Roman's POV :
The cars came to a stop a few meters away from us and out came Callan, Thomas, Adrian, Caleb, Colton and Jaxon along with a few of our men.
Sighting us all, they rushed towards us and started checking over us.
"Fucking hell! You guys okay?" Jaxon muttered looking at us.
"Of course they're not dude." Caleb stressed.
"Yeah, they're freaking bleeding." Colton fussed over Rian's bleeding hand, his twin following suit and looking over mine and River's heads which were also bleeding due to being car-butted and hitting our heads on steering wheel and dashboard respectively.
"Guys, it's fine. We're okay." I tried to assure them.
"Yeah, you needn't worry." Rian said.
"How can we not worry? You guys are hurt." Thomas spoke up while looking at us while Adrian nodded in agreement.
Then Callan came upto us and just stood still, eyeing our wounds. A stranger might not see this but I saw the pain in his eyes. It was as if he was feeling our pain. I saw this and so did River and Rian.
"These aren't major, okay?" River said to him softly.
In return, he didn't say anything but pulled us three in a hug. After releasing us, I spoke up.
"Though honestly, major wounds were prevented because of the help we got." I said looking over and smiling at Vivian and Liam. They smiled back at me too.
I don't think our cousins knew that she had come over to help us so when I said that, they finally noticed her and their expressions were literally comical. Eyes wide and mouths open. Before they could say anything, Callan walked up to Liam first.
"Thanks for helping my brothers out." He said to him.
"It's my duty boss. I'm thankful to be able to help." He replied to which Callan nodded.
Then Cal turned to face Vivian and first scanned her for any injuries. River, Rian and I also did the same.
When finding none, I was relieved and then Cal spoke.
"You are one stubborn ass girl." And then he hugged her while she chuckled and hugged him back.
I totally agree with you bro.
After parting, he said, "Although I'm furious at you for putting yourself in danger, I'm also grateful that you were there to help them."
"I had to Cal. It's my duty to save and kick their asses." She smirked making Cal snicker and us to fake glare at her.
Then when she looked at us, I stepped ahead and hugged her, the hug soon being joined by River and Rian.
No words were spoken but we all understood what we wanted to say to each other.
"So, anyone gonna explain what happened?" Jaxon spoke up.
This caused River and Rian to activate their dramatic side and explain everything to them with a hell of a lot drama.
Jaxon, Caleb and Colton listened to them both intently while applying first aid on our wounds while Callan, Adrian and Thomas walked off to talk to some of our men.
Callan's POV :
"Cal, don't worry. They're safe now." Adrian said to me while walking next to me.
Sighing, I said, "I know dude. It was just fucking scary to hear gunshots through the phone. But what if Viv hadn't reached on time?" I told him my fear. He seemed as if he wanted to answer but couldn't find on what to say.
"Cal, we can't dwell on the 'what ifs' now. What happened, has happened. I know it was scary. You're their big brother. We understand how you feel. So I know that we can't say anything to make you feel better. What we can do, is try to prevent this from ever happening again." Thomas told me.
"Donny would say the same to you." Adrian smiled, referring to Donovan, who was about an hour away and so couldn't come here.
"He hates that name." I stated.
"That's why I call him that brother." Adrian smirked while keeping a hand on my shoulder.
Looking at them both, I smiled. These guys can make me smile. I love all of my siblings, but the bond between Donovan, Thomas, Adrian and I is something I treasure even more. Maybe its the fact that we're the eldest among our siblings or that we're really close in age, but among us, we all are a lot more free and open. Us brothers and Antonio have been best of friends since kindergarten and I know we'll be the best of friends in hell too.
Then taking a deep breath, I thought,'It's true. What's done is done. I can't dwell on it anymore now.'
Squaring up my shoulders, I then said, "Let's find those bastards who tried to hurt our brothers." Those two smirked at this and then we went to one of our men, who was taking care of the mess here, for telling us info regarding the same.
An hour later
River's POV :
We have just reached home along with our cousins. On the whole way, Callan, Adrian and Thomas didn't tell us anything regarding the people who attacked us, saying we'll talk when the whole family is there.
