Babysitting the bad boys baby sister

14. Favors

Lucian's p.o.v

When I got home I immediately went to my laptop. Dad had a private investigator but I wasn't about to ask him for a favor.

I first searched for newspaper articles on the Balles Bleaus. Just petty crimes, terrorizing their city. Then I saw it.

Daughter of notorious Balles Bleaus leader missing after house fire, killing 5 people.

Holy shit. I kept reading.

Antoinette Mercier was last seen Tuesday night. Antoinette has long curly brown hair, blue eyes and is about 5"7. If you see her please call this number.

Athena was definitely not Athena. But how can this make sense? Why would she change her identity and not go back to Quebec. Her necklace, that's how I recognized it. Before my accident I used to attend all the meeting with my father. We have done business with the Balles Bleaus. Oh lord, Jay's gang is a partnering gang with the Balles Bleaus. If they are looking for Athena she is definitely in trouble.

But what is she running from?

I search her real name into my laptop and find virtually nothing. I give in and call my father.

"Dad?" I ask and I can hear him sigh.

"Lucian." He says plainly.

"I need a favor." I tell him.

"And why am I granting you my precious time?" He asks harshly. Asshole.

"This is important dad, could you give me a number of your private investigator?" I ask him, trying to keep my voice strong and demanding. I always feel the need to prove myself to him after what happened.

"I need a name." He tells me.

"Antionette Mercier." I tell him and hope he doesn't ask anymore questions because I can't answer them.

"I'll have him call you." He tells me.

"Thanks bye." I say about to hang up the phone and end this painfully awkward conversation.

"Wait!" He whisper yells into the phone.

"How's your mother?" He asks, I can hear his fake concern in his voice.

"Ask her yourself." I growl into the phone and hang up. I throw my phone against the wall.

Him asking about my mom sets me off. He barely talks to me or my mom. Everyone knows he is having an affair, even my mom. I guess she thought that having a baby would keep them together or somehow ground him but she was wrong. 25 years of marriage, 2 kids later and here they are living in two different houses, lonely and rich.

"Honey?" My mom called into my room.

"Yeah?" I called back.

"How is Athena?" She asked as she stepped into my room. I thought about telling her everything but decided against it.

"She's well, a pistol." I said laughing lightly just thinking about her.

"She didn't want to be there because she doesn't have health insurance but I made her stay." I told her.

"Well tell her not to worry about that, we can help with that." She says smiling. She must really like her.

"You must really like her." I say and roll my eyes.

"She's sweet and is a great help." She says and kisses my forehead.

"Yeah she's... different." I say and mom smiles. Mom is so hot and cold. Sometimes she doesn't care and sometimes she all hugs and kisses.

Sometimes I feel bad for being so cold but I can't help it. I want to be better but I can't seem to get the hang of being...nice.

My thoughts are interrupted by a phone call.

"Hello?" I ask.

"This is Peter, your father gave me this number. Is this Lucian Gonzo?" The man asked.

"Yes, could you meet me sometime?" I ask him.

"I have time this evening. Meet me at the Evening Cafe at 7pm" The man says and hangs up. This sounds sketchy as hell but I have to trust this guy.

I need to know if Athena or Antoinette or whatever her name is, is okay. I need to know if my family is in danger by being associated with her but I also need to know what Jay and his gang is up to.

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It's 7:10 and I sit in a booth with a straight face. No smiling, no emotions can be shown through my mask.

"Mr. Gonzo." An old man says as he walks through the cafe doors. There is barely anyone here.

"You must be Peter." I say as I get up to shake his hand.

"You are here to collect information on an Antoinette Mercier?" He asks me.

"Yes sir." I tell him.

"Well I can tell you the basics but I have some files you will want to look at on your own." He tells me and I nod.

"Well it says here that Antoinette Elle Mercier was born on January 8th of 2001 in Quebec but I could not find a hospital record for her birth." He says.

"That must mean a home birth." He tells me. Something seems off about all of this.

"She does not have a father on her birth certificate but it shows that she was adopted by a man when she was almost 1 year old." Peter says but I stay silent.

"She was never enrolled in a public or private school." He says and I connect the dots.

"It's like they tried to keep her a secret." I said.

"Exactly." Peters tells me and pulls out a stack of papers.

"It says here that she had 3 siblings. James the fourth, Jacques and Belle." He says, had?

"What do you mean had?" I ask him.

"3 years ago there was a fire at a house party in Quebec City. Antoinette was tried but a boy named Tate Livingston was charged with unintentional man slaughter, however there were no bodies found." He tells me and I am stunned.

"And that was around the time Athe-Antoinette went missing?" I ask and he nods slowly. This can't be real this sounds like a crazy movie. Is it possible that Athena thinks her siblings are dead? Are they dead?

"What about her parents?" I ask Peter.

"Her mother was born in 1985 in Montreal but I could find very little on her." He tells me. Wait 1985? That would make her only like 16.

"There is something else you should know." Peter tells me and hands me a piece of paper.

Patient Antionette Mercier has suffered from three fractures to her ribs and internal bleeding regarding her stomach

"This-this paper is from 2 years ago." I say in disbelief.

"That is not all." Peter says and hands over another paper that is dated two months after the first.

This form is a verification that the patient known as Antoinette Mercier has been presumed dead.

I stare at the paper until my vision blurs. My thoughts are interrupted by the vibration of my phone.

It's Athena.

A.N
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