"Dad, I need to speak with you."

"Not now, Alex." Emilio proceeded his way up the stairs, his demeanor a bit slumped. Alexia followed him, "No, dad, this is important. I have to talk to you, now."

"I've got something I need to check before we can talk." He didn't even turn around, making his way to his office. Alexia let out a loud groan of displeasure, "Dad, listen to me, this is important. Listen to me, for once. Dad!"

He spun on his heels, finally facing her. She noticed his bloodshot eyes and the way he fiddled with his fingers, displaying that something was on his mind, but for the first time in forever, she didn't care. He would listen to her whether he liked it or not, this was a serious case of life or death. "Thank you," she sneered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Now, if you don't mind, can we go sit down somewhere? This is important, and it'll take a while."

"I can't talk now, Alexia! Stop nagging!" he yelled out in frustration, opening the door to his office. Alexia blinked in surprise but quickly recovered, grabbing his arm. "If you don't listen to me now, someone will die!" she shrieked.

"If you don't leave me alone, now, your brother may die!"

Wait, what? Alexia stopped mid-track, feeling as if she got smacked in the face. What was he talking about?

He shook his head slowly, glancing at the ground, "Teodoro..."

"What's wrong with Teo?" Alexia urged, dread clouding her every thought. Her father didn't respond and she frowned deeply, biting her lower lip in panic. "Dad! Talk to me! Dad!"

He looked up, softly grabbing her upper arms. "I just got a call from Damian. Two guys were rushed into the hospital in Poughkeepsie and one of our men suspected Teo was one of them so Damian went there to check it out."

Alexia's heart sank to her stomach instantly, her throat closing and her eyes involuntarily watering. Her mind was spinning in circles, the image of her brother laying in a hospital bed repeatedly showcasing in front of her eyes. Then, she realized Jason had been with him.

Hysteria rushed through her body, the tears flowing without being cognizant of it. "Dad," she cried, unable to appear stronger.

"It's okay, Muñeca," Emilio tried, pulling his daughter into a tight hug. "We're not even sure it's him. They could be wrong."

But of course, Alexia was certain it was them.

"We have to go there." She whimpered, pulling away from her father. She had to see them. She had to see Teo. She had to see Jason. She had to see they were okay. That was all she could think as she ran off the stairs in a haze, her eyes blurred. She was reeling with horror, her knees shaking wildly, but she didn't care and proceeded to stumble towards the front door.

"Alex? What happened? Did you already talk?" Stefano caught up with her fast, grabbing her wrist, forcing her to stop.

Alexia roughly yanked her arm away, "Let me go!"

Dominic and Carina both walked into the hallway as well, equally confused about her screaming and sobbing.

"Alex," Dominic furrowed his eyebrows, running over to her. He tried to wrap an arm around her shoulders but she just avoided his touch, heading for the door. She had to go.

"Dad, what the hell happened?" Stefano exclaimed in fury when Emilio ran off the stairs too, his expression sad.

Alexia felt like she was going to explode. She grabbed the door knob and opened the door, making her way to her car. She didn't care that she wasn't wearing shoes, she didn't care that she was in her pyjamas, she didn't care that she was a shit driver. All she cared about was seeing them.

"Stop her. She can't drive in this condition."

"What condition? I am perfectly fucking fine!" she sobbed in response to her father's previous statement. However, soon enough Stefano came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her tightly, making it impossible for her to even move. Alexia wept a little more.

"What happened?" Dominic snapped, sharply turning his head to their dad. Emilio sighed, "Some accident happened in Poughkeepsie. Some of our men think Teo was involved."

Everyone froze and turned silent, aside from Alexia's continuous crying. Dominic was the first to talk, "Maybe it isn't Teo, Lex?"

"Poughkeepsie, Dominic, Poughkeepsie! There were two men!" her voice shook feverishly and the very second she finished uttering those words, Stefano let her go and stomped over to the nearest car, opening it and climbing in. His entire body was tense and his hands clenched around the steering wheel, his jaw setting. "Get in, Lex. We're going."

"It may not be him. We've got to wait for Damian's call." Emilio spoke calmly, not getting why Stefano started freaking out as well. Dominic snorted, "Get your head out of his ass, dad!" And with that, he walked over to the car and got in too. "Come on, Lex. We can't lose time."

