Viktor and I returned to the Mansion while a couple of my men went to Agatha's to find Johnny. I doubt he'd still be there after the trap he sent us into. Alex was pulling my strings and today I walked into a damned trap knowing fully well it was. There was a knock on my door and Viktor walked in. "What are we going to do Adonis? We got lucky at Boston." He said.
"Don't tell me what I already know." I snapped.
He was quiet for a while before he spoke. "Why don't you talk to her, see what she knows."
I shook my head. "She doesn't know anything."
"She could be working with him. They couldn't have been together for that long without her knowing anything."
I slammed my fist on the table. "Enough."
My voice was low but it carried enough authority. He pulled out a phone from his jacket. "Gomez found her with her phone and apparently she's been contacting Alex."
My jaw tightened. "And when did you find this out?"
"Right when we got back." He placed the phone on my desk. "We need to talk to her Adonis, she knows more than she's letting on."
I stared at the phone lying on my desk, and I knew Viktor was right. I knew he was right and yet I didn't want to believe he was right, didn't want to believe that Summer was working with him to ruin me.
"Keep a close eye in her from now on." I pointed to the phone. "Go through the phone and find out what you can. No one speaks to Summer until I say so."
"Adonis.."
"No one speaks to Summer until I say so." I said firmly, my gaze unflinching.He nodded his head and picked up the phone before he left. I stared at the door for a couple more seconds before I finally pulled my gaze away.
What was I doing? I sighed heavily as I filled my glass with bourbon, my mind racing with thoughts of Summer's betrayal. I was still trying to wrap my head around the affair, I wasn't ready to believe she was actually working with Alex to kill me. I loved her. I love her, and I was getting damned because of it. I walked over to the window, and I caught sight of Thanasis playing in the garden with his nanny. He always had a sharp resemblance to Summer from birth, from her hair right down to her smile. Thanasis was the next person to take the throne, that was if he lived up to the expectations. It was what Angelo Russo did to me and Alex, I was the better fit and he had seen that since the day he found me in the streets of New York…I was nothing but seven when my father abandoned me. I never knew mother, she had died while giving birth to me and my father, I could hardly remember his face clearly but the memory and pain of that day were still clear.My father had told me to wait for him in front of a cake store because he forgot his wallet at home. I believed him and so I waited, staring at the chocolate cake through the glass, fantasizing how it was going to taste. A long time had passed and my father still hadn't come back. I sat by the sidewalk, tired and hungry, innocently waiting for him to get back. Then the store closed down and the panic set in. I began to wander through the streets, tears streaming down my face, calling his name. It began to rain and I didn't know where to go, so I ran back to the store and sat by the steps. Not one person spared me a glance as I shivered and cried for my father. I didn't know how long I sat there crying, but I could feel the fatigue setting in and my eyes slipping shut.Suddenly, the rain had stopped and I felt a warm hand on my face. I looked up and saw a man with an umbrella looking down at me. I didn't know whether it was the cold or his unflinching gaze on me but a felt a crippling shiver down my spine.
"Why are you crying boy?" He asked, his tone sharp yet warm.I looked back at the men standing by a car looking hard at me.
"My father." I whispered, my throat raspy. "My father went to get his wallet so we could get my favorite cake but he isn't back yet, I think he got lost and forgot his way back here."
A half smile formed on his lips. "What's your name?"I sniffled.
"Adonis.. Adonis Kostas."
He stretched out his hand to me. "You have two choices Adonis, come with me or wait on the steps for your father that might never come back for you."
"Liar. He'll come back for me!" I yelled
A full smile formed on his face, but not the type that met his eyes. "You must really trust your father."
"I don't know you! I don't want to talk to you!" I turned around and pulled my knees closer to my chest.
"In this cruel world Adonis, we never get stabbed by the enemies we are wary of."
I glared at him and stuck my tongue out which only made him laugh, a cold sinister laugh.
He turned around and headed to his car. "Goodbye Adonis, I do hope the next time we do meet, you're with your father."
