BANG!

The gunshot rang just as the elevator doors opened.

The bullet flew right passed my head, hitting the metal wall of the elevator.

A shocked gasp left my mouth and I was quick to remove my gun from the holster, running out of the lift. The others followed me, doing the same.

Men holding guns were scattered across the reception area. Apart from them, no one else was there, not even the receptionists.

This was planned.

I shot one guy on the chest and hid behind a sofa before others got a chance to shoot. Matteo hid beside me, shooting them as well.

Serena and Dante were near the reception desk , and Ysaline and Enzo at the back of the humongous pillars. Mom and dad were behind the sofa in front of the one I was hiding behind.

Everyone had their weapons raised.

Adrenaline pumped through my body and I released shaky breaths, scanning the area around me. There were at least 20-25 men surrounding us, scattered everywhere.

"Who the fuck are they?" Matteo whispered harshly, shooting a man on the leg.

"No clue," I whispered back.

Blaring, thunderous gunshots filled the air, and shrieks and groans were heard.

"Gotcha." 

I had no time to react as a hand suddenly grabbed my hair and pulled me up. 

I stared into the eyes of the man and smashed my forehead on his, removing his grip on me. I took out of the knife from my boot and slashed his neck with it. I watched as he fell to the ground, blood seeping out. His hands reached out to grab anything around him, but Matteo banged his gun on the man's head, knocking him out cold. 

I watched mom taking on a man, stabbing him straight through his heart. Dad, beside her, kept on shooting as many people as he could. Serena banged a man's face on the desk repeatedly, until a satisfied 'crack' was heard. Ysaline was shooting with one hand, while holding a knife in the other, slicing a man's throat while she did so. 

I smirked. I choose my second in command well. 

My heart nearly stopped beating when a man tried attacking Enzo from behind. Enzo caught his hand right in time, and threw the guy over.

The very next second, I found my cheek throbbing in intense pain, swung to the left. 

I spat out the blood, wincing at the metallic taste, and raised my eyes to glare at the man who punched me. I hit him under the jaw, and he stepped back and swung at me. I ducked down right before he could do so, and clutched my hands behind his calf. I pulled and the man fell down, flaking out when his head hit the marble floor.

"Xen- Xena," Matteo's strained voice groaned.

Matteo was being chocked by a burly man against a pillar. I raised my gun and hit his head with it, instantly killing him. Matteo nodded at me and I nodded back.

I kept on shooting whichever person I saw.

"Fuck," I cursed when my bullets got over. I spotted a gun at a foot's distance and reached for it. As soon as I grabbed the gun, a foot stepped over my hand. Excruciating pain rushed through me and I groaned, leaving the gun. 

I stiffened when a cool metal touched the back of my neck. I could feel the trigger being pressed but the person was tackled to ground right before he could shoot. Enzo was repeatedly punching the man. Blood trickled down Enzo's fore head and he was bleeding through his shirt. 

I grabbed the gun near me and shot the person trying to hit Enzo from the back.

This went on and on, no one seemed to be winning. 

Sure, we were skilled, but so were they.

By the way the men were fighting, it was sure that they were a part of a mafia.

The question was, though, which one?

"Put down your weapons!" A man yelled. 

I frowned and turned to the direction of the voice.

My heart stopped beating and fear was all I was feeling.

A brawny man was holding Serena by her hair, knife to her throat. 

Serena's face was pale and her body shook tremendously as the knife kept inching closer.

"No! Don't! We're putting down our weapons!" Matteo yelled, raising both his hands after throwing his gun away.

Terror washed over Matteo, his body was paralyzed in dread.

The pulse beating in my ear blocked all the other sounds out. 

My main concern was Serena.

I steadily put my gun down on the floor, everyone else followed.

The man holding Serena captive smirked, making my blood run cold. 

"Great. Now, kneel."

What?

"Didn't hear what I said? Kneel, and place both your hands behind your neck. If you want this bitch to live, that is."

Matteo clenched his fist hearing that, restraining himself.

Shakily, we all got down on our knees. I shakily interlocked my hands behind my neck.

This bastard was going to regret the day he was born.

The atmosphere grew tense as nobody moved. Fear had become a tangible, living force that crept over all of us.

