•Evangeline•

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The first thing I saw was multiple bloody shoeprints, my chin trembled and I inhaled deeply. I wiped my tears and moved further into our home.

Blood...

There was blood everywhere. As I got close to our living room I saw someone lying on the ground. By his uniform, I could tell that he was one of the household's help.

Then I saw it, for the first time in my life I saw a dead body with a hole in his chest, the blood still oozing out of it. Fear became a tangible, living force that crept over me like some hungry beast, immobilizing me; my brain, holding me captive.

I covered my mouth with both of my hands to muffle my loud cries. No, please, this can't be happening, please.

I took two small steps backward. Terror sucked the very breath from my mouth. Pulse beating in my ears, blocking out all other sounds even my own.

Panicking, I ran inside the living room, stepping over the bodies that were lying in my way. Bodies... bodies... so many dead bodies. I could not find the ones I was looking for. I hoped they were not among all these dead people. I hoped they were alive but I couldn't find them, I couldn't see them.

And then I tripped over something, landing on all fours. I looked up and saw my mother's dead eyes staring back at me. I couldn’t scream. I could only open my mouth to find that even words had deserted me. I immediately shuffled closer to my mother's body.

Everything I ever knew and everyone I ever knew was laying right in front of me, in the pools of their own blood. I mumbled incoherent things through my hands and choked on my sobs.

With trembling and gentle hands, I held up my mother's head and put it on my lap. There were several bloodied holes in her chest and abdomen. I softly touched her cheek, a few hours ago, she had kissed me good night and now she was pale and so damn cold.

"Mom? Mom, please, talk to me! MOM! MOM, PLEASE!"

I screamed for her at the top of my lungs, but no matter how much I tried to talk to her, to wake her up, to let her know that here I was out of my room but she didn't listen. She didn't scold me or gave a reaction. She kept looking at the ceiling with her empty, dead eyes and her skin and lips were turning bluish-purple with each passing second.

Tears streamed down my face profusely and I made no effort to wipe them. My tears rained down on my mother's face but nothing seemed to bother her. I can't believe it, I refuse to believe that my mother had died. She can't! She just can't.

A streak of blood trailed down from the corner of her lips, I screamed, sobbed, and wailed but to no avail.

I need to save her, I need to save my mom. I gently placed her head down on the ground and ripped my dress from the bottom. I placed the piece of my dress over the giant gunshot wound over my mother's heart and it didn't help, instead, it got drenched in her blood as well.

I cried for help but no one was there to listen to my agonizing pleas. I had never seen this much blood before. I didn't know what to do.

This can't happen to me. I need them, I need my parents. I don't know about anything without them. They are my whole life. This can't happen.

I stubbornly cried out for help but I didn't know who to call. I didn't even know where my parent's cellphones were or how to use them.

"Mom, wake up, please, mom. I'll die without you. I don't know what to do. Tell me, please, tell me what to do! How to bring you back! There hasn't been a single day in my life when you weren't there for me! I don't want to see the light of day without you. Take me with you. You promised you'll be there for me, you promised, mom, PLEASE, WAKE UP!" I sobbed miserably.

My tear-stricken face was burning now. My voice had turned rough from all the screaming. The sound of my wailing and suffering echoed throughout the house.

I kept caressing my mother's lifeless face but then a pain-stricken cough resonated in the living room. My head shot in its direction as I stood up.

Someone was alive and he was here. I prayed, I prayed, please don't let it be my dad, please, don't be a dad. I hoped that dad would be fine, he is fine, and he will be fine.

I can not lose both of them. I will die, I just can't lose both of my parents. I slowly walked towards the sound and saw my dad trying to get up, all bloodied and injured. There were bruises on his face and blood was trickling down his forehead. He looked up and saw me standing in front of him. My mind blanked and suddenly, I didn't know what to do. I ran to my father's aid and engulfed him in my arms.

He was losing consciousness, his eyes were on the verge of closing.

"Dad, please, dad, no, I can't lose you too, please, dad!"

He coughed out blood. "Are you hurt, Evangeline? Did they hurt you?" he asked as he gave me a pained look.

"I'm fine, Dad, please, stay alive, stay with me... I'm so scared"

"I'm always with you, Evie, but you have to be strong now." he breathed out with difficulty.

"No, dad!"

