Chapter Twenty-Two

Alessandro ran a hand through his hair as he opened the door for the Ivanov family. "Hi, guys. I'm glad that you made it safely."

Alexander shook his hand as he walked into the house. "Thank you." He looked around. "I always forget how nice your house is." He said with a chuckle.

Alessandro laughed as he patted Alexander on the shoulder. "You know me. Everything has to look nice."

Dimitri scoffed as he walked up to Alessandro. "We all know that you don't care."

Alessandro laughed some more. "I do now."

Dimitri rolled his eyes. "My butterfly sure can change someone just by interacting with them."

Alessandro smiled as he shook his head. "She's a sweetheart."

Ivy stood next to Alexander with searching eyes. "Where is Evangeline?" She asked quietly.

"Oh." Alessandro cleared his throat. "She's upstairs sleeping."

Dimitri chuckled. "She always did like to take naps."

Alessandro sighed. "There are some things that I would like to talk to you about in the meantime. We can talk in my office."

They all followed him to his office and got comfortable before he started talking. "I know that you guys are more than excited to see Evangeline." He started. "Now don't get me wrong, she wants to see you but her past has not been an easy one."

"What do you mean?" Dimitri questioned as he leaned forward in his seat.

Alessandro blew out a harsh breath as he leaned back in his seat. "It's not my place to tell you everything but I can tell you a bit." He shook his head. "As I've said. Her past wasn't an easy one." He began but was interrupted by a knock on the door. He sighed. "Come in." He called out.

Evangeline opened the door and his eyes went straight to her. He grinned as he stood up and walked over to her. "Hi, angel. How was your nap?" He asked quietly as he pulled her into his arms.

She snuggled into his embrace with a small sigh. "It was nice. It's been a while since I've taken a nap like that."

He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Come sit with me. There are some people here who would love to meet you." He gently led her to his chair and pulled her onto his lap once he was seated. He ran his fingers through her hair as he pointed to the Ivanov family with his other hand. "I'm not sure how much you remember them but this is your family." He said softly. He pointed to each of them as he introduced them. "This is your father, Alexander. This is your mother, Ivy. And that's your brother, Dimitri." He introduced them. "This is Evangeline." He said to the Ivanov family.

Ivy covered her mouth with tears streaming down her face. "It's really you." She whispered out. She leaned into Alexander. "It's our baby girl." She whispered to him.

Alexander stared at Evangeline with shock and love on his face. "I can't believe that we finally found you." He said softly.

Evangeline bit her lip as she looked between them. She hesitantly stood up. She squeezed Alessandro's hand in reassurance before walking around the desk and standing in front of her family. She stood in front of Ivy as she softly said. "I remember that you used to always fix my hair. You would also always hold me and comfort me whenever I got hurt in any type of way."

Ivy nodded with tears in her eyes. "You always tried to be a big girl. Never wanted anyone to know that you were hurt, but you never tried to hide your pain from me." She said in a hoarse voice.

Evangeline gave her a small smile. "You're my mom." She shrugged simply as she looked at her feet.

Ivy let out a small cry of joy as she wrapped her arms around Evangeline tightly. "I've missed you so much, my sweet girl." She whispered into her ear.

Evangeline stood frozen for a minute before she hesitantly wrapped her arms around Ivy. They hugged each other for a few minutes before Ivy pulled away with a sniffle. She gently caressed Evangeline's cheeks and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you so much, my sweet girl," Ivy said softly.

Evangeline gave her a small smile. "I love you too mama." She whispered.

Evangeline moved to stand in front of Alexander. Being as short as she was she had to lean her head back to look up at him. "I remember that you used to always spin me around when you came home. I'd always be waiting right in front of the door for you." She whispered out. "And we would always draw together and work in the gardens together."

Alexander hesitantly put his hands on her upper arms. "You were always so excited when I came home. You would run around screaming 'Daddy! Daddy! Daddy's home!'" He shook his head with a wide smile. "I could always hear you from outside the door."

She smiled up at him with tears in her eyes. "I was always so sad when you had to leave."

