Code name: Athena [18+]

Code name: Mea culpa

"I know!" I pushed him away because it was making me claustrophobic "stop yelling at me...please..." I sobbed covering as much as I could of myself with my arms.

"Everyone who loves you dies," he said and it felt as if someone had impaled me to the wall with a dagger through the heart "stay here while I go find our son," Apollo didn't seem to regret anything of what he said.

Apollo is right. Maybe following my dreams was a mistake, maybe it was a whim and now my baby is in danger. What if he is no longer alive? What if they cut him apart and send him to us in pieces? My whole face twitched as I looked at myself in the mirror thinking about the endless possibilities...

"NO!" I screamed as my fist met the mirror which cracked; a piece fell off and my mind went to a dark place: what if I took that sharp piece of glass and sliced my throat open? What if I fell to the floor bleeding out without repair? Would the pain be greater? Would I be able to forget about this fog of agony? Would I see my son on the other side? Would Apollo look at me with loving eyes once again?

Stop, Arabella. There's a life growing inside of you. It's not just you anymore. If it was I would be slicing my neck open already.

There's not a fiercer being in the face of the earth than a mother who knows her child is in danger. No one will find Napoleon as fast as I can but Apollo won't let me do anything so the only choice I have is to leave.

•Apollo DiStefano•

"She's not in danger anymore," Mariano said referring to my sister as he walked into one of the guest bedrooms which is now the epicenter of Napoleon's search. I won't rest until he is back in my arms "How is Arabella? I–"

"Don't even mention her to me, this is all her fault for wanting to play boss," I said before taking a sip of my rum.

"Apollo she created the Athenas to build another wa–"

"The what?" My blood boiled as our eyes met "you knew?!"

He nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me anything?!" I threw my glass at his head but he ducked "I thought you were my best friend!"

"She made me promise I wouldn't say anything, she was waiting until the girls' training was over so you could see the potential in her idea. She wanted to make you proud–"

"Well she has done the complete opposite; the only thing I feel is disappointment," I stated and went back to looking at the screens "are there any other secrets you and my wife have?"

"You have more enemies than her, Apollo; Instead of trying to pin it on your wife find the bastard who did this," Mariano spat "have you even asked her how she feels?"

"It's been nine hours since my son was taken, the only thing I care about is finding him; everything else can go to hell."

"Fuck you, Apollo," he said and then exited the room.

•Mariano Salvatore•

Arabella looks so broken. If you thought the news of Apollo's fake death hurt her, it's nothing compared to this.

Her eyes are so empty.

"Drink this," I handed her a glass filled with water but she pushed it away; a frown appeared upon my face when I noticed the bandage around her hand covering her right set of knuckles "what happened to you, Arabella?"

"I punched the bathroom's mirror," she seemed so unbothered by it "where is he?"

"Downstairs," I replied referring to his husband "he is drinking and smoking." Arabella rubbed both of her eyes and seemed to be trying to hurt herself so my hands quickly looped around her wrists to stop her "Stop it," I said and she growled trying to squirm out of my grip "stop it, Arabella," she tried pushing me away but I knew what she needed and since her husband is being the biggest asshole right now, I have to provide it for her. My arms looped around her as I held her close, her struggle turned into sobs as she gripped my shirt.

"I have to leave," she whispered.

My eyes immediately looked down to meet hers "What do you mean 'leave'?"

Arabella sniffled pulling away "Apollo is furious at me."

"Leaving won't make it better, Arabella, you have to stick together," I frowned.

She shook her head "If I go I can look for Napoleon too and Apollo will think straight, there won't be anyone to be mad at."

"Arabella you're speaking nonsense, where is the strong Arabella I know? Go put him in his pla–"

"That will do us no good," she softly said "the police are into this, I'll find out what they have and conduct my own investigation...if I did it once, I can do it again," her hands went for her stomach. She's a mother, a fierce one who will stop at nothing to find her baby but Apollo messed with her mind by blaming her; he will regret it when he wakes up tomorrow and Arabella is gone.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked.

"Distract the guards, Apollo will come shower in the middle of the night; he always does it when he is working late," she sniffled. The worst thing is that she isn't mad at Apollo for how he has treated her "I'll text you once he is under the water."

"Okay."

"You're the best, Mariano," she wrapped her arms around my neck and held me tightly which I returned it "I love you."

"I love you too," I whispered before pecking the top of her head "if you need anything, you know which number to dial."

"Just be there for my husband, he can't take care of himself," Arabella pulled away "be civilized with Allegra, she wants you to be happy with Abra."

"She will always be a part of me, young me still loves her more than anything and we will always share our children; that's an unbreakable bond," I told.

•Arabella DiStefano•

I didn't pack much just what I think I'll need and anything else I can get through my girls. Everything in the bag is oversized so I can hide my pregnancy.

There isn't a safe house waiting for me, I'll figure it out along the way because Apollo can't find me. I don't hate him, I love him and I understand his necessity to blame somebody.

The door opened and closed quickly, he took his shoes and then walked to the bathroom; didn't even glance at me which is okay, that's what I want. As soon as he closed the bathroom door he opened the water; I reached under my phone and texted Mariano.

Arabella: Now
Mariano: Two minutes.

In those two minutes I slipped on my boots and grabbed my bag from the closet. My phone vibrated:

Mariano: Now

Before leaving, I took one last glance at the bedroom. There isn't someone to tell me I love you, see you at dinner. Maybe Apollo won't love me anymore but I have to do this.

I can't just sit and wait. That's not me.