Creed of the Leviathan II

26 | E + M

Emmanuelle

News came that Leighton was responsive and that his emergency surgery went well. Sadly, it was followed by news from Tia's doctor that her health was rapidly declining. He warned us that based on her test results she would have, maybe, a few months left. In his words, it could be less.

As much as this was just another jab at my heart, I realized that her passing would be far better than remaining in the vegetative state that she was in. Her heart was kept beating by the machines and solid food did no longer have a place in her stomach.

Dom was still in school when we returned home. I was just out of my hot shower and brushing my teeth. It was much needed after the visit. Marissa must have been somewhere in the house and Anthony had stepped out to do God knows what. He was planning on soon leaving for New York. When I came back into the room, I was immediately startled by the unexpected presence of another person, sitting on my bed.

"Dimitri,"

He rose to his feet when I said his name. Like a magnet, he pulled me towards him. Halfway to him he stepped back and moved away from me. "Are you mad at me?" The question fell from my lips out of guilt from the last phone call.

He dragged his tired eyes to meet mine. They studied my face, and then returned to the ground. His shoulders hung low, and he looked stripped of all energy. His whole behavior was different.

"Please, don't." He stopped me from taking another step towards him, when I wanted to. He held up his hand, redirecting my attention to the picture of my mother, pressed in between two of his two fingers. It was the same picture I had last seen Anthony hold.

"Esmeralda Artist." He announced her name in a shattered voice. "Born in North Carolina, moved to Miami at the age of eighteen and worked in a local restaurant called Shashi."

Everything he recited like a robot was true, which scared me, because I had never spoken about her to anyone. Anthony never clarified what he was looking for, but whatever he found, it was reason enough for Dimitri to distance himself from me.

"Three years later she moved here. Unemployed. And pregnant with you. No mention of your father, whatsoever."

The ticking in my chest began to take speed.

"I should've figured this out sooner." He was calm, but I knew he was freaking out as much as I was. "It was right in front of me. His fucking will! Giving you so much of the company. Fuck!" He let out a frustrated scream. "How could I've been so damn blinded. He always went to that damn restaurant. My mother knew. She always believed he had someone there." He palmed the sides of his head.

For the first time since we were together, I was frightened by him.

"He must've moved her here when she got pregnant with you."

My brain denied comprehending what he was saying, yet my feelings were triggered.

"You're wrong." I argued.

He shook his head, still clamped between his hands. "No, I'm not, Emmanuelle. My father gave your mother money on a montly basis to care for you. There's evidence of them being together." He gulped, "Of him with you— when you were a baby."

I held my heart, and my mind immediately went to my son. Was he a product of incest? Did I have a child with my brother? "I had Dom with Marco." I became unstable on my feet and crashed against the wall with my back, "My brother?"

Dimitri dropped his hands. His eyebrows dipped down to his nose, but he remained still. "No," he swallowed. "No, he's— he's not. You're not related to Marco. You can't be."