He pulled her into his chest and held her close with his cheek resting against the side of her head. "It was always so hard to leave you guys but I had to do it to keep you safe." He said quietly.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tightly. "I never understood that but I always knew that you would come back." She whispered in a rough voice.

He held her close for a few minutes before pulling away and kissing her temple. "I'm so glad that we finally found you." He whispered. "I love you, baby girl."

She gave him a bright smile. "I love you too daddy."

Evangeline took a deep breath as she moved to stand in front of Dimitri. "Max." She whispered as she looked up at him.

Dimitri didn't hesitate or wait for her to say anything. He pulled her into his arms and held her close as they both cried. "You have no idea how much I have missed you butterfly."

She sobbed into his chest as she held onto him. "I remember how close we were." She whispered against his chest. "I never wanted to leave your side. I was always with you. I even slept in your bed with you no matter how much daddy tried to keep me in my bed."

Dimitri chuckled as he pulled away slightly and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You always fought so hard to sleep with me. You hated sleeping in your bed."

She let out a shaky laugh as she hugged him again. When they finally pulled away she went to sit down on Alessandro's lap again. Ivy, Alexander, and Dimitri sat down across from them with smiles on their faces. "I'm so happy that you remember us," Ivy said as she leaned into Alexander.

Evangeline smiled as she leaned into Alessandro. "Remembering you guys is what has helped me through everything." She took a deep breath. "I may not remember everything about you guys but the brief flashes that I used to get during those times helped me hold onto who I was."

Dimitri tilted his head slightly as he studied her. "What happened to you butterfly?" He asked in a quiet voice.

Evangeline swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat as she looked at her lap. "It's a long story." She whispered out in a small voice. She sighed heavily after a minute and ran her hands through her hair as she stood up. "We should go up to Alessandro's room for me to tell you. You'll understand once I've told you everything." She muttered as she walked out of the room.

Alessandro blew out a rough breath as they all stood up. "Trust me." He said. "This is not going to be easy to hear but it's something that you guys have to know to be around her. She's very fragile and suffers because of this stuff every single day. Just listen to everything that she has to say with an open mind. And please don't judge her because of it. She didn't have a choice in the matter."

They followed Alessandro into his room to find Evangeline laying on the bed already. Alessandro exhaled loudly as he walked over to the bed and started chaining up her wrists and ankles. He pressed a kiss to her lips and whispered against them. "I'm right here with you angel. You're safe here."

She nodded with a small, adoring smile on her face. "Thank you, my love."

He pressed one more kiss to her lips before pulling away and sitting on the bed next to her. "Please come in and make yourselves comfortable." He said softly.

Once they were all comfortable Evangeline took a deep breath and began her story.

Dimitri sat there in horrified astonishment as he listened to Evangeline tell them her story. The abuse. The torture. The things that she had been forced to do just to survive. It made him sick. Yet he was proud of her for being strong enough to survive through everything she had been through. Not just survive but she also helped other kids that had been brought in as well.

He wanted nothing more than to get his hands on Nikolai and make him pay for what he had put his little sister through but he knew that it was impossible to get to him. He was always protected. Whether it was an army of highly trained men or assassins. He was always guarded.

He watched her start to tremble once she was finished speaking. She tugged roughly at her chains before Alessandro tased her. Once she was passed out he sat next to her and gently moved her hair out of her face. "Please don't think any less of her because of what she's been through," Alessandro said quietly. "She did what she had to do to survive."

Dimitri walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We would never think anything less of Evangeline. We understand that everything she did was to survive. She's still our family." He said in a rough voice.

Alessandro took a deep breath as he pulled his phone out. He called down to the infirmary. "Hey, doc. Could you bring up your strongest sedative, please? I need it in my room as soon as possible. Thanks."

He hung up and shook his head. "I hope the sedative works." He muttered as he turned to face the Ivanov family. "I understand that it may be hard to accept but she's still a sweetheart. Despite everything that she's been through she takes care of others before herself."

"We would never think less of her," Ivy said softly. "She's still our baby girl."

Alessandro nodded. "She'll be out for two hours so feel free to go to your rooms and get settled. Help yourselves to anything in the kitchen." He mumbled as he turned his attention to Evangeline.

