Kiara lazily woke up from her sleep and sat up on the bed. Still, Beat wasn't in bed; She wasn't sure when she left.
Her body hurt; the fatigue from the previous night's drama still gnawed deep down into her flesh. Shit, never again would she attend such events.
Suddenly, she committed to memory. Kayla was supposed to be home that morning. Kiara ran out of the room and down the stairs; her excitement piqued. She was sure; her instincts were never wrong. She ran to the living room, and there she was, her little sister.
Kayla and Kiara had last seen each other four years back. Kayla had traveled out of the country earlier.
Kiara stood still as she watched her sister, her excitement getting the best of her. Sha ran and threw herself onto the girl who had just broken away from their dad's embrace, which sent the two of them crashing onto the couch.
"I really missed you," she cried out. "Even after all these years, you are still a clingy little girl." Kayla chuckled.
"Hey, stop disrespecting me; I'm older than you are," Kiara commanded, her tone playful. "I'm sorry, Big Sis." Kayla cooed.
"How have you been? I guess there's a lot you have to tell me. Oh, right, let's go shopping. Sister bonding. How do you see? She didn't give her sister a chance to speak.
"Kiara." Their mother called, but Kiara ignored her. "God, she won't listen." She grumbled.
"Let's go to our room. You have to tell me everything." Kiara dragged Kayla off the couch, and the two of them ran upstairs, completely ignoring their mom as she called after them.
"Julian, you saw that; they didn't listen to me," Emily grumbled to her husband.
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Kayla and Kiara lay side by side, looking up at the ceiling.
She laughed after narrating to Kayla everything that had happened over the past weeks. It was such a drama, one she had never expected to unfold. It felt like the drama in novels and TV shows.
"You talk so highly of him." Kayla huffed. "I hope you haven't fallen for him. Have you?"
Kiara remained silent, completely ignoring her sister's question, a soft smile tagging on her lips.
"Hey, I'm asking you."
"I like him," she said with a smile. "I think I love him." Kiara couldn't control her giggles. Kayla scoffed. Giving her sister a disappointed look, "Big sis, are you even listening to yourself?" She muttered in disappointment.
"He threw you out of your own house. And he proposed marriage to you like it's child's play."
"Yes, it's true. I still want him out of my house. But... I can't. I can't ignore how attractive I find him. I can't ignore my feelings for him. Kayla, I love him." She replied with a sincere tone.
"Have you told big sis Beat about all this?" Kayla asked.
Kiara was afraid. She hadn't told Beat about Fionn throwing her out of her own house. Let alone tell her she was in love with him. The very thought of the possible outcome made her nauseous.
The least Beat would do is have Fionn arrested. And yet Kiara was at a point where she didn't want him hurt, so she wasn't about to tell her big sister.
"I haven't, and I won't," she replied.
"You're afraid she'll do something to this Fionn guy?" Kayla asked.
"Yes, isn't it obvious? Just think of it. When that cocky little bastard slapped you back in high school. After Beat found out, she made sure he served three months in juvenile detention. And Edward, she made him serve half a year at Cloverhill. Those two girls who always bullied Sadie remember what happened to them. The list is long. I wonder how she even gets the judges to convict them. Please don't tell her." Kiara pleaded.
"You have my word," Kayla said as she got off the bed. "Talk of big sis Sadie, have you told her yet?"
"I'll tell her in person, after all, she's returning tomorrow."
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Fionn and Ethan sat in what appeared to be a boardroom. The atmosphere was eerie, surrounded by the weight of their discussion.
"Our men in the West say they suspect the BB syndicate carried out the raid on our base there," Ethan muttered, his voice shaky.
"By the way, we lost two of our men." He continued, the pain in his words palpable.
A sad sigh escaped Fionn's lips as he leaned back, resting his head on the chair. "We've lost quite a lot lately. It seems we've let our guard down." He said softly.
He felt the guilt burn deep down.
"What about their families?" He asked firmly.
"One has a grandma, who lives in Gall. For the second one, the only family we could trace was his girlfriend." Ethan replied, massaging the space between his eyes.
"If you're wondering about their conditions, they aren't bad. The old lady lives in an old-age home. She suffers from chronic amnesia. And the girlfriend, well, she lives with her parents." He continued.
There was silence for a moment, accompanied by the weight of the conversation. And then, there was a knock at the door which broke the silence.
"Come in," Fionn muttered, shaking off the undeniable pain from the loss, his expression turning to a shade of forced joy.
"We can't let the loss break us; it should only make us stronger." He said.
"Yeah, you're right." Ethan nodded in agreement.
The door opened, and in came a young man in his late teens or probably early twenties. He was holding a tablet in his hands, which had a strange logo with the words WB Private Security.
"I'm sorry to interrupt." He apologized, sounding timid. The weight of the men's gazes weighed heavily on his shoulders.
"What do you have to say?" Fionn asked in a playful, commanding voice.
"We've just received a message from Kim's. Our undercover at Carlo Forzani's has gathered enough info and evidence."
Fionn turned to Ethan. "What do you think should be his reward?" He asked.
"Well." Ethan tilted his head in thought, and for a couple of seconds, there was silence. "I think it's up to him to choose his reward."
"Have him return. We will meet him later." Fionn instructed, addressing the young man. After he left, their conversation continued.
"About the families of the dead. What do you think?" Ethan asked.
"I'll pull some strings; their sacrifices shouldn't go to waste." Fionn sighed as he made his seat vacant.
"Come with me." He continued.
"To where?" Ethan asked.
"Let's pay Kim a visit."
The two men got out of the room and moved down the hallway. Their footsteps echoed as they walked past several cubicles, with several young men and women stopping by to greet them as they moved.
They came to a stop at an elevator, which they took to the ground floor. The two walked out of the building, the same building that harbors their man cave.
They walked to a small parking lot, which had many cars parked, ranging from luxurious to ordinary trucks and buses.
"We'll take the G-wagon," Fionn said.
"No, let's take the discovery." Ethan refuted.
"It's final," Fionn muttered, his tone not giving room for further argument.
He moved to a small building by the parking lot and retrieved the keys to the car from the man there. He walked back with a smile painted with mockery, playing on his lips as he watched the look on the beaten man.
The car rolled on from the remote neighborhood to the busy city center. It's touch of luxury elevated by the evening sun that shone bright on its silk black body.
"About the girl. How far?" Ethan asked in a cool tone not to spark an unwanted fight with his brother. He knew how Kiara had turned him into a complete fool, which hurt Fionn's ego.