"You have to get out of here, run as fast as you can, and never come back, you hear me, never come back here. Go!" he was breathing heavily.

"I'm not leaving without you, Dad. Please stay with me." I begged desperately.

I was losing him too, I just know. I could see the life draining out of his body. I'm going to be alone. When the realization dawned upon me, thinking of being out there... alone. I suddenly wanted it all to be a bad dream.

This is what I always wanted, to go out there and have a normal life but not like this, not alone. All of a sudden, I didn't want to have a normal life. I just wanted to have my old life back. The life in which I was happy and I was with my parents. The life in which, I wasn't alone.

I suddenly loathed the idea of the world out there. My parents were right, there were bad people everywhere. I will stay inside this house my whole life if it meant my parents would come back to life.

I felt a soft hand on my cheek that wiped my tears away, I opened my eyes and saw my dad looking at me with tear-filled eyes.

Dad smiled through the pain. "Goodbye, my precious little girl." saying that the warmth of his soft hand left me as it fell to the ground. With a sharp intake of breath, he left. He left me alone...

As the realization that I had lost both of my parents dawned upon me, I completely lost it. I screamed so painfully loud, enough to make me lose my voice. I cried out again but no sound came out of her mouth. I screamed and wailed and screeched but nothing came out of my throat. I lost my voice with anguish. I felt like someone was stabbing my heart again and again and I was unable to do anything about it.

I swiped at my eyes but the tears came anyway. I had wiped my eyes so much that they were red and swollen. My head hurt, my eyes hurt, and my whole body started to hurt but the pain in my heart was the harshest of them all. I tried calling for my dad again, hoping he will wake up and tell me that it was all a joke and that they were just playing a stupid prank on me.

No! No! No!

I need my family back! I need my parents back!

I stood up and walked to where my mother was. All I want is for my family to be back! I gripped my mother's cold legs and dragged her to where dad was laying. Her body had left a trail of blood behind but I chose to ignore it. I pretended I didn't see it because I just want my family back! With every last sliver of my strength, I dragged her body across the room and stopped when she was just beside my father. I placed her perfectly next to dad.

Perfect! Now they are together.

All I need to do now is hide the imperfections, so they look normal so that they look alive.

They are alive, just sleeping.

I ran to my parent's room and picked up their pillows and the sheets. I made my way back to my parents and gently placed their heads on their respective pillows leaving a little space between them. I then covered them with the sheets up to their necks so, no one could see the gunshot wounds.

They look better now but I still need to get rid of the blood from their faces.

I ran to the kitchen and saw all the maids and house help butchered, their bodies towered over one another as if someone had deliberately piled them over one another. Their bodies made some kind of a symbol, they were placed in a very specific manner and it scared me even more.

I placed my fist in my mouth to conceal the loud cries, I bit down hard on my hand. I just wanted this night to be over.

I took out the washcloth from one of the cabinets and doused it in hot water. I came back to my parent's side and cleaned off all the traces of blood from their faces.

Now they looked normal, perfect, just asleep. A loud sob bubbles up from my throat as I could hold the heartbreak no longer. I fell to the floor in a disheveled heap as my grief poured out in a flood of uncontrollable tears. I cried so much that no tears were left in my eyes.

I crawled in between my parent's bodies and lay there looking towards the ceiling. Everything is fine, we are fine. We are just going to sleep. It's night, it's late. We are sleeping, nothing else. I pulled my mother's arm over myself and then placed my dad's arm under my head, using his arm as my pillow.

I felt safe, I felt normal, I felt fine.

This is exactly how we used to lay together as a family, whenever I had a nightmare. My parents would come to my room and lay on either side of me. My mom would hold me while dad would use his arm as my pillow. Now I was laying here, wishing that when I would wake up this nightmare would be over and my parents are going to be fine and alive.

I looked at both of their faces with tears in my eyes, their stony, emotionless eyes, stuck in one place. Coldness radiated from their bodies. A bluish-purple shade appeared on their skin losing its previous pinkness and warmth.

"Dad, we are going to have so much fun moving, right? We will do all the stuff we never got to do. We will go to the beach and I'll go to a college. We'll go watch movies in the cinema as normal people do" I kept rambling mindlessly in an empty room with only my voice resonating throughout it with the occasional chirping of the crickets.

I lay between them, I could feel thick blood seeping into my clothes from under the sheets, I didn't even know if it belonged to mom or dad but I chose to ignore it.

