'Rather have alliance then enemies'
Third person P.O.V
Olivia finds herself behind the security of her seatbelt in the front seat of Enrique's SUV, with the said man behind the wheel. Her eyes closing on their own accord as exhaustion slowly replaces the adrenaline in her system.
With a quick yet meticulous inspection to ensure she isn't concussed, Enrique encourages the tired teen to give in to her body's request for rest.
Wesley, volunteered to stay behind at the scene and deal with the situation here while the eldest sorted things out at the mansion.
The drive back to the mansion is one engulfed in nearly suffocating tension.
Now trapped in a deep slumber Olivia is unable to process the incident fully as it replays in her mind, while she watches herself in the third person.
Maybe if she would've done something differently...
Perhaps if she could've seen through their façade sooner...
She should've called someone to get her from school...
Throughout all of this Enrique, himself can't help but feel a pang of guilt, and responsible for all of this.
In the back of his mind, he had foreseen such a situation coming into play. A ploy to derail the wedding plans. After all, this wedding doesn't impact their personal lives alone, it plays a major role in their professional ones.
He had this intuition, yet he did nothing. He steals a glance at Olivia's sleeping form and finds himself unable to resist the building-up rage directed toward the ones responsible for her state. His anger only further fueled his guilt.
Enrique maneuvers his car in the direction of the mansion like a man on a mission. This is only the beginning, and he knows it. These people will stop at nothing less than putting a stop to this wedding even if it cost them a few lives.
Why's another body added to their bone yard gonna matter to them?
Knuckles clench around the steering wheel turning starved for blood and white as the thought of harm coming Olivia's way crosses his mind.
He lets out an angry breadth, before doing what he does best and pushing aside his emotion and caging them behind the wall of impassiveness he always hides them behind. He needs his mind clear and focused at this moment.
'Emotions lead to irrational actions, that lead to irreversible mistakes' He reminds himself, knowing well and well that it is these very mistakes that get people in his line of work killed.
Emotions have no place in business. And the business he is in is like a game. And games are played with a clear head devoid of any distractions.
The stunt they pulled today with Olivia was their move, now it's his turn, and his reputation stands witness, he couldn't lose.
Pulling into their driveway, he finds no benefit in waking the already exhausted teen, concluding to carry her back to her room instead.
'She barely weighs anything' he mentally notes, a hint of concern lingering in the back of his mind.
He tucks her in and with a final place her way he turns to leave.
"We have a lead on the car," Ryan informs him, entering the sleeping teen's room uninvited. Enrique nods.
"How is she?" Kayden follows Ryan, with worry pasted over his face and urgency in his hushed tone.
"A bit shaken up, but otherwise fine," Enrique replies. Kayden nods firmly.
"Are we sure it's them we hold responsible for this?" Ryan questions while simultaneously tapping away on his phone at a fast pace.
"Are you seriously asking that?" Kayden scoffs in disbelief. "Of course, it's those bastards. Fucking assholes think they own the families," Kayden rants.
"We will need her to identify her attackers before we make any accusation," Ryan remarks in a tone of reprimand.
"Not happening," Kayden snaps immediately.
"Listen here boy," Ryan puts down his phone, now directing a menacing glare toward Kayden. "First, fix your tone with me," he grits out.
"And second, if we do anything without a positive identification from her, we have a war on our hands. Do you understand?" He narrows his eyes at the boy.
"So what?" Kayden scoffs. "The Ashford Clan is afraid of a couple of gangs now?" He rolls his eyes.
"Enrique, control your brother," Ryan sighs, rubbing his forehead and getting back to his phone seeing no hope of getting through to the boy.
Kayden is a hothead, and fiercely protective. There is no reasoning with him right now. "We shouldn't be discussing this here," Enrique remarks motioning toward the sleeping teen.
"No, what we need to do is get ahold of those sons of bitches and show them the consequences of messing with the Clan," Kayden snaps, shrugging Enrique's hand off his shoulder, thoughtlessly only realizing his mistake when he catches warning glint in older brother's eyes.
Kayden lets out an angry breath, rubbing his face aggressively. "We need to call off the wedding," he tells them in a controlled tone.
"That's not an option," Ryan dismisses promptly.
"That's exactly what they want, Kay," Enrique reasons with his outraged brother.
"And with the alliance between the gangs going strong as they are, we're better with the Hart family being on our side rather than on the opposite," Ryan adds.
"And how do you plan on explaining all of this to her?" Kayden motions towards Olivia--who unbeknownst to them, is slowly slipping out of her slumber.
"We don't," Ryan shrugs nonchalantly, unbothered to glance up from his phone.
"You don't think we owe her that much after today?" Kayden directs his question to his brother.
"And what exactly do you plan on telling her?" Ryan scoffs at what he considers to be the boy's stupidity. "Tell her that her entire life is a lie? That the woman who raised her is the disinherited daughter of one of the top families?" He adds in ridicule.
"That's enough," Enrique asserts before Kayden can snap back at Ryan.
"We don't tell her anything," Enrique decides. "For now," he adds just as Kayden opens his mouth to object.
"Don't tell me what?" A soft voice rings through the room causing tension to flood the room. Everyone's eyes snap towards Olivia's wide-awake ones, imbued with intrigue.
"Hey, Alien, how're you feeling?" Kayden asks, moving toward her bed. His demeanor changing from angry to gentle in a heartbeat.
"Don't tell me what, Kayden?" She repeats.
