𝟏𝟑 | 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 chaos

"I felt so much that I started to feel nothing" —unknown

AVELINA COULD HEAR the sound of a gunshot ringing through the air. The commotion startled her, waking her up from a nap that resulted from the exhaustion after her argument with Adrik. She tried her best to stand up after failing a time or two before getting up on her feet and waddling toward the door.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly pulled the door open and immediately the sound of Lucia's voice grasped her attention.

"Avelina, get back inside of the room!" she shouted.

Avelina wanted nothing more than to ignore the son of a bitch, but the only thing that pushed her back into that room where she shut and locked the door was the firing of another gunshot. Her breathing grew heavy as she leaned against the door, hating herself for wondering where Adrik was and if he was okay.

She could hear Russian being spoken, probably from Adrik's men and guards. She hurried and locked the door before hurrying off toward the bathroom where she closed herself inside of it. The room was dark and the only sound she could make off was her every uneven inhale and exhale.

The sound of her bedroom door falling to the ground caused her to flinch and place her hand over her mouth to muffle any noise from the tears now falling from her face. She tried to look around for a place to hide, but it was too late. Her bathroom door barged open despite the lock that she made sure would protect her by keeping her far away from the intruders.

Just as the door opened, her eyes that were so glassy with tears, had widened. From the light of the bedroom, she could make out her older brother, Vincent.

He went over to flip on a light switch and his eyes immediately fell to her swollen stomach.

"So it's true?" Vincent asked. "You're fucking pregnant?"

"What—what—" Avelina stammered.

He grabbed ahold of her arm and dragged her out of the bathroom.

"Where the fuck is Zolotov? I promise you that I will kill that bitch!" Vincent exclaimed.

Avelina hated the thought of her brother harming Adrik in any way. The physical heartbreak in her chest drummed a sad tune and a deep frown settled on her face.

"If you kill him, you'll just have to kill me, too," she muttered, knowing that those were the last words she should ever say.

He deserved pain just like he put her through. She shouldn't want to put herself in harm's way just to protect a man who wouldn't do the same for her.

She was ready to ruin her relationship with her brother forever, knowing that if it came down to Avelina or Natasha—he'd pick Natasha with little to no hesitation.

She was as stupid as stupid got.

"What the hell did you just say?" he asked. Avelina could hear more gunshots ring through the air and it startled her. She turned toward the broken-down door before returning her attention to her brother.

"He's the father of my unborn child. Whether you like it or not, I need him," she said. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

He scoffed. "So, that's your plan, huh? Live in here with him and Natasha and play house like he didn't ruin our lives! I won't let you do that," he declared.

Avelina's brows pulled together as she processed his words.

"Natasha isn't here," she said.

He laughed. He actually laughed.

She watched him walk over to the door and tell inaudible words in Portuguese just before a man came in Avelina's view with Lucia. She had tape over her mouth and her hands were duct taped behind her back. Avelina could only watch Lucia squirm in horror as her brother's guard guided her into the room.

"Who do you think this is, little sis?" Vincent asked, pointing at the woman she once considered a friend. Her eyes darted between her brother and Lucia in confusion, slowly putting the pieces together. It couldn't be, could it?

Everything was a set up from the beginning. From meeting Lucia as a taxicab driver, to catch her at the grocery store, and even finding her at Adrik's home. Adrik fooled her once more. She was simply eating from the palm of his hand the entire time.

"That's Natasha!" he shouted, causing Avelina to flinch.

Suddenly, she felt less bad for slapping her. She wished she had done far more damage.

"You told me you were Lucia," Avelina said. Lucia had tears in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and past the duct tape on her lips.

"When are you going to learn that you can't trust the Zolotov's, huh, Avelina?" Vincent yelled.

Avelina continued to stare at the woman like an explanation would slip between the duct tape on her lips. She felt the undying need to cry as Natasha stared back at her.

"I knew I shouldn't have left you here alone. I knew he would try something," Vincent said more calmly than before.

Vincent's eyes couldn't help but fall to Avelina's belly once more. The way he stared with pure hatred caused her skin to crawl. She could feel guilt coursing with anger deep in her bones. She hated that he looked at her like that, but a part of her felt as if she deserved it.

"Don't... don't look at me like that," she declared. "None of you!" she yelled, looking between her brother and Natasha.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

How could she allow herself to get involved in with any of the drama surrounding the two families? How did things get so bad so fast?

"If I could turn back time, I would never have said yes to working for Adrik. At least, then, I would have gone my entire life without knowing you!" she yelled at her brother, letting her attention glide over to Natasha. "Or you! Or Adrik!"

She wanted her words to sharpen like a knife and plunge into their hearts. She wanted them to hurt. To them, she was a pawn in the game of revenge and she was tired of it.

"I'm going to go off and have my baby without any of you. My baby doesn't deserve ever knowing its family made of selfish monsters! To hell with every single one of you!" she yelled.

Just as Avelina began to walk off, Vincent grabbed ahold of her wrist in his iron grip. His face hardened like stone as her glared at his own sister.

"If you leave, I'm done protecting you. I wash my hands with you, Avelina. It's bad enough to know you've been impregnated by the person affiliated with the death of our own family," Vincent stated. "You should be grateful I'm here for you now."

Avelina snatched her hand from his hand.

"I've been perfectly fine without you my entire life. I don't need you," Avelina said.

She walked past him and out the door but not before sparing one last glance at Natasha. Natasha looked at Avelina with apologetic eyes, as if pleading with her gaze that Avelina shouldn't leave her.

The old Avelina would have stayed. She would have begged her brother to leave Natasha alone. Forgiveness would have rooted her exactly where she stood. However, the new Avelina didn't care. She walked right out of that room with her head held high. Her own vengeance pushed her down the hallway and didn't allow a single bit of guilt to make its appearance. The old Avelina no longer existed. After being battered, beaten, and lied to time and time again, she couldn't find it in her heart to forgive. She couldn't find it in her heart to care.

Avelina noticed the once beautiful house in complete ruins. Gunshots littered the walls and splatters of blood decorated the furniture. Her eyes widened as she took in everything. Luckily, she came across no dead bodies, but the fact that Adrik's men, who usually guarded the house, were nowhere to be found was a dead giveaway that they were killed.

Knowing their loyalty to Adrik, they would have fought with everything in them to protect his home while he was away.

She easily passed a few of Vincent's men who didn't bother sparing her a glance. She kept making her way through the house until she spotted the piano—the single instrument that held some of the most significant memories. She wasn't sure what compelled her to walk over to the piano, but she did. Blood covered the instrument, tainting it, staining it. Deep down she knew that no matter how hard it was scrubbed, it would never be what it once was.

Her frown settled on her face as she ran her hand across the top, thinking back to the times she would sit on it and listen to Adrik's uneasiness with the action. It was hard to keep from smiling at the memory.

Slowly, she tore herself away from the piano, and just as she turned around, she was met with a strong chest that covered her head in a black bag. She tried to scream but her mouth was quickly covered by a hand.

—

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