Elijah is a young boy that has been born and raised in a neglectful and abusive household. With his biological mother, Eliza, and his stepfather Paw.
His mother was severely mentally ill and Paw was a raging alcoholic, scarring the young child's min...
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Eli's getting checked-up by Patrick at the moment. In other circumstances I'd be giving him my full and utmost attention, but not today.
The way my work has pilled up due to Eli's arrival has made it near impossible to have even a short moment of peace. It has, in all honestly, been stressing me out. Getting bombarded left and right with long emails and important calls since late at night does that to a person. A day or two may not seem like enough time to cause a bit of chaos, but when you run such a huge and successful business like my own, it ends up being just enough to do the trick.
Father used to be the previous owner of the company. He worked hard to provide for us and mother. But after her escape, he became severely depressed. Therefore, I was forced to take charge momentarily -I had thought- but father never got better.
After his death the company was passed on to me.
We run a few different businesses within the same name. A few examples being: Casinos, bars, restaurants, properties of that sort. Our work and lifestyles may look awfully similar to how a mafia sort of organisation functions... but that is certainly not the case for us. My family is simply a privileged one, blessed with an extreme amount of money and generational wealth.
But moving back to the situation at hand, this morning was no different. I got a call from my personal secretary. She's been instructed to only contact me when the matter is urgent, specially now that I have so much to prepare for my baby brother before i can even begin to think about relaxing.
Reluctantly, I get up from my seat, glancing over Elijah just to be sure that he's doing okay. It seems like he's getting more comfortable around Pat -which, in all honesty, sparks some jealousy in me. Patrick has always been a kind and gentle man. He has always cared for the four of us, just like a real father should. Took us all to school -or wherever we wanted to go- even though we already had a private driver for that. He taught us various sports and always supported us in any hobbies that'd peak our interests. And he was always patient with each and every single one of us growing up.
Hence, even through my jealousy, I'm pleased that Eli has taken a liking to him too.
After reassuring myself that everything was going well, I answer the pending call and step out of the room.
...
I think I've been on the phone for not even fifteen minutes, when I hear some sort of commotion coming from inside the room. "Thud!" I was standing with my back facing the open door, so I automatically turn around towards the noise.
Leo's standing there, frozen in place. The chair he previously sat on on the ground. Patrick looked to be in a similar state, he'd stop writing on his papers and was now staring at the only child in the room. So in an instant I avert my alarmed gaze to Elijah, who hurriedly and sloppily was putting his worn-out sweater back on.
'What the hell happened in here?' I ask myself, visibly confused. However, before I can ask anyone, Leo speaks up. Confusing me even more.
"Eli...? What was that?" His voice was low and unsteady, like he himself didn't know what to say. But our younger brother doesn't respond, he solely wraps his arms around himself while muttering repeatedly under his breath.
