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ELIJAH

I stepped into my bedroom, closing the door behind me as I let out a satisfied sigh. I couldn't help but replay the events of the day in my mind, a smile spreading across my face as I remembered the look of delight on her face when she saw the ring.

I wasn't crazy enough to buy her an engagement ring but I was been nervous about her reaction, but the sparkle in her eyes had been all the confirmation I needed. For a moment, I forgot about the chaos surrounding us, and all that mattered was the joy I had brought to her.

Just then, I heard some yelling coming from another room. They were faint, but only because the walls to this house were thick. I stepped out of my room, my eyes scanning the hallway. The noise was coming from the room across. I squinted my eyes, slowly my way towards that direction. The noise became louder and louder.

I realized that it wasn't even coming from upstairs but the person made sure to make a hell of a noise and I'm convinced it was my sister's voice.

"What's going on here?" I asked, finally making my way to where all the commotion was occurring. It was one of my father's men, his men that I didn't trust, his hand on my sisters. "What's going on here?" This time I was looking at him and he just looked at me with wide eyes. I chuckled. "Are you deaf?"

"B-boss I was just speaking with Ms.Vicky. She was just reprimanding me," And that's when my eyes fell in his hand, there was something silver I saw that he was hiding. Something I'd seen too many times in my life to not know what it is.

"Imbecile," Vicky said. "Brother, his lying. He tried to get it with me but because I said no," and that was all I needed to know before he was on the floor.

There was always this thing about me that I didn't like: I always let my anger consume me. If someone ever tested my patience, I would let out all the pent up rage of my past and they wouldn't get to see the end of it.

"Think I need to teach you a lesson on how to accept rejection you moron,"

□□□

Just as I was about to change into something more comfortable, a knock at the door interrupted my reverie. Before I could respond, the door swung open, and my father, Vincent, walked in.

My expression turned cold as I regarded him. "What are you doing here, Vincent? Did I tell you to come in?" The tension between us was always palpable, a testament to our strained relationship.

My sister looked at the both of us, silent.

Vincent's eyes narrowed. "Sometimes I think you forget that you're living in my household, Elijah. You'd do well to show some respect."

My gaze locked onto my father's, a chuckle escapingmy lips. "Sooner or later, Vincent – you're going to die. And this is all going to be mine. That's what you've always told me right?"

The air was thick with unspoken hostility. "What do you want, Father? I'm sure it's not to complain that I didn't go down for dinner so that you could bond with your son."

Vincent's expression turned cold, his eyes glinting with calculation. "Look, I'm not in the mood for your little shows okay? I'm here for business, Elijah." Nothing New. "I've been searching for an opportunity to... resolve our issue with the Rossi family. Specifically, I've been trying to locate the father, who's currently in a coma."

My eyes narrowed. Truth is, there was a huge part of me that didn't care about all this. I would only care as much as my father cares if they hurt anyone I was close to. I couldn't care less about this war that started with betrayal but as the saying goes, children always had to pay for their parents actions.

"And?"

Vincent's smile was devoid of warmth. "I've done my research, and it appears he's not in any hospital. Which means... other arrangements need to be made."

My gut twisted with a growing sense of unease. I knew exactly what his father was implying. I remembered the last time someone had tried to cross my family – a man who had tried to mess with my sister at a party. I had taken care of it, making sure the guy never bothered anyone again. In fact, I had made sure the guy never bothered anyone, period.

The memory flashed through my mind – the sound of shattering glass, the feel of my fists connecting with flesh, the look of shock on the guy's face as he crumpled to the ground. It had been a messy fight, but I had walked away without a scratch. The other guy hadn't been so lucky. He had ended up dead on the spot, a victim of his own stupidity.

My father seemed to sense my unease, his eyes glinting with amusement. "You know, Elijah, sometimes I think you're more like me than you realize."

My expression turned icy. "I'm nothing like you, Vincent. "

Vincent chuckled. "We'll see about that, son. We'll see about that."

"On that note, what happened with Juan?" My sister looked over to me. "He-" but I cut her off.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't act stupid. You got rid of him, my men told me,"

"And?"

Vincent's frustration grew, his face reddening. "You can't just go around killing people, Elijah! You're going to get yourself killed!"

My eyes flashed with anger. "That's all you've ever taught me, Father. That's all I've ever known. You were the one who taught me how to kill in the first place. When I was eight years old, you forced me to kill for the first time. You've been grooming me for this life since I was a child so what the issue now?"

Vincent's expression turned cold, but I continued, my words spilling out in a torrent of emotion.

"You and your empire. Your obsession with power and control. You've never cared about me or my sister. You've only cared about using us to further your own interests. Vicky's sensitive side is constantly triggered by the things you've done to her. And me? You've turned me into a killer, just like you."

My voice dropped to a whisper, my eyes blazing with intensity.

"You told me to protect the women in my life at all costs. And that's exactly what I'll do. You may think that Nadia is a weakness, but you know nothing about love or feelings. You're incapable of caring about anyone but yourself."

Vincent's face twisted with anger, but I cut him off.

"My sister could be dead, and you wouldn't even care. All you'd care about is whether your precious empire is still standing. That's all you've ever cared about."

My anger boiled over and I was afraid I was going to do something I was going to regret.

"So get out!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the room. "Get out of my sight!"

Vincent's face reddened, but he knew better than to push me further. He turned and stormed out of the room, leaving me seething with anger.

I slammed the door shut behind my father and leaned against it, my chest heaving with emotion. I took a deep breath and pushed myself away from the door, my eyes scanning the room until they landed on my sister, Vicky.

I strode over to her and wrapped my arms around her, holding her close.

"It's going to be okay, Vicky," I whispered, trying to reassure her.

Vicky nodded, her eyes welling up with tears. She pulled away from me and hurried out of the room, leaving me alone with all thoughts.

I paced over to the punching bag in the corner of the room and began to pummel it, my fists flying as I tried to release some of the anger and frustration that had been building up inside me.

Just as I was starting to calm down, my phone rang, shrill in the silence. I pulled it out of my pocket and answered, my heart sinking as I heard Nadia's voice on the other end, trembling with tears.

"Elijah, I need you," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

My gut twisted with concern. "What's wrong, Nadia? What's happening?"

But Nadia just sobbed, her words incoherent. My anxiety spiked as I tried fto reassure her, my mind racing with worst-case scenarios.

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, the line went dead. I was left standing there, my phone still clutched in my hand, my heart pounding with fear.