"It's nothing you should be worried about right now," he dismisses.
"You were talking about mum," she points out, letting them know she has been awake for much longer than they reckoned.
Kayden sighs, Enrique and Ryan just stand there nonchalantly. Yet none of them give anything away.
"Forget about that," he shakes his head. "How are you feeling now?" Kayden inquires sincerely. She shrugs in response.
"Gets some more sleep kiddo, you need it," Enrique recommends, studying her bloodshot eyes and tired expression, before leaving the room to take a call.
"Why did he say my entire life is a lie, Kay?" Olivia prices, her tone soft and one filled with curiosity yet a hint of uncertainty.
Ryan can't help but scoff distastefully at her question and more so at her stubbornness.
"Why did mum get disinherited?" She presses for more details.
"Because she decided to go against her family and run off with some low-life commoner," Ryan rolls his eyes, just as the teen's eyes widen in horror.
"Why?" She wonders aloud, unable to find basic reasoning behind the newfound information.
"Because that's what happens to people go against the rules, in families like ours," Ryan shrugs nonchalantly, tapping away on his phone.
"Shut up Ryan," Kayden snaps as his anger resurfaces when he studies Olivia's reaction to his words.
"Families like ours?" Olivia looks to Kayden for an explanation.
"Don't worry about it. Those were the olden days," Kayden shakes his head tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear, while discreetly glaring daggers at Ryan.
Ryan holds back a scoff at Kayden's reassurance. Years and seasons may change, but the rules that govern the crime families don't. Never will a mafia-born being with anyone outside the family hold any standard of acceptance to them.
"The person mum ran off with," Olivia mumbles thoughtfully.
"What's going on here?" Wesley enters the room unannounced, interjecting mid-conversation. "What's she talking about?" Wesley directs his question toward his brother.
"She overheard us," Kayden grumbles under his breath, avoiding Wesley's gaze.
"Kayden, the man mum ran off with," Olivia repeats, partially ignoring Wesley's presence too caught up in getting the answers to her questions.
"What about him, Liv?" Kayden sighs at her persistence.
"Was he--" she cuts herself off, as she internally debates whether she wants the answer to this question or not. "Was he my dad?" She breathes out, with noticeable uncertainty in her tone.
Olivia found herself in a dilemma, a kind she has yet to encounter in her younger life. She doesn't know whether to be freaked out that these guys know more about her mum's life than she--her very own daughter--does. Or to throw caution into the wind and get the answers to all the questions that have haunted her entire childhood.
"No." Three impassive voices echo the same word, catching Olivia off guard, and causing her to frown.
"Oh," she mumbles. "Okay," she nods, a little disappointed yet very intrigued at her findings. But she can tell prying for more information at this time isn't going to yield her results.
But this in her books is progress. This gave her hope. Hope they maybe, just maybe she can finally learn more about her father. All the curious teen has ever been told about the topic is that he's dead. But this is her chance to know more, and she is going to take it.
"Liv, just drop the topic," Kayden says, just as Olivia opens her mouth to voice out yet another question.
The teen shakes her head negatively. "I just want to know where mum is?" Her question renders every man in room answerless.
"On her way here," Wesley assures her with a bold lie that even Liv being as observant as she is can't see through.
"So what's the plan?" Ryan asks, clearly directing his question to the boys. "We take her down to the cabin, or we just get it over with here?" He clarifies, an inexplicable eeriness to his demeanor, that urges Liv to put up her guard.
"She's not going there," Kayden's words hold finality in them, one even Ryan cannot challenge.
"I second that," Wesley adds.
"What are you talking about?" Olivia inquires, a little thrown off by the way they're acting. But she can tell something's off, and that something has to do with the incident from earlier.
"Okay then, are you going to do it, or you need me to?" Ryan asks. Wesley wordlessly takes Ryan's phone from his hand and crouches down beside Olivia's bed.
"Okay Liv. I need you to help us here," he slowly explains to the now-confused teen who nods.
"I'm going to show you a few photos. What I need you to do, is just be honest with me and tell me if you recognize anyone from those photos," he say and she nods once again.
He pulls up the photos their men sent them and turns the screen towards her. Her eyes immediately widen in horror as she takes in the familiar faces on the screen.
"Do you know them Liv?" Wesley asks and she nods almost immediately.
"Who are they, Alien?" Kayden prompts her.
"The couple who tried kidnapping me," she mumbles softly with a lot of courage, their very faces causing terror to course her veins.
Her mind immediately flashing with innumerable scenarios that could have played out had she not managed to render their efforts fruitless.
That is all the confirmation they need, now it's time for their move.
"Where's Enrique?" Wesley ask.
"Handling business," Ryan replies, an eerie glint lingering in his eyes, that to Liv's surprise is mirrored by the other two men as well.
"Good," Wesley nods firmly. "I'll update him regarding the progress we've made," he adds as an afterthought.
"Let him know I'll be there shortly to help out as well," Kayden informs him.
"Of course," Wesley nods.
To the common ear, this exchange may come out as harmless and mundane, but Liv can sense the uncanny double meaning it holds.
This is just the beginning of the mysteries she is yet to unfold and in the back of her mind, she is well aware of it. But right now the only question on her mind is;
'What is so special about this wedding, that people would go to such lengths to stop it?'
Author's Note:
I hope this chapter met your expectations.
I had to rewrite the entire chapter again because the draft somehow got deleted.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is greatly appreciated!
Thank you for 55.6k reads!
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~Kia