Ellise watched her husband as he spoke with Dmitri and Dominic. After discovering that Lilly and CeCe had gone missing, it seemed like he had become a different person. The atmosphere had changed and she didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. He raised his head and his gaze met hers. A shiver ran down her spine when she saw the look in his eyes. His eyes weren't dull. They were bright, so bright but not in a good way. He had a mischievous look in his eyes and a devilish smirk playing on his lips. But that was not what was scaring
Ellise. His knuckles were bruised and earlier that morning, she'd heard him punching the mirror. Before she could tend to his wounded hands, he'd mumbled an apology and had gone out to meet Dominic and Dmitri.
She was worried that Dre had become his old self. She knew he wouldn't hurt her but she didn't know what his plans were. "Morning, El" Dominic said, winking at him.
"Hey, Dom. How's Jade and Anna?" She said.
"They're okay" he said.
"Is it just me or is she glowing?" Dmitri commented and Ellise blushed.
"Keep your eyes to the floor, young man" Dre said, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Sure thing, dude"
Ellise quietly left them as they continued their conversation.
Ellise wasn't comfortable with everything that was happening. She hoped they were all okay. She watched Dominic and Dmitri drive off after their long conversation. Dre headed straight to his study. She frowned and walked up to his study. He was making a call with his back to her.
".....Look, I don't care. Just find her....."
"No, you idiot. Do what I asked you to do. Are you fucking kidding me right now? I don't need those shabby excuses of yours. Do what I asked you to do or you get punished" he growled and threw his phone across the room. He turned away from his shattered phone, running a hand through his hair. He was clearly agitated and frustrated. She slowly opened the door wider and stepped in.
"Dre-" she said and he stiffened, his muscles tensed.
"I didn't hear you come in" he said, stiffly.
She didn't say anything as she led him to a chair and made him sit down. She gently took his injured hand in hers and cleaned the cuts with an antiseptic-soaked cotton ball.
"I know you're scared. I know you're hurting" she said, wrapping up his hand with bandage.
He remained silent, his brows creased up into a frown.
"Don't let it drive you into insanity" she said.
He heaved a sigh, lowering his gaze.
"It's changing me, Ellie. You know what happens when it gets worse. You know it's changing me but you're still here, why?" He said. She looked at him right in his eyes. She could see the immense pain, the hurt, the frustration, the sadness and the anger. It was overwhelming.
Dre was going through so much and it hurt her too.
"Because I know you won't hurt me and I trust you" she whispered, planting a kiss on his forehead and jaw. His gaze softened as he stroked her hair.
"We'll find them" she said and he nodded slightly, biting his lower lip.
"You should eat something" she told him, rising to her feet to get him his breakfast. He stood up, wrapping his arms around her, his hands resting on her baby bump. He sighed, peppering kisses on her neck.
"You're so-"
He chuckled, burying his face against her neck.
"Let's eat together" he said and she nodded. He followed her downstairs and into the kitchen like he didn't want to let her out of his sight.
As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, there was a loud crack from the window and a knife came flying through the air towards her. Dre quickly moved her out of the way, catching the knife before it could hit him. She gasped in shock.
"What the hell was that?!" "Stay behind me" Dre said, his jaw clenched. If he'd looked pissed off a while ago, now he looked really mad.
He opened the window. There was a young lady running away from the house with her hood on. She was the culprit, no doubt. Dre aimed at her and threw the knife. Ellise gasped when the knife hit the culprit's shoulder, sending her tumbling to the ground as she cried out in pain.
She stumbled forward and ran off, still bleeding.
Knowing her husband, Ellise knew he had let it hit her shoulder on purpose. If she hadn't been there, he might've gone for her head.
"That's a message for Cornelia. I'm tired of keeping up with her shit. I don't care what I have to do. I'll go down with her if I have to" he said and stormed off.
Shuddering, Ellise wrapped her arms around her stomach protectively.
..
Val and Noelle were walking out of the grocery store when they ran into Lucas. She froze, taking a step backwards. "Elle-"
Val turned to face her, concerned. "Who's he?" He whispered. When she didn't say anything, he turned to look at Lucas. Their eyes widened when they recognized each other. "Lucas" Val spat his name like poison.
"Valentino. I didn't expect to see you here" Lucas said, his voice shaky as he took a step back.
"Oh really?" Val said, stalking him. "Look, I'm sorry, bro-"
"I'm not your fucking brother!"
"Yeah, sorry- I'm sorry for-"
"Sorry doesn't even cut it" Valentino said, clenching his fist. Lucas swallowed hard, trembling slightly.
"See? I'm no longer your father's puppet. I'm no longer the scared little boy you used to bully"
"I-I-I can see that"
"Good, but maybe you won't be able to see this coming" Valentino said, driving his fist into Lucas' face.
