Code name: Athena [18+]

Code name: Mea culpa

•Arabella DiStefano•

My arms feel hallow as my heart. All I want to do is cry. This is so much worse than getting the news of Apollo's fake death two years ago. My baby and I were one for nine months and now he is just gone. In the blink of an eye, I lost him. Apollo and I promised that this wouldn't happen to us, that our children wouldn't be part of any sort of criminal beef/war; we've failed.

"ARABELLA!" His yell snapped me out of my trance. Somehow I made it to the safe house on the outskirts of Paris where Allegra is being treated.

"I'm sorry..." I rubbed my eyes trying to keep the tears from falling.

"Why weren't you looking after him?!" My husband exclaimed.

A rush of vomit threatened to leave my throat but I gulped it back "We are surrounded by security, I never thought this could ha–"

"Well, it fucking happened!" he paced in front of me.

"Apollo this is not my fault–"

"IT IS! YOU ARE HIS MOTHE–"

"DON'T RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME!" I shot up from my seat and slapped him across the face. My heart's loud beating was making me anxious, I wanted to walk out and scream until my insides flooded with blood.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" Apollo placed his right hand over the same side cheek "don't raise your fucking hand at me!"

"STOP!" I gripped my hair tightly trying to think straight; we have so many enemies...if something happens to Napoleon, if they scar him for life it will break me completely. I wouldn't be able to sleep another night of my life.

Once again, I took my seat because I was heavily dizzy. There's so much going through my mind and I'm not able to process it which causes me to feel numb but at the same time hypersensitive.

Just as something was about to leave Apollo's mouth, Andrea walked in out of breath "We have the footage."

"Stay here," Apollo ordered as he left the bedroom. I wasn't planning on moving, I couldn't; my legs were wobbly, my sight doubled and my hands still stained with Allegra's blood. Suddenly I felt this severe itch all over my body as if a million ants were walking on me. My feet took me to the bathroom as fast as I could, I undressed as quickly as possible and then jumped into the shower to wash everything away...but guilt can't be washed away.

Is this how dying feels like? Like a wildfire that eats you alive slowly while you watch everything go by and feel as powerless as ever.

"ARABELLA!" Apollo stormed into the bathroom and pulled me out of the shower by my arm, aggressively "WHO THE FUCK ARE THEY?!" He showed me the footage of the park and you could see how they took my child but the person was covered in black from head to toe "They're not part of our security body."

"They are my personal security body," I told looking into his eyes which clouded in anger "the–"

"You're so stupid!" he shouted in my face making me flinch; he had never called me that at least not seriously and this time he truly meant it "how dare you put our child's life in danger over a whim of becoming a capo?!"

"I did it to keep him saf–"

"We hadn't had a problem since Artemis but the moment you decide to play boss this happens," he truly thinks this is my fault and he might be right...I should've been looking after my son better.

"They're good, they love Napoleon and a couple of them lost their lives today trying to protect our baby–"

"OUR BABY IS GONE! SOMEONE TOOK HIM!" His neck veins were popping as his face turned red.