Alexia slumped to the car and got into the backseats, still crying. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"How are Poughkeepsie and the fact that there were two men instead of one indications that it's Teo?" Emilio questioned loudly, anger lacing his words. He didn't like when his children disobeyed him.

Stefano rolled down his window and glared at Emilio, "I'm not staying here while my brothers are fucking hurting in another city, you, father, can do whatever the fuck pleases you." And with that, the engine came to life and Stefano sped away.

Brothers. Brothers, Stefano had said brothers.

Alexia broke down once again.

-

It was supposed to be a one hour drive, but with Stefano's anger they'd made it in forty minutes. He was crossing the speed limit at long last, but every time he heard Alexia cry it'd fuel the fire, and when Dominic started cursing, Stefano was done with.

They were running like maniacs when they arrived at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, pushing everyone who tried to block their way. Alexia had calmed down twenty minutes into the drive, her tears making place for outrage. Damian was the one who went to check? Damian had called their father with the news? How suspicious.

That psychotic, self-centred piece of disgusting shit had done this, and Alexia was ready to blow his brains out.

"Where the fuck are they?" Stefano snarled, looking around. A variety of doctors, nurses and visitors stared at him, ire evident in their eyes, but the Valdez's really didn't care.

Dominic frowned, "I'd say the emergency room, right?"

"Right." Stefano started moving again, Dominic and Alexia hot on his heels.

They barged into the emergency room, accidentally gaining everyone's attention as they made their way to the desk. "We're looking for two men, they just had a car accident. I doubt you have their names." Stefano lipped, nervously shifting his weight from leg to leg.

"They already have a visitor." The woman behind the desk irritably clacked her tongue, raising her eyebrows.

Stefano growled, "Listen to me, woman! My fucking brother and my little sister's boyfriend just got into an accident! If you don't help me, I won't hesitate to fucking ki—"

"Stefano," Dominic warned through gritted teeth, pushing him away so he could face the woman. "I'm sorry, we're all a little bit worked up. Could you please help us?"

"Like I said, they already have a visitor."

"We heard," Dominic clenched his jaw, stifling the urge to roll his eyes, "But we are family. You don't even have their names! Someone has to confirm who they are."

Fortunately, a cop appeared behind the desk, silently forcing the woman to make place. "Actually, one of the men is already identified. He had an ID and his license on him. The other man, however, didn't have any sort of identity. If you truly are who you claim to be, you could help us."

"Yes!" Alexia yelled, "I'll go! Please, let me in."

"Alright." The cop sympathetically looked at Alexia, walking over to one of the rooms. Alexia obediently followed her, sending her brothers a look that said, "I'll be fine."

"Here is the identified man. Want to see him?"

"Yes."

The cop opened the door and Alexia stepped inside, her breathing instantly stopping as she stared at Teo.

Bruises, was the first thing that shot through her head. Teo's face was black and blue, just like his arms. His eyes were closed and swollen, and the tiny bit of skin that wasn't bruised was pale as snow. Alexia kept her eyes fixated on his chest. It went up and down slowly, but it still moved, and she was grateful. She brushed her tears away and looked at the cop, who seemed to be wanting to ask her something.

"Can you confirm that this is Teodoro Javier Valdez?"

Alexia knit her eyebrows together, slowly nodding. "Yeah."

"And who are you?"

"Alexia Valdez, his little sister."

The cop silently scribbled something down on her notepad, though Alexia noticed her little shudder.

She wanted to go over there and hold his hand, but she was afraid.

"Ready to go to the other room?" The cop cocked her head and Alexia nodded, never looking away from Teo. Teo is a good man, a good brother and an amazing best friend, and for all of these months he's been helping her and Jason endlessly. He didn't deserve this.

A fresh wave of tears hit her when they entered the second room. She'd known all along, but seeing it with her own eyes was terrifying. Laying there, in the white hospital bed in front of her, was Jason, and he looked absolutely awful. If Alexia couldn't see the tattoos on his arms she wouldn't have recognized him, as his face was so misshapen. There was not a single trace of the Jason she knew.

"Oh my God," she blubbered, her knees giving in. She sat ass flat on the ground, her eyes plastered on the blob that was Jason McCann.

"Miss? Do you recognize this man?"

Why today? No, scratch that, why any day? Her bold, ravishing, cocky boyfriend was nowhere to be found. Somehow Alexia had always thought that although Jason was daring and admittedly, too brave, nothing would happen to him. She now realized how stupid that sounded, especially if you summed up the countless times he's been hurt before in the time span of five months.