"Oh and this is for everything you did to Lynn" he said, smashing his fist into Lucas' nose. No doubt, it was broken by the force of the blow.
He didn't stop until Lucas was bleeding. "It's okay. Let's go before anyone calls the cops" Noelle said and he followed her to the car.
"He deserves more than that" he said as they got into the car. "Yeah, thank you for doing all that for me" she said and he nodded.
They got to his house and was had dinner together. After which, they relaxed on the couch in the sitting room.
"Val?"
"Hmm?"
"I must admit, I'm scared" she said.
He raised his head to look at her, cupping her face.
"I won't let anything happen to you. She'll have to go through me to get to you" he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around his waist, closing her eyes. "Do you have any idea of where she's keeping the others?" She asked.
He sighed and shook his head.
"I'm really upset, you know. She tried to kill me. She tried to ruin my brother's life. I'm just worried about them, I hope they don't get hurt"
"Did you hear that?" Noelle suddenly said, tightening her grip on his shirt unconsciously.
"Someone's here" she added.
Val frowned, clenching his jaw.
"Stay calm" he said, rising to his feet. He walked to the kitchen and took out a gun from the lower cabinet. They slowly made their way upstairs to the bedroom. It was dark, so he flipped on the switch.
There by the window, stood Cornelia. She was wearing a hospital gown and her stomach was no longer huge.
She pointed her gun at Noelle, a smirk on her face.
"Stay out of this, Valentino or you suffer what your brother's suffering now" Cornelia grinned maniacally.
"You can go ahead and rot in hell. She's my girlfriend and you're not going anywhere with her" Val said, pointing his gun at her. She slowly raised her hands above her head. Suddenly, a mini explosion occured and smoke filled the whole place.
It was a distraction. Noelle's survival instincts kicked in. She pulled out two knives from her boots. She couldn't see Val but she could hear him coughing.
Cornelia attacked from behind but she dodged, Noelle's knife making a deep gash on her arm. She cried out in pain, gnashing her teeth.
"You bitch!" She growled, trying to choke her. Noelle twisted her arms behind her as one of the knives fell to the floor. Then, she pushed her off her body.
A gun shot went off and Noelle heard Cornelia scream before everywhere became silent. She coughed, moving through the thick smoke. She stumbled upon Val. They opened the back door since the fire was rather too much to put out. They were going to be trapped if they didn't make it out on time. They rushed down the stairs, careful to avoid being burned. They ran out of the house in the last minute just as it completely burst into flames.
Val was coughing hard, a cut on his eyebrow. She gently rubbed his back. "We're okay" he muttered, placing his gun on the floor.
"You got her but she escaped" Noelle said and he nodded.
"She's wounded now, we can trace her" he said.
"How?"
He smirked, pulling his hair back into a bun.
"You'll see"
....
"We're going to be okay" Tasha said as she held a feverish Xanthis in her arms.
Lilly was crying in her mother's arms. "Is he going to be okay?" She asked, referring to her elder brother. "He'll be fine" Alicia replied with tears in her eyes.
It had been two days since they had been kidnapped. Xanthis' fever was worsening as a result of the bad head wound. They were holding onto a little hope.
Tasha sobbed as Xanthis began to cough. She rubbed his shoulder, holding his hand.
"Don't cry" he croaked, his eyes still closed.
"You're bleeding so much, you can bleed to death" Tasha cried.
"No, I won't. It's going to take a lot more than this to bring me down" he slurred, shivering.
Tasha sniffed, placing a hand on his burning forehead.
"We shouldn't give up yet" Cecilia said, squeezing Xanthis' other hand. He coughed again, his breathing strained.
"Water" he mumbled almost so quietly, they had to listen carefully to him to hear what he'd said.
"Water" he mumbled again.
Tasha gently placed his head on Cece's lap before stumbling across the room. She hit the heavy steel door repeatedly.
"We need water! " She yelled, banging her fists and legs against the door until she was fully spent. She slid down the wall, terrified.
Xanthis was slipping in and out of consciousness in alarming rate. The door opened by a crack and a bottle of water was thrown into the room. Sobbing with relief, she knelt beside her fiance and uncapped the bottle.
Lifting his head a bit, she gave him water. When she was satisfied, she placed his head down. "I'm thirsty too" Lilly whispered and she gave her the bottle. Lilly sighed with relief as she drank from the bottle.
"Isn't there a way we can reach the others?" Alicia asked.
"There is-" Xanthis slurred.
"What do you mean? She took all our phones" Alicia replied.
"It can only work if she moves us out of here. There's a transmitter blocking the signals" he coughed.
"What are you talking about?" She asked. He groaned, raising a hand to touch his hair but he was too weak. He passed out again.