It's a nightmare, Evangeline.

Tomorrow everything will be fine.

"Good night, mom and dad" I closed their eyes with the palm of my hand gently.

I closed my eyes. I needed to sleep, so, I could get out of this nightmare. I need to sleep, so, I could wake up. Tomorrow we will live another day like a normal family. We will move, buy a new house, and live our life just the way we thought that we will do.

And if not.

If for any reason, when I'll wake up tomorrow and this nightmare isn't over. I will kill myself, so, I could be with them. So, I could be with my parents.

•Nikolai•

╌═❁═╌

"Niko, Elijah Bolton was murdered. His entire family’s been wiped out," Scott reported over the phone.

I leaned back in my chair, sighing in annoyance. "All of them?"

"Yes, boss. Except for Leopold, the butler. He’s missing—no sign of him."

"Find him," I snapped, slipping into my suit jacket.

"On it, Niko. But you might want to get down here; there's a situation—"

I cut him off, "I’ll handle it. I’ve got other things to do."

I ended the call and strolled to the dining room. Bolton’s corpse could wait. I took my seat, picked up the newspaper, and sipped my coffee in silence, more interested in my own routine than staring at Bolton's dead face.

"Don Niko," a maid spoke up.

"What is it?" I asked, not looking up from my newspaper.

"My daughter graduated at the top of her class," she said with a smile. "She wanted to thank you for paying for her education."

Georgia had been working for me for ten years. Her daughter was smart; I’d done what was expected for anyone in my employ.

"She’s a bright kid. Is she planning on college?"

"Yes."

"Have her talk to Scott. He’ll sort it out."

"Thank you, Don Niko."

I finished my breakfast in silence, then got up as Scott’s call came through again. I sighed, buttoning my suit jacket. I had to deal with the mess at the Bolton mansion.

Elijah Bolton was my father's best friend, he was one of my Caporegime, my father considered him a brother. In our world, when you consider someone a brother it means you will give your life for him.

After my father retired, Elijah voluntarily drifted away from our family. I have been made aware that he had planned to leave the underworld and move to another country. A twisted smile made its way to my lips, I think his plans for a fresh start were flushed down the drain.

My cousin Marco flicked his cigarette on the ground as he saw me and opened the car door. I settled in the back and asked him to drive to the Bolton's mansion.

When we got there, the mansion was crawling with my men, I stepped out of the car and saw the bodies of the household help piled over one another. My men pulled out another body from the mansion and threw it over the pile.

Scott approached me. "Niko, I think you need to see something."

"What is it?"

He gestured for me to follow him inside. I followed him into the front door of Bolton's mansion, the giant wooden door was shattered and broken. Chunks of vases and furniture were scattered all over the place. The place looked like the aftermath of a warzone

Scott gestured toward the two bodies sprawled on the floor. The strange part was the girl sitting beside them, her back turned, her clothes drenched in blood and tattered.

"She’s been here for hours, just staring at the bodies," Scott said, his frustration clear. "No fucking idea who she is."

"One of the maids?" I asked.

"Doesn't seem like it. She was holding Elijah’s body and wouldn’t let anyone near them. They must be connected somehow."

I frowned. "Elijah didn’t have a child, as far as I know."

"That’s right. He lived here with his wife and Leo."

I nodded. "Any updates on Leopold?"

"Still nothing. Our guys are still searching." He paused, then asked, "What do you want to do about the girl?"

"Have Alessandro find out who she is."

"Already did. He’ll call back as soon as he has something."

I scowled. "Hasn’t she noticed everyone around her?"

"Bianca tried to talk to her, but she’s completely unresponsive. Looks like she’s in shock."

Scott’s phone buzzed, and Alessandro’s name flashed on the screen. After a brief call, Scott’s expression turned puzzled. I raised an eyebrow.

"Alessandro said there’s no public record of Elijah Bolton having a child. However, eighteen years ago, his wife was admitted to our hospital in labor, and the baby boy died during birth."

"So the child died, I know that. Then who the hell is that?" I demanded, pointing to the girl, her back still turned.

"That’s the million-dollar question."

"Get Bianca back here and have her try again. I need to know who she is."

Scott did as he was told. I watched as Bianca approached the girl, she placed a hand over her shoulder and the girl stiffened. She talked to her for some time before she got up and gave her head a small shake.

