The Runaway Sister

twenty-four | chaos

A gunshot. 

It rings throughout the air, explosive and loud, bringing all attention to it—and silencing everyone for a split second. 

Then the screams come. Hard and long. 

Women run around in their elegant dresses, lugging crying children along with them, fleeing for the exits. Men whip out their guns. 

From the stairs comes a flood of men wearing the same suits as the ones around me. But these men hold malice in their expressions. 

Men and men turn on each other—yelling, accusing. Shooting each other in the chest. I don't know who's the enemy and who isn't. 

Warren has left my side. He has disappeared into the crowd of fighting men before I can do so much as call out for him to stay. 

In the corner of my eye, I see a few of my brothers. The twins. "Evelyn!" One yells out—I think it was Logan—and I spin around and see them. 

Blood stains the pristine suits of the twins. Luke's eyes are wild, looking around, waving his gun; Logan's are hard with rage. 

The rest of my brothers are nowhere to be seen. They are in the crowd of bloodshed and tears, their fate unknown. 

I try to run to them, but I'm knocked to the side by a hoard of shrieking children making their way to the exit. 

More gunshots ring out into the air. A few children drop to the ground, crying out for their mothers in complete horror. 

Someone pulls me up, but their grasp is rough. I look up and into the eyes of an unfamiliar man. He suddenly puts a gun to my back. 

I gasp. Tears spring to my eyes. Will I die today? I immediately go into flight-or-flight mode and try to get this dangerous man off me. 

My arms thrash around wildly. I try to kick him away, to yell for help, but everyone is too busy. The twins are also covered by people. 

He doesn't budge on his grip, and begins to drag me out of the ballroom. Where are my brothers? Where is Warren? 

I look around, mind wild. I open my mouth to scream again, but the man leans in and whispers, "I'll shoot you if you don't close your mouth, princess." 

I try to yank my arm away again, but he tightens his grip. I spot Lila in the corner of the room, holding a gun, standing next to a bloody man. My heart drops. 

She's killed him. 

My brothers are nowhere in sight, hidden behind the crowd of chaos. Warren has vanished with them. Lila is alone, unprotected—and she shoots another man running to her. 

The three Greeks who look just like each other are gunning down and engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the unknown men. 

Everyone is able to defend themselves. Besides me. I am so vulnerable. I am the easiest target. Even the small children around me are hiding or shooting. 

Screams. 

Thick, red blood. 

Dead bodies, everywhere. 

The man pushes me out into the hallway flooded with wide-eyed women and children trying to exit the building. 

The exits are not blocked. No one from the attacking group is in this hallway. Why? Wouldn't these attackers want to keep everyone inside? 

"Look! It's the American's girl! Someone help her!" A blonde-haired woman cries out, clutching onto a shaking little girl who looks exactly like her.  

Two black-suited men run out into the hallway, guns raised at the one trying to kidnap me. One moment they're alive, the next moment they're dead. 

The bodies of the men drop into the lush velvet carpet. Their crimson blood stains the floor, seeping into the wooden boards beneath. 

I feel the urge to vomit, yet nothing is in my stomach. 

"Mama! No!" A childish cry pierces through the air. I whip my head and see the little girl standing over the woman who tried to help me. Blood drips from her head. 

My body begins to tremble with dread. My brain has become numb from all emotion as I gaze at the sorrowful sight that lays in front of me. 

The woman's lifeless eyes gaze up at me, filled with nothing. Her cheeks are still pink. Her mouth is open. Heat radiates from her. 

She was just living. 

She tried to help me. 

And now she's dead. 

"No! Why would you do that? No!" I sob, clutching onto my chest with my free hand. The man doesn't answer me, and only drags me further down the hall. 

My legs physically can't move any longer. I feel like I am filled with heavy, jagged rocks that pierce and pull me down with each step. 

He drops my arm when we reach the foyer of the mansion, and pushes me down onto the floor. He holds the gun onto my head. 

I slump over onto the floor, barely keeping myself upright with my hands. The floor, once marbled and shiny, is now dull and dirty. 

Where are my brothers when I need them? 

I know I will die today. 

Why else have I been brought here? 

To break them down? To hurt the family so much it collapses in on itself? Whilst I don't condone their job, I don't want them to become defenseless. 

Logan once told me I can't escape this life when I'm born into it. Maybe he was right. Maybe this is my escape. 

A red-haired, suit-clad man emerges from the door on the left side of the room. He smiles at me, soft and cheerful. Slightly nerdy. He looks like he could do no wrong. 

"Is this the only one we have, Roberto? Where are the others? I believe I requested all of the youngest children." He asks the man threatening my life with a gun in a sing-song tone. 

"That little one, the French girl, keeps shooting people. Those six Greeks aren't any better. And the pretty boy is currently fighting off ten of our men." 

The red-haired man raises an eyebrow. "Oh? So they'll be here soon, then?" He smiles like this is a game. He looks like he believes human life is not important. 

A sudden wave of screams comes from inside the ballroom. I wince at the sound, my heart dropping into my stomach, unable to continue beating. 

The red-haired menace gleams down at me. 

The gun-holder nods. "Yes, Sir." He cocks his head to me, a smug smile on his lips. "What should I do about this little princess?" 

"You know what to do. Take her back to base. She clearly won't be very helpful at the Center, but I'll keep her around for a bit. See what she can do." 

"Yes, Sir." 

The ginger turns to me. He kneels down to my level. "This is what happens, little one, when your family spites me. You got out of my grasp once... not again." 

He straightens himself up. His eyes are shining bright with anticipation. 

A second later, I'm blindfolded and pass out. 

———

Hellooo, loves! 

Duh, duh, duhhhhhhh!

Plenty happened in this chapter, but this is just the beginning of what is about to happen to our innocent little Evelyn. 

Don't worry *wink, wink* I still have lots planned for her. 

Let me know your thoughts on this chapter. 

Vote and comment! And make sure to check out the two other standalones in the 'Mafia Siblings Series'! 

Au revoir, 

Eva