Their Hidden Treasure

Chapter 8

Alexander’s POV

My heart was racing as we walked into Sophia's room.

She was sitting on the bed, looking down at her hands. Eli was next to her and he was running his fingers through her hair. Lucas had tears in his eyes and my heart broke.

What happened to my baby?

“Sophia,” I called her softly, but she didn’t look up at me.

Of course she didn’t.

I clenched my fists and I was about to approach her when Damien’s voice stopped me.

“Look up, Sophia,” he said and she listened to him.

My stomach turned and I looked at him disapprovingly. He narrowed his eyes at me and clenched his fists.

“This is the only way to communicate with her for now,” he said angrily. “I am not losing time waiting for the four of you to try and break something that won’t break so easily. If she is hurt I need to act now.”

I understood where he was coming from, but he could have been a little nicer. He sounded strict and cold.

I sighed and turned back to look at my baby.

“We are here to talk to you, Sophie,” I said softly as I approached her and sat down next to her.

Eli furrowed his eyebrows a little and looked up at William.

“We noticed that something is going on, baby,” I said as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “We don’t think that James and Elizabeth were nice to you.”

She was silent. I honestly wasn’t expecting her to speak and that might have been for the best. I needed to say everything that was weighing on my mind and maybe she would open up after hearing it.

“We don’t know what they did, but we are going to find out,” I said. “They won’t get away with anything. I promise, Sophia. Whatever they did to you, I will punish them for it.”

She didn’t respond, but her eyebrows furrowed a little. It was barely noticeable. If I wasn’t sitting next to her I wouldn't have noticed it.

“We will punish them for it, cutie,” Lucas said as he kneeled in front of her and took her hand in his. “They will pay for everything they did.”

Sophia didn’t react. She was staring in front of herself and there wasn’t any kind of emotion on her face. My heart clenched painfully. What did my little girl go through?

Why did I leave her with those monsters? I should have taken her from them the moment our parents died.

“We are worried about something, baby,” I continued as I swallowed the lump in my throat. “We are worried that they have been hurting you. We are worried that you may be injured.”

She flinched slightly and this time everyone noticed. I saw William and Damien clenching their fists. Eli closed his eyes and buried his nose into her hair. Lucas tightened his hold on her hand and I saw a small tear fall on his cheek.

“We need you to tell us if you are injured, baby,” I said, trying to speak with the huge lump in my throat. “We need to know so we can help you.”

She didn’t respond. The room was completely silent. I could feel the anger pulsating in the air. I myself added to it. I was so fucking angry that I wanted them before me so I could pluck their eyes out. I wanted to cut their fingers one by one and I wanted to burn them in front of them. I wanted them to scream and beg me not to do it. I wanted to laugh while I ignored their screams.

They touched my baby and they wouldn't get away with it.

She was still silent and not moving. I wanted her to look at me so I could tell her how much I loved her. I knew that she wouldn't do it on her own. I knew that I needed to order her, no matter how much it hurt me to do so.

“Look at me, Sophia,” I said and she did.

My heart broke seeing her eyes that were completely void of any emotions. What did she go through?! What did they do to her?!

I cupped her cheeks and gulped.

“I love you, Sophia,” I said softly. “I was there when you were born. I held you in my arms. You were so small and I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. I never should have let them take you away from me. I made a mistake when I let those people take you and I am so fucking sorry for that. I should have taken you with me. I should have been the one who raised you and I am so fucking sorry that I didn’t.”

I stopped talking because I could have sworn that I saw her eyes widen a little. She looked a bit surprised and it made me excited. It was the first emotion I saw on her face.

“What did they do to you, baby?” I asked. “Tell me, please. I need to help you. I need to make sure that you are healthy and safe.”

Her eyes roamed around my face. It looked like she was searching for a sign of something. She stayed silent, though.

“Sophia…” Damien spoke sternly, but I interrupted him.

“No,” I said, looking at him. “You are not ordering her. We are not like those monsters.”

Damien narrowed his eyes at me and his jaw twitched.

“You were the one who said that we needed to know,” Damien said angrily. “I don’t want to do it, but there is obviously no other way. She is obviously hurt and I am not letting it go.”

I gulped and looked back at Sophia. I know that I said that I would be okay with ordering her, but seeing her so vulnerable changed my mind completely. I didn’t want to be like those people. I didn’t want to hurt my baby like they hurt her. How different were we if we ordered her around just like they obviously did?

“We can give her a little bit of time,” William spoke and I looked up at him.

He was staring at his phone with a pissed-off look on his face.

“What the hell are you talking about, Will?” Lucas asked angrily as he turned around to look at his brother. “She is hurt. We can’t do that. We need to help her now.”

I agreed with Lucas.

“Larry texted me,” William said, his voice void of any emotion. “He said that we needed to see the basement.”

Sophia flinched hard and for the first time, she glanced at William without being told to. She quickly looked back at me and her breathing picked up a little.

What the hell was in that basement?!

“Maybe we can get some answers there,” William said. “We could give her some time before we order her to do anything.”

I caressed her cheeks with my thumbs and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

“I love you, baby,” I told her again. “We will be back soon, okay?”

I didn’t want to leave her, but I needed to see that basement. I needed to know what they did to her.

I reluctantly let her go and stood up. William and Damien ran out of the room like their ass was on fire.

“Will you stay with her, Lucas?” Eli asked him and Lucas nodded.

“Yes,” he said. “I will make sure that she is okay.”

I waited until my brother kissed the top of her head. He stood up and approached me. I could see the fear and pain in his eyes.

I turned around and walked out of the room.

My stomach turned just thinking about what we were going to see in that basement.

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Hi, guys 😊

Sorry for the wait. I'm having a bit of a rough time creatively and I am a bit behind on everything 😅 It is a bit better today so I am hoping that I will be my best in a few days. I will try to post another update tomorroe, but I won't promise anything.

Thank you, guys! Sending hugs ❤️