"Niko, I tried. She isn't saying anything---"

Bianca's words got cut off as an ear-piercing shriek rang throughout the room. My attention shifted back toward the girl. One of my men was trying to pick up Elijah's body but she threw herself over it, screaming like a fucking banshee.

"Dad, no! Please, no!"

Dad? So, she was Bolton's child.

One of them held her back as the two men dragged Elijah's body out of the house. She fought relentlessly, and my men let her go to pick up Elijah's wife, Mary's dead body. She tried to pull Mary's body from his grasp but her feeble attempts were nothing compared to his strength.

They dragged their dead bodies out of the house, and that's when she turned. Her face and clothes were covered in blood, tears streamed down her face as she followed the men holding her parent's dead bodies.

She tripped on her feet and then got up again. As she was about to run past me, I grabbed her arm stopping her. She didn't look at me at first as she attempted to break free. She kept looking at the men dragging the bodies away from her.

Suddenly, she just gave up and her body went limp. She broke down, crying like a child. She finally looked up at me, her eyes shining with tears.

"What is your name?" I asked her.

She frowned at me, her lips parted before her head hung low and she started to uncontrollably sob again.

"I asked you a question!" I snapped and she cowered away from me, trying to pull herself out of my grip.

My grip on her arm tightened. "I don't like to repeat myself! What is your name?"

"Ev--- ev---" she couldn't even form words in this miserable state.

"Niko, maybe, we should let her calm down first..." Bianca suggested.

"W-who a-are y-you?" she asked through her sobs.

"I'm a friend of your father's," I said, so she would fucking talk to me. I could care less about Elijah fucking Bolton.

"Someone killed my dad... they killed him... my mom and dad" her shoulders shook with the force of her sobs.

Scott placed a hand on my shoulder and my attention shifted toward him. "Boss, there was a drug bust. Police knew someone tipped them off"

A boiling fury swelled inside of me. "Motherfucker!"

I turned to Bianca and pushed the girl in her direction. "Take her home, clean her up, calm her the fuck down, and tell me who the fuck she is!" I ordered as the girl looked between me and Bianca with wide eyes.

I strode out of Elijah's mansion and got into my car. Scott followed closely behind.

"Niko, with the recent attacks on our men and now the drug bust, I think it's all connected to him."

"Let's pay our friend Mateo a visit" I gritted through my teeth.

We got to our warehouse, right in the middle of nowhere. I was flanked by Alessandro and Scott. Four more of my men trailed behind me as we approached Mateo's cell.

Mateo is the underboss of Ignacio Reyes. We have been at a war with Ignacio since he butchered my men in cold blood and breached my territory. I don't forgive the blood of my men that easily. I will not fucking rest till I have killed every single man of Reyes's family.

Ignacio has been going crazy over the disappearance of Mateo, he had an idea that I had him but didn't have the balls to challenge me to my face, I really want him too, so, I can shoot his fucking head off. Now sabotaging my shipments and trying to piss me off discreetly was his coward's way of attacking me. Such a fucking pussy.

Our footsteps echoed off the walls of the warehouse. I stopped outside Mateo's cell as Alessandro opened the door. The room was lit by a single light bulb and under it, Mateo was tied up to a chair, swollen and pissed off.

I put my hand in my pockets as I stood tall before him.

Mateo laughed and spat at my feet. It didn't reach me, but he tried. "Any special reason for this wonderful visit, Nikolai? I'm guessing your shipment of drugs didn't make it, did it?" he grinned.

I placed my palms over the table before him. "How do you know about that?"

He laughed, he fucking laughed at me. "We are way ahead of you, Nikolai. We know your every move."

"You really like to laugh, don't you, Mateo?"

"Not really but laughing at you" he took a deep breath in, relishing the moment of his insignificant win. "It's something else, isn't it?"

"Alessandro?"

"Yes, boss?"

"Help Mateo improve his laugh."

Alessandro opened up his toolbox and took out a metal mouth gag and pliers. Panic flashed through Mateo's eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line as he tried to close his mouth as hard as he could.