"Now that you all have done what I asked for, I'll let her live," the man said, and pushed Serena forward.

He slowly removed his hand from her hair, still holding the knife near her throat.

That's when it all happened.

Serena tried running over to us, but she was pulled back, and her throat was slit.

I stared as the knife dropped to the floor, the ringing in my ears pulsating. 

Serena dropped to the ground, her hands were wrapped around her throat and her eyes, wide. 

"No," Matteo whispered, crawling towards her, "no, no, no."

He gently placed her head on his lap, cradling her body. 

"Consider this a warning," the man snarled, leaving the hotel. Everyone else trailed behind him,

Every nerve in my screamed to pick up a gun and empty all the bullets into the man's head.

But I wasn't able to move. No one could. 

"Please," Matteo sobbed, his voice cracking at the end," don't leave."

"I'm sor-sorry," Serena whispered weakly. 

She raised her hands and gently caressed his cheeks, wiping his tears. Matteo placed his trembling hand over hers.

"Sh, sh, don't talk, it'll hurt more," Matteo muttered shakily.

"I think-" She took a deep breath, "I think I could have loved you."

Serena softly pushed his face down, pressing her lips on his forehead.

She gripped his shirt tightly as she choked. Strained sobs left her mouth and her eyes were shut tightly in excruciating agony.

Matteo hugged her, pulling Serena towards his chest as she left the world.

"Serena?" He whispered after a few seconds. 

She didn't reply.

"Serena?"

Silence...

"No," Matteo whispered breathily, "NO!"

I watched while intense numbness overtook my body.

I was not sad, nor was I heartbroken. What I felt was beyond such mere adjectives. 

Serena...

It felt like loosing someone special.

She was someone special.

Ysaline was sitting with her back against the pillar and hugged her knees to her chest. She stared into the abyss, in a daze.

Enzo and Dante had lowered their gazes, her death affecting them them as well.

Mom and dad didn't know Serena, but knew well enough that she was someone to be remembered. 

Mom joined her hands, doing a silent prayer.

I sat down on the floor, too numb to stand anymore. A silent tear rolled down my cheek and I shut my eyes tightly.

I would kill whoever was behind this. I would erase the name of their mafia.

Silence hung in the air for quite sometime.

I reopened my eyes and scanned the lobby.

Matteo had his eyes closed, and was still hugging Serena.

Seeing her, a choked sob left my mouth and I diverted my gaze.

I looked at the few dead bodies around.

My eyes grew wide in malice when I saw the tattooed ink on one of the dead guy's hand- lodernde Flamme.

The Germans were behind this attack.

I should have fucking known.

First, they attacked my dad in Sicily many years back.

Second, they killed Aoife.

Third, they killed Enzo's dad.

And lastly, they killed Serena.

"It's the Germans doing," I finally spoke up. 

My voice was blank, without a trace of any emotions.

Matteo's face hardened and a glint of reprisal shone in his eyes.

"I will fucking kill them," he muttered harshly.

Enzo walked over to him, gently squeezing his shoulders.

"I-I'm sorry, I truly am, but you need to let her go, Mat."

He glared at Enzo, hugging Serena tighter.

"She's not fucking dead. She'll come back, I know she will."

"Look," I sniffled, "If you want to get revenge, which everyone does, including me, you need to focus on that. Focus on getting back to the Germans. You will get time to grieve later."

"I am not going to fucking grieve! She isn't dead!" Matteo roared, banging his fist on the floor.

"Matteo, I'm sure you loved Serena," Mom spoke up, "Lucifer almost died the day Germans had attacked us in Sicily during our honeymoon. They shot him. He was in come for 6 whole months. I felt broken. I no longer felt the need to live. But the hope of getting revenge on the Germans kept me going. If I had drowned myself in grief and misery, I wouldn't have been able to avenge Lucifer."

Matteo's thoughtful eyes stared at mom.

He slowly unwrapped his shaky arms from around Serena. 

"I want revenge."

I nodded.

 "And you shall get it."

●・○・●・○・●

I laid on the bed, still not recovering from whatever just happened.

The plan of going to Paris was cancelled a long time back.

I had to stay, and avenge Serena's death. 

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Enzo walked in and just the sight of him calmed me down.

