The Empire's Descent (First Draft)

Chapter 21: Lost in the Moment: the Two Years (I)

A knock sounded on Luca's home office door while he was nose-deep in trying to fix Gianni's mistakes.

"Come in," he said while shuffling the papers into the drawer and locking it quickly.

The knob turned and in walked Enzo. Luca sat back in his chair and smirked knowingly, "have you made your checks?"

"Of course I did. I ought to know who's coming into my family, no"?

"Indeed, Enzo, indeed... so?"

"The girls are a 99.99999% match to your parents," he first reported.

"Good, I'd hate for any different... continue, please".

"Cecilia's records are very clean," Enzo's tone was suggestive.

"Too clean?" Luca cocked an eyebrow.

"The squeakiest," Enzo deadpanned.

Luca hummed and stroked his chin in thought.

"Should we be worried?"

"I- Lia!" Luca screamed in fear as she just appeared in the room.

Enzo whipped around pointing a semi and a nine at her. Luca snapped out of his trepidation and reached for the compact glock he kept under his armpit.

"H-W-

"Teka thys raelyti ewei. Gyva mi e sefa speca tu plei!".

As the sounds faded away, the weapons Luca and Enzo were holding also dissipated. They were dumbfounded.

"Please, relax, I won't hurt you," Lia tried to assure.

"Yeah? It sure doesn't look like it!" Enzo yelled in ire.

"Cecilia, what are you? Did I just bring someone in my home to destroy my family?" His eyes reflected his deep hurt and vulnerability.

"No, please, no. I would never hurt you. Any of you, but I don't trust that you know me enough to trust that I wont hurt you and this was not a ploy to insert a double agent in your family,"

"Do what, Cecelia? If you don't want me to do something, I won't. I trust you, Cecilia, you're my friend. You just have to tell me how this goes," Luca tried every tactic he remembered from negotiation training.

Pity, he didn't know Lia could read minds in her pocket dimensions.

Cecilia knew he was truthful about trusting her, but she couldn't trust him. Not about her family who, really, they were murderous warriors that delighted in a challenge. If Luca were to contact them now, they would be destroyed without knowing how. For now, it's best to stop all their investigations into the Fioris, right?

Lia tangled with herself before deciding, right or wrong-- this is the route she's taking!

She smiled at him and Luca returned it, while Enzo was silently fuming. He can't believe he was caught like this!

"Cecilia, what are you doing?!"

They watched in horror as she gathered energy to her palms and aimed her hands towards them.

"I have to protect you," she vowed and shot the gathered energy towards them so quickly they didn't even know what happened.

Lia looked at their limp bodies on the floor of the office she made into a pocket dimension and hung her head sadly.

She took a minute and assured herself that she did the right thing. She approached Enzo first and rewrote his memories line-by-line. His checks revealed everything that she needed him to believe and he would pass that falsified information unto Luca who would believe everything Enzo said.