A brutal punch connected with his jaw, and his mouth opened with a grunt. Alessandro shoved the mouth gag into his mouth as Scott helped him with it. Alessandro went straight for his front tooth. With his strength, he had no problem pulling his front tooth out, a high-pitched scream rang out through his cell. Saliva mixed with his blood trailed down his chin. Without giving him a chance to gather himself, Alessandro went for the second tooth and pulled it out. Mateo made an animalistic wail. I raised a hand and Alessandro stopped immediately. He took off the mouth gag and stepped aside as Mateo cried like a little bitch.

"Now, are you ready to talk?" I asked

"Go fuck yourself, Nikolai! You'll never get anything out of me!" he shouted.

"Well, I gave you a chance."

I glanced at Alessandro and he knew what to do next. I stepped out of Mateo's cell and strolled down the dark hallway of the warehouse I could hear Mateo's scream resonating throughout it.

Alessandro had the most creative ways to torture information out of people. Now or later, I know Mateo will talk.

I got to my mansion and took off my suit jacket, I threw it over the couch and unbuttoned my cuffs before folding them up.

Bianca entered the living room and walked over to me. "Niko, the girl..."

I leaned back on the couch putting my feet over the coffee table. "What about her?"

"She keeps on crying. The maid took her to take a bath---"

Fucking, shit, I forgot about the girl. "Where is she?"

Bianca reluctantly pointed towards the guestroom. I made my way to it and opened the door only to find it empty. I heard the water running in the bathroom and walked to it. I stood outside the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe.

She was sitting in the bathtub. Her knees to her chest, her brown long hair draped over her back. She was still crying her eyes out as maids poured water over her head, washing away the blood from her face.

She wasn't saying anything, she wasn't stopping the maids from showering her. I silently watched as her olive skin glistened with water, her whimpers and the running water were the only two sounds that resonated in the bathroom.

"Her name is Evangeline," Bianca voiced from behind me. "Evangeline Bolton... she is eighteen years old and Elijah Bolton's only daughter. At least that what's she told me"

"She talked to you?"

"Yes, but she is scared shitless, and I believe she is telling the truth"

"Bolton had a daughter, and he kept her a secret? How the fuck did he pulled that off for eighteen years?"

Bianca lifted a shoulder. "Bolton really loved her. She wouldn't be crying like this if he had abused her or anything. Maybe, he wanted to keep her safe from our world"

"Hm..."

It would make sense. Bolton hiding away his daughter so men like us won't find her.

"What are you going to do with her?" Bianca asked.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do with her just yet. I don't normally have to deal with a girl like this and I'm not even sure why I brought her to my house.

"I haven't decided yet."

Bianca nodded. "I can take her to my place if that helps. You don’t have to deal with her—"

I cut her off with a sharp shake of my head. "No. She stays here until I figure out what to do with her."

Bianca’s shoulders tensed, but she nodded. "Understood, Niko."

"Good. You can go now. I’ll contact you if she needs anything."

Bianca nodded and left afterward. I stood there and watched her, the maids put shampoo in her hair, and she let them. After they were done, the maids asked her to step out of the bathtub. Slowly and cautiously she tried to stand up.

I heaved a sigh and turned to go to my study. I wasn't a fucking pervert, I wasn't going to stand there and watch her dressing up, I left her room and let her do her thing.

Right now, I fucking had more important things to do.

•Evangeline•

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I don't know where I was. I don't know any of these people. I have been sitting in this room alone in the corner after the maids bathed me, they tried to get me to eat something but I couldn't. All I could think about was my parent's dead bodies, their dead eyes staring at me emotionlessly. Bile rose to my throat; I wanted to throw up; food was the least of my concerns right now.

All day long a lot of questions have been running through my mind. I needed answers, I needed someone to talk to. I needed to see my parents again. They deserve a funeral and proper burial and a final goodbye that I never got a chance to say.

There were a lot of people in this house, mostly, servants. They couldn't have the answers to my questions. I needed to talk to the woman who brought me here, what was her name? Bianca? That's what she told me.

I needed to know who they were. What do they want from me? Why am I here? What happened to my parents? Who killed them? What will happen to me? What are they going to do to me?

An unexpected wail bubbled up from my chest as I thought about my parents again. We had so many plans... I sobbed even more as I realized that we will never get the chance to be a normal family.

I miss them...

I miss them so much...

A knock on my bedroom door startled me, I wiped my tears away immediately and croaked out a rough come in. The same maid re-entered my room with a tray full of food. Her face contorted with pity as she approached me.

