STAY | COMPLETED ✓

CHAPTER 36

" I need to start dinner, you should freshen up" I suggested pecking him on the cheek as he let go of my waist.

" Ella! I need your help in the kitchen" I called out diverting her attention from the sitcom she was watching.

After Ethan went upstairs, Ella and I began to prep the ingredients for dinner.
" I have something to tell you" Ella said breaking our comfortable silence.

" What's up?" I inquired dropping the knife in my hand.

" It's about Antonio, I don't know if this is a right time" She said glancing at me with a serious face. Giving her a go ahead, she put the chicken in the oven and sat opposite me. As she was about to speak, my phone began to ring with Theo's name on the screen.

" They're probably here, I'll get the door" she offered standing from her chair.

" We brought drinks" Theo greeted shaking the nylon bag full of drinks as Reese followed behind him.

" Thank you, you can drop it over there" I replied gesturing towards the counter.

" I'm not a visitor Roo, I'll keep it in the fridge" he chuckled making himself at home.

" Do you want to wait till dinner's done for us to talk?" I suggested as Ella sat back down.

" No, it's okay. It's better if they know too. There's really nothing to hide" She replied as Theo took a seat beside her.

" What's up? Am I interrupting something?" He asked noticing the tension in the air.

" She was about to tell me something about Antonio" I replied plainly as Reese turned his head towards us.

As Reese sat down on the table, I hurriedly put the sweet potato on fire and sat down.
" There's something that the detectives don't know about Antonio" She started playing with her fingers. As she started, Ethan quietly came down the stairs. Noticing that we were talking about something serious, he sat down beside me as we all focused on Ella.

" There's something he does every year around August. A party of some sort. I don't know if I should call it a party or a ritual but it's something that'll be able to implicate him" She continued looking between the four of us.

"He has a safe house in Boston that isn't under his name. I can't remember his full name but it starts with a C"

" Carlos?" Reese asked looking at me.

" I think so" she replied nodding to herself.

" They share children among them and sometimes force them into sniffing weird substances" She said as she put her head down.

" And how do you know all this?" Theo asked looking sick.

" Because I was part of the children they shared years ago" She confessed as I squeezed Ethan's lap under the table.

" Ella-" I started trying to tell her that she didn't have to go further.

" No! I need to tell someone. I need you all to understand how much of a devil Antonio Rossi is" She said sniffing. Noticing that this was something that she had to do, I stayed quiet as Ethan put his hand on top of mine.

" I was thirteen when it happened. My brothers and I were just sold to a stranger because my father was a chronic alcoholic and had debts to pay. My mother died giving birth to Wes so it wasn't easy for us. Sam and I had to be parents to Wes as we took care of ourselves. It would have been better if my brothers and I ended in the same place but the universe had evil plans for us. Apparently, boys and girls were separated. The girls became prostitutes and the boys became only God knows what. The few months I got separated from Wes and Sam, I was basically dead but breathing. I wasn't eating, I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't doing anything. I was useless without my brothers. The woman in charge of me then said I was being a nuisance who needed to be taught a lesson so she handed me over to Roman who was meant to 'punish' me. I would have taken any beating they had for me but their own form of punishing was different. They took me to a grey mansion and forced me to take off my clothes and just stand. Not wanting to die, I stood quietly as other children came into the big hall I was in. The boys we're kneeling but the girls were standing. Thinking about it makes me sick. Maybe they were into some sick twisted sight of children but I was wrong. They weren't interested in seeing us, they were interested in touching us. It went on for a while as they kept on switching us and focusing us to sniff a white substance. It was hell. They did it because they could. They hurt us in many ways and when they were done, we were taken away. Instead of going back to the woman, I was taken away by Roman." She ended as everywhere was pin drop silence. As she rose her head, her eyes locked with mine then she said

" I need Antonio gone. A life time in prison or six feet under".