GUNSHOT ➪ Zayn

sixty-ninth

Chapter 69: Rafaela Carrera

'You gotta listen.' someone behind him said.
'Auntie?' Alyssa said surprised.
'Alyssa we need to talk about our family.' The blonde blue eyes woman said calmly.
'Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?' Alyssa rebelled. 'Don't you know how dangerous it is? The other side and the Colorado's CIO are there!'
'I know.'
'Look,' Alyssa started. 'I'm super grateful for everything you've done for me when my mother died but you can't stay here. You're sick!'
'I am. I am sick, but not the way I made you believe I was.'
' What?'
'Everyone thought I had Alzheimer's disease, because it was easier. In reality I had post trauma stress, that made me forget some things.
'Rafaela. My mother is dead.'
'She is.'
'What? Why the heck am I here then.'
'Because we were three.' Rafaela stated. Your mother had a twin. She got kidnapped when I was 8. Colorado agency or the other side we never knew.'
'What's the point of this I'm confused.' Alyssa whispered.
'Your mother's twin found me a few years ago. She told me about something.'
    Alyssa was gazing at the walls, making up theories in her head to try to understand what was going on. She was confused and didn't know if it was due to the anesthetic product or her crazy aunt who were supposed to have Alzheimer's disease.
'Alyssa your mother died for a specific reason.'
'She got assassinated during a mission I know.' She stated.
'No. She knew something that no rational human could've imagined. Asim and Jenifer were still alive.'
'I beg your pardon?' Alyssa laughed.
'Listen, Aly, it's..'
'No. You're crazy. You got out of your psychiatric hospital to made up a story about my mum who supposedly had a twin that we never heard about and who told you that? I won't believe this.'
'Your mothers twin, Alya, she worked for the comoany that's been watching JD and Asim Malik for more than 20 years.'
'Asim Malik died. Jenifer Dallas died.' Alyssa said.
'Where are the bodies then? Where are their grave?' Aureliano chuckled.
'They've been destroyed, I don't fucking know!'
'For fucks sake Alyssa you gotta listen to us, we'll let you go then. We don't want to hurt you nor anything bad. Damn we're a family.'
'A family? You've lied to me for years and let me down when I was 13, that's what you call a family!' She said
'Everybody shut up!' The old women yelled, hitting the table.
Both Aureliano and Alyssa looked at her, eyes wide open. Rafaela never yells, she's the calmest person.
'Alyssa. You've got to trust me.' Rafaela said as she unhandcuffed her niece. 'There's two options here, either you forget about the mistakes I've made for ten minutes and you listen to me, or you can go. I won't take the risk of letting go such an information if you don't even want to believe it.'

Alyssa looked at her, looked at her cousin. What did she had to loose after all, it was her family, the only family she had left.
She sat back in her chair. Ready to listen to this story that she wasn't even sure of believing.
Rafaela sighed, relieved.
It was time for her niece to know what really happened.

Many years ago, the event that changed everyone's life happened.
The worst day imaginable for the founding families.
The Carrera's, the Malik's, the Bell's, the Dallas-Spoon's... it all went to hell.
Graziella who was a very good friend of Asim, discovered his secret.
They had to deliver an important pack together in Florida, he was constantly disappearing, more and more often. One day she followed him. She has seen it all. When he came back, it was the beginning of all this mess.
'Where were ya?' She coldly asked as she was waiting for him in the car.
'Wow, I didn't know you were working for the police.' He laughed.
'Asim.'
'Graziella.'
'You are a disgusting character. You just had your second child and you're screwing it up for a Beccaccia.'
'What are you talking about?'
'I followed you and so you with that girl, gave birth to your third child.'
'Grazie.'
'No. Have you though about your wife? She's so in love with you, she takes good care of your children. You're married.'
'Don't tell Isabella.' He begged her
'I won't. Because if anyone discover that you fucked HER you'll be in good trouble man.'
'I know I fucked up.'
'Damn it Asim! You're the father of the child everyone's looking for! What am I supposed to do with that information!' She yelled in a whisper.

Graziella lived with this information. She didn't tell anyone, nor her husband, or Jennifer or who ever she could have tell. She kept being silent.
It was hard whenever she was meeting Isabella.
She became distant with pretty much anyone.
She knew that what she knew could destroy everything.
She just became more and more silent. Everyone thought it was because of her pregnancy. Asim knew it was not.
Many times he tried to reach her out. It was always the same two sentences:
'Grazie, you okay?'
'I could've been better if you weren't there.'
It was hard for Asim to see her like that, she used to be so joyful, adorable, funny. Now she was just closed on herself
The day of the Mission slowly arrived.
The Evans brothers had discovered the existence of Asim's double life. Ready to blew his cover up, they politely came to talk to the man.
Turns out that Asim's second wife owned the book of the 4 Blood Ties.
This day Asim had a big bad day. Graziella gave birth to her daughter, she didn't want her best friend to enter the room or to just approach her daughter.
Isabella and him had a big fight.
He was walking in direction of his house, when the two young men approached him.
They blackmailed him to get the book of the 4 Blood ties.
Whoever owned this book would discover the deepest secrets of the founding families but most importantly they'll finally know who owns everything.
Asim didn't think, he shot the older Evans, letting the youngest one go.
'If you dare approach me or my family again, I'll kill you.'
At that time, Victoria Evans was 5 years old, Alyssa was just born, James Bell was 8, his mother had died 4 years before that day. Zayn was 5, just like Victoria and Selena was 2.
Years passed.
Both James and Victoria were orphans.
Graziella has been holding a journal since she discovered Asim's little secret.
One day it was the day. The day JD and Asim supposedly died.
They were all going to be on the big mission to destroy the Colorado Agency.
But CA destroyed them before they could've done anything.
The other side had just signed an alliance with CA. They all wanted the same thing: The truth about 4 Blood ties. Only Asim knew it.
The OS knew Asim what related to the women.
They looked everywhere, nothing. They interrogated her, still nothing. She wouldn't tell. They killed her, but still nothing was found. Asim was the only hope left.
When Asim and Jenifer left their cars was still going on, like they never left. They hid in a garage to escape CA, but they could not escape their fate. They got kidnapped and then took to the Amazonian forest. They questioned and tortured them to know where the book had been hidden. And for years again everyone was looking for the lost child, hoping that she, would have the answers they all wanted
Jenifer was the one who found the family for the baby. She knew who and where the lost child was.
So did Graziella Carrera.
But Grazie kept silence and eventually took the secret to her grave when she got savagely assassinated by Douglas Evans.
Alya, Grazie's twin who had been kidnapped by CA worked for the group of people who were watching them. One day she got the chance to interview Asim and JD.
Then they realized who she was and told her the truth. She investigated and found out they were right. She always felt like a part of her was missing.
She found out she used to have a twin and was a Carrera, a member of the founding families.
Years passed and 6 months ago, she reached out Rafaela, her older sister who was still alive.
She came and told her about everything she knew.