There was a knock at the door. Dimitri opened it and gave the doctor a small smile. "Thanks, doc." He said as he grabbed the sedative.

He walked over to Alessandro and handed it to him. Alessandro carefully injected Evangeline with it and tossed the syringe in the trash.

Dimitri blew out a rough breath as he ran a hand through his hair. "I can't believe that she went through all of that." He muttered.

"She's such a strong woman," Alexander said with pride and sadness in his heart.

Ivy leaned into Alexander for comfort while they waited for Evangeline to wake up.

Evangeline let out a soft moan as her eyes fluttered open. She didn't feel the usual sting from a taser as she fully woke up. Once her eyes were wide open and focused she saw Alessandro sitting right next to her. She gave him a small smile. "Hi, love." She whispered.

He leaned over and pressed a loving kiss to her lips. "How are you feeling?" He asked softly.

She took a minute before saying. "I feel surprisingly well-rested." She frowned. "I usually feel a sting from the taser when I go out like that."

Alessandro grinned. "I used a sedative this time. I only hit you with the taser once when you first started trembling."

She smiled brightly. "Thank you. We never thought to try it."

Alessandro chuckled. "Well, we used the strongest sedative that we had for you."

She leaned up slightly and kissed his lips. "Thank you, my love."

Dimitri cleared his throat. "Hey butterfly," he said softly.

She smiled at him as she turned to look at him. "Hi, Max." She looked behind him and saw their parents. "Hi, mama. Hi daddy."

"Do you know how strong you are, baby girl?" Alexander asked as he took a step closer to her.

She blushed as she looked down. "Thank you." She whispered.

Dimitri blew out a rough breath. "I know that you just woke up but I was wondering if it would be alright if we asked you some questions." He said softly.

She bit her lip but nodded. "Yeah. That'll be fine."

He nodded. "You said that you remember everything from while you were away."

She gave him a slight nod. "Yes. It's not easy for me to forget." She said in a low voice.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Do you remember where the camp was? The one that you had been held in."

She scoffed as she clenched her hands into fists. "I know where every single camp that he has ever built is." She said through clenched teeth. "I can tell you exactly where they are. How to get in. How many men are there. How many kids are being trained there." She shook her head. "I can tell you everything."

Dimitri stared at her in shock. "They shared all of that information with you?"

Evangeline let out a harsh laugh. "No way." She said after a minute. "Nikolai didn't want anyone to know any of that. He didn't even want any of us assassins to know the full layout of the camp that we were in. Some rooms were off-limits. Such as the general's office." She scoffed. "You'd think they'd put better security for the general's office in a camp full of assassins, but they're dumbasses."

"So how did you learn all of this?" Alexander asked her as he held Ivy close to him.

She shrugged slightly. "I snuck into the general's office." She said as she stuck her tongue out at him. "I was always the rebel of the camp. Always going into rooms I shouldn't have been in." She blew out a breath as she stared at the ceiling. "I don't know how many times I had been caught sneaking in or out of a room that we were forbidden from going into."

"So exactly how many camps does Nikolai have?" Dimitri questioned.

Evangeline clicked her tongue. "He has two in every city in the world." She said quietly as she closed her eyes. "They're all the same size and pretty much have the same layout. They weren't too creative when they built these camps."

"How the fuck are we supposed to take out that many camps?" Dimitri demanded in anger.

Evangeline let out a dark laugh. "Burning those camps to the ground will be easy."

They all stared at her with wide eyes. "How is it going to be easy?" Dimitri demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest. "There are two camps in each and every city in the entire world."

She let out another dark laugh. "All the generals meet at one camp once every three months. It's always the one that I was trained at." She started as she tried to get comfortable.

Alessandro quickly helped adjust the pillows behind her. She gave him a grateful smile as she relaxed.

"How is that going to help us?" Alexander asked in frustration.

She rolled her eyes. "If you take out all of the generals then there won't be anyone to run the camps. The generals will also have quite a few guards with them so the camps will be pretty much undefended." She explained.

"Burn the camps down while there's minimum security," Dimitri said with a smirk.

