Page 5 of Call You Mine

Regardless, I don’t know what I was thinking returning home where I’m surely unwelcomed given my strained relationship with my brother Ace because of my sheer dislike of his wife Scarlett. It’s nothing personal, honestly I just never understood why he was so enthralled with the girl. She’s gorgeous, I'll give her that, but she’s nothing like him, nothing like us.

It’s no surprise they didn’t invite me to their wedding. I’ll admit it bothered me at first—to think my brother would take such an important step in his life and not even think about having me there with him by his side, but I expected my invitation would get lost in translation.

Ace and I haven’t spoken since we found out the truth about our lineage. Nothing more than a text to say,“Yes, I’m still alive”,or a wave hello the few times Enzo allowed me to visit.

When the news came out that my uncle Wesley wasn’t my uncle but actually my biological father, I can’t say it surprised me as it had everyone else. I never felt no connection to my supposed father Warren, who, turns out, was actually my uncle.It all feels a little too endogamous to me. That truth bomb was the end of my parents only on paper marriage.

The end of my less than perfect family.

Warren fled town when the truth about his and Wesley’s corruption came to light after his death, and is surely basking in glory somewhere in South America or what not, where extradition back to the states is non-existent, while my mother Willa is off with her flavor of the month living her previously crushed dreams of being a model in Paris.Or is it Italy this week?

For someone who wishes not to be found, she’s quite active on her social media.

It’s the reason no one has found it odd I’ve been away for three years without so much as a postcard from my travels.

Us Servites keep to ourselves and our private lives are usually kept private, unless it’s our dirty laundry being air dried for all to see. Scandal is our family name and corruption, our motto.

I only kept in touch with one person from my life in Hillcrest Hills, but we haven’t spoken in far too long.

Scrambling back out into the airport lobby, trying to avoid all contact with the few people rushing about to make their flights, I quickly risk blowing my cover to grab an iced latte from a Starbucks by the entrance and I head toward the front concierge desk to get an Uber to take me to the hotel Luke made accommodations for me at.

It was too risky to use any of my credit cards, so the stack of cash I had hidden under my mattress, a measly ten thousand dollars I gathered in the last week, is all I brought with me.

Thanks to Luke, I don’t have to spend any of it until I figure out what my next step is. He paid for the plane ticket, for my ride, and the hotel I’ll be staying at for the next week. It was a risky move I almost didn’t let him make, but the fact he showed up after all this time willing to betray his Capo and put his ownlife at risk to help me escape and cover up what I did, is still mind-boggling.

After Wesley’s death, his greatest accomplice, Stephan Silver—Stella’s uncle and a family friend who always gave me the creeps when he looked my way—took over his illicit affairs. Wesley’s closest associates and all those who were under his command either fled or were silenced, to ensure they were no longer a threat. Getting involved with the mafia was something neither of them should have done. And now they weren’t the only ones paying for it.

Wesley was a monster in his own way, but my dear father was nothing compared to the ruthless devils I’ve dealt with in the time since his death.

After my graduation from Servite Academy, Wesley’s number one enemy visited me. With Wesley dead, Warren and Willa living their own lives, and my brother too busy shoving his dick into Scarlett Steele to even bother with the rest of the world, I found myself utterly alone. No one was around to protect me, which left me with no other choice. Leave with him, or suffer the consequences of saying no.

Turns out I was better off dead. The only silver lining, nowheis.

Hopping into the silver sedan pulling up on the side of the road, I’m suddenly overtaken by a sheer panic.

What if they come looking for me, or worse, what will I do when they find me? I can’t be alone, unable to protect myself. What if Luke betrays me and tells them exactly where I am?

He owes me nothing, and I’d be a fucking fool to trust him. Torture has a funny way of making the most loyal turn into rats. I bear witness.

Deep down I know there’s only one place I’ll be safe. Only one person I can truly trust and it’s the last place they’d ever thinkto look. The only problem, after the last time we saw each other, I’m not sure it really is the safest place to go.

When I boardedthe plane in the early hours of the morning, I didn’t know what to expect when I landed back home.

Did I really think it was going to be easy coming back unannounced and with nowhere to call home?

Especially after the way I’d left things.

The last time I drove by Servite Manor, there was a giant Real Estate Sale sign sitting on the front lawn, and another posted outside the gates. Afraid their corruption would eventually come to light and they’d risk losing everything, Warren and Wesley signed the estate over to my brother as a precaution. This was when they believed he was on their side and wouldn’t betray them.

After the explosion, the cause of Wesley’s demise, Ace had it rebuilt to its original fame and glory, minus the crooked devils that once strolled through the halls. He texted me a few months ago to let me know he was planning to sell our childhood home. Apparently, the devils who once roamed turned into ghosts who still haunted the halls despite how brand new and pristine the place was. Ace and I were to split the money fifty/fifty once the sale went through. I had paid little attention to his decision, ‌but now I could really use the cash to get away.

Luckily, when I could finally access my bank account, I had some money saved from a few photoshoots I’d done as a teen. Other than that small amount, I’d have to wait a few months until I could access my trust. Although I’m already twenty-one, the one stipulation my grandfather added to all our inheritances, access to our money was put on hold. SinceWarren is still a fugitive and all our assets were frozen during the investigation into Wesley’s illegal dealings, the court added a six-month stipulation of their own. In order to receive any of my grandfather’s inheritance, there has to be proof of no other living relatives of his, other than my brother, of course. This shouldn’t be an issue with Wesley dead, so long as Warren remains hidden away and dead to the outside world.

July can’t come fast enough.

Exiting my Uber, I take the stairwell at the far end of his apartment complex, hoping even in the long coat and black wig I’m wearing I won’t be recognized. I wasn’t here often, and in places like these, the same people rarely last more than a few months. However, it’s early spring and although I probably look like a psycho wearing a fucking winter coat, I had nothing better to disguise myself with on such short notice.

My feet ache in the heels I’ve been wearing for over sixteen hours as the straps cut into my ankles, marking them with a nearly bloody red line.

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