Present day....

"Wait a minute." Said Cali. "You told me on the plane that your father's first wife died during childbirth, and that the baby was stillborn. So then that child wasn't Gabriel?"

"No." Rosy replied. "Something went wrong when he put his first wife, and himself into stasis. The only reason why it worked for her, was because of the gargoyle growing inside of her. But her body had absorbed all of the of gargoyle DNA. Overtime her body's immune system saw it as an invader. Her body was basically at war with itself, and it eventually weakened her. When she went into labor, the stress on her body was too much, it killed her. And as you just stated, the child was stillborn. The stress on her body was also what killed her unborn child. My father never got over it."

"Are you a gargoyle too?" Uncle Sal asked.

"No." Rosy told him. "Gargoyle DNA only exists in the Y chromosome. For some reason it is not compatible with the X chromosome. That probably also had a lot to do with what killed my father's first wife."

"I didn't even realize that your father was married to anyone else besides your mother." Uncle Sal added.

"Actually he chose my mother for her strong resemblance to his first wife." Rosy replied. "But he never loved her. All she was was a sad reminder to him for what he had lost."

"And how exactly did they meet?" Uncle Sal asked, as he crossed his arms as he look as though he was passing judgment.

"He saw her walking along the street one day." Rosy replied.

"That's one way of putting it." Uncle Sal replied with a cold expression on his face. "I heard he just abducted her right off of the street. Like father, like son. And then over the years he would beat her so bad, that he would have to send her away until her bruises healed. He apparently used to tell everyone that she went to the spa. I hope it's wasn't the same spa where Gabriel sent you."

"Uncle Sal, please!" Cali cried, as she was stunned by her uncle's attitude.

"It's alright." Rosy told her. "I don't make any excuses for my family, or my father. I hated how he treated my mother. And no, that was not the spa that Gabe sent me to. He loves me, and he loves Cali. Gabe would never hurt her like that."

"Then your brother really did send you to a spa?" Uncle Sal asked.

"The truth is that he was angry at me." Rosy told him. "And I was angry at him. He said I was acting childish, and had me locked up in my house for the last couple of days. It was supposed to be for a month. He said if I was going to act like a child, then he would ground me like a child."

"What?' Cali asked as she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Can't you see Cali?" Uncle Sal proclaimed. "My life is not worth your freedom. This man will dominate, and control you. No offense Miss Esposito, but I don't want him treating my niece like this."

"But I'm hoping that she's the one who can bring my true bother back." Said Rosy. "I guess I shouldn't have told you about my lockdown, without Gabe's permission. But if this relationship is going to work, it should be free of secrets. You both witnessed first hand the danger that you are now both in. Gabe is overprotective, but he worries about the people he cares about the most."

"I care about him, and I understand why he's so overprotective." Cali told her. "But why does he try to control everyone he loves?"

"We adored our mother, and it devastated him the most when she died." Rosy explained. "He knew our father's life was always in danger because of who our father was. Gabe accepted that a long time ago. But he felt guilty about our mother. He blamed himself, because he refused to be a part of the family business. And in doing so, he believes that's what got our mother killed. So he felt obligated to take our father's place as head of the family. Although he initially did it reluctantly, once he avenged our parent's murder, he had been baptized in the enemy's blood. And he was then forever changed."

"But he's not even completely human." Uncle Sal declared. "Cali deserves some stability in her life. Her childhood was bad enough."

"But my brother will be good to her, I promise." Rosy told him. "Also I can protect her, if she would ever need me to do so, I swear!"

"Unless your dear brother has you locked up in your house again." Uncle Sal quipped. "I know what's best for Cali."

"Please!" Cali exclaimed. "Do I not have a voice? I'm not a child. But the two of you are talking about what is best for me, as if I am incapable of making decisions n my own!"

"Cali!" Uncle Sal started to say.

"No!" Cali cried, as she held up her hands. "Both of you are arguing whether or not Gabriel will try and dominate me. But you are both doing that right now."

