Maia

6

Word count: 1120

☽☾

ALESSANDRO'S POV

"Lorenzo, Wiremu, I need you in my office right away," I stated firmly, rising from my seat and straightening my suit jacket as I headed towards my office. With purpose, I circled my desk and settled into my chair as Wiremu closed the door behind us.

"I just finished speaking with the LAPD," I announced as I opened my laptop, quickly pulling up the security footage from the day Maia's Mamma died.

Lorenzo casually leaned against the wall, the anticipation evident in his eyes as Wiremu took a seat across from me. "And? Did they catch the guy?" Lorenzo inquired abruptly. I met his gaze with a stern expression before shaking my head slowly.

"No, but they have ruled out Maia as a suspect for now," I stated confidently, swivelling my laptop so that the others could view the screen.

"One of our men successfully breached the police station's files and retrieved this crucial footage from the neighbour's street camera."

As I gazed at Wiremu, his expression was visibly pained upon seeing Maia hiding in the bush. Meanwhile, Lorenzo clenched his hands and asked in frustration, "Who's the guy?"

"I don't know. We are still in the process of locating him. Our team is actively searching for him as we speak. His car was found abandoned at a motel a couple of hours ago, and there has been no sign of his whereabouts since then," I explained.

"I wonder what his motives behind killing Emily were," Wiremu said.

I let out a sigh and responded, "For now, our utmost priority should be ensuring Maia's safety. While Emily may have been the main target, we can't rule out the possibility that they were also after Maia. I'm planning to double the security measures around the house, and I'm relying on both of you to keep a sharp eye on her."

"They both nodded. "I'll keep you updated, but for now, you're dismissed."

☽☾

MAIA'S POV

I pick up the bag from the floor and make my way into the room. I place it on a cain chair. It feels all so surreal. This room is much larger than the house I lived at with Māmā and Jacob.

As I enter the room, I notice that the walls are painted in a soft white colour, which makes the accents of green stand out. The room is bright and airy, and the large, sage French doors catch my attention immediately.

As I open them and step out onto the balcony, I feel a sense of freedom wash over me. From the balcony, I can see the beautiful view of the garden, and I can already sense that it could become my favourite spot in the house, that's if I stay long enough. Currently, the balcony is quite bare, but I can imagine how nice it would look if it had a table and chairs, adorned with vibrant plants.

I look to my right and notice a few other balconies, we must all have one each.

I walk back in to take in the bedroom more. The bed looks like a king, much bigger than the one I had back with Māmā. Without hesitation, I ran and leapt onto the bed, sinking into its softness. A deep sigh of contentment escaped me. It felt surreal, almost like a dream too perfect to be real. This bed was undeniably the most comfortable thing I had ever laid on. I closed my eyes, a smile playing on my lips, savouring the feeling of utter peace. 

As I shift to lie on my back, I gaze up at the ceiling. My hand finds its way to my rib, and tears begin to well up in my eyes. The sense of missing Māmā becomes almost unbearable. Everything around me feels so overwhelming - the room, the kindness that's been offered to me. It's all just too much to take in.

I sit up, the taste of salt lingering on my lips as I wipe the tears off my cheek. With a tender touch, I lift my hoodie, revealing the deep purple discolouration of my bruised and aching rib. Gently, I rub the area, but the immense pain makes me bite my lip as I fight back a wave of tears, not wanting to release more.

The room felt suffocating as I sat there for what felt like hours as tears streamed down my cheeks. I found myself gazing out of the window, my eyes fixed on the gradual transition of the sky from a radiant blue to a deep, velvety darkness. It seemed as though time had frozen, and I was enveloped in an overwhelming sense of despair.

I feel lost and lonely, even though I've just arrived at home. Can I even call it mine? The walls that surrounded me were unfamiliar. It was their family, their memories, and their history, and here I was, just a stranger in their midst. It's their home.

The unexpected sound of a knock on the door interrupted my deep thoughts. I reached up to wipe the tears from my damp, crimson-stained cheeks and pulled the hood of my jacket over my head. With a twinge of pain, I slowly rose to my feet and made my way to the door. Each creak of the floorboards beneath me felt like an echo of the emotions swirling inside. As I reached out to open the door, a small sense of anxiety took over me filling the air with suspense.

Lorenzo stood before me, his brow furrowed with an intense expression. "Dinner's ready," he muttered, before silently making his way towards the other end of the hallway. As he reached the end, he hesitated and glanced back, realizing that I wasn't following him. "Well? Are you coming?" he called out impatiently.

I quickly shut the door behind me and followed Lorenzo's confident strides, I descended the grand stairs to the dining room. At the head of the grand table, Alessandro sat regally, followed by Wiremu and Giovanni. Another boy occupied the remaining seat, he looked like Wiremu. Despite the four empty chairs, the atmosphere felt crowded and tense. Lorenzo promptly claimed a seat, and I hesitantly settled next to Giovanni, my gaze fixed on the intricate patterns of the tablecloth, my nerves knotting in my stomach.

"Maia, this is your brother, Rāwiri," Alessandro said, his tone stern. "He wanted to be here to greet you, but he was caught up with his studies at the university."

I slowly raise my gaze to meet the eyes of the boy sitting across from me. His stare is filled with intense hatred and disgust, similar to the way Jacob used to look at me. I squirm and press farther into the seat, consumed by fear.

I knew this was too good to be true.