"There are no secrets that time does not reveal."
~ Jean Racine

...♛...

"I'm Xavier White's daughter, okay? I am the Summer White that you knew," I harshly whisper into Alessio's ear. He stops struggling under me and glares with pure anger.

I gulp getting off of him. Everything's in his hands now. He knows who I am.

...♛...

One day ago

...♛...

The first memory I ever remember having, is when I was five and Vince told me that our mother was never going to come back. He said that I was the one responsible for it. Back then, I never knew what he meant so I just cried, blaming myself for the atrocity.

Now, I know that there was nothing I could've done. The doctors had warned my mother of the consequences if she decided to continue on with her pregnancy. 

I don't know why, but Vince found every way possible to destroy my inner being from ever since I can remember. But standing in front of this red oak door, a part of me says that I've been here before. This is a memory before that moment.

The door creaks open revealing an old man wearing a tux. This is exactly what I had expected when Kai told us we were going to the estate of a Mafia boss.

"Right this way," the servant gestures us in. Kai and Alec both walk in first with Cole and I in their footsteps. The estate is gorgeous. Not a speck of dust could be seen on the ground, tables or the various vases standing around. The walls glow as if they were recently polished and the home smells like a deep scent of roses.

We come to a stop in the living room, where an old man and what I assume is his son, waits for us. Both of them dressed in their finest handmade suits, look more extravagant than the expensive paintings hung all around the room.

"Kai Black," Kai introduces himself shaking hands with Giuliano.

"Giuliano Tieri," the older man says. From his grey hair to his defined wrinkles, it's easy to tell that this man is past his mid-forties. The most ravelling thing to me is that I could paint a perfect picture of the man almost ten years younger and not because his son is standing next to him, but because there's a part of me saying I've seen this man before. "It's a pleasure meeting the man himself."

"The pleasures all mine," Kai rebuts. 

The man standing next to Giuliano clears his throat catching all our attentions. Guessing that was the point of his action, Giuliano's face brightens with realization.

"This is my only son, Alessio Tieri."

My eyes scan over the man probably around the same age as Nick. Like any greek god, his figure is sculpted to perfection tightly packed under a black suit. His face contoured by the light, defines every feature on his face. From his thick eyebrows to his ripe lips, he is nothing but a show stopper.

Alessio and Kai shake hands.

"These are my main members Alec Jenson, Cole Baker -"

"and April Salvatore," Alessio cuts off Kai using the fake name I decided to use in the gang world. My eyebrows rise in question as Alessio makes his way towards me. Kai's eyes follow Alessio curiously.

Alessio takes my right hand from my side and gently lands a kiss on the back of it. His hands are soft, the exact opposite of mine which  could be compared to a unpaved road.

"I've heard a lot about you and the things I've heard, cannot be called rumours because everything seems to be true."

"And what have you heard, Alessio?" he smiles letting out a sly chuckle.

"A ruthless killer with no emotions in her eyes. A girl who most consider to be the descendent of Satan."

I smile thinking whether I should take that as a compliment or not. I honestly didn't know that I was that well known.

"I'm sorry I can't say the same in return. Maybe  we'll get acquainted in the two days of our stay."

"We will, April," the specks of gold surrounding his auburn eyes, glow as he says that.

Giuliano clears his throat gaining our attention, "All your luggage has been settled into your rooms and Carlton here, will escort you there. We'll see each other at dinner in about two hours."

"This way," Carlton directs. We all start to follow him, but I'm stopped by a soft grip around my wrist.

"Come with me," Alessio whispers into my ear. I feel his front pressing against my back. My eyes trace forward at the three boys not even noticing that I was stopped.

Why does Alessio want me to come with him?

To ask the question, I turn around. I frown when I notice he had disappeared from the room. I spot him halfway up the stairs in the foyer and decide to follow.

"So how'd a girl find herself in such a mess?" Alessio asks without evening bothering to check if I'm behind him.

"I ask that myself everyday," I reply. "Where are we going?"

"I need to show you something," he says.

"I just met you, what do you need to show me?"

"You'll see," he replies. I follow him to the end of the hall. Some of the paintings hung on the walls send a feeling of deja vu.

Alessio stops at one of the doors and takes out a pair of keys to unlock the door. He takes a step back and gestures for me to open it. I glance to the side, suspiciously eyeing him before I take a grip around the golden knob and twist the door open.

