Madness Within

| twenty-five |

LEO DE ANGELIS

-
Stepping into father's office for the first time since he died felt like a fever dream... it didn't feel real, and even though I watched his body be buried, a part of me still believes he's alive somewhere.

I held the envelope in my hands, which contained his computer, email passwords and other credentials that he used on a daily basis. I needed access to all of his social media platforms as well as any other platforms that could help me figure out what happened to him.

Evelyn sat with Janice and Aurora in the kitchen. She assisted Janice in preparing breakfast, and they ate while conversing. I crept into the office without them noticing and began working on my investigation.

As soon as we entered the password, the background of our family photo appeared. Adeline, my mother, sat with Aurora in her lap, Elias stood beside me, and Theo sat on a lounge in front of father and I. I remember that day like it was yesterday, but that photo was taken nearly seventeen years ago.

I moved the cursor over the email app in the taskbar and clicked it. The page reloaded, and the only email left was one from the one and only Matteo Cruz.

"What does this abomination of a man want?" As I clicked on the email, I murmured to myself. My eyes followed the words on the screen, and my mouth dropped open in surprise as I read them.

I subconsciously reached for my phone, which was sitting beside me to the right, and dialled Isaiah's number. He responded, but there was only dead silence on my end.

"Leo... what's up?"

"Father wasn't on a business trip," I said, my voice slightly quivering with rage and irritation. "He was going to meet up with the fucking Cruz's for a "peacemaking discussion" Janice lied to us the entire time."

"Leo slow the hell down... what exactly are you talking about?" Isaiah stated, prompting me to take a deep breath and reconsider my words.

"Those monsters murdered Father. They led him to their own house, killed him, I have no idea... I'm not going to let them take my parents and then get away with it this time. They've had far too many chances."

As Isaiah began to speak, I hung up the phone. I got out of the chair and walked out of the office, causing the doors to slam shut against the walls and each other. Janice, Aurora, Evelyn, and now Elias all stared at me in disbelief. Elias' mouth opened to say something.

"Don't speak," I said, putting my hand in front of his face. Through my brows, I looked directly at Janice.

"Leo-"

"Janice! "How come you didn't tell me about your father's supposed business trip!" As I began to raise my voice, I inquired. I knew she knew I'd figured it out and wasn't messing around.

"Leonardo... What are you talking about?" Janice then inquired. I scoff softly and looked down at the ground.

"Seriously-"

"Don't give me that Leonardo nonsense! You covered for him? He wasn't on some shambolic business trip. I know he was attempting to reconcile our families."

"What?!" As he stood up from the breakfast bar, Elias yelled. In disbelief, he looked at Janice. Janice stood there, tears welling up in her eyes, not knowing what to say. "What on earth do you mean? What didn't work-"