The Sinclair Sisters

When in Rome...you party

Rome, Italy
November 13th, 2020
8:05 PM, Italian time

Violet

I loaded my Colt and holstered it to my leg. I had no intention of using it tonight though, it was merely a precaution.

As I packed my taser, Koby entered the room. "Is she ready?" I asked.

"I guess so. She could still use some encouragement though," she said.

I nodded and started braiding my hair in the mirror.

"Last round then it's over," she said.

I snorted, "Let's hope so. Lord knows I thought it was over, then this happened. Julius has been ruining our lives for so long, he's like a louse, or a bedbug. Even from the grave he's still ruining our lives. It's starting to make me doubt that..."

Koby shook her head. "Don't go there. Julius Sinclair is dead Violet, we made sure of it."

I raised a brow, "And if that was some fake version he made of himself?"

Koby scoffed, "No one is that good to perfectly mimic a psychopath, especially not one like Julius. He was his own brand of evil. Ted Bundy's got nothing on him."

I barked out a short laugh. Yeah, Ted Bundy should take notes.

"Can I ask you something?" I said. "Why would you want to keep the house?"

Koby smiled ruefully. She sat on the bed and picked at a stray thread on the blanket. "A few months ago, I was in LA for work and I stopped by UCLA to see Zeph."

I finished tying my hair and turned to face her.

"We went out for drinks and somehow the conversation went to our lives before Julius. I spoke so much about my home village in Tanzania, I almost didn't notice how quiet she'd gotten. She told me she didn't remember anything about her family. In her words, they could kidnap her right now and take her back to Iran and she wouldn't know." Koby explained.

I sat beside her on the bed speechlessly. I was not expecting that. "I didn't know," I finally said.

Koby raised a brow. "How much do you remember of India?"

I let out a breath. If I was being honest, nothing, although Koby's expression already told me she knew that. I left India when I was three, so I have little to no memories of my home country. I remember it was hot, I remember it could be noisy, but that was about it.

Koby smiled ruefully. "Exactly. We may not have the best memories of the house, but they're all we got. If you sell the house, you're selling away all the girls remember as a home. I hate Julius and everything he put us through, but I love having sisters. I love being a part of this family, and the house plays a role in that."

"I didn't realise it," I said, "but I get it now. Thanks Ko."

She smiled, "Happy to help."

Two knocks sounded on the door before Paris entered. "We're ready."

I nodded and stood. "Let's do this."

∆

Tamala

I let out a tense breath as Essence styled my wig.

"That should do it," she said as she finished spraying some hair spray concoction. "All done. Ready?"

Absolutely not. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Violet walked in and nodded. "Zeph's ready with the car. Ms Gutierrez?"

"Is looking stunning," Essence said as she stepped back. "I'm going to get ready."

After she left, Violet turned to me. "Remember what I said?"

I nodded. "Yup."

"Then you know what to do."

And that's exactly what I did. As soon as I spotted Cian waiting, I threw away whatever inhibitions I had and grinned widely, letting the full force of my giddiness show.

Cian smiled back. "Quinn," he kissed my hand, "glad you could make it."

"Did you forget what I said? I wouldn't miss this for the world." Quite frankly really.

∆

The auction itself was a bore, but Cian made up for it by just talking. He wasn't overly talkative, but he was interesting and with every passing second, I was drawn in deeper.

When the Heart of the Siren was announced as the next item for sale, my eyes tracked down my sisters.

Jodi, Violet and Essence were dressed as waitresses and were in charge of stealing the sculpture. My job was to keep Cian's attention away since he was the one selling. As soon as the auctioneer started calling prices, the lights went off. Koby had hacked into the system, so all electronics were off. Thanks to cat vision, I could see almost perfectly and it pained me to see the look on Cian's face.

"What's going on?" he yelled out.

To keep my cover, I was to stay with Cian until it was safe to slink away. About three minutes later, the lights came back on and the glass sculpture was gone. The girls had done it. Cian looked furious.

"Mission accomplished," I heard Vi say. "Be careful, and get out of there as soon as possible."

Bodyguards started swarming in and I heard people calling the police. It was time to leave.

"Cian, I need to go to my car. I don't feel so good," I said, feigning a headache.

He nodded. "Sure, right away." He gave some instructions to a security man and led me away. "Let's go."

"I'll be fine, you need to stay here for when the police comes," I said. Please make this easier for the both of us and just let me go.

Frustratingly, he shook his head. "Quinn, I'm not leaving you alone, not like this. I'll take you to the parking lot."

I let Cian lead me downstairs. I spotted the car with Zeph leaning on the door. I had to ditch Cian, immediately. Whether it was his own blind trust or luck on my side, none of the security guards followed him and I couldn't have been more grateful.

"Cian," I said and stopped. I turned to him. I held his cheeks and let out a shaky breath. "I have had the best time with you. You are an incredible man and you will make a woman very happy one day."

Cian frowned and I quickly kissed him before he could ask any questions. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I let him go for the last time. "I am so sorry," I whispered. Before he could blink, I wrapped an arm around his neck and turned him so his back would be facing me. Within minutes, he was unconscious and I left him on the ground.

Zeph raised a brow as I turned to her. "That was so dramatic, Nicholas Sparks would be impressed," she said dryly.

I shook my head. "Let's just go Zephyr."

She opened the door for me and I quickly got in. I couldn't bear to look at Cian's body as she drove away.

"Violet left some tissues for you," she said quietly.

Immediately, I grabbed the box and let out all the tears. The ball was over, and Cinderella had to turn back into a maid...or in this case, Quinn had to turn back into Tamala.