Eliana ended up visiting the last and only person she could still count on. Axel.

"Eliana, what are you doing here?" He was still in his pajamas and looked very surprised to see me. Well, she couldn't blame him.

"Was my father involved with mafia?" Eliana asked rudely as soon as she entered his apartment. She needed to confirm it. She needed to know.

Axel's eyes widened, he was shocked. The shock, however, quickly disappeared from his eyes. He seemed resigned.

"Let's sit," he said tiredly.

"Answer me," Eliana said firmly. She wasn't about to just sit and talk calmly. She needed answers, now.

"Everything would be explained to you after the court hearing" he started speaking, seeing she's not planning to sit down any time soon. "Yes, your father was involved. The SFM company is distributing firearms by legal and illegal routes"

"What the fuck" she whispered covering her face, "No. No, this is not happening. Everything was supposed to be over soon. How is this my fucking life?!" She could feel Axel patting my arm in something that was supposed to resemble a reassuring gesture.

"I'm sorry this is not how I imagined this conversation," Axel said awkwardly. "Can you sit now?" Eliana nodded wordlessly and took a seat at the kitchen table. Axel sat right in front of her. "What exactly happened to you? Why is your face bruised?" His eyes were shining with concern. "Should I call a doctor?"

"No. You can't. There's no time" she said sniffling. "Harvey happened. I was forced to meet with him at my parents' house"

"How did you escape?" Axel asked in a more and more anxious voice.

"I didn't. He let me go"

"Why?" The confusion appeared on Axel's face.

"Because he told me everything he wanted me to know"

"Listen Eliana I know the knowledge about your family's business is a heavy burden-" Axel started but Eliana interrupted him.

"Heavy burden? It's more than that. I wanted my family's money because they meant I can keep Casey's safe and happy. But now? I just learned they will put her in more danger than it's comprehensible!" Eliana stood up from the chair and started pacing around the room.

"You fear is understandable, but you have people around you who will help you. You will find a way to protect Casey with what you have" Axel assured. "How did your uncle even manage to get to you? You're so well protected" he asked.

"The police officer that was in charge of Ethan's case told me he needs to take me to a police station, but instead he took me to Harvey's place" Eliana responded dryly.

"That son of the bitch... And Harvey arranged all that just to inform you about family business?"

"Not only that... Harvey told me he killed Rafael's sister and that Rafael from the beginning wanted to avenge her" Eliana said with a gaze cast down on the floor. She stopped moving and just stood in the middle of the room, trying to figure out what to do next.

Axel stood up as well and came closer to her. "How do you know he's telling the truth?"

"Why would he lie about this?" Eliana asked.

"To make you give up. Scare you. You know what he's capable of already" Axel tried to give her an idea.

"I can't just assume that" Eliana responded.

"What are you planning to do exactly?" Axel asked.

"I need to leave the country. As soon as possible. You mentioned the safe house at our first meeting... Can I go there?" Eliana lifted her gaze up to look at Axel in a pleading expression.

"I will get the transport ready for you" Axel responded right away.

"Thank you"

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me if you manage to get out of the country "

"Axel..."

"Yes?"

"Can I sleep here today?"

"Of course"

❤️❤️❤️

Eliana left the engagement ring with the tracker at Axel's place.

Eliana arrived at Casey's school around noon. She had to make sure Remi and Milo won't see her and neither does Casey's bodyguard.

Eliana was wearing a baseball cap, her hair was tied in a tight bun. Axel borrowed her a T-shirt and even went to the store to buy her a pair of jeans.

"Miss Snow, it's nice to see you, how can I help you?" the school secretary asked.

"I need to take Casey from the lesson, she has an appointment with the doctor. I forgot to ask her what class she has at this hour"

"I see. Let me check. She should be in room 12 right now"

"Thank you"

***

"Eliana, what are you doing here?" Casey looked at her surprised as Eliana dragged her out of the classroom.

"Casey, I need you to focus. Is there any way you can get out of here without your bodyguard seeing you?"

Casey's surprise shifted into a serious expression, "What's going on?"

"I don't have time to explain now. Please focus, this is serious" Eliana said with a nervous voice.

"Are Remi and Milo okay? They're not in danger, right?" Casey needed to make sure.

"They're perfectly fine, but we need to go" Eliana assured.

Casey looked scared now, "The back door would be an option, but they're always locked"

Once again, Eliana found herself in the secretary's office.

"Is there anything else you need, Mrs. Snow?"

"We would like to leave through the school back door, it's really important"

"Ms. Snow, do you need help? Should I call anyone for you?" The woman looked seriously concerned after hearing her request.

"No, please just let us out of here" Eliana pleaded.

Without another word, the secretary did what she was asked for.

***

Uber was waiting for them outside the school. The moment they got inside Casey started asking "Ok, can you now tell me what's going on, Eli?"

"We need to leave the country," Eliana said.

"Wait what?! Why so suddenly? What's going on?" Casey was really confused at the moment. "I don't want to go anywhere"

"Me neither, but that's the only way out. You have to trust me, Casey " Eliana requested, there was a firmness to her voice.

"Okay, okay, you don't want to talk. I get it. I trust you, Eli"

While they were driving, Eliana got a message from Axel.

Remember to throw away your phones.

🔆🔆🔆

It was a terrible night at Vincenti's household.

"Well, where the fuck are they?" Remi asked as he paced back and forth in the living room. He couldn't take it.

"It's hard to get anything out of Axel, but he maintains that they are safe and gone of their own free will," Lorenzo explained in a serious voice.

"Axel can be lying," Remi said angrily.

"If he is telling the truth. Why would they want to escape?" Milo questioned.

"Eliana found out about what happened to our sister. What exactly was told to her and what conclusions she drew is difficult to say" Rafael said.

"But we can still find them," Milo said with determination,

"How?" Remi asked.

"I gave Casey a knife for self-defense. It has a tracker installed. If she kept it, we can find where they're going"

With that, they got to work.

❤️❤️❤️

Dear Readers,

Okay, so it turns out there are 3 chapters left 😂

Because this story is ending I encourage you to follow my account and check out my other stories ❤️