Black & White

Chapter Ten

Third Person POV:

It was 11:30 a.m. when Aurora finally woke up. Not once had she ever slept in this late. Confused and dazed, she stared at the clock sitting on her bedside table. Groaning, her body ached and her head heavily pounded.

She was in the middle of her bed; the sheets to the left and right of her were wrinkled, the only proof of the events last night ever taking place. Cassian and Calix were gone, and so were the empty bowls of mac and cheese. Her body was tightly tucked into the sheets, and she was covered in a mountain of blankets.

She didn't remember doing that last night.

She also didn't remember ever showering or brushing her teeth. Yuck.

But how was she to shower with her arm in a cast and her body all bandaged up? Could they even get wet? The cast she knew couldn't. But the bandages on her back and thigh? How would that work? She wanted to be rid of all this wrapping. It felt suffocating as it clung to her and surrounded her body.

A quiet knock sounded at her door. Her stomach dropped, the memory of how her brothers looked at her yesterday still fresh in her mind. Were they mad at her? Embarrassed? Disgusted? A familiar twist coiled in her stomach. 

They probably hated her. 

The door cracked open, and a familiar head popped in.

Atticus.

Seeing Aurora was now awake and sitting up in bed staring at him, he immediately entered. Dressed in his usual suit and tie, Aurora pondered. Did they ever wear anything else? "Good morning, cara. How did you sleep?" he smiled at his little sister. Guilt and sorrow swam in his eyes as he looked at her sickly frame. Little sister, someone he was supposed to protect, someone he didn't protect.

"I-I slept okay. How did you sleep, sir?" Aurora stuttered out nervously. Atticus's small smile fell like it did not so long ago. "I slept well, Aurora. And my name is Atticus. You never have to call us 'sir'. We are your brothers, hun," he assured her gently, trying to mask his hurt. Aurora nodded awkwardly in response, forgetting the verbal answer rule.

Their failure of a 'mother' never should have taken her away.

But they were failures too. They let her leave.

All brothers, except for the youngest twins, spent all night locating Dmitri and Alessia Ivanov. However, a large issue presented itself in the search.

Both despicable creatures were dead.

Upon arrival at prison, Alessia Ivanov, formerly Morosini, was silently recognized by rival business members. Her relation to her ex-husband had painted a massive red target onto her spineless back.

It was reported that a sudden fight ensued, resulting in the unfortunate passing of Alessia. She was suddenly ambushed by three women after meal time and left beaten to death on the concrete floors.

In stark contrast, Dmitri Ivanov was found hanging in his cell by his bedsheets only hours after being incarcerated. There were no signs of any foul play or second parties involved, just him alone in his rotten chamber.

While some may assume this would bring closure to the Morosini siblings, it only made things worse. The first they saw of their mother in years had been her autopsy photos. 

They were unable to return the treatment given to their sister.

Dmitiri and Alessia had gotten the easy way out.

Fuel was only added to the fire when they got the report back from their men responsible for searching Aurora's previous home. The article did not seem to leave out any details on their little sister's previous conditions. It went into extreme descriptions of how neglectfully she was kept.