She nodded. "Exactly." She had a dark smirk on her face as she thought about it.

"How are we going to do that though?" Alexander questioned. "We only have a certain amount of men. We can't spread them out thin enough to have enough men at each camp." He explained as he sat down next to Ivy.

Evangeline rolled her eyes again. "You think that after all of these years I don't have connections all over the world?" She questioned sarcastically.

Alessandro shook his head with a small smile as he kept his eyes glued to her.

"What about the other assassins?" Ivy asked from where she sat in front of the bay windows.

Evangeline exhaled loudly. "It's rare that fully trained assassins are in the camps. It's usually only the trainees and the younger kids who aren't old enough to be trained yet." She scoffed. "It seems that Nikolai actually has some sort of a heart. He'll only start training the kids once they hit the age of twelve." She clicked her tongue. "Anyway. If there are fully trained assassins in the camps it's for security reasons. Or to get their next assignment." She shook her head. "Nikolai liked to keep us busy. So we should be fine."

"What if there are assassins at the camps though?" Ivy demanded as she looked at Evangeline and leaned into Alexander.

Evangeline shrugged. "They'll most likely just take off. Everyone hates those camps." She sighed. "Don't get me wrong. I do know a few people who do enjoy the assassin lifestyle. But even they'll just leave. Either to find work elsewhere or crawl back to Nikolai." She let out a laugh that scared everyone except Alessandro. "Not that they'll find him. He'll be dead before we go after the camps."

She frowned as her family took a step away from the bed with looks of concern on their faces. "What did I say?" She asked as she looked up at Alessandro.

He chuckled as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It's the look in your eyes and your laugh." He explained softly.

"Oh." She bit her lip as she looked down. "I'm sorry." She whispered in a small voice.

Alessandro shushed her as he gently caressed her face. "We know it's not your fault. It's just something that you can't control." He said softly.

She blew out a rough breath as she kept her focus on Alessandro. "I'll have to make quite a few calls, but we should have everything ready to take the camps down within a month or two." She explained to everyone quietly. "During those couple of months, I will try to find out some information on Nikolai."

"Is there anyone that you can talk to who might know where he would be?" Dimitri questioned as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

Evangeline thought for a minute before nodding. "Actually, I might. I have a friend. I helped her, her husband, and her son go into hiding when I was under Nikolai's control. They helped me get the Rinaldi house set up. She's a genius when it comes to finding people. I'll see if she can find anything on Nikolai."

"Do you have a plan to take Nikolai out?" Alexander asked as he held Ivy close to him.

Evangeline scoffed as she glanced at Alexander. She looked back at Alessandro to stay focused on not losing herself to the darkness. "Yes, I already have a plan to take him out. I'll have your two armies lookout for Nikolai's guards while I take out the assassins that he has with him. Depending on the assassins with him I could get them to just leave or even join me. I helped a lot of people when I was there." She shrugged. "Once they're taken out I take him out." She said simply.

Dimitri raised an eyebrow as he looked her over. "I know you just explained that you're the deadliest assassin." He started. "But I'm curious because you're such a small person."

Evangeline let out a small laugh. She looked into Alessandro's eyes as she softly asked. "Alessandro. Love. Could you please unchain me?"

Alessandro chuckled. "I don't know if that'll be such a good idea for Dimitri." He said as he pushed her hair out of her face.

She groaned as she let her head flop onto the pillow. "Fine." She grumbled.

Everyone chuckled before Alexander spoke up. "I would like to see you in action just to put my mind at ease." He said as he looked over at Evangeline. "I'd feel a lot better if I saw what you were capable of before we went through with all of this."

Evangeline shrugged. "Alright." She said simply. "Just unchain me." She looked down at herself and frowned. "I'll need different clothes though. Can't exactly fight in nothing but a t-shirt."

Alessandro smiled. "Sabrina is about the same size as you. She might have clothes that fit."

Evangeline frowned. "Who's Sabrina?" She asked as she looked up at him.

Alessandro chuckled as he kissed her forehead. "She's Jesse's saving angel." He explained as he stood up. "I'll be right back."