Sierra's POV
My eyes widened when I heard that I was technically the new leader of the Russian Mafia. All in all, what I went through in the past few days felt so surreal. I didn't expect to get abducted by the Russians, meet my father, and find out that Ashley was my half-sister in less than a week. Even more, I didn't expect to watch Ashley die in front of me.
"Sierra, are you going to say anything?" Gavin asked. "Uh, are you alright?"
"I-I'm just having a bit of a hard time processing everything, especially the part about the Russian Mafia."
"Don't worry about that," Stefano replied. "We'll handle the necessary paperwork and agreements for dealing with the Russian situation."
"I understand that, but I don't think I'm suitable for being the leader of the Russian Mafia. After all, I only became a member of this family a few months ago."
"She does make a good point, Stefano," Jett added. "Even if Sierra is technically the leader now, competence also matters. The Russians won't hesitate to overthrow the leader if they're found to be incompetent."
"Exactly," I responded. "However, maybe the American-Italian Mafia could figure out how to acquire the Russian Mafia. After all, the Russian Mafia is currently without a leader, so Stefano might be able to take advantage of this situation."
"Sierra's right. I think it would be in your best interest to take advantage of the Russians' shitty situation to further the interests of the American-Italian Mafia," Santiago surprisingly remarked.
"Santiago actually agreed with a Rossi member for once? Who would've thought?" Damon teased.
"Well, I have to give Sierra and Mr. Rossi credit for taking out the leader. Over the past few months, the Russians were a handful. I'll be glad to see little to no conflict with them in the future."
Stefano and Santiago continued chatting for a few minutes, and then we exited the warehouse. I should've known everything was too good to be true though. The moment we left the building, we were surrounded by rivals. It seemed as if they knew that Ashley was dead and were seeking to find a new leader before Stefano could intervene.
Instantly, Stefano and Jett drew their weapons while Santiago yelled at Cole, Damon, Gavin, and me to run to one of the safehouses, where backup was located. How long that would take was something I didn't know.
* * *
After running for God knows how long, we finally came across the safe house. There, I saw dozens of people who seemed to work for Stefano, and I even saw Stefano's bodyguard, Mila. I was glad to see her again since she seemed quite nice. However, another person stood out to me.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Cole asked. "I thought you went back into hiding? You know that it's dangerous to be here."
"I did some thinking, and I'm sick of being in hiding. While I was kidnapped at one point, I can't let that hold me back. Especially when I know damn well that my husband, your father, wouldn't want me to dwell on the past."
"Uh, about that..." Gavin interrupted. "Uh, he's very much alive, which Stefano correctly assumed. In fact, he's fighting alongside Jett, Santiago, Stefano, and some other people against the Russians."
"The only reason we came here was to get backup, Mrs. Rossi," Damon added.
"I see. Well, don't worry. I'll make sure that our soldiers and I make it back alive. I'll be damned if I lose my husband and my family again."
"What should we do? Can we go back with you to help?"
"No, Cole. It's much too dangerous for you guys to be involved in an actual mafia war. All of you aren't even 18 yet for goodness sakes. Anyways, I'm leaving now."
Unknown to Natasha, my step-mother, the four of us weren't planning to stay here as if we were sheep before the shearers. We were gonna fight to end this whole conflict once and for all.
* * *
Third Person POV
The four of them secretly followed Natasha and the additional group of people with her. However, following her was tough at certain times since Natasha used a vehicle to travel to the warehouse. Even so, the four teenagers managed to trail the vehicle filled with mafia members. In addition, Damon secretly alerted members of the Spanish Mafia to intervene in the situation as well. All was going to plan so far.
Meanwhile, Jett, Michael, Santiago, Stefano, and other members did their best to disarm and defeat the Russians. They were obviously outnumbered, but given the level of skill each particular member had, they managed to buy time for reinforcements.
Throughout the fight, blows were exchanged, shots were fired, and knives were thrown. The group could see members from multiple mafias engaged in the brawl. After an hour or so, the Russians appeared to be defeated, as those who were still alive surrendered themselves.
This seems too easy, Sierra thought. Why are they giving up all of a sudden? Sure, they're outnumbered and they basically got their asses kicked, but it isn't like the Russians to surrender. They would rather lose their lives than lose their honor.
Then it hit her: the Russians' act of surrender was merely an act. They weren't going to give up; they had no intention to. This was just meant to be a decoy. By the time the American-Italian and Spanish Mafias realized this, it would be too late.
Just then, Sierra saw a sniper hiding in the bushes. The sniper's gun was aimed between Santiago and Stefano; it seemed as if the sniper was hoping to kill both of them. She froze, unsure if she should privately confront the sniper or draw attention. Who knew how many snipers surrounded the area?
However, the sniper fired a shot a minute later. Having came back to her senses by the time the sniper fired their gun, Sierra impulsively jumped in front of Santiago and Stefano, not wanting them to be hit by the bullet.