"I'm not hungry..." I whispered

I pulled my knees to my chest and dropped my head over them. I didn't feel like doing anything, a certain weight had settled on my chest. I felt like I was drowning.

"You need to eat."

I shook my head. "I can't... I just can't... I told you I'm not hungry."

Another knock startled us, I looked towards the door, and the same woman who had brought me here entered. I don't know why, but after seeing her, relief washed over me.

"Hey..." she smiled at me.

"Hi..." I answered

She nodded at the maid and the maid nodded back at her before she walked out of the bedroom. She approached me and settled down beside me.

"Eat," she said gently.

I looked between her and the tray full of food. I shook my head, telling her that I couldn't.

She sighed, her voice soft. "Why, Evangeline?"

I swallowed hard. "Who are you?"

"I’m Bianca, like I said. We’re here to help you. We won’t hurt you. But you need to eat, or Boss won’t be happy."

My stomach churned as I recalled the imposing, tattooed man. "Boss?"

"Yes, Nikolai Costello. This is his place. He wants to see you in his study after you’ve eaten."

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to hold back tears. "I don’t want to eat..."

She gently placed her hand on my knee. "Why not?"

My lower lip trembled, and my voice cracked. "I miss my parents..."

"Evangeline..." she sighed. "Your parents are gone, they are never coming back. Now you need to pull on your big girl panties and try to learn how to live without them" she picked up a bowl of soup from the tray and offered it to me. "Eat..."

"I have never had a meal without my parents... We always used to eat together..."

"I'll eat with you, will that make you feel better?"

I nodded and reluctantly took the bowl of soup from her hand, she sat there and shared a meal with me. After we were done, she stood up and offered me her hand.

"Come on, you need to go see Nikolai."

"Nikolai?"

"Yeah, come on."

I placed my hand in hers and stood up. I smoothed my dress and my hair and rubbed my eyes to get rid of the tears. She strolled out of the bedroom and I followed her silently. We stopped outside a large wooden door and Bianca turned to me.

"He's inside, keep your eyes on the ground and honestly answer any question he asks, alright?"

I nodded. "Okay..."

My legs trembled and my breathing got shallow. I don't know why I was so scared, no one here has hurt me. They all have been nice to me and whoever Nikolai was, I hope he was as nice as Bianca.

She gestured for me to go on inside. I looked at her alarmed. "You are not coming with me?"

She shook her head. "No, now go on," she pushed me towards the large wooden door.

With trembling hand, I turned the doorknob and the door opened. I held my breath as I walked in. I know Bianca told me to keep my gaze on the ground but curiosity got the best of me as I looked up at him. Fortunately, his back was facing me, I immediately dropped my gaze back to my toes.

I stood rooted next to the closed door, I could hear him pouring a drink. I suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable, and so alone. My father's words rang in my mind on a loop.

The world is a dangerous place for someone as innocent as you, Evangeline.

A strange fear crept over me, maybe it was because of what my parents had told me all my life. What if all these people are nice and I'm making a big deal out of nothing? But the fear overpowered every other emotion and goosebumps crept over my back. I thought that if I moved, he would eat me alive.

The atmosphere of the room didn't really help my situation either. The thick curtains were drawn, and the room was dimly lit.

I made the mistake of looking at him one more time and my breath hitched as my eyes met his. For some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off him.

He was leaning against his desk, facing me, a drink in his hand. He emptied the glass tumbler in a single go without taking his eyes off me. His eyes raked up and down all over me like he was studying me like I was not human but an odd creature that had caught his attention.

He placed the glass back on his desk and put his hands in his pockets, he was still leaning over his desk, his long legs stretched.

His dark black hair was tousled, he was wearing an all-black outfit. A black dress shirt, a black vest, black slacks, and a black suit jacket. His first few buttons were unbuttoned and I got a glimpse of the black ink that was also covering the back of his hands. I could imagine tattoos covering his entire body.

He stood straight, and instinctively I took a step back. I suddenly noticed how tall he was that if I stepped closer to him I'd only reach his chest.

"Are you just going to stand there?" he said.

My insides twisted with terror, leaving me frozen in place.

"Come closer," he ordered, his voice sharp, as if he enjoyed watching me squirm.

I remembered that Bianca told me to listen to his every order and answer his every question honestly. I braced myself and walked to him, halting when I was only two steps away from him.

He breathed out softly, appraising me up and down once again. "What is your name?"