My father never came back for me that night nor the night after that. Days passed and my clothes had turned to rags and I was eating leftovers from dumpsters. At night I'd go back to the cake store and wait by the steps, hoping that maybe my father had found his wallet and was on his way back. Then one night, while I slept on the steps, I felt someone's hands on me. I opened my eyes immediately, hoping it was my father but instead it was two crooked looking men.
I pulled out of their grasp. "Who are you?! What do you want?!"
The short stumpy one smiled. "We are here to help you kid. We're going to take you someplace nice where they'd take care of you and treat you well."
I shook my head and took a fearful step back. "I don't want to go with you."
The tall lanky one snorted. "Just grab him Mikey before anyone sees us. Fez is sure going to give us a raise for getting exactly what he asked for."
I made a run for it immediately. I didn't know where I was running but I knew it was better than where they were taking me to.
"If we catch you kid! You're dead meat!" The taller one yelled as he ran after me.My legs were long and I had lost my shoes so I managed to gain some distance between us, but I knew it wouldn't last long. I turned right into an alley way but just as I turned I knew I made a huge mistake, it was a dead end.
"I told you if I caught you you'd be dead meat." The taller man said breathlessly.
The short one appeared a second later, breathing heavily. "Kids are such hard work!"
They both began to move towards me, an evil smirk on their faces. I squinted my eyes closed and covered my ears. Help me! Help me! Help me! Dad!!Suddenly a loud bang filled the air and a heavy weight pushed me to the ground. I opened my eyes and felt warm gooey liquid on my face and the tall man on top of me.
"Shit! Who the hell are you?!" The short one asked.He got no reply as another loud bang filled the air. There was a loud pitch noise ringing in my ear and I couldn't breathe with the weight of the man on me. I tried to open my mouth to speak but my nothing came out and my head began to feel fuzzy. Someone pulled the man off me and picked me up. I tried to fight or scream but my body wouldn't move. Before I could get a glimpse of who carried me, my eyes drifted close. When I woke up, I found myself on a large bed. I was in clean clothes and a bandage wrapped around my head. My head still felt lightheaded as I struggled to get on my feet. As I headed to the window, the door opened and a young woman walked in.
"You're awake right on time." She said and walked towards me. "Come, Mr Russo is having breakfast downstairs and would like you to join him."
"I don't want to." I said, my throat dry and raspy."
Oh but you have to." She pushed my hair off my face. "No one ever says no to Mr Russo and besides you have to eat, let's go."
She grabbed my hands and led me downstairs to a dining room. Seated at the head of table was the man I met that night at the steps of the cake store.
He looked up from his newspaper. "I see you're finally awake Adonis. Take a seat."
It sounded more like a command than a request.The lady led me to a seat beside him and filled my plates with so much food than I had seen in my entire life.
"Eat up so you can feel better." She whispered before she left.
"You look shittier than the last time I saw you, I take it your father didn't come back."
I glared at him. "I don't want to talk to you."
He shrugged and focused back on his paper. "Fair enough."
I didn't see him after that day and I didn't care either. I didn't know where I was but I knew it was better than outside. I didn't come out of my room unless it was necessary, even though I had heard a couple of kids voice from time to time.
One night, I did finally see the man again, he was seated at the same spot he was the last time. We ate in silence and when I was done, I stood up to leave.
"You don't like desert, Adonis?" He asked, his attention not leaving his newspaper.I didn't answer, I just stared blankly at him.A moment later, the chef came in with a trolley filled with cakes of all flavours.
He pointed to the trolley. "I didn't know which one was your favorite so I just made them get all the flavours."
I moved closer to it, my eyes fixed on the chocolate cake in the middle. "That one." I pointed to it when I got closer.The chef cut out a slice and served it on a saucer.
"Here you go sir." He handed it to me before he walked away. I sat down on the seat just beside the man and began eating the cake, not caring that it covered half of my face.
"Thank you." I murmured when I was done.
He shrugged and continued reading. "What's your name?" I asked
He looked at me, and a wicked smile formed on his lips. "Angelo. Angelo Russo."
At that moment I knew my life was going to change, and definitely not for the good.