"What in the hell?!" Zadia said in disbelief as the news anchor continued.
"We are told that Zadia Hamilton is the daughter of Keith and Angie Hamilton, who are the owners of the well known Northside Winery & Vineyards estate."
Roman hums from beside her. "I knew you looked familiar."
"Her parents own over two-hundred acres of land and you say you found her on the poor side of town? What is going on in the world today?" Adam quips, even laughing a bit.
Zadia glared at him, not seeing anything funny with this situation. She tuned him out and focused back on the news. "We asked the Hamilton's if they had any comments, and they released a statement soon after. Here it is." A typed up message appeared on the screen, Zadia's school picture disappeared for a moment. "We are well aware of the accusations being brought against our daughter. It is in our best interest to inform everyone, that we are not in contact with Zadia, nor will we ever be from here on out. She is not a member of this family and we'd like to keep it that way. Please refrain from asking us any questions about the matter, this is our first and last time ever addressing it. Thank you."
Zadia felt like she got hit by a truck... well in this case a truck filled with devastation. She knew she wasn't on her parent's good side, but still... she kinda thought that they'd defend her or at least showed that they cared.
"Now that's cold," Adam said, shaking his head. "What'd you do to piss them off?"
Roman looked over at Zadia, feeling a little bad.
Only a little.
The poor girl looked like she was going to burst into tears at any given moment. He sighed, looking at Adam. "Stop with the questions, see if you can get me information about the cops who were there at that apartment. This situation has Cortez written all over it." Picking up the remote, he muted the television.
Zadia took a seat on the sofa, her legs feeling weak. She stroked Tino's hand as he tugged on her locs. "Why would he try and pin this on me, you're the one that pulled the trigger. Hell, those cops saw you leave with us. I don't even know Cortez, let alone what he looks like."
Roman stayed where he stood, his arms crossed. "Cortez doesn't give a shit about you knowing him or not, if given the chance to ruin a life, he'll do it no question asked. I'm guessing since they didn't mention two dead bodies, Martin is alive and reported back to him. He told the cops to pin this on you because he knows you have the baby and now that your face is all over the news you have nowhere to hide... literally. Everyone will be looking for you."
Pressing her hand to her face, she felt tears blurring her vision. "That doesn't explain why you weren't on the news either."
"On the news or not, it's still the same outcome. He's looking for me too if that makes you happy."
"If that makes me happy?!" Zadia repeated angrily. "How the hell could that possibly make me happy?!" Roman shrugged. "What the hell did you and your sister get me into?"
He eyed his boots. "I didn't get you into anything, if we're being honest, my sister did. She's not the best at decision making and since you took her baby in, I can say the same for you too. Corrupted decisions." He muttered the last part. "Until I figure out what I'm gonna do with you and the kid, I think you guys should stay put here. But if you'd rather take your chances elsewhere, that's fine, I don't give a shit. Either way, Santino stays here."
"Zadia!" Abel called in relief. He ran to her and Santino's position on the couch and hugged them both. "You were asleep for a while, I was so worried."
ChApTeR - 5
Start from the beginning