"Evangeline Bolton" I answered

"And Elijah and Mary were your...?"

I swallowed. "My parents..."

"How old are you?"

"I turned eighteen last month."

Answer every single question honestly, Evangeline.

"Hm..." a deep masculine hum that was enough to scare me even more if that was possible. "I have known Elijah Bolton since I was born... he never mentioned you. I have been to his house a few times and I never saw you there before..."

My mouth dropped open, my heartbeat got erratic; I breathed in to calm my nerves.

How do I tell someone that I have spent my entire life locked up in a bedroom and I was only allowed to go outside of my bedroom when it was time for me to eat?

He took a step toward me and that made me step back instinctively. I looked at him through my lashes and saw his face. His expressions were hard to read but he looked almost amused, and I think I saw a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.

With his hands in his pockets, he walked around me in circles. His even strides reminded me of something, he looked like an animal, I have read about it and seen it on TV. He was stalking around me the way tigers do before they pounce on their prey and then devour them alive.

I swallowed as I felt like defenseless prey.

"Are you lying to me, Evangeline?" he asked, still moving around me.

I shook my head immediately. "No, no, I'm not"

He chuckled, the sound of his laugh made my skin crawl with fear. "I think you are... Elijah Bolton did not have a child. I don't like liars, Evangeline. Do you know what I do with liars?" he asked

I shook my head. "No..." my voice barely above a whisper.

He stopped behind me, I could feel the heat of his body creeping onto my back. "I punish them... very badly" he whispered in my ear from behind and my whole body visibly trembled.

My insides twisted with anxiety and fear, my eyes burned with tears, I kept them in but I could no longer control my hands; they were shaking in an odd trembling rhythm.

All I could hear were my dad's words — The world is a dangerous place and you are easy prey, Evangeline. You are innocent and naive and you lack physical strength. This world will chew you alive.

He was right.

Dad was right.

The tears I have been holding in slid down my cheeks. "I'm his daughter, I swear. He... he didn't let me leave my room. I have spent my whole life there, I was homeschooled, and the only time I was allowed outside of my bedroom was when we ate together breakfast, lunch, and dinner." I sniffled. "Only three times a day, I promise," I said in a single breath and hastily wiped my tears. "I'm not lying to you, I swear"

"Why?" his warm breath fanned the nape of my neck.

I sniffled. "He said the world out there was dangerous for me..." I wiped my eyes multiple times.

"Dangerous for you?"

I nodded. "He worked at a bank and he had a lot of enemies because of it"

"He worked at a bank?" He repeated my words but with a hint of sarcasm and amusement.

I sniffled quietly, tears threatening to spill from my eyes again. "Yes, my dad worked at a bank, that is what he told me, I swear!"

He finally stepped away from me and I released the breath I was holding in. He walked around me to get to his desk and settled in his chair. I looked at him through my blurry tear-filled vision. His elbow rested over the armrest as he traced his long finger over his lips. He kept staring at me like he was amazed or intrigued or disgusted, I really don't know.

"So, you have never been out of your house?" He asked

I shook my head gently. "No..."

His expressions were dark and mocking like he didn't believe me at all. "Your father worked at a bank and you have spent your whole life locked up in a room? Doesn't it sound a little ridiculous to you, Evangeline?"

I cried harder than before, streams of tears flowed faster than my heartbeat. "Why don't you believe me? I'm telling the truth... What would I get out of lying to you?"

"Do you know who I am?" his voice was gravelly low and dangerous.

I sniffled and shook my head. "No, I don't! The only people I ever knew were my parents... I don't want to know you," I whispered the last part.

He opened up a box and pulled out a cigar, the same cigar my dad used to smoke. I know it, I have seen him smoke it many times. He lit it up and blew out a thick puff of smoke. He looked at me for a few more seconds and then sighed.

"Go back to your room, Evangeline" he ordered, his tone authoritative.

I swallowed and turned to leave but stopped and looked back at him. "What are you going to do to me?" I asked the most important question that had been gnawing at the back of my mind.

His lips lifted from one side into a wicked smirk, his eyes were almost pitch black. "First, I'm going to find out if you're telling the truth or not then we'll talk about what I am going to do to you, you little liar"

I immediately walked out of his study. I shouldn't be afraid, I told him the truth. I hope he finds that out soon, so, he can apologize for not believing me.