The first thing I see is all the furniture in the room buried under a blanket of dust. The blinds closed, I switch the lights open. The room is small, filled with an unexplainable vibe. Some of the walls have pencil marks hinting that this used to be a toddlers room.

My feet step on the ground cautiously. A part of me feels like this is some sort of trap. As my eyes roam around, they land on a picture set on the dresser. Even from ten feet away, I can tell who the picture was of. I walk closer to the picture and take the frame in my hands. I wipe off the dust.

"Oh my gosh," I whisper shocked. My mind blown. This is a picture of Alessio and I when we were kids.

...♛...

"Father said we're going to get married when we're older," Alessio speaks.

"You're old," I respond continuing to play with my doll. My daddy brought me here for my birthday.

"Summer, what do you want for your birthday?" Alex asks. That's what I call him, his real name is too hard for me to say.

"Mommy."

"Okay, but I'll need time. I promise you that I'll search everywhere for your mom and never stop looking until I find her," he says.

"Promise?"

"I promise," I smile when I spot his eyes glow.

...♛...

I clear my throat setting the picture frame down. He knows me. He knows who I am and he brought me here to test my reaction.

"So how'd you like my surprise?" Alessio asks.

I turn around putting on a perplexed expression.

"What surprise?"

"Come on, Summer. I've been following you. It's not a coincidence that you have the same name as Xavier White's supposedly dead daughter. Smart move trying to use a fake name, but I did my research. When I heard that a female was helping Kai take over America, I was intrigued. My men pulled out everything on you. All your adoption records and every sob story you made up to hide the truth from Kai. But you can't hide from me,
I knew you better than your own brothers knew you. We were supposed to get married and I made it my duty to make sure you stayed safe until were old enough to get married. I failed at protecting you, Summer."

"Are you done?" I ask irritated by the amount of truth bombarded on me. It feels like I'm about to lose I've everything I've been working for.

"I'm not Summer White. My name's April Salvatore. I don't know what you're talking about. Don't you think that Kai would know if I was someone else? Alessio Tieri, I am here for business, not for some false accusations. If you have nothing important to talk about, then excuse me. I have better things to do," I walk past him towards the door.

"You're gonna have to tell me what you're up to, April. Helping your kidnapper's brother is new, even on my charts."

"Nicholas Black never kidnapped me," I state. With a racing heart, I exit the room. Halfway down the hall, is when I feel like I can actually breathe.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I had forgotten about the alliance my father made with the Italians. How could I be so naive?

When I was five, my father made an alliance with Giuliano. That my father's only daughter aka me, and Giuliano's only son would be married whenever they felt suitable. I remember my father telling me about it when I was around eleven, but I never understood the concept of marriage then. All I knew was that this handsome guy always dropped by to hangout with me because we were one day supposed to be married. Looking at it now, Alessio could be considered a pedophile. I'm not even eighteen while he's almost twenty three. Leader's never do think about anyone else besides their own benefit, it's truly ridiculous.

And what does Alessio want? What if he threatens to expose me in front of everyone? I could kill him, but having the whole Italian mafia on my back isn't exactly on my wish list.

My thoughts are broken my three men around their twenties carrying a tray of brownies in their hands. We meet half way down the staircase. Each of them are undoubtedly a part of the mafia.

"Can I have a brownie?" I question hungrily eyeing the brownies. To support my case, my stomach growls.

The three men look at each other and have a silent conversation where the verdict ends up to be a yes. I grab two brownies, but one of them takes the second one out of my hand.

"One's enough," he says.

"Fine," I pout shoving the one in my mouth. This brownie is unusual tasting, but I'm too hungry to ask and swallow the content in my mouth. I thank them with a big smile.

"Have fun!" they yell as they continue up the stairs.

What is that suppose to mean?

...♛...

An hour and a half has passed since we've arrived and I've been sat in my room reading. It's not something I do quite a lot, but I'm not complaining. It's actually really calming to just sit and read.

I hear a knock on my door so I put my book down on the nightstand. Kai walks in wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Time for dinner."

"Okay," I get up from the bed. I look myself over in the mirror and fix my hair before we walk out.

"Where'd you disappear off to earlier?"

"I got lost," I lie trying to force a tone of embarrassment into my words. Suddenly, my body goes from one hundred and sixty pounds to over a thousand.

"Oh my god."

A/N:

Ivy: What do you think happened?!
Chapter 31 has two parts and they're both written! If you want an update vote/comment what you think of the book so far(: