Vengeance

Chapter 19

Ryan's POV

The look she gave me before leaving.. 

She looked scared. Her eyes were silently screaming for help. 

But why? Does Arthur hurt her? If he does, then why is she marrying him?

I just couldn't get her out of my head since that night. The thought of Arthur hurting her made me restless with anger and frustration. There was nothing I could do at that time. And now I had no idea how to get hold of her, to check if she was alright.

All these thoughts kept circling in my head as I was on my way over Uncle Matthew's estate. He had called this morning saying that he had something important to talk about. And I knew it was something serious by the tone of his voice.
I reached the estate, the security let me pass easily. I entered the front door and heard a familiar female chatter. 

The girls are here too?

My doubts were cleared as soon I saw them entering the living area from the kitchen.
"Nessa, Nik? What are you girls doing here?" I asked gaining there attention. 

"Oh, brother! You are here!" Vanessa said in delight. 

"Finally!" Veronica exclaimed. 

They haven't grown up at all. Still behave like small girls!

They both quickly approached me and squeezed me into their signature hug. I chuckled and kissed both their heads. 

"You've gotten so busy." 

"You don't have time for us at all!" They complained. 

"That's sadly true. I won't deny it's been a busy month." I accepted. 

"You missed our monthly family weekend too!" Vanessa scolded.

"Yes, Arlo bossed us around like slaves in your absence." Veronica continued complaining.
And I did believe her. Arlo, being Arlo. He wouldn't miss a chance of harassing these little munchkins. He wouldn't dare to do that in my presence. He knew how much I loved these girls. In fact, the girls weren't innocent angels either. They kick his butt like the she-devils that they are. Because they know their big brother will always take their side. 

You've spoiled them, Ryan!

"No, I did not!" Arlo came out of nowhere and looked at the girls with fake disbelief. 

"Yes, you did! And it was hilarious to watch them fight like cartoons." Stefen joined us in the living room with bowl of popcorn in his hand, laughing.
Stefen was always welcomed for our family weekends as we considered him as our own.
The girls gave them their 'we'll-prank-the-fuck-out-of-you-boys' look.
And trust me, when it came to pranking, these girls were champs. Just like I said, she-devils. 

"Seems like I've missed on a lot of fun this time." I pulled Arlo's ear, giving him a sarcastic smile.
Arlo cried out, while others laughed.

"Kids, follow me to the study." Uncle Matthew's voice boomed from the top of the stairs. 

We all straightened up and looked at each other. I headed towards the study with the kids following behind me.
Uncle Matthew asked us to sit down as soon as we entered. He looked tensed and a little worried. 

"What's the matter? Is everything alright?" I asked him.
He looked at me, glanced at everyone of us and closed his eyes and sighed deeply. 

"Ryan, since the day I took you in, I started preparing you to take over my company, so that one day you become extremely powerful. And now, you are. Arlo, you and your sisters trained into being skilled at fighting and stuff.
You are an amazing fighter, Arlo. Vanessa and Veronica, your combination in fighting is deadly. Stefen, you have always been there for this family. Thank you, I appreciate that." 

"You are not dying, are you?" Veronica asked in panic. Uncle Matthew chuckled and shook his head. 

"No, I'm not dying, Nik." 

"Then what is it? Get to the point already!" Arlo said impatiently. I gave him a stern look. 

"What's got you so worried, Uncle?" I asked him. 

"It's time, kids. The day you've all been training for is here. It's time to avenge your parents' murder. It's time to destroy the Hunts." 

There was absolute silence followed by his words. We all sat taking in what he had said.

"But we don't have enough men to take him down right now. And you know that. Or else we would have done that by now." Stefen commented, since he mainly handles that part. 

"What's changed?" I asked uncle curiously. 

"A deal." He replied. 

"What kind of deal?" Arlo asked. 

"With whom?" The twins asked simultaneously.
At this, Uncle Matthew paused and took a deep breathe. 

"The Italian Mafia." 

"WHAT?" All of us said together in disbelief.

"How?" 

"Italian Mafia?!!!" 

"What the-" 

"Why would they interfere?" 

"How did you get in touch with them?" 

All of my siblings and Stefen bombarded him with all sorts of questions.
I silenced them and turned to uncle.
"Explain." 

"They came here to visit me yesterday. We did not approach them. They did. They wanna make a deal with us." 

"Why? Why would they wanna help us?" 

"They want Hunt dead as much as we do. And together we could make it possible." 

"Common enemy." 

He nodded.
"They will be here any minute so that we could discuss this in detail." Uncle informed. 

"Bro, this dude has made some real enemies out there." Arlo commented. 

"But how did they find out about us?" Stefen asked. 

He has a point. How did they find out about our real identity?

"We left no trace." said Vanessa. 

Uncle Matthew suddenly looked up at me. Our eyes met and I knew how. I shook my head.

"What?" 

"Tell us too!" Others asked. 

"They didn't knew. They weren't sure, until they came here. They met Uncle to confirm their theory." I explained.

"And they did." Uncle nodded. 

They fooled him as well.

"They seem smart."

Hmm. They are smart. We could really use this opportunity.

"They are not just smart. They are deadly." Uncle Matthew warned. 

"We have to be extremely careful. We can't afford making an enemy of them." He continued.

"Wait. You said they wanted to make a deal. So that means they want to help us take down Hunt. But what do they want in return?"

"We want our sister."