“Sergiu, this is my daughter, Luna.” She introduced me to her brother. I stepped forward but was immediately stopped by Primo. I looked at him and I could tell he was uncomfortable in the presence of this man. I held his hand and whispered to him that everything will be okay. He slowly lowered his hand and I eventually was allowed to walk closer to my supposed uncle. I offered my hand to him and he took it in his. I thought he was going to shake it but to the surprise of everyone in the room, he kissed the back of my hand. I felt uncomfortable and I quickly drew my hand back.“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I told him. He smiled at me and he quickly stood straight up, fixing his posture. “The pleasure is all mine. However, this is not the first time we’ve met, am I right, my dear niece?” He said. The way he s

"No, brother you misunderstand. I was never taken. The truth is, I willingly chose to run away." My mother admitted. I became defensive all of a sudden. I felt a sudden chill in the air when my mother admitted what she had done. It's not something someone like her brother can accept just easily. Once again, I moved forward and tried to protect my mother. Sergiu looked down and was quiet for a while. I was waiting for a reaction from him, something that can tell me what his true colors are. After a few moments, he looked up and an eerie smile formed on his face. It sent a shiver down my spine and I could tell that Niccolo and Primo both had their guard up. There was this intense, suffocating tension in the air. I put my hand on my mother but she pushed it away and she moved closer to her brother. I don't think she knows what's happening. She was looking down while walking forward, I'm sure she's probably thinking that her brother is just going to forgive her since it's been so long b

"Our dearest uncle has it out for our mother. He tried to hurt her and he even pretended to act all brotherly towards her. I didn't buy into his facade the moment we stepped into that restaurant." I told Marina. She looked over at our mother and noticed the mark on her neck. I saw a hint of anger in her eyes but she quickly softened her expression. It was a good thing that Marina stayed in the car. She would've acted rashly if she saw what happened. Marina is sometimes a bit too trusting towarda people. Show her a little bit of kindness and she immediately puts her trust in you. If Marina had seen how kind Sergiu pretended to be, she would've been fooled. In any case, I'm just glad that we managed to leave that place unscathed."For now, we need to get your mother to safety. We can arrange a flight back to California for her. She'll be safer there." Niccolo suggested. I agreed with him and so did Primo but I had a feeling that something might go wrong. My gut was telling me to

“How are you so sure that they’ll be monitoring the flights? And even if that’s the case, won’t it be easier for us to let mother travel by car? It’ll take longer but won’t it be safer?” Marina asked. I had thought about that possibility before and I asked myself the same question however, after reading about the Bratva from the intel I asked for, I found out about something. “I understand your concern, Marina however, I found out that the Bratva had been stationing their guards by the borders of the state. As of the moment, they have eyes on every entrance and exit to the state, I have no idea why they did that and I don’t know what their motive is but if they have eyes there, it won’t be as easy to transport mother.” I explained. Marina was shocked to hear of that piece of information. Good thing, Primo and Niccolo backed me up on th

A few hours later, I received a call from Salva. He told me that my mother had arrived in California safely and there were no issues regarding her identity and such. He managed to take her home and everything seemed well. I breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing the news from Salva. I hung up the phone and told Primo about what happened. He decided to stay at home for today and he promised to go back to work tomorrow. They still need to investigate the sudden plane crash and he has to find out if the pilot survived or not. “I’m glad your mother made it back to California safely. I’m proud of you for successfully executing your plan.” He said while pulling me close to him and wrapping me in his embrace. I put my head on his shoulder as I felt his arms around me. I missed being this close to him, his scent and his warmth intoxicated me. I longed for my husband and I could tell he