The cop put a hand on Alexia's shoulder. "Miss Valdez?"

"Y-yeah, yeah I re-recognize him." Alexia took a deep breath, trying to keep in the waterworks as the cop helped her stand up again. "J-Jason M-McCann-n."

"Jason McCann? Is that correct?"

"Yeah." At a slow pace, she walked over to the bed, squinting her eyes. She was trying to find parts of his face that hadn't changed, but it was in vain. "What happened to them?" she desperately asked, taking a hold of his hand.

His hand was cold and didn't curl around her own as it usually did.

"They'd driven into a tree. Teodoro is severely hurt, yes, but less than this man because he wore a seatbelt. Mister McCann here wasn't wearing one and had to endure the biggest part of the hit."

Driven into a tree? How? Teo is an amazing driver, trained to drive fast, flawless and smart. That's what you learn when you start getting into the business.

"Who was driving?"

"Mister Valdez. The car is still being examined."

Damn it. Teo would never, never drive into a tree. Something must've been up.

Alexia gulped, brushing her fingers along Jason's skin. There were some scratches there, but his arms mostly looked better. "Jase..." her voice quivered, but she didn't care. "You'll be okay, baby. I know you will."

Her eye fell on the little wave tattooed on his arm. Warm tears wiggled out of her eyes, her head suddenly erupting into a splitting head ache.

"Miss, I'm sorry but we have to go. I'm not allowed to be in here and neither are you, but we needed confirmation. The doctors will want to start his surgery soon enough, I'm sure."

Alexia nodded, but didn't move an inch. Today was supposed to be a good day, he was supposed to come home and be safe, finally. God had mysterious ways of working.

The cop cleared her throat again. Alexia sighed and brushed away her tears, carefully putting the hand she was holding back on his abdomen. "I'll be back here every day." And with that, they both left Jason's room.

Dominic and Stefano were both pacing through the waiting room with concerned and angry faces. They hurried to Alexia's sides when they saw her enter with the cop.

"And?"

Alexia grit her teeth. "It's them. Teo and Jason."

"Fuck!" Stefano hissed, furiously running a hand through his hair. Dominic—surprisingly—looked equally heated, almost stomping his foot.

The cop joined them, "I'm sorry I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm officer Lowe." She held out her hand, but Dominic was the only one to shake it. Stefano and Alexia were too busy freaking out.

She continued talking, not bothered by their lack of physical contact, "I, so far, know nothing about their medical condition, so for that you'll have to find a doctor. I doubt they'll tell you much, but then again, I doubt they'll even stay here. You're not from around here, are you?"

"New York City."

"Right, yes. They'll most likely be transferred to a hospital there."

"So, what now?" Dominic raised his eyebrows, "If no one is going to tell us what's wrong with them and they're not even staying here, what can we do?"

Officer Lowe shrugged. "Nothing. I suggest you go home, get some rest."

"Over my dead fucking body. I'm not leaving them here, alone!" Stefano snapped sharply, butting into the conversation. Officer Lowe remained unbothered, "You have to understand this is a serious hospital with serious doctors and serious nurses, sir."

But he shook his head. "I'm staying."

"Me too." Alexia whimpered, slightly leaning into Stefano's side. He wrapped an arm around her shaking posture protectively.

"Me too." Dominic looked at officer Lowe defiantly. Officer Lowe shrugged again, "Your decision. I'll let you know if I get any more information."

After officer Lowe left the emergency room, the three settled on the uncomfortable chairs, not saying a word. The silence was smothering to the point where Dominic had already gone outside four times to escape it.

Twenty minutes later, Stefano broke the silence. "Dom, you should go home. Carina is probably confused and you've got Toby to take care of."

Dominic looked like he wanted to protest, but he kept his mouth shut. Probably because he knew Stefano was right. "And you," Stefano looked at Alexia, "you have college tomorrow. You should go home with him."

"Like hell."

"I'm serious, Alexia."

"I don't give a fuck," she sneered, "I'm staying."

Stefano was about to shoot something back, but a new presence in the emergency room caught all of their attention. As time had ticked by, the room had gotten empty, and they were the only three people inside. That is, until he walked in.

