The Ones Who Failed Us

Chapter 40

Trigger Warning for mentions of rape and genital mutilation. I'll have ⚠️⚠️⚠️ before and after the mention.

Alessandro's POV

Leo, Elijah, and I were in the waiting room at the hospital, anticipating the moment we would be reunited with our little sister and the father we hadn't seen for seven years. I didn't know how Ava and Dad would react once they saw us, but I would do everything to show them how much I loved them. God knows they hadn't experienced that in a long time.

Both of them were currently in surgery. Ava was being treated for the bullet wound while Dad was in surgery for the glass shards that were wedged in his body. Dr. Fischer, who was overseeing Dad's care, said that our father would most likely be alright, but it was Ava we had to worry about.

After the bullet was removed, Dr. Bianchi, the doctor looking after Ava, discovered that it had hit her lung and a few other organs. The surgeons and surgical nurses were in the operating room fighting to stop every single bleed in my little sister's abdomen. It didn't help that the risk for infection was high, but we had our best doctors working on her. It had to be enough.

I had arranged for a jet to bring my youngest brothers here, knowing how angry they would be with me if they weren't at the hospital when Ava woke up. If Ava woke up.

They didn't know about Dad being alive either, so they were in for the surprise of a lifetime.

Demetri had been shipped back to my warehouse after receiving minimal medical care at the hospital. He had only passed out due to blood loss, so after receiving a blood transfusion and having his stab wounds treated, he was put on a plane back to New York with my best men guarding him. If Ava didn't make it, he would surely pay.

"Sandro, Lijah, Leo!"

I turned towards the source of the voice and saw Emilio, Matteo, and Teddy running towards us.

"Where's Ava?" Teddy asked.

"She's in surgery, Teds," Elijah answered, ruffling his hair.

Teddy glared at Elijah and swatted his hand away, causing a hurt look to appear on Elijah's face. "I wasn't asking you."

Hopefully Ava will talk some sense into him. Elijah doesn't deserve this.

"She's in surgery for her bullet wound," Leo said.

Emilio clenched his fists. "Who shot her?"

"Demetri," I said.

A string of curse words left both twins' mouths. "Where's the asshole?" Matteo said through gritted teeth. "I have a few bullets that would like to be acquainted with him."

I put my hand on Matteo's shoulder. "No, Matteo. You will not kill him. Ava gets to do that. And anyways, he's already on his way to New York, so we'll deal with him then."

"Fine. What about Peyton?" Emilio asked, causing Elijah to flinch. Turning to our older brother, he said, "Sorry, Lijah. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. How are you taking it? I know it must be hard, but it's not your fault. She fooled us all."

Teddy scoffed at his words but didn't say anything, instead choosing to shoot daggers in Elijah's direction.

"Well, her name is actually Tatiana," Elijah answered. "And anyways, she's dead. Demetri shot her in the head."

"This is fucked up," Matteo muttered.

"Are you okay?" Emilio asked, noticing Elijah's trembling body and the quivering of his bottom lip.