The courtroom was filled to the brim with spectators and media alike on the day the verdict on the case of Joseph Ledger versus The State was to be delivered. From her position at the front of the courtroom, Serenity could see the scores of Mafia associates and gangbangers lining the benches, but her eyes were focussed solely on her brother in the last seat of the second row.
Matteo, unlike the rest of them, sat behind the defendant and only a few feet away from Ivy. His eyes hadn’t left her since he entered the room, and if it hadn’t been for the tensing of her shoulders when he sat down, Serenity would have thought she didn’t know he was there by the way she skillfully ignored him.
“Relax, he’s a big boy.” Xander’s hand around her’s tightened, though his gaze was focussed
Serenity browsed through the grocery store without much care in the world as she decided on what flavour of ice cream to buy. “You should get both.” A timid voice muttered behind her and Serenity spun on her heels. “Ivy.” Serenity breathed and her eyes widened. The young woman looked worn out and altogether a shell of the person she remembered. “You look good, how far along are you?” Ivy’s eyes flitted to her protruding belly with a small smile. “Four months. How have you been?” Serenity asked with a tinge of worry in her voice. “Fine, I guess.” Ivy half shrugged, not bothering to hide the fact that she was lying and Serenity’s face contorted into a frown. “I’m just about done shopping, would you like to get a drink?” Serenity pointed over her shoulder at the tiny cafe at the front of the store. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Ivy’s eyes fell. “Please, I just want to talk.” Serenity pleaded, giving her the famous puppy dog eyes that Xander hated. “Okay.” She nodd
FIVE MONTHS LATER “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Lorenzo Lombardi and Olympia Harper Ruiz.” Serenity shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she listened to the minister speak of the beauty of marriage. “Are you okay?” Caterina whispered to her heavily pregnant daughter beside her. “I’ll be fine.” Serenity whispered back, she somehow had to make it through the ceremony. “Are you sure?” Caterina frowned at her knuckles that were turning white on the armrest of the chair from the fierce grip she had on it. The little princess in her arms stopped her from reaching out to Serenity. “I’m fine.” Serenity gritted out. The strain of the day had finally caught up with her and the pain she woke with was steadily growing worse. From his position behind Enzo, Xander was sending her worried looks, he looked seconds away from marching across the room to her side. “Oh God!” Serenity groaned when she felt wetness trickle down her legs and all eyes turned to h
“Don’t touch me.” Serenity hissed, pulling back when Giovanni reached for her arm.“Stop this nonsense, Alessia. I am your father, you will respect me.” Giovanni’s eyes narrowed, the insolent girl before him wasn’t someone he recognized.“Father?” Serenity scoffed, like the very idea of the word was bogus, “You’re nothing but a captor.” Her face contorted in disgust.A few years ago she wouldn’t have dared to speak a word out of turn, let alone look the man in the eye, but a lot has changed in four years. Giovanni Lombardi no longer frightened her.“How dare you?” Giovanni’s face contorted with rage and Serenity felt a ch
ONE WEEK EARLIER “Do you know how many hours an average gambler spends on the casino floor or placing bets online in a year, Mr Smith?” Alexander kept his gaze on the already glinting blade in his hand as he polished it, not at all bothered by the chubby man sweating bullets onto the ceramic tiles. “N- No.” The man responded breathlessly, he sounded a lot like he’d run a marathon before he got here, but that was hardly true. The wild beating of his heart was a result of the adrenalin chasing down the fear in his veins. Alexander halted his actions and looked at the man with a cool smile, “Too many.” Mr Smith’s eyes widened in fear and gulped hard when he glanced at the blad
“Serenity Paige, twenty-two year old female. Sustained a head injury from being thrown to the ground in an explosion, she has a fractured femur and multiple…” The voice trailed off as Serenity fell out of consciousness.“When will she wake up?” Serenity recognised the distant voice, but before she could call out to him she felt her consciousness slip away again.“Sir, you can’t be in here!” A voice startled Serenity from her slumber.“Who are you?” Peter stood protectively before her, blocking her view from whoever had entered the room and Serenity felt fear grip her, worried that whoever caused the explosion was here to finish the job.“
Five men glared across the room at the Spanish gangster playing leisurely on his cellphone as they waited for Serenity to take a shower.Lorenzo cleared his throat loudly, “What are you to Serenity?” he glared.“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Peter snickered just as Serenity entered the living room of the Lombardi estate.“Hey, you’re still here.” She smiled softly when her eyes caught his dark ones and Peter’s smile mirrored hers.“Of course, you didn’t think I’d leave you here alone, did you?” He cocked an eyebrow at the men watching them like a group of hawks.“They&rs
Descending the stairs for breakfast, Serenity welcomed the stillness of the mansion, it meant the brother’s had already left for the day and Giovanni was either cooped up in his study or long gone as well. All of those possibilities favoured her. Entering the dining room with a spring in her step, Serenity didn’t notice the man at the head of the table as she danced around piling a plate full of sweet breakfast treats. Alexander watched the show with a mix of amusement and affection as Serenity tried to pick between waffles and pancakes to add to her already unsturdy tower of sugary treats. “One of each.” He suggested, finally announcing his presence when her fork hovered over the plate of pancakes for the third time. His voice startled her causing her body to jerk and before she could react a large strawberry rolled to the floor with her watching in horror. “Look what you did!” Serenity shrieked and bent to pick up her fallen fruit with a pained look on her face. “It’s just
Serenity’s body dropped to the ground and it took a second for her to realise the scream was coming from her own lips.Xander’s footsteps pounded up the stairs, shaking the ground as he raced towards her, but before he could reach her another round of bullets rained through the open door. Uncaring about his broken arm, Xander sprung into action, dropping his body over hers, shielding her from fire as he crawled them away from the entryway.When they were around a corner and far away enough, Xander sat her up against the wall and searched her body for signs of blood.“Serenity, are you okay?” He questioned in a panicked tone.In the distance Serenity could hear me