Stella Starlet

Afterlife

It felt damn good to be home.

I forgot the feeling of family. And I guess when I was away, Stella gave me the closest feeling to it. 

While she was away exploring, I had business to do. 

I had to go to the Rossi family, an enemy of ours, to try to make a treaty. We would be immaculately stronger united.

As I pulled up to the mansion, there were multiple super cars parked out front beside the fountain. 

As I walked up to the huge front door, Stefano Rossi stood there in a navy blue suit and velvet loafers.

He was always a fan of flashy fashion. 

"Carlisle! Good to see you, this time I don't have a gun pointed at your head!" He laughed loudly.

He was flanked by two women who each had an arm wrapped around him. They were dressed in silk robes and exuberant lingerie. 

I internally rolled my eyes. Stefano was more playboy than I was. 

As we walked inside, there were more girls scantily clad in exquisite lingerie, laying on the couches or walking around, their heels clicking on the marble floors.

As we walked to the dining room, a large lunch was laid out for us. I wasn't hungry. I was incredibly tense, especially while being in enemy territory. 

We sat down and three other men joined the table, I assumed they were the right-hand men of Stefano. 

"So let's get to business shall we?" Stefano said as he took a sip of his red wine. "We can create a treaty. I will surrender my men and money to you when you want it. But, I want something in return."

He snapped and the guard behind him handed him a piece of paper. 

"Remember Carlisle, all of my resources for just this one thing."

He slid the piece of paper to me and it stopped in front of me. 

I froze. 

"One of your men ratted to me about this girl. I presume you took care of him, eh?" Stefano laughed.

In front of me was a photo of Stella, laughing casually as she sat in a cafe across from another girl.

"All my resources for her," he repeated again. 

"What do you want with her?" I asked. I was painfully trying to restrain myself. 

I knew the house was surrounded by my men so if this were to go sour, I would be covered. 

But, in that moment, I wanted to attack him.

"Come on, be creative. She looks like she likes to be smacked around." Stefano and his men chucked as he took another sip of his wine.

"Hey Stefano?" I asked as I stood up. 

He lifted his brows as he set his wine glass down on the table.

"Fuck you."

I pulled out my pistol from inside my suit jacket and fired a clean shot into Stefano's skull. 

Blood splattered behind him, along the wall, creating a dripping, crimson painting. 

His men were completely taken aback before they began firing.

I knew that my men were listening for a gunshot to ring out. I heard loud shots ringing from all around, presumably my men moving into the house, taking out the enemy men.

I felt a ripping pain in my shoulder and after I fired a shot at one of the men at the table, I realized I got shot. 

I watched as my men piled into the room, submachine guns clutched tightly in their grip. 

The man diagonal to me was taken down first. 

I watched as three, four, five bullets ripped into his chest. With each bullet, his body convulsed with the impact and he finally fell to the floor. His lifeless body was surrounded by a pool of blood, with each second, the pool grew engulfing him in a ruby blanket. 

The next two men were next. Bullets embedded themselves into their skulls, chest, neck, and torso. 

Blood was everywhere. 

On the walls, the floor, the table and the food. 

Everything was painted a sick, twisted crimson color. A painting of absolute carnage and chaos on the canvas of a dining room. 

"Carlisle, your shoulder. You got shot."

"I'm fine." 

My father was going to have my head. He wanted me to work out and secure this deal. 

"Carlisle, let the medic look at your shoulder, you're-"

"I'm fucking fine!" I bellowed.

I made my way out of the home and to my car.

I yelled to my men who trailed behind me. "Take whichever of their cars you want."

-

When I got to the house, my mother gasped. 

"My boy, what the hell?!" She exclaimed. 

I was shrouded in vermilion, splatters and stains of it covering my clothes and my skin.

"Fuck," my brother swore as he took in my state.

"What the fuck did you do?!" My father yelled, his face turning red with fury.

"Shut the fuck up, he got shot!" My mother yelled back to my father. 

"What's going on?" I heard a soft, confused voice say from upstairs.

As Stella came to the railing and looked down into the foyer, her sleepy face became confused and worried.

"Carlisle!" She yelled as she ran down the stairs.

She engulfed me in a tight hug and I grimaced as my shoulder began throbbing even more. 

"Are you hurt?" She asked worried, trying to assess me. 

"He got shot. We'll call the medic," my mother said as she pulled my father with her towards their offices. 

"Jesus Christ, why do you have so much blood on you?" She asked gently. 

"I'll tell you later. Help me get upstairs to our bedroom, yeah?"

As she assisted my cripple ass to our bathroom, she ran the shower and then began to undress me.

"Taking advantage of an injured man who can't fend for himself because he's injured? Tsk tsk, my beloved Stell."

"Shut the fuck up." She laughed as she slowly unbuttoned my shirt.

She hissed. "You're bleeding so much." Concern morphed onto her face.

I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay, isn't the first time." I chuckled. 

"I love you. Please stop putting yourself in danger like this."

I sighed. "I can't. This is what we do. This is what my family does and I can't back out of it."

"But you could die." Her voice held a deep sorrow. 

"I know baby girl. But, even in the afterlife, I'll still come home for you. Always."