Having a cabin house next to a river in the woods might be on top of my bucket list once I'm a senior. Hearing birds sing for you to wake up and an opportunity to go fishing every day, while sitting in your balcony chair.

Germany is a nice country, especially when it comes to doing business here. EF has a vast skyscraper in Frankfurt, an economic metropole.
For now, I have enough of metropoles and need a break from roaring cars bashing down the street every night.

I sat on the armchair near the window and looked at the stocks rising on my laptop until I got a call from someone who already made my life a living hell with the company he works for.

"Mahit?", I spoke, letting my finger make slow circle movements over the mousepad and circles on the screen.
"Matteo? Are you alone?", he wanted to know with a trembling voice.

My eyes wandered over the living room and between the slightly opened bedroom door, revealing a dozing Lara on the bed.
"I'm alone, why?"

Mahit is the bookkeeper of DAI. We were good friends in our old friend group, but, well, guess what, it broke apart and he chose to operate for my old best friend out of fear. He is also his secretary at the same time since their CEO decided to fuck every secretary he hired. What a little amount of self-respect he grew into...

"I just want to apologize in my name and from my other colleagues that cars from DAI chased you down half a year ago. We want to clarify that these were indeed our cars, but not our drivers."
"I know you like to talk shit, Mahit."

He sighed on the other end.
"We have no reason to attack your girlfriend. Don't you have other people in mind who would?"

"You could've taken her hostage, or murdered her to take everything that I desire."
"Why should we? Matteo, we are not your enemies...At least I am. I'll tell you when DAI plans something I don't like. They didn't plan on hurting Lara, it was just our cars."

I clenched my jaw in bitterness, standing up to stride out of the cabinet. "Who else would like to harm us? I can't name any other person than your Boss. Or Ryan, who already hit her. Or Grigori."

"Since we already talk about Ryan. It wasn't a hoax. Our Boss cut his finger off and sent it to her apartment, for harming her, because she was innocent."
I walked near the river, trying to calm myself down.

"You're shitting me."
"No. So why should we harm Lara? We have no reason to. We had eight or nine years to harm Valentina. Why didn't we hurt her? Exactly, because she has nothing to do with us. The boss doesn't hurt women."

I rolled my eyes, taking the phone in my other hand. Acknowledging that they were right...They had every power to hurt Valentina at her lowest moment...

20 year old Matteo flashback

I was in St. Petersburg right in a business meeting, one of the hundreds of appointments I had. It's scary how much my company grew in two years together with the technology and security systems.

Until I got a call from my Mother.
"Excuse me, Gentlemen, this call is important."
I left the room, walking to the bathroom.

"Yes, Mom?"
"Matteo, please come home."

The common feeling in my belly started like usual before evil things awaited me.

"What's wrong?" I leaned against the washbasin, digging my fingers into the tiles' riles.
"It's about Valentina...So she...How do I say it..."

"Quick." I hurried, scratching my head, trying to comprehend what she was so afraid of.

"Valentina has developed an eating disorder since  half a yea-"
I hit the sink, injuring my hand with the quick movement against the metal.

"HOW COULD YOU HIDE SOMETHING SO SERIOUS FROM ME?! FOR SO LONG?!"
"Teo, please...Valentina is in good hands in the hospital. You were traveling a lot these eight months and I didn't want to tell you, since I knew you'd be going to worry so much and abandon your work..."

Outrage took authority over me and tears mixed with anger and sadness started forming.
"DO YOU THINK I PREFER MONEY OVER MY SISTER? DO YOU THINK JUST BECAUSE I GOT RICH, I'M GOING TO TREAT MY FAMILY DIFFERENTLY?"

She went quiet on the other line.
"I love Valentina more than anything on this planet...I'll never forgive you for hiding her illness from me, so I can make money. You should've known better as a grown woman."

I ended the call and went back to the business room. Right after the meeting ended, I took the next flight back home, not caring if I get this damn contract or not.

Joseph picked me up from the airport after I sent him a short text that I was coming home to the small apartment we shared, right over the one of Leon and Ren.

"Hey man...Give me your luggage." He demanded with a sad undertone, probably knowing that something awful had happened.

Joseph and I have been mates for some years now, he's Seychellois and studying criminal psychology right now.

"Do you think it's because of Trevor?", he started the car, navigating to San José's hospital. Trevor is Valentina's current boyfriend and none of my nor her social contacts like him.

"Who else? I'm going to kill this Asshole.", I hissed.
Joseph ran a hand over his cornrows, speeding up. "Killing might not be the best choice, man. I understand your anger after all, but c'mon."

"NOT THE BEST CHOICE? What am I supposed to do? Sit at a café and drink a cup of tea, saying 'It's fine, hihi, my sister just developed an eating disorder, because of you?'"

He shook his head. "You don't know if it's due to Trevor, yet."

After a twenty-minute drive, I jumped out of the car, jogged to the reception, and got her room number.

I rushed the stairs up instead of taking the elevator and knocked breathless. 
"Yes?", her light voice chimed.

