Metanoia

Chapter 15

I finish up my little interrogation in the cells just in time for dinner.

I have everyone that worked in Darcy's orphanage down there, so far they've all admitted to participating in beatings but no one has taken accountability for the bite marks the doctor found on Darcy's thighs.

I'll have to ask Darcy so I can ensure whoever is responsible get's an appropriate punishment.

This is the real reason I didn't attend their shopping excursion today. I had to ensure Darcy wasn't in the house for their arrival, just incase.

I walk up the basement steps and key in the code to the reinforced metal door which let's me out. The door is hidden in what looks like a hallway closet but it's in fact a portal, leading to some of the most despicable criminals on earth. 

I brush off any thoughts of torture and prepare myself for a nice meal with my now complete family. I sit alone at the table, which is expected as I'm five minutes early and await the arrival of my little siblings.

Over the span of the next three minutes they all enter, not daring to be even a minute late. Eventually we're all here except Darcy. I look at my watch.

Eight-thirty seven.

I don't have a lot of rules but being on time to dinner is one of them.

"Can't you just go get her, I'm starving," Romeo groans while looking at the feast in front of him, knowing nobody is allowed to eat until everyone is here. "Yeah she probably just forgot," Gabriele adds.

I'm about to get up when I hear the sound of her dog heading in our direction, barking as it does so. Finally 

The dog enters the room but to my surprise Darcy doesn't follow. "Ugh what does it want," Dante says frustratingly as the dog continues to bark at the table. "Try and calm it down," Dante tells Romeo, who's sitting at the end of the table closest to the dog.

"First off he's not an it, his name is Bear," Romeo says matter of factly while reaching over to pet him. "What the hell," he trails off, retracting his hand.

This causes everyone to look over at him curiously. "He's bleeding," Romeo reveals, lifting his blood stained hand to show us.

Gabriele, no doubt knowing that this dog is Darcy's favourite thing in the world, is the first to check on it. After patting around it's dark brown fur which was concealing the blood, he turns back to us perplexed. "I can't find any wound on him." He concludes 

Suddenly panic arises in me as I'm seemingly the first one to realise that this wasn't the dog's blood. 

I abruptly slide my chair back, sprinting out the room. I hear a chorus of stomping behind me as I follow the bloody dog prints back to Darcy's room. I pull open the door to see a scene straight out of a nightmare. The floor is covered in smeared blood, bloody towels litter the room and worst of all Darcy is huddled on the floor, sobbing and clearly hyperventilating.

"Merda," I shout, flying into her room, my brothers not far behind me.

I kneel in a puddle of blood, being joined by Arlo not a second later. "Darcy baby can you hear me?" I ask, trying to gage how out of it she is.

Arlo is desperately trying to find the source of the excessive bleeding but her whole outfit is covered in blood, concealing the injury. "Go get towels for fucks sake!" Arlo screams at our useless brothers who are all watching the situation in shock.

"Darcy please tell me where it hurts," I say, the stress of the situation making my voice crack. She doesn't reply so I place my hand on her shoulder, she immediately cowers back.

"M'sorry," she hiccuped. "I tried to clean but it wouldn't stop," she said desperately in between sobs.

Clean?

I look around and notice the cleaning supplies scattered across the floor. Only then did I realise that she hadn't been using the bloody towels to apply pressure to the wound, but instead to clean up her own blood.

I look up and make eye contact with my other brothers. I can physically see their hearts breaking as we all come to the realisation that she'd rather bleed out then ask us for help. 

Angelo comes bolting in seconds later with an armful of towels, handing them to Arlo.  "Darcy I need you to calm down and tell us where the bleeding is coming from," he tries to say calmly but the panic is evident in his voice.

He reaches in to grab the hem of her top but she cries harder and scoots away, clearly in the midsts of a panic attack. 

I sit down and pull her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her shoulders to restrain her. She weakly struggles but I keep my firm hold. It's for her own good. "Shhh it's okay, it's okay." I repeat, kissing the top of her head. 

"Alonzo get the car ready, Luca go with him," I order, picking the fasted driver and Luca, Darcy's obvious favourite. She'll need comfort at the hospital. 

Arlo had lifted Darcy's top, revealing a gash spanning across her whole stomach. How she's even conscious right now with all this blood loss is a miracle. He applied pressure to the wound, causing Darcy's cries to intensify as she whimpers.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm sorry," Arlo whispers, his voice cracking. 

Now that we've momentarily stopped the bleeding I quickly pick her up bridal style and push past my brothers with Arlo following, making it to the garage in record time.

Alonzo and Luca wait for us in a Audi r8, one of our fastest cars that have a backseat. The second me and Arlo make it in the back the car goes speeding down the drive and onto the main road. 

I make a mental note to thank whoever remembered to alert the guards to open the gate in advance. 

By this point Darcy is in and out of consciousness, she seems to be fighting sleep as hard as possible. "Good girl, keep your eyes open for me bambi," I praise her while stroking her hair.

At least she has stopped hyperventilating, I don't know how long she could've kept it up before passing out.

The whole ride consisted of Luca leaning over and talking to Darcy from the front seat, she's completely out of it but still looks like she's attempting to listen to Luca's ramblings.

Darcy's eyes suddenly close in the middle of Luca's sentence. 

I earnestly place my fingers to her neck, her pulse is there but very faint. "Hurry the fuck up," I shout in panic at Alonzo.

We would take Darcy to our hospital wing on the base but our doctors specialise in gunshot and stab wounds not whatever this is. I need to ensure she get's the best care.

The seven minute drive felt like an eternity as we pull into the hospital entrance.

I race out the car, Darcy in hand and storm in. "Someone help! Someone help my fucking kid."