The Mafia's Secret(Book 1)

Chapter 40 ✔️

SCARLETT

        The second I heard the gunshot, my eyes shot open and I knew that Xavier had to be dead. Darren was a good shot and he wouldn't hesitate to kill Xavier. But he wasn't. He was alive and unscathed....well mostly. Xavier was still under the weight of Darren who had him pinned down. There was a gun in his grasp but it was the angle in which he held it that caught my attention. He was pointing it towards the doorway where my father was standing with a wide-eyed look on his face. He dropped to his knees, spitting blood. Once he moved his hands away from his abdomen, I could see the blood absorbing through his shirt.
        Darren stood, extending his hand to Xavier, who looked even more bloody than before. Xavier took his hand without hesitation, allowing Darren to slowly pull him to his feet. Zayn and I were exchanging confused glances as Darren walked towards my father with the gun pointed at him.
        "I did warn you not to trust me. I'm surprised you're just as gullible as your daughter."
        "Fuck you, Darren!" I hissed between clenched teeth, earning me a warning glare from Xavier.
        What the fuck was going on here?
        Xavier limped back towards me, clutching his side as he did so. He pulled keys from his back pocket, wincing as he reached up to unlock the cuffs. It wasn't until he had me stabilized on the ground, that I realized what Darren had said just minutes ago. I can't have you insulting the very person about to save your asses....
        Leaning against the wall, I couldn't help but clutch my stomach. Tears started to stream down my face as I felt like my whole world had shattered. Caleb was gone. And I was sure I was losing my child. Being a mother was something that never truly resonated with me.  Never having that mother figure in my life, made that an easy decision but now, things had changed. I wanted to prove to my mother that I could be a better mother than she ever was. But now, that wouldn't be possible since I was losing the baby.
        "Scar!" Zayn rushed over, causing me to flinch back. "Are you alright?"
        "What do you think?!" I snapped, wiping the tears from my cheeks.
        My father scoffed. "You were always weak, Scar. That's all you'll ever be. A weakness. I should have forced your mother to get rid of you. Just I've done for you by getting rid of that...thing inside you. I was just doing you a favour."
        "Enough!" Xavier slammed his fist into my fathers face before grabbing his throat. "I've waited a long time for this."
        "Well, now. You'll have to get in line. I'm sure my dear children have first dibs." My father spat, smirking at Zayn and I.
        "I'm not going to kill you. She is." Xavier stepped aside, gesturing towards me.
        As much as I wanted to get on my feet, I couldn't. I felt paralyzed with knowing I lost more than I have gained. Zayn and Xavier were alive, but Caleb. He was gone. Jake was gone. My baby was gone. Mindy was no where in sight. Even Zayn's comfort beside me wasn't enough to ease the loss.
        "My Love, what's taking so long—" My mother stopped in her tracks, letting in the cold air as she stood in the doorway. "—Well, this wasn't supposed to happen. I best be going now."
        "Not so fast, lady! Sit down!" Darren pointed the gun at her, causing my mother to flinch back with her hands up, causing her to drop the bottle she once held.
        Still clutching my stomach, I pressed my weight against the wall, forcing myself to my feet. Hardly standing for a few seconds, my legs started to feel numb, causing my knees to buckle beneath me. Zayn quickly wrapped an arm around me, helping me walk towards our parents. Both were quickly tied up and separated. Xavier was quick to move to my side, placing his hands on my cheeks as Zayn released me. He wasted no time planting a passionate kiss on my lips. Melting into it, I didn't care that I could taste the blood leaching from his lips or smell the sweat leaking from his face. It just felt good to feel his warmth.
        He was the one who pulled back, placing a hand over my abdomen. Leaning into my ear, his warm breath caused the hair on the back of my neck to rise. Trailing kisses from my neck to my ear, he sighed. He gave me one last glance before turning to Darren. Darren was smirking as he held out the gun towards me.
        "The choice is yours, Scarlett. They're your parents."
        "I don't even care anymore. I just want out of here." I said, looking up at Xavier.
        Zayn stepped forward, ripping the gun from Darren's grasp. His expression was dark as he didn't even hesitate to point the gun into our fathers forehead. Before I could even blink, Zayn pulled the trigger on our parents, dropping the gun to the floor once our parents were dead. A wave of emotion filled my heart as I stared at him, noticing the tears forming in his eyes.
        Throwing myself into Zayn's arms, I could help but start to sob as he wrapped his arms around me. He kissed my head like he used to when we were younger, keeping his embrace tight. We were free. This was over. No one could force us into anything anymore. We were stronger together than apart and we both knew it. At least that's what I hoped he thought as well.
        "So what the hell was this? Since when were you two friends again?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the two.
        They ignored my question. But before I could ask anything further, Xavier turned to Darren. "Are you sure you switched the vile in time?" Xavier asked.
        Darren scoffed. "She'd be bleeding by now if I hadn't. By the looks of it, she should be fine. It was just saline. I'd go to the clinic to be sure. But now that our favours are in order, are the three of us good?"
        Xavier nodded. "I guess we owe her an explanation, don't we, Zayn?"
        "What the hell is going on?!" I asked, glancing between the three boys as I took a step back.
        Xavier sighed. "Scar, Darren called me a few weeks ago. He called to explain that he caught your father hurting Mindy sexually. He realized I was right, as much as he hates to admit it. So, Zayn and I went to meet Darren and we came up with a plan. We came to an agreement so that the three of us would come to terms with our differences."
        Zayn sighed. "I tried to get them to include you but leaving you out of the plan was for the best. Our father was after you mostly, Scar."
        "The agreement these boys are stalling to tell you, Scarlett.... The three of us will work as one but each member has a choice to go or leave. That includes you, Scarlett. We gave a few others the same choice. The lives lost in this battle for control, will be honoured. That includes Jake and Caleb. Their deaths were meant to be."
        "And what about Jake? Did he deserve to die?!" I snapped at Darren.
        "Easy, Scar." Xavier flashed me a warning glance. "Jake was never meant for this life. He chose it. I've tried to get him out of it but he was committed to stay, claiming he had nothing. He chose to stay with Caleb and help him. What he didn't choose was being shot down by your father."
        "I don't kill kids, Scarlett. I'm not that much of a monster. Which is why I switched out the vile on Hector. What he injected you with, was just plain old Saline. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get my daughter. I don't trust this stranger you've brought along. Cyrus is his name, yes?"
        Cyrus! He hadn't been dragged off to the shop like we had. I hadn't even thought about his whereabouts until now. He was alive and unscathed?! I expected him to be dead, leaving behind his wife and children. The thought of even thinking that children could have become fatherless, tore at my stomach.
        This was all overwhelming. My mind was repeatedly replaying the events of everything that had happened and been said, on a constant time loop. My world was spinning everything was starting to go black. Stars were dancing all around me. Before I could brace myself, my knees buckled beneath me and everything went black.