He said as he relaxed into his seat.

"Alright. I'll have a security team waiting for you at the airport." Alessandro said softly.

"Thanks," Dimitri said. "We'll see you in a bit."

He hung up and smiled at his parents.

They all relaxed as the place started up and took off to Evangeline.

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Alessandro sat with Evangeline after hanging up with her family. "So what are we going to do about Nikolai?" He asked her. "We can't just let him keep coming after you." He softly ran his fingers through her hair.

Evangeline sighed heavily. "There's only one thing that I can do." She snuggled into him. "If I want to be free from Nikolai and the nightmares of my past I have to take Nikolai out. Take him out and then destroy all the camps he's built." She said quietly with her eyes closed.

Alessandro knew that she was serious. "How are you going to do that?" He asked as he twirled her hair around his finger.

She cleared her throat. "I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out though. Just need a bit of time." She took a deep breath. "One thing I do know is that I'm going to need a lot of help with the camps."

Alessandro pressed a kiss to her temple. "I will be with you every step of the way angel. Anything you need, I'll help you." He promised her.

She looked up at him with a small smile. "Thank you, love." She whispered.

He kissed her nose and held her close. "Want to watch some movies?" He asked after a few minutes.

She nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love that."

He stood up with her in his arms. He carried her to his room and sat on the couch with her on his lap. He grabbed the remote and quickly found a movie to watch.

They enjoyed their time together while snuggling on the couch. They made it through three movies before Evangeline fell asleep snuggled into him.

He gently ran his fingers through her hair as he held her close while she slept. He frowned when there was a knock at his bedroom door. He stood up and gently laid Evangeline down on his bed before going to the door. "What is it, Richard?" He demanded quietly as he stepped out into the hallway.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Why are you talking so quietly?" He asked in confusion.

Alessandro rolled his eyes. "Evangeline is asleep." He said simply. "Now what did you need?"

Richard cleared his throat. "The security team just picked up the Ivanov family from the airport. I was curious about why they're here."

Alessandro sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Evangeline is their missing daughter."

Richard's eyes went wide. "Seriously?" He asked in shock.

Alessandro nodded. "Yes. That's why they're here." He blew out a rough breath. "Though I'm pretty sure they're going to stay here for another reason. Which I will explain later once I speak with Evangeline some more."

Richard nodded. "Well, the Ivanov's should be here in about ten minutes."

Alessandro patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Richard. I'll meet you downstairs." He went back into his room and grabbed a small notepad off his desk. He wrote a quick note for Evangeline and set it on the pillow next to her head. He pressed a featherlight kiss to her forehead before leaving the room.

He made his way downstairs and stood with Richard. "So besides Evangeline being their long-lost daughter, why else would they be staying?" Richard questioned as he leaned against the wall with his arms folded over his chest.

Alessandro sighed heavily. "What I'm about to say stays between us for now." He said as he moved closer to Richard.

Richard nodded and gave Alessandro his full attention. "You know it will."

Alessandro ran his hands through his hair. "I'm sure you've noticed that Braydon and his family are missing."

Richard gave him a single nod. "Well, that's because Evangeline has helped them go off the grid and into hiding." He shook his head as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Nikolai sent an assassin after them because Braydon refused to flip on me."

"What does that have to do with the Ivanov's though?" Richard questioned with a creased forehead.

"Evangeline figured out why Nikolai wanted Braydon to flip."

"Because he's allied with Moretti," Richard stated. "We figured that out already."

"We figured out why he wanted a man on the inside of our family, but we never figured out what Nikolai would be getting out of the alliance," Alessandro explained.

Richard nodded in understanding. "Alright. So you figured it out?"

Alessandro chuckled. "Evangeline figured it out actually."

Richard smirked. "She's definitely your equal." He said in awe.

Alessandro nodded with a wide smile. "Definitely." He cleared his throat. "Anyway. Nikolai plans on using Moretti and his family to get to Evangeline. Nikolai wants her back under his control."

Richard frowned. "Why though?"

Alessandro scoffed. "Because she's the world's deadliest assassin. Would you want to betray or go against a man who has the world's deadliest assassin at his side to do his bidding?" He questioned.

Richard's eyes lit up with understanding. "Ahh. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

Alessandro nodded. "Evangeline is making a plan though. To free herself from him and to bring Braydon and his family home she has to get rid of Nikolai and the camps that he's built."

"How does she plan on doing that?" Richard questioned in confusion. "She's only one person." He held his hands up to show he meant no harm as Alessandro glared at him. "I mean she's a badass but she is only a single person. Nikolai must have an entire army behind him. Not to mention the assassins and his alliance with Moretti."

Alessandro inhaled deeply. "She already knows that she's going to need a lot of help with the camps. As she said the other day in my office, only an assassin can take out another assassin and she's positive that Nikolai will keep at least one assassin with him at all times once she starts going after him." He explained. "She'll be the only one that can get close enough to Nikolai to take him out. She'll need help keeping Nikolai's usual guards off of her though."

Richard blew out a harsh breath. "Sounds like she already has a plan." He said.

Alessandro chuckled. "Yeah, but she said that she needs to figure out what the best chance would be to get to Nikolai."

"Understandable. A man like that is always cautious and knows how to stay off the grid if he actually wanted to."

"Exactly," Alessandro said. "She's just going to need a bit of time to figure out when she can get to him, but she's going to need an army at her back when she does go after him."

"We'll be behind her all the way," Richard said as he puffed his chest out proudly.

Alessandro smiled brightly. "Already acting like she's your queen."

Richard scoffed. "She's your angel Alessandro. The day you found her she became our queen. The family doesn't know it yet." He clicked his tongue. "Hell she may not even know it yet but she is our queen and any of us would die for her."

Alessandro gripped his shoulder in a friendly manner. "Thank you."

Richard smiled. "We'll die for her just like we'd die for you," he stated proudly.

Alessandro couldn't contain the grin on his face.

They were brought out of their conversation by three cars pulling in front of the house. "The Ivanov's are here," Richard stated.

Alessandro nodded and stood by the door.