Exiting the cars, we all stop in front of our house.
"Before entering, I should tell you that the whole family would be here by now." Caleb told us.
"It's gonna be chaotic." Rian mutteted causing me to snicker and Colton to smack him. Then we walked in to see, as expected, each and every Martínez in the living room, faces clouded with worry.
"Hey guys!" Rian shouted, extra cheerfully, giving everyone a shock.
"Boys!" Dad exclaimed in relief. Then he rushed towards us three and hugged us tight.
"Shit! What happened?" He then exclaimed looking at our wounds. Everyone else also came running to us, checking on our wounds and fussing over us.
"Everyone, we'll explain everything. First, let's sit down." Callan spoke up to which everyone nodded once, still looking worried.
Then noticing Viv, dad asked in confusion, "Wait, why's Vivian coming home with you guys?"
Since he cut the call before Vivian said that she's coming to help, he doesn't know about her.
Before she could say anything, Adrian spoke up.
"Tío (uncle), it's better if we all sit down and then explain." Adrian said. Dad seemed reluctant but still went to sit down. Then all our cousins, uncles, aunts and grandparents also sat down along with us, giving us worried looks while Lucas came over to check our wounds since he's the doctor.
After settling down, Roman, Rian and I started explaining everything, from the cars following us till the time Callan came. If you're wondering about Connor, yes he is here as well but is too engrossed in playing a video game on phone to understand what we're talking about.
When we finished, everyone was silent for a bit.
"¡Dios mio! (My God!)" Tío Benji muttered.
"I'm glad you guys got out of there safely." Grandpa said to us with a relieved smile.
"Thankfully help reached them in time." Tía (Aunty) Clair said, looking at Viv.
"You are one stubborn ass girl." Dad said to Viv who chuckled and smiled at him. He then signed and hugged her as well.
"But who the hell fucking dared to do this?" Dad then asked in anger, directing the question to Callan. Everyone else also looked at him for answers.
William's (Vivian's papá) POV:
I can't explain the anger I'm feeling right now. Who the hell in their fucking mind dared to attach my children?!
Signing deeply, Callan answered my question in anger, "The fucking Russians." This caused many of us to stand up in anger, anger boiling hot in us all.
"What?!" I growled in anger, jaws clenched. Connor jumped a bit due to the loud voice and looked at all of us. To not scare him, mom and my sisters-in-law took him out of the living room to distract him.
"How do they fucking dare to attach our children." Samuel exclaimed in anger.
"The Russians have been quite for too long. There's a reason for this attach." Papá stated.
Everyone was silent now, slithering in their anger. Looking at Callan's expression, I said, "That's not all, is it? There's more."
Nodding, he took out a letter from his pocket and gave it to me while saying, "They left this fucking note."
Reading it had me cursing loudly and shaking in boiling hot anger.
Looking at my reaction, Donovan took the letter from my hand and read it out loud for everyone to hear.
Hey William!
I really do hope that one of your boys was shot. Hopefully, it's your daughter next time.
It's Vivian, isn't it? Owner of The Celebrations.
Consider this shooting as a gift from me to you for finding your daughter after 22 years.
Last time, we separated you guys for 22 years. Now we're just gonna do it for the rest of your life.
Cherish the time you've got left with her.
See you soon,
Andrei Petrov
Hearing this, Roman, Jaxon and Andrew threw vases at the walls in anger while everyone else cursed.
"Dad, they have made a direct threat to Vivian now. Her identity isn't hidden anymore." Callan said to me.
Hearing his comment, I looked at my estrella, who was sitting quietly on the sofas, not looking at anyone, just staring at the floor.
Papá, who was quiet since some time, spoke up now.
"I think we should have Vivian's mafia introduction ball." Everyone went quiet after he spoke up, thinking over his words.
"That actually might be good for her." Benjamin spoke quietly.
"Brother, I know you didn't want her to be so involved with the mafia and that's why didn't have the ball. But now, I think having that ball might help." Diego said to me.
"Tío, even though we don't want her to completely enter the mafia world, but she's born in it only. And for now, just the Russians know but soon enough, others will too." Oliver said to which Caleb and Colton nodded.