"May I sit beside you?"

I nodded and scooted over to make some space. Enzo laid down beside me.

No one spoke, when finally Enzo decided to break the ice.

"What just happened is-I mean, it's hard to believe," he whispered, shaking his head slightly.

"Serena's death affected all of us. I wasn't very close to her, but still, I feel terrible. I feel terrible for killing her first husband. I feel terrible for almost killing her. I feel terrible for allowing Matteo to forcefully marry her. I feel terrible for letting her die without doing anything to save her."

I just listened to him and nodded.

Feeling the need to finally open up to someone about it, I did.

"You asked who Aoife was on the flight that day...," I trailed off, " I lied. She was a good friend of mine. "

Enzo looked at me, listening to every word I said.

"I'm sure you know who Eamon Flynn is."

He nodded again. "The Irish mafia leader."

"Eamon was, and still is, my very close friend. I had lived in Ireland for 3 years for my studies. The Irish and my American mafia had good relations, so instead of finding a place to stay when I went to Dublin, Eamon invited me to stay in his estate."

I paused.

"Eamon, he had a younger sister, Aoife. She was the cutest and the most adorable girl ever, " I bit my lip to suppress the sob threatening to come out.

"She had beautiful blue eyes, like mine, the cutest button nose, rosy cheeks..."

Seems like my past already caught up with me.

I rang the bell of the mansion. The door opened and a cute head peeped from behind the door.

A cute girl. She couldn't be more than 3 years. She had electric eyes and pink lips. Curls of her brown hair fell over her forehead.

"Who ish you?" She asked in her adorable baby voice.

I chuckled. "I am Xena."

"Shena," She repeated, not being able to pronounce my name correctly.

"Who are you?" I asked, kneeling to meet her eye level.

"Fiona."

"Well, hello, Fiona," I greeted with a smile.

"Oh, hey Xena!" I heard Eamon greet. He extended the door so I could enter.

"Eamon!" I yelled hugging him tightly.

"I missed you," he chuckled, ruffling my hair.

Grabbing my suitcases, I walked into the house.

"So, I see you've already met Aoife," Eamon said, smiling.

"Huh? Who's Aoife?" I scrunched up my nose.

He pointed to Fiona who was giggling cutely.

I raised my brow and narrowed my eyes. "Young lady, did you lie to me?"

Giggling even more, she nodded confidently.

"My name ish Aoife!" She exclaimed, skipping around the hall, her brown curls bouncing along.

"Xena!" Enzo suddenly yelled.

"Huh? Ya, what?" I asked, blinking twice.

"You zoned out," Enzo replied, frowning in concern.

"I'm fine," I dismissed.

"Aoife! Don't play on the road!" I yelled, running towards her. She huffed but listened anyways.

I had been in Dublin for almost 6 months, and I became very close with Aoife. She was practically my little sister. 

"I want ice cream!" She squealed as we passed by her favorite ice cream parlour. 

"Then let's get it! Don't tell your brother," I whispered, placing my finger on my lips. 

She copied my actions and nodded.

We entered the ice-cream shop and asked for 2 chocolate ice-creams with extra scoop and extra choco chips. I sat down on a chair and placed her on the table.

"Shena, you want to know a secret?" Aoife asked and I nodded curiously. 

"Come closer," she whined and I leaned down.

"You are my bestestttttttt friend," she whispered, "but don't tell Eamon. I told him he was my best friend."

I chuckled and nodded. My heart warmed. "You are my bestest friend too."

"Always?" She asked, raising her pinky finger.

"Always," I confirmed, interlocking our fingers.

"We pinky promised!" She hoorayed.

After few minutes, she spoke again.

"You won't leave me right?"

I frowned. "Of course not."

"Pwomise?

"I promise."

"Yayy! Now you can't leave me," she cheered, dropping the ice cream on her dress in the process.

"Shit," I cursed, hastily wiping it off with a tissue.

"Shit," Aoife repeated.

My eyes widened. "No, fuck- shit! FUCK! NO!"

"Fuc-"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" I shrieked, placing my palm over her mouth.

Her big doe eyes stared up at me in mischief.

"Everything was going so well...I had almost completed 3 years in Dublin and I grew extremely close to Aoife. She was my little sister," I whispered, "And then the Germans had to fucking ruin everything."

