Secrets of the mute

Chapter 2

After a long and tension sickening journey, they finally reached a big gate where five guards stood stationed. It was a huge mansion in the middle of nowhere. Kalani turned to look at her brother confused. From what she could remember her grandfather didn't live in such a big abandoned place. He had a big house but not a castle.

The young man and the driver both exited the car and Kaleb followed in suit. The driver went to open the door for Kalani but Kaleb pushed him aside, helping his sister out. "I won't tolerate disrespect towards my workers" the young man's voice rasped. Instead of responding, Kaleb just scoffed and slammed the car door. Deciding to ignore Kaleb's childish behaviour, the young man took a deep breath and began to walk in.

The twins took that as a sign and followed him. They were going to collect their luggage but the guards took them instead. The entrance was beautifully groomed and in the centre was a large garden water fountain. Scattered around were many guards and this seemed to put Kalani on edge. She inched closer to Kaleb as a sort of protection. He noticed her discomfort so he held her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

They made their way into the house and it looked even better. It looked to be something out of their imagination. How rich are these people, the twins thought to themselves.

The young man lead them up some stairs and then stopped at a door. He knocked on the door but didn't wait for a response and just entered. "They're here" he said. He then turned to the twins jerking his head to the side, gesturing for them to come in. Kaleb took the first step in and Kalani followed.

Inside was a large office room and behind the desk sat another white young man who resembled the man that brought them here. The one behind the desk seemed to be in his late twenties and the other one in his middle twenties. "Have a seat" his deep voice startled Kalani a little. With confidence Kaleb walked to one of the seats and sat down, Kalani did the same.

The man finally looked up from the papers in front of him and turned his attention to the twins. "Welcome, Kalani and Kaleb" he spoke with no facial expressions. He was completely stoic. "What are we doing here?" Kaleb got straight to the point. "You are here because you are now both in my custody. I am your legal guardian. From now on, you live with me in this house." He spoke leaning his elbows on the table and intertwining his fingers.

"What do you mean legal guardian? We don't even know you" Kaleb spoke. "That's right. You don't know me, but you will get to know me. I am your eldest brother, Vincenzo. It's nice to finally meet you two" again he said with no facial expressions. The whole encounter felt like a business meeting.

Kaleb laughed out loud as if what Vincenzo said was so humorous. "You both think we are some fools. How are you our brother or are you colour blind? Do you not see the difference between us. You're white and we're black" he stated.

"You are light skinned, not black so there's still a possibility. Your mother had a situation with our father who is a white man and that's where you two come in the equation. Yes we might not be fully brothers but there's still a half." He explained. The twins sat there taking in the information that was just given to them.

"Where's our so called father then? Why has he never cared to show up?" He asked sounding annoyed. "He's no longer here" Vincenzo answered. Kaleb and Kalani were taken aback. "Oh... sorry for your loss" Kaleb said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"He's not dead. He's just no longer in our lives" Vincenzo said. This seemed to confuse the twins even more. "What, so the irresponsible scum decided to abandon all his kids then." Kaleb scoffed. "Watch your language" the brother warned. Kaleb only rolled his eyes.

"Enough with the act. Get your attitude together boy. I won't tolerate disrespect while you're in my house" Vincenzo slammed his fist on the desk, causing Kalani to flinch. "We never asked to be here" Kaleb slammed his fist against the desk as well to show that he isn't scared or intimidated.

"Get. Out" he gritted, glaring at Kaleb. "Gabriel, get them out of my sight" he instructed. The man from earlier was named Gabriel and the whole time he just stood there watching the scene unfold. "Let's go kids" Gabriel said calmly. But Kaleb didn't budge and continued challenging Vincenzo. "Let's go!" Gabriel said louder.

Seeing that her twin wasn't moving, Kalani tugged on his arm. Kaleb turned to her and she gestured for him to stop. He huffed to calmed himself before holding her hand and leading her out. Gabriel again lead them up another flight of stairs to which appeared multiple doors.

"These are your bedrooms" he pointed to the two door at the far end of the corridor. "You will be called down for dinner. Until then, don't leave your rooms." He explained. They stood rooted in their spot not wanting to split apart. "Go on" Gabriel spoke again. Sighing, they both went into their rooms and closed the door.

They were mesmerised by the beauty of the decoration of their room. Kalani had a queen sized bed and Kaleb had a king sized bed. All in all they were happy with the rooms.

Gabriel went back down to his brother's office. "They're gonna be one pain in the ass" he commented as he went in. "Well I'm not having them behave like this in my house" Vincenzo replied, running his fingers through his hair.

"Why did you even take them in." Gabriel asked. "Because Salvatore refused to take them in. And I didn't want to let them be left on the streets." He responded truthfully.

Salvatore is their father, but the man decided to leave his children in the hands of his eldest son after he had turned 18years old. Vincenzo was forced to train the day he turned seven. According to Salvatore, he was mature enough to start learning how to run the mafia business. As much as their mother was against it, he couldn't care less. He was the man of the house and what he said, goes.

"When are you planning to speak to them properly?" Gabriel asked. "When that kid learns how to control his mouth" he said. "Maybe you should control your temper too" Vincenzo glared at him. "I'm just kidding" Gabriel laughed. He then moved forward and took a seat. "You do know the others won't be happy. Right?" He said. "I don't care about their feelings or opinions. I've already told them" Vincenzo replied, getting back to his work. "If you have nothing else to do, then get out" he commanded. Gabriel complied not wanting to further ruin his brother's already ruined mood.

Back up stairs, Kalani and Kaleb were both sitting on their beds resisting the urge to go into each other's rooms. Kaleb was first to give up and left his room to check up on his sister. He knocked on her door and waited a little bit then entered without getting a response, not that he was going to get one.

There she was sitting on her bed doing nothing. "Hey. You okay?" He asked sitting next to her. She smiled and nodded at him. "I've never been so clueless and confused in my life. How is this even possible" he said more to himself. Kalani pulled out her hand and put it on top of his. She smiled and slowly shut her eyes, silently telling him that it is going to be ok.

"I hope so." He said. "If staying here means we will be safe then we'll have to stay." He added. She sighed and gave him a hug. He wrapped his arms around hugging her back. They pulled back and she pulled out a small notebook from her pocket and a pen.

"I'm scared. What if they are worse than Ethan?" She wrote. "Don't worry you've got me, and I won't let them run over us like Ethan did." He said with so much confidence. But it was only a facade. He too was scared that they were going to harm them but he had to stay strong for his sister. He couldn't let people take advantage of their weakness again.

He was going to say something again, when a knock came through the door. "Come in" Kaleb answered. "Excuse me. Sorry to disturb but Mr knight has requested for me to escort you down" a maid poked her head in and said politely.

Kaleb huffed and stood up, taking Kalani's too as they followed the maid downstairs.

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Second chapter done. Let me know what you think.

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