Emily burst out into giggles as she mocked her stupidity.

She finally received the lesson for putting her trust in a stranger.

Who would have known that by the moment she reached the opposite end of the stream and turned to look back at the masked man, all that greeted her eyes was the darkness of the forest?

No one was standing there, waiting for her to complete the condition that he put forward in return for his help.

Just how much worse her decisions could turn out?

A sigh left her lips as she slowly slumped down on the ground. The pain that had erupted in her body had started to make breathing difficult for her.

The pain in her chest was the worse out of all her injuries. It was like someone was continuously hitting her chest with a huge force.

Her hands traveled into the cold running water of the stream and another sigh left through her lips.

Since she has no one else to rely on, it was time that she should start fighting on her own.

Slowly, she washed away all the dirt and blood that was covering her body and face. Most of her injuries had stopped bleeding and all that was visible were red angry cuts and scraps.

She waited for a couple of minutes to give her tired and exhausted body a little rest. Since her destination was the Alessandro mansion, she had no idea in which direction she was supposed to go.

She was completely lost in the wilderness.

All that she could make sense of was that she would need to once again cross the stream to return to the opposite side of it.

She stood up on her wobbly feet and immediately her world started spinning. Her hands went to clutch her head as she tried her very best to not lose her balance and end up on the ground.

She needed to get a grip on herself. She had to find her way back to the mansion. She could not make her brothers worry for her.

With a deep sigh, Emily started walking towards the rocks that would lead her to the other end of the stream.

"EMILIA ALESSANDRO!"

The angry shout made her not only stop in her tracks but it also succeeded in making her headache get even worse.

She looked at the opposite end of the stream and the sight in front of her almost made her pass out in relief.

"Br..."

Even before she could say a single word, Mark's angry shout made her falter.

"What the heck do you think you are doing? How dare you step your foot on that side of the stream? Come back here, right now!"

To say that he was beyond angry would be a complete understatement. He was on the verge of blowing up and no doubt that his target was none other than Emily.

"I.....I-I'm..."

Emily was not really sure what she wanted to say. If she wanted to cry for all that she suffered through or if she wanted to apologize to her brothers for all her lies and stupidity?

"EMILIA..."

This time it was Domenic's sharp tone that made her look up at her brothers.

Her lower lip trembled as she tried to bear the pain and not let her tears broke out through the barriers of her eyes.

Slowly she stepped towards the flat rocks that were half-submerged into the shallow stream.

The pain was making it hard for her to keep the darkness from consuming her.

It barely took a few seconds before she was covered in a cold sweat and her vision started blurring out.

Once or twice she also missed the rocks and almost ended up in the cold water.

By the time she reached the other end of the stream where her brothers were standing, she could barely stand the pain and exhaustion that were trying to kill her.

Crist was already waiting for her there. As soon as her feet left the last rock and touched the ground, he pulled her away from the stream.

"Oh God, Em! Are you alright? You scared all of us. And what are you doing here? How did....."

Crist barely got to finish his rambling before he was pulled away from his little sister.

"Oh, For Heaven's sake! Don't behave like she's some child who has no idea exactly what she has done. Rather than fawning over her, you should better pay attention to the fact that she has already crossed the stream." Mark shouted at his brother in anger.

"Stop it, Mark! She's not aware of the consequences. She knows nothing about this." Crist scoffed at his brother as he turned his focus back to his sister.

"You..."

"Stop it, both of you! Mark, I know that you are worried about her, but can you just stop creating unnecessary scenes." Daniel said as he pulled Mark away from Crist.

"Who's worrying about her? I'm just afraid that she's gonna lend all of us in deep troubles because that's the only thing she knows to do." Mark mumbled as he scratched his neck and avoided his brothers' sharp gazes.

"Miss Alessandro, are you alright?"

Suddenly everyone's attention was pulled towards Emily as they all watched Sam hurrying over to her.

Since the forest was covered in darkness and the only source of light were the flashlights that the guards were holding, none of the brothers noticed the state of their sister.

However, both Sam and Jackson quickly realized that something was wrong with Emily. Not only she was looking as pale as a ghost but they could also smell the scent of blood in the air.

"Miss Aless...."

"EMILY!!!!!!!"

Both Sam and Jackson were beside Emily as soon as they saw her swaying. Not only that but she also vomited blood.

Before her body could land on the hard ground, she was saved from the fall by the two men.

"Em!" Leo cried out in worry as he approached his little sister who had lost her consciousness.

"Sam, what's wrong with her?" He asked as he inspected the cuts and scraps that were covering her hands.

"Let's hurry back. She urgently needs medical attention."

As soon as Sam finished his sentence, Domenic picked up his sister and tucked her securely against his chest before heading home.