"Sierra, no!" Gavin shouted as Sierra fell to the ground. Fortunately, the sniper was immediately dealt with, and there seemed to be no other snipers in the area. "Fuck, she's losing blood."
"Damon, take her to one of our private hospitals. The closest one should be less than twenty minutes away from here," Santiago commanded. "It's the least I can do to thank Sierra, who just saved my life."
"While you're at it, you can use my car," Natasha added as she gave Damon the key.
"I don't know how to drive though."
"I'll handle that," Cole responded. "After all, I can drive. Just not legally."
"While the three of you travel with Sierra to the hospital, I want the rest of you to filter out the area for more of those bastards. Just because there aren't any more snipers doesn't mean that there aren't other people in the surrounding areas waiting to attack us. After we get rid of the Russians, we're going to instate our own people here," Michael declared.
* * *
The drive to the hospital was quick. Even though Cole was one of the worst drivers to ever exist, he managed to arrive at the hospital in record speed. While he drove, Damon guided him where to go and Gavin did his best to tend to Sierra's wound; she was shot in the arm.
"Please get her a room immediately," Damon begged as the four of them entered the hospital. "She's losing blood, and I don't know how much longer she can withstand her current condition."
The receptionist nodded and shouted for a room to be instantly prepared. Thankfully, one room was already vacant, so Sierra was placed into immediate medical care. Cole, Damon, and Gavin, meanwhile, would wait in the lobby for an update in her condition.
A few hours passed, and a nurse walked towards the three of them.
"Please follow me, as I have an update in Sierra's current state." They obliged and followed the nurse into the hallway near Sierra's room.
"How is she, ma'am?" Gavin asked. "Will she be okay?"
"Yes. Given that the bullet only grazed her arm, we were able to wrap the wound with bandages. In addition, she fortunately did not suffer a concussion. She should wake up soon. Until then, you're welcome to wait in her room."
"Thank you," Cole replied. "We can't thank you enough for watching over our sister."
The nurse smiled and allowed the three teenagers to sit in Sierra's room.
* * *
Sierra's POV
The last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was jumping in front of a bullet to protect Santiago and Stefano from getting shot by that sniper. I had no idea if the sniper was caught or if my attempts ended up being in vain.
I had no idea how much time passed since then, but I felt mentally trapped. I was in an imaginary world surrounded by figments of my imagination and countless memories -- old and new ones. It was a precarious state -- I had no idea what would happen next.
So much happened in the past few months of my life that I never really had the chance to process everything. For the most part, everything was great: I befriended great people, got closer to my brothers, and even met my father. But some parts were hard to acknowledge, such as learning about my mother's death.
Obviously she was a horrible parent, but I just didn't know how to process her death. I felt relieved that I would never have to see her again, but I felt robbed of having proper closure. Even if I didn't like what my mother had to say, I wanted her to tell me why she treated me horribly. I wanted to know what I did in my entire life that constituted fifteen fucking years of mistreatment.
Did she think that abusing me would make her feel any better for cheating on her husband? Did she think abusing me would make up for the fact that she took advantage of my father? Did she believe that hurting an innocent child would atone for the sins of its mother?
So many unanswered questions plagued my mind. It seemed that unknown voices plagued my mind too.
Don't you want to give up, Sierra? Your entire life has been based on a web of lies. Don't you know how much pain your existence has brought to your family? Wouldn't it be better to forever escape to the darkness and be in the comfort of death?
No, I can't give up. I've spent too much effort trying to survive to go like this. I have a life in the real world. I have friends, and my family loves me. They'll help me get through this. I know they will.
What's the point in living? Aren't you just a hollow shell of yourself now?
No, I'm not. I'm finally taking control of my life. I'm not that weak, timid girl anymore. I'm not a mere slave to my mother anymore. I found my own interests, and I'm going to choose the type of life that I live. No one can take that right from me.
But-
"Just shut up!" I shouted, my eyes opening to find myself back in the real world. "Wait, where the fuck am I?"
"Sierra, you're awake!" Gavin exclaimed, running towards me. "You have no idea how worried we were about you."
"Trust me, I can tell," I weakly smiled. "It's good to see you again, Gavin."
"How do you feel?" Cole asked.
"I feel like shit, but thanks for asking. I think I'll survive though."
"We know you will," Damon said, a hint of admiration in his voice.
* * *
The four of us remained at the hospital for an additional day until the nurse said that I could be discharged. I was lucky, as the bullet didn't hit any vital organs and I didn't suffer any major injuries.
After we exited the building, I saw Jett and Stefano, as well as my father, step-mother, and other members of the American-Italian and Spanish mafias. I would finally be going home.
During the plane ride, I watched all four Hunger Games movies with Cole, Damon, and Gavin. By the time we finished the last movie, the plane was about to land. Good timing.
"By the way, Sierra, there's a school break now, so you didn't miss any work," Gavin said.
"I don't even want to do any work. I'm so tired. Even though it's only morning now in the United States because of the time difference, I wanna sleep for the rest of the day."
"Before you decide that, we have some news for you guys," Jett interrupted. "Adrian finally woke up."