Everyone's words got me thinking. Maybe this won't be so bad. Thinking over this all, I looked at Lucas, who's the current mafia advisor, to hear his opinion as well.
Sighing, Lucas looked at me and said, "Dad, we both know that wives and daughters are concidered as the highest priorities in the mafia world. They're the most respected ones and it's an unsaid rule to never target them. That's why a threat to them isn't just a threat to their mafia, but rather the whole mafia world. Vivian's introduction will make her one of the most well known and respected ones as well. That way, to harm her, Russians would have to face the whole mafia world against them. I think we should do it."
"Son, I know that with this, her identity won't be hidden anymore and there'll be more danger for her, but with that danger, she'll also have the protection of all loyal mafias." Papá said to me.
"Father, Viv's our sister but first, she's your daughter. So the decision lies within your hands." Callan said finally.
Sighing hard, I looked at Vivian to find her looking at me as well. I kept looking at her, in order to know what she's thinking and her opinion. A moment later, she spoke up for the first time, speaking in a quiet tone, "Will any harm come to my Smith family?" This caused everyone to look at her. I don't think they even realised that she was here the whole time. But she kept her focus on me.
"No. All your connections with them have been erased." I assured her in the same tone.
Nodding once, she gave me a small smile and said, "Then I'm fine with this plan."
Nodding back, I made my decision and announced the same.
"20 days from now, we're having Vivian's mafia introduction ball."
3 hours later
Everyone just left to go home. It was a bit hard at first to explain about the whole threat to the ladies of the family because after hearing about it, they were on a different stage of rage. But after they calmed down, they became very excited for the ball. Their cheerfulness raised everyone's moods as well. All through the dinner, they were buzzing with plans for the ball.
One thing I noticed though was that through the whole dinner and after, my estrella had been quiet, just giving tiny smiled here and there, and nodding whenever someone suggested something to her.
"Good night guys. I'm going to bed." Estrella said to us. Everyone replied with a 'good bye' to her after which she went up the stairs, towards her room. I kept looking at the stairs when Rian's voice distracted me.
"I'm worried about her." He said sadly.
"She's never had to deal with anything related to mafia before." Roman spoke up.
"It must have been a lot for her today." River spoke up in worry as well.
"Guys, we've been taught about the mafia since birth but she hasn't. That's why she'll need some time to collect herself." Callan said to them.
"Yeah guys. You don't worry yourselves. We all know her. She'll be back to herself soon. For now, you're hurt so you need rest." Lucas said to them with a small smile.
"Lucas is right. Boys, go and rest. Don't worry about today anymore." I said to the trips. Then they got up, hugged me, bid me goodbye and went to their rooms as well, followed by Lucas, while Callan stayed back.
"Dad, don't worry. We'll all be fine. I already have the Russian men captured in our warehouse. I'm going there tomorrow to get some answers. I also have intel coming about that mafia's doings. We'll stop them soon." He assured me.
Smiling, I patted his back and said, "I know son. I believe I you and am proud of you for taking care of your siblings." To this, he smiled back at me. Then bidding me a good night, he also went to bed.
Only I was left in the living room now, but I had no plans to go to bed right now.
I know Vivian. She's alot like me in behaviour and that's why I know what to do to make her feel fine again.
With that thought in mind, I went in the kitchen and took out some milk. Quickly making two steaming cups of hot chocolate, I carried the mugs up to the second floor where the rooms of my kids are.
Reaching there, I saw her back facing me and smiled at the fact that I knew she won't be in her room. She stood at the threshold of Roman's room, leaning against the open door, looking inside.
I walked towards her slowly. By the sound if my footsteps, she would have known that I'm behind her but didn't saw anything. I went there and leaned on the other side of the doorway, looking inside.
Then, smiling, looking at my boys sleeping in the same room, I said,
"Whenever any one of them is hurt, the trips all sleep together in the same room."
So... mafia introduction ball? How's that for a chapter?
I feel like I haven't done Vivian's POV in forever. Well, next chapter will be hers only.
Please like, comment and share.
Till then, Don't let the bed bugs feed on ya!