The Ones Who Failed Us

Chapter 4

We were seated in Alessandro's office. Teddy and I were in front of Alessandro who was sitting behind the desk while Elijah leaned against the wall next to Alessandro. I was nervous as hell and couldn't stop shaking my leg. This would be the perfect time for Elijah to hold me down while Alessandro beat me for being disrespecting my two oldest brothers on my first day back. I knew I would regret that.

"Relax, Ava. You're not in trouble, but if this behavior continues, I won't hesitate to punish you," he said, causing me to shiver in terror. He gave a concerned look but continued, "Judging from your attitude, I doubt you have ever been disciplined because this type of behavior would have been nipped in the bud if you were in my care or the care of any suitable parent. Am I understood?"

I shakily nodded my head, looking down. "Ava, I expect verbal responses and eye contact when I'm talking to you. I believe we've already discussed this," Alessandro said, lowering his volume. "I'm not trying to be mean, but this will help me know whether you're actually paying attention or just nodding to make me stop talking," he finished with a slight smile.

"I understand. Can we get to the rules? Teddy is tired, and I would prefer for him to fall asleep in my bed rather than this uncomfortable chair."

Elijah covered his laugh with a cough as Alessandro clenched his jaw. After taking a few seconds to calm down, Alessandro started going over the rules. "Okay, then. First of all, I expect you to be respectful towards your brothers. That includes no disobedience, talking back, arguing, or cursing. I know that Matteo and Emilio might be difficult to you at first, so if they bother you, let one of us know, and we'll handle it. They've been through a lot, and they never fully recovered from those incidents. It causes them to act rashly and say things they don't mean, so please keep that in mind when you're with them."

"What happened to them?" I asked. "Maybe if I know what I'm dealing with, I'll try and control myself better."

Elijah opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by Alessandro. "That's not something you need to know. The twins will tell you if they want to, but I respect their privacy, and I expect you to do the same."

Teddy and I both mumbled, "Fine." I don't understand what Alessandro is saying. Just because you have felt pain doesn't give you the right to lash out on innocent people. Teddy and I have never done that, so there's no reason for me to put up with their behavior. And anyways, what can be worse than what Teddy and I endured for four years?

Continuing on with these ridiculous rules, Alessandro said, "That stunt you pulled this afternoon will not fly. It was extremely disrespectful to raise your voice at Elijah and to roll your eyes at me when I told you your behavior was unacceptable at dinner. I understand it must be hard because you think we abandoned you, but I want you to know that we never wanted you or Mom to leave."

"You did abandon us, though. Where were you those four years after Mom died? Why were Mom and I sent away ten years ago?"

Alessandro sighed, "I understand your confusion. We didn't take you after Mom died because Damon had already adopted both of you by then, and there was nothing we could do about it. As for why you were sent away, it's a complicated matter that I will explain in more detail when you're older and more mature. All you need to know right now is that we have a powerful family business, and that comes with a lot of enemies. You and Mom were sent away for your safety."

Teddy froze when he heard Alessandro's words and looked at me alarmed. "What's the family business? Our social worker said something about a chain of hotels and restaurants. What's so dangerous about that?," Teddy asked, his voice slightly shaking.

"Yes, that is correct. As for danger, other companies tend to get jealous from how successful our business is and try to sabotage our hard work. Now if you two are done interrogating me, can we continue with the rules?" Alessandro asked with a raised brow.