Evelina

(xii)

Lucian

The Deck of Cards had always piqued my interest, but Queen... Queen was different. She was dangerous. And now, she was openly flirting with my sister's husband, Tony, as if it were nothing. The audacity. She snapped at me earlier, and I had reached my breaking point. My fists clenched as I pulled out my phone and dialed Dante.

He picked up almost immediately. "Bro, Eve's missing. That damn Deck of Cards took her."

I didn't wait for Dante to respond. My rage was burning hotter by the second. I stormed over to Queen, grabbing her wrist before she could slip away. "Where is my sister?" I demanded, my voice low and threatening.

She didn't even flinch. Instead, she rolled her eyes and glared at me, her icy expression making my anger boil over. "One," she began, her tone dripping with disdain, "take your hands off me. Two, she's safer with us than she ever was in that gilded cage you call a house. Three, the only person who gets to decide her life here is Tony, not you. And four..." She paused, lifting her chin and staring at me with that unnerving calm. "Don't you think it's a little late to start acting like her brother?"

Her words cut deep, and for a moment, I faltered. She was right, damn her. I hadn't been the brother I should have been. I'd let dad chase her away, I didn't go looking for her nor did I try to stop dad when he locked her in the room. But now wasn't the time for self-reflection.

Before I could respond, the roar of an engine cut through the tension. Dante arrived, his car screeching to a halt as he jumped out. He looked as pissed as I felt.

"Where is she?" Dante barked, eyes scanning the area, then narrowing at Queen and her team. "If anything happens to her—"

"Relax," Alexa, their leader, interrupted, her voice cold and authoritative. "We've got this under control. Unlike you lot, we know how to protect people."

Dante stepped forward, his fists clenched. "Care to repeat that?"

Before things could escalate, Tony intervened, stepping between us. "Both of you, stop. We need to figure this out."

"Tony," King warned, her patience hanging by a thread. "This is a trap. Queen said it herself."

Queen crossed her arms, smirking as she added, "A woman's instincts are rarely wrong."

"Shut up," I snapped, the weight of the situation bearing down on me. "We can't risk this. Let's regroup. Figure out our next move."

Tony nodded, glancing at King and the rest of the Deck of Cards. "We've confirmed it's a setup. Let's head back."

Reluctantly, we all piled into the cars, heading back to the estate. As we headed back, I turned and looked at the place we left from. The deck of cards were right, that place exploded a little after we left.

 The air was thick with tension, my mind racing with every worst-case scenario imaginable. If something happened to Eve...

When we arrived, I immediately noticed something was off. The usual guards were gone. Silence blanketed the estate, an eerie contrast to the chaos swirling in my mind.

As we entered the house, the first thing I saw was the former don of the Italian Mafia sitting at the head of the table, his eyes cold and calculating. The former Donna stood behind him, her hands clasped together as she surveyed the scene with quiet intensity.

"Welcome home," Mr. Giannino said, his voice dripping with authority. "I see you've been busy."

"What's going on?" Dante demanded, stepping forward, his eyes flicking between them. "Where's Eve?"

Mrs. Giannino sighed, her gaze softening as she looked at us. "Shouldn't you know where she is? We left her in your care." Her gazed wandered for a moment and then she continued, "Anyways, we need to talk."

"Talk?" I scoffed, my frustration bubbling to the surface. "This isn't the time for some talk, we—"

"It is," Mr. Giannino interrupted, his tone sharp enough to silence me. "Because you've failed. One job. Keep Evelina safe and at home but you didn't. Now you've made a mess."

My chest tightened, and I glanced at Tony, then Dante. "What mess?" I asked slowly, dread curling in my gut.

Papà leaned back in his chair, his eyes dark. "Why don't you ask queen?"

"Queen, what's wrong?" I asked.

She smirks, "I happened. Papà, Mama, I missed you." She said as she ran towards them.

"Evelina Giannino, I expected better from you."

Evelina Giannino?