The Lost Girl (Complete)

Chapter Ten - The Family First Rule

Watching the girls disappear up the stair case, Victor turned towards his brothers and children, eyes expressing how disgusted he was with the state of the house. It was no fault of Celestia's, they could all see how tidy the rooms were but there was nothing to hide the stains, yellowing paint and general disrepair.

"Has she seriously been living here?" Alexander murmured, eyes on a corner where there was obvious water damage.

"Hush, Alex," Silas chided quietly. "We explained everything to you last night and I know that your mother warned you about what you might expect."

"As if I hadn't disliked Marie before..." Sean grimaced, stepping out of the living room and into the kitchen where there was a decided lack of noise. "North!"

Wrapping his arm around Sebastian, he dragged the young boy with him. "What's wrong?"

"Do you hear that?" Sean asked, tilting his head to the side.

Sebastian squinted before shaking his head, "I don't hear anything, Dad."

"Exactly. From the age of the refrigerator, it should be making a noise."

North grunted, exasperated that his brother couldn't look at the machine himself. Pulling the damn thing open didn't take much effort.

"No power," He announced, slamming it shut before he actually picked the thing up and threw it through a window. He'd known that things were bad considering what Victor had managed to dig up but to see the darkened fridge with not a thing in it made him so furious that he physically felt the rage pooling in his chest.

"Broken?" Kota asked, crowding into the doorway with the rest of his family, his mind taken back to the time that he had sat at the top of the stairs trying to convince a certain stubborn girl to get off her knees.

"Check the lights," North suggested, looking up at the fixture as Dimitrius flicked the switch by his arm.

"Nothing," Owen muttered. "How long do you think?"

"I'd say a couple of days at least." North replied, crossing his arms. "There's absolutely nothing in the fridge."

"Or the cupboards!" Luke called out, slamming the doors of the pantry. "What the hell has she been eating?"

"She can't survive like this," Nathan shook his head, wondering how Marie had allowed herself to become so lost that she failed what should have been the greatest treasure of her life. "What did you find out, Vic?"

"There was no insurance paid to her. The bank and solicitors took it all," Victor replied, smiling at the small bouquet of flowers decorating the kitchen bench. "There was a mishap with the bills and Celestia has been struggling to pay the rates, electricity and water. Her power was switched off four days ago and realistically, unless she finds full-time employment within the next week, she'll most likely end up homeless whilst suffering from malnutrition."

"Fuck," Mikael breathed, horrified that anyone could be forced into such a situation. His life, and that of his two brothers, had started out harshly but he had been adopted at a young age by Sang and her husbands and he never once faced another lonely day since. Much like the rest of his family, he was genuinely upset that his tiny, precious cousin could have gone so long in such a household. "What can we do?"

"I'll take care of it," Owen replied, resolve hardening his voice as plans started to formulate. He had not intended to take over his niece's life but it seemed that that was exactly what needed to happen. "Uncle mentioned that she wanted to go to college so that will have to be taken into account but I'm quite sure that there are solutions to all of the issues."