"Cali!" Uncle Sal cried. "I felt like I failed you as a child. I swore to myself, that I would make up for abandoning you, and leaving you. Because of me, you became a ward of the state. You deserved a loving family, but because of me, you were denied that. I should have taken you in when your parents died. Don't you see Cali? I have to protect you."

Cali also became teary eyed, as she placed her hand upon his face. She then looked at him and smiled.

"You saved my life." She told him. "For years I prayed to God for a gargoyle to come and save me. But he sent me a guardian angel instead. But I'm, no longer a little girl that needs to be rescued. I am a much stronger woman, because of you."

"I'm just afraid he's going to hurt you." Uncle Said said, as he continued to cry. "And even if he doesn't, others may try. Like they did tonight. Those men who shot Gabriel, they didn't aim at him. They were aiming at you. They wanted to hurt him, as much as they could. So they tried to kill you."

"But he saved my life." She told him. "And he almost died while trying to protect me. He was the gargoyle that I knew would one day protect me."

"Cali." Her uncle replied. "You're letting a childhood fantasy cloud your judgement."

"That's not true." She said to try and reassure him. "Even when he takes human form, I have seen that caring side to him. Rosy is right about his true nature. I want to get to know him, even if I had never made that agreement with him. I think I could easily learn to love this man."

Her Uncle Sal grabbed her, as he he led her in a tight embrace. "I will respect your wishes, but I don't like it."

"I know." Cali replied as she returned his embrace. "But thank you for understanding." They released one another, as Cali began to dry her eyes. Uncle Sal then looked towards Rosy.

"So, why did the bullets almost kill your brother?" He asked Rosy. "If your father was able to recover immediately, why wasn't Gabriel able to do so tonight. And how was your father gunned down two yers ago."

"Because when the real Antonio Esposito shot my father." Rosy began to explain. "He took the form of a gargoyle. But earlier tonight, and when my parents were murdered two years ago, both my father and my brother were in human form."

"And the only thing that can kill a gargoyle, is to penetrate his heart." Cali added.

"How did you know that?" Rosy asked.

"Because, I asked about all of the gargoyle statues on your brother's property." Cali replied. "He then began to tell me all about gargoyle mythology. I wondered how he knew so much about it. But I guess it wasn't just a mythology."

"Excuse me." A strong masculine voice declared. As they looked towards the door, they saw Anton standing there."

"How's Gabriel?" Cali asked, as she could feel her heart pounding. She was desperate to know if he was alright, but apart of her afraid to hear the answer.

"He just finished surgery." Anton said, as he smiled at her. "He's recovering right now. But as soon as he wakes up, I will take you to him." He then looked at Rosy. "It's good to see you, Miss Esposito. Gabriel told me how much he wanted you here"

"Thanks, Anton." Rosy replied, as she gave him the cold shoulder. He bowed to her, and then left the room. Cali couldn't help but notice Rosy's look of disdain towards Anton. She had noticed it in Paris as well. But she had chalked it up to Rosy being angry at Gabriel.

"You don't like him?" Cali began to ask her. "Do you?"

"To be a right hand man, of a mafia leader." Rosy began to explain. "One pretty much has to be a sociopath. Anton was mentored under Vincent Salvatore, who mysteriously disappeared a few years ago. No one knew what happened, but I often suspected Anton. Vincent taught Anton to be a heartless cold blooded killer, and I think he might have taught him to well. Also Anton was the one who mentored Gabe, after our parent were murdered. I blame him for turning Gabe into the man he is today. Anton is the reason why my Gabe, my brother, is no longer the gentle soul that he once was."

"Please!" Cried Uncle Sal. "I don't think I can take much more of this conversation. I don't mean to be selfish, But it's already hard for me to accept this entire situation."

Cali was dumbfounded by her uncle's outburst, and by the look on Rosy's face, it was pretty obvious that Rosy was as well. Not knowing what to say, the three of them remained silent for a little whiled. But eventually Anton had returned.

"Miss Russo, Miss Esposito." He said to them. "Mr. Esposito is ready to see you now."