I shut my eyes tightly, remembering that day very vividly. My heart raced as I recalled the incident. 

"Then one day, few months before I left for Paris, the Germans attacked us. This took placce 9 years back."

The moment flashed before my eyes like it was yesterday.

"Shena!"She squealed, running towards me with her cute tiny legs.

I giggled. Even though she was 6 years old now, she continued teasing me by mispronouncing my name.

"It's Xena, A," I corrected, picking her up and placing her on my hip.

"Shena!" She cheered, her pink lips curving up to form a wide smile, revealing her cute front teeth.

"No, no. Repeat after me. Say Xe."

"Xe," She repeated cutely.

"Very good. Now say, na," I continued.

"Na."

"Well done! Now say Xe-na!"

"Shena!"

I groaned but failed to compress my giggle.

"I want to watch movie," She declared, making me scrunch my nose.

"Alright. Which one?"

Aoife nodded. "I want to watch Tom and Jerreee!"

"Right now?"

She nodded with a wide smile.

"Alright," I carried her to the couch and placed her down. I switched on the TV and was about to walk away when she stopped me.

"Watch with me!" She cheered, her big blue eyes looking up at me expectantly.

"Oh honey, I wish I could, but I have a lot of college work pending," I said sheepishly.

She frowned with a pout which made her look cuter.

"No! I want to watch with you!"

I sighed. "A, Love, Shena is busy, okay?"

Her frown deepened and she looked away from me.

I sighed again. "Alright, how about this...I go do my college work, and then tomorrow, I take you to the merry-go-round?"

Her eyes snapped back to me and she pretend to think.

"Okay!" She finally agreed after a few seconds.

Smiling, I took her in for a warm hug.

Suddenly, a loud bang resonated through the hall. I froze, and slowly unwrapped my arms from around Aoife.

My eyes widened when I saw 12 men dressed in black, carrying guns. They had broken down the door.

"Eamon!" I yelled as loud as I could, my hands shaking as I covered Aoife. 

I tried to shield Aoife but I found my face whipped the left. A throbbing, agonizing sensation cursed through my cheek.

I trembled and met the gaze of the guy who slapped me.

Fisting my hand in a tight fist, I raised it and punched him in the jaw. He toppled over with a groan. I was about to kick him when I felt paralyzed. 

The ringing was loud. So loud I didn't even hear the shotgun itself as a distinct sound.

I felt the massive heat which instantaneously turned into a concoction of throbbing tingling numbness. My mind hadn't quite caught up with it. I staggered and fell on my knees, blood gushing out and staining the carpet. 

I slowly gazed down to see blood surging out of my lower abdomen.

The sonorous, ringing sound got worse. It seemed to louden second by second. My mind seemed fuzzy yet only one name stood prominent.

My eyelids felt heavy, and I shut them, only to flutter them back open as I heard the piercing shriek.

"Aoife," I whispered brokenly.

"Shena!" I could hear her sob, "Help! Plea-please help!"

"Aoi-Aoife," I muttered, trying my hardest to reopen my eyes.

I saw the hazy image of a man grabbing her by the hair and hauling her down on the ground.

I felt a shadow of a man hovering over me. He grabbed my hair and bent down near my face. I could make out the faint face of Luther, the German mafia leader. 

"This is revenge, bitch. Your parents killed my dad. I will fucking destroy your mafia," he snarled in my ear. He smashed my head on the floor and all I could feel was numbness. 

My eyes shut as the earsplitting buzz got clamorous. It seemed to deafen me.

"Keep your fucking eyes open, bitch, or you see this little girl die," Luther hissed in my ears.

With a lot of strength, I managed to peel my eyes open. My vision was cloudy.

I saw a man holding Aoife with a gun pointed at her head.

"No," I whispered weakly, trying to get up. My body wracked in tremendous pain as I tried lifting my hands. I was loosing a lot of blood.

"Shena," She sobbed, trying to run over to me.

"Take this as your warning," the man snarled, and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot rang in my ears repeatedly.

Even now.

"They killed her Enzo," I whispered shakily, they fucking killed her. Shot her in the head. Right in front of me. And I couldn't do any-anything."