I opened the door, halting at the sight of her. Her hands were so thin, that you could see every bone perfectly, her cheeks were sunken in and her normally tanned skin was pale.

"Matteo...", she compelled herself to grin at the sight of me. I ran to her, pulling her into a hug, weeping into the crook of her neck, holding her so close to me like I never did. "Who did this to you?"

I wrapped my hands feeble around her malnourished body, trying not to hurt her.

"Nobo-Nobody...", she faltered, starting to cry with me.
"Trevor? Don't lie to me."
She went tranquil, making an effort to not reveal much.

"He is very supportive."
I let go of her, raising my hands, and pointing them at every side of the room. "Oh really? Where is he now? Where is he when you need him the most? How often did he visit you?"

She teared up again: "I DON'T KNOW! BUT HE IS STILL A GOOD GUY!"
"YOU'RE HAVING AN EATING DISORDER BECAUSE OF HIM! DON'T LIE TO ME!"

Her voice dropped. "He was right tho."
"With what?"
"That I am weighing too much and should lose some pounds."

My heart sank and I instantly kneeled before her bed, holding her fragile hand.
"No, that's not true. I'm your older brother so if there was anything wrong with your weight, I would've made a dumb joke about it in our youth. Trust me, I'm always honest and you have a completely healthy body, like all these models do."

I wasn't lying about the model part, she was always admired by guys for her body, so I don't know why Trevor fat-shamed her. The thought alone made me want to kill him even more.

I noticed purple bruises on her arm.
"Val, what's up with the bruises."
She sighed.

"We got into an argument and-"
"THIS SON OF A BITCH, I'LL SLIT HIS THROAT OPEN, THE SECOND HE STEPS INTO THIS ROOM."

She whined even more and used the blanket to wipe her tears away. "Break up with him in the next twenty-four hours, he's killing you."

"It's not that easy, Teo...", she mumbled, pulling me next to her on the bed. I cuddled her, rubbing her head. I had someone else in mind, who would lay the world beneath her feet.

Arduously, I was able to open my eyes from my nap. The atmosphere in Germany is nice but makes one tired from the weather change. A bit sunny in winter and after that the worst snowstorm you can imagine.

The bedroom of Matteo and me is cozy, in old style with new furniture. Lambskin as a cover over the seats and floor and a huge Fireplace. I glimpsed out of the window to see snow covering the spruces.

Immediately something red next to a tree stood out. A crimson red robe, worn by someone wearing a cape in the same color. Flashbacks from my pasts enlightened me.

I saw this thing before. The church. The person, Gabriel threw a brick at. The same outfit.

He carved something into the tree with a kitchen knife, I couldn't read from afar. A chill ran over my spine, making my sweaty hands grip after the bedsheets, which used to keep me warm a good minute ago.

I snatched my phone from the nightstand, calling Matteo. Fuck. The number is occupied. The person didn't move at all, gaping right back at me. "MATTEO, HELPPPPPPPP!" I screamed over and over again, rushing out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, locking myself in.

I scoured through the drawers, trying to find a sharp object to protect myself with. A nail file would do it for now. I hurried into the shower, backing up against the wall and praying for help.

Suddenly, heavy steps sounded through powder snow, sprinting to the cabin. I covered my mouth, closing my fist around the nail file until my knuckles were white.

A silent tear escaped my eye, rolling over my cheek and hand. The main door opened with a long groan and heavy knocking on the bathroom door.

"Lara?!", Matteo's concerned voice saved me from fainting. Weakly, I stumbled to the door and unlocked it. He yanked it open, pulling me into a long hug, with his arms rubbing my back, trying to calm me down.

"Matteo...", I sobbed, pressing my lips against his neck, killing every sound I created.
"What happened?", he uttered with a soft voice, calming my anxiety at least a bit.

"There is someone outside..."
"These traitorous motherfuckers...", he started, picking me up and laying me down on the couch, towering over me.

"No, you don't know them."
He frowned, placing his hand on my forehead, checking if I had a fever.

"You mean it's no one from DAI?"
"No..."

I began explaining to him the encounter I had together with Gabriel at the abandoned church. How we assumed that there was a cult nearby us. However didn't they do anything for seven whole years and now...Maybe it was an illusion after all. Before I could tell Matteo, he went outside again.

"Where was it?"
I pointed at the spruce twenty meters away from my window. Without any regard to the temperature in the minus area, I followed him. He noticed, taking his coat off and laying it around my shoulders.

"You should've stayed inside.", he admonished, checking my forehead again for signs of fever.
"It was an illusion."

"What exactly did this person do?", Matteo interrogated me cautiously with a tender voice.
"Something was carved into the tree, but that's just bullshit, sorry for my misconception."

He circled the tree, using his hand to help find something, until he stopped.

"Lara?"
"Yes?"
He swallowed a chunk in his throat audibly.

"How many people were outside of your window."
"One person."

"And how many did you encounter at the church?"
"Also one."

He took a step back, gesturing me to come closer, letting me see what he found.

'Remember us?'