Evelina

(vi)

Lucian

I was sitting in my office, trying to focus on the stack of papers that demanded my attention when my phone rang. The caller ID read "Police Department." Amazing. What did Dante do this time? Ever since Eve ran away, Dante has been a mess—getting into trouble left and right, frustrated and reckless. I give him the more brutal tasks when we need to extract information, but he's been on a downward spiral, unable to control himself. I sighed and answered the call.

"Hello, is this Lucian Morrigan?" a woman's voice asked, sounding all too professional.

"Yes. What's wrong?" I asked, dreading what she might say next.

"We tried reaching your father, Draven Morrigan, but we couldn't. The thing is, your sister, Eve Morrigan, is under arrest for speeding and disobeying the police. We would appreciate it if you could come down and please, inform your father."

Inform my sperm donor? No thanks. He's the one who chased Eve away. If he hadn't treated our princess of three generations like that, she wouldn't have run away. But why is she in jail? Isn't she the kindest of souls? Something didn't add up.

"I'll be there soon," I replied curtly, hanging up before she could say anything else.

I grabbed my car keys and bolted out of the office. The drive to the police station felt like an eternity, my mind racing with thoughts of what could have happened. When I arrived, I quickly signed the necessary paperwork and paid her bail, my stomach churning with a mix of anger and concern.

"Where is she?" I asked a policeman.

"The lady in the cell," he said, pointing to a figure I could barely see.

"Get her out. I want to see her properly," I demanded. They knew me well enough to obey without question, and soon enough, they brought her out.

When she came closer, my heart stopped. "Evelina Giannino?!" I blurted out in disbelief.

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Sorry to cut our reunion short, but my Papà's ex-right-hand man and a bunch of guys may have my husband and brother-in-law with them, and I can't allow that to happen," she said coldly as she turned and walked out, heading straight for her bike.

The hurt I felt was indescribable. I wasn't there for her wedding. I wasn't even invited. How did everything change so quickly?

"I'm coming with," I said, my voice resolute.

"Alright. But if anything happens, I'm not going to save your butt," she replied in a monotone, fiddling with something on her phone before driving off. I had no choice but to follow her.

We pulled up in an old, abandoned sewer area that looked like it hadn't seen life in years. She shot a couple of guys without hesitation and moved toward where Antonio Giannino was held. I tried to stop her, tugging on her shirt.

"What do you want?" she whisper-yelled, annoyed.

"I'll save him. You stay here," I offered, hoping to protect her.

"Don't you think you are eighteen years too late? Also, the man in there is not any normal man. He's my husband. So, no. I'm not staying here. I'm going in to save my family," she shot back, the words stinging more than she knew. Eighteen years too late. She found a family, and I wasn't part of it.

I watched as she boldly walked in. "Sorry to crash your party, but security here is really bad. Did it ever cross your mind that you should change it?" she announced to the men torturing Antonio.

"Eve!" Antonio exclaimed, relief in his voice.

"So, she is your weakness?" One of the men sneered.

I almost jumped in to help, but Eve beat me to it. "Excuse me, sir, but I am no one's weakness. Literally, I'm saving his butt, not the other way around," she said, shooting the man without a second thought. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

"Addio per sempre," she muttered as she took him down. (Goodbye Forever.)

My heart clenched as I realized that the sweet, innocent sister I once knew was gone, replaced by this hardened woman who didn't hesitate to kill. She swiftly knocked out the other man, her movements precise and unflinching. What has she been through?

"I could've handled it myself," Antonio said as she freed him.

Instead of snapping at him, she simply hugged him, whispering something I couldn't hear. They discussed about something in hushed tones before quickly moving on, dragging the unconscious man behind them. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My sister, who used to cry at the sight of a dead bird, had just killed many men and barely blinked.

"Eve, did you just kill that man?" I asked, still in shock.

She nodded nonchalantly. "What's wrong?"

What's wrong? My little sister had just killed someone like it was nothing, and she didn't even seem phased. "You're asking me that?" I managed to say, hoping she'd understand the gravity of what she'd done.

But she ignored me, focusing entirely on Antonio. "Come on, hubby, we have Enzo to save."

They argued in a mix of English and Italian, and though I caught most of it, the bombshell hit me when I heard Antonio say she is pregnant. My little sister is pregnant. I tried to say something, but Antonio cut me off.

Finally, I interrupted their bickering with a suggestion, trying to bring some order to the chaos. "How about we go to my home, eat, and plan, then we go save Vincenzo?"

She agreed, albeit reluctantly, and we started driving. I glanced at her, my mind still reeling. "When we get home, you need to explain how in the world you got pregnant."

She rubbed her forehead, clearly annoyed. "You really don't know when to keep quiet, do you? My brother, as much of a nuisance as he is, has been taken. Sure, he's trained, but he has so much self-respect that he won't see their traps coming, and Aiden knows that."

That stung more than I'd like to admit. She was talking about Enzo like he was her real brother, like he was the one who mattered. I wanted to tell her I was still her brother, that I was here for her, but I knew it wouldn't make a difference. Not yet, anyway.

But I was determined to win her back, to remind her of the family she had before all this madness. Even if it meant following her into hell and back.