"How dare you!" Alexia jumped off the chair in a frenzy, seeing red. "How dare you walk in here! Fucking bastard! You did this shit!" she paraded over to Damian, ready to slap him. He caught her arm harshly, pulling up his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't fucking touch her!" Stefano howled, getting up as well. He roughly yanked Alexia back to his side and shielded her, glowering at Damian. Damian was big, but Stefano over towered him.

Damian grimaced. "What do you mean, don't touch her? She's my fiancée! You guys tend to forget this a lot."

"I hate you! I fucking hate you! I hate ever getting involved with you, you son of a bitch!" Alexia's screams were shrill, her finger accusatory pointing at Damian. Her entire body was shaking in anger.

"What the hell are you talking about, Alexia? God, you've gone mad."

His acting skills were incredible, really.

"You're trying to make me look crazy? Really? Me? I'm not the one who's so obsessed with a person that has done nothing wrong to me!"

This appeared to hit something inside Damian, because he stiffened. However, he was quick to recover himself, shaking his head as if he were pitying Alexia. "Babe, I just came here for Teo. I didn't know Teo was with Jason. I called Emilio a couple of minutes ago to give him the news. I don't know what your problem is."

"You're so fake, Albarran." Stefano growled, punching him right into his face.

Damian staggered backwards, covering his nose in surprise. Dominic immediately stood in between the two men, a determined look on his face. "This is not the time and place to start a fight, so I advise you to go home, Damian."

"What? Why? I wasn't the one who punched him for no fucking reason!"

"Go the fuck home!"

And because Dominic rarely displays his anger, never mind curses, Damian dripped off, walking away in embarrassment. He whispered a, "I'll see you at home." In Alexia's ear with a wink before rounding the corner and disappearing.

"I would've killed him." Stefano murmured, his eyes dark, "I would've ended him right here."

"Damn right you would've." Dominic retorted. "And that's exactly why I sent him home."

Alexia was a wobbly mess, ending up on the ground again as she cried her heart out. She didn't understand why this was happening to them, she didn't understand why Damian had to ruin everything.

Dominic picked her up and carried her all the way back to the car. She didn't want to leave Stefano alone there, but Dominic assured her that he'd call the very second he'd hear any news. Besides, they were going to get transferred. She heard that herself, which meant that staying in Poughkeepsie had no use. She'd still tried her best to stay, but Dominic was way stronger and had no difficulty in dealing with her struggling.

When they were about to get in, officer Lowe stopped them.

Both immediately perked up, alertness crossing their faces. "What? What did you hear?"

She shook her head, "No, it's nothing about them. I have a question. Was there, by any chance, a dog in the car with them?"

Dominic looked at Alexia questioningly. Alexia's eyes widened at the thought of Sola, Jason's beloved little puppy. Poor Sola...

"Is she okay?" Jason would be devastated if Sola hadn't survived.

If Jason survives.

Officer Lowe licked her lips, "Please, miss, answer the question. Was there, or was there not?"

"If there wasn't I wouldn't ask whether she's fucking okay, would I?"

"I need official answers here, but fine, I assume that there was a dog?"

Alexia nodded frantically, blinking away the tears that were threatening to fall for Sola. She was such an emotional mess.

"Good. The dog is fine, some scratches, but she'll live. Would you mind taking the dog until the owner is capable of taking care of it again?"

Relief washed over her and she nodded again, "We'll take Sola. Definitely." Having Sola was like having a piece of Jason with her.

Officer Lowe seemed to be just as relieved, "Great. She's at the animal clinic twenty minutes from here. I'll drive there and you can follow me."

"Alright. Thank you." Dominic tried to smile, though it turned out as if he was just crying upside down. With one last nod, officer Lowe got into her police car and Dominic and Alexia climbed into their own car, following the officer to the animal clinic.

-

"Babe, what is the matter? We haven't been us lately."

Hearing Damian talk like that caused Alexia's stomach to twist in disgust.

Alexia, Dominic and Sola had gotten home just a few minutes ago. As Dominic was receiving the backlash from his 'childish and immature' departure from Emilio, Alexia sneaked up the stairs with Sola in her arms, desperate to leave the room. Nevertheless, she knew Damian would show up eventually. And he just did, walking in and locking the door with a repulsive smile curling his lips.

"Get out." Alexia snapped, wrapping her arms around Sola tighter. The baby Doberman hadn't suffered much apparently and only had a few bandages, but she was shaken to the core and trembled in Alexia's arms.

"See..." Damian frowned, stepping closer. "This is the behaviour that I don't like. You're going to have to change that once we're married."

Alexia barked out a laugh, "You still think that's on? Well surprise-surprise," she pulled the ring out of her pocket and threw it towards Damian, "It's off."

Damian bend over to pick up the ring and put it in his breast pocket. He took his time doing that and then proceeded to step closer to Alexia, his eyes now darker than before. "Another example of the behaviour I don't like."

"You won't have to deal with my fucking behaviour, I'm not marrying you."

He tsk'ed, "Alexia... You're not pinning what happened to Teo and Jason on me, are you? I'm innocent, truly."

"Shut the hell up! You disgust me!" the fact that Damian had the nerves to even think those words sickened her. Sola shuddered harder, startling. Alexia carefully started caressing her fur, vowing to be calm from then on. Damian would hear it in the course of time, she didn't have to wind herself up just now.

Fucking asshole. She loathed him.

"I told you, behave." His words were low, "You think you can just decide to not marry me? Think twice, babe, it doesn't work like that."

"You're nothing to me." Alexia spat, looking him straight in the eye, "I absolutely hate you with every fiber in my body. If I could, I would stab you myself."

Damian chuckled devilishly. "Oh God, you think you have so much say in this, don't you? Let me give you something to think about, alright?"

Alexia remained silent, glaring at him passionately.

"I am the reason your brother and your lover are in the hospital. If I want to, I can be the reason your brother and your lover die. Jason will die eventually, but the timing is all on you. You're irking me now? He could die in two minutes. You're a good fiancée for the upcoming three months? He could live for another two months... maybe three. You're underestimating my power, Alexia. I will kill him. You should've realized this by now."

"You're not touching him," Alexia stressed, "I'll make sure of it myself. Don't fool yourself; I'm not marrying you. In fact, if I ever were to marry anyone, it'd be Jason. But not you. Never you."

He snickered, putting a hand on his heart. "I'm so hurt. I'll just play with him for a little while longer now, but once he moves past whatever the hell is keeping him unconscious, I promise you, he'll wake up to me holding a knife above his head. It'll be the first and the last thing he sees."

Alexia pushed away the image, holding on to Sola with her dear life. As much as she acted otherwise, Damian's words frightened her, mainly because she knew he was capable of what he was now claiming he was going to do. "Whatever, Damian. You really think I don't have a plan?"

"I'm certain you have a plan," he spoke, "But then again, why would that make me doubt myself? I have the entire business. I own them all, soon enough. I have money, I have my men, I have weapons. I have a fiancée. I have credibility. What do you have, baby? Your daddy doesn't ever believe you, does he? Your mommy is not here anymore—not that you guys got along, I made sure of that—and have you ever thought; 'what is my big sister doing?' because honestly, have you seen Catalina around lately? Your oldest brother is fighting his anger this very moment, Dominic is too busy with his new little family and Teo... poor Teo is in the hospital, huh? Fighting for his life? If you think that your little brother Freddie, a five year old, is enough, be my guest. I'm pretty sure you can't beat me."

"That's where you're wrong." Alexia shot, "I have everything you have, times twenty. Upcoming leader or not, you're just an Albarran after all, whereas I'm a Valdez. I am royalty here, and if we were both to give out orders, they would listen to me. Continue toying with my family like this, I will tear you apart. You've already taken our mother away from us, you are not doing the same with Teo!"

Damian shrugged, a smirk tugging on his lips. She saw no signs of distress but decided not to let that affect her. "We'll see, fiancée. I warned you, you can do as you please now. Let me just remind you, the next time you piss me off like that I'll cut off his feet and slide them under your door."

She knew he wasn't lying.

"Now, give me a kiss."

No. No, no, no, no, no. She was not going to kiss him.

Damian puckered his lips, and put a hand under her chin. "Come on, sweetheart. Kiss your fiancé. It's fine, you won't be cheating on your boyfriend if he never finds out."

Alexia reeled with terror, shaking her head. "You can kiss my ass."

"I'd love to, actually."

"Damian, get the fuck out!"

Rapidly, Damian pressed his lips against Alexia's, a low rumble of a laugh emitting his throat as he pulled away. "You should be glad I'm in a good mood." And with that, he unlocked the door and walked out of the room.

And then, Alexia burst out in tears again.

-

a/n: meh, I'm not a fan of how this turned out BUT it has happened!! Don't forget to vote and comment babes