Present day

After meeting with Italian Capo

Agustin

The flight back home felt more turbulent than it truly was. Maybe the news of Sofia's kidnapping made me to believe that the world was coming to an end.

It may as well be the end of the world. Alejandro was informed of Sofia's news within minutes of us finding out.

He must have already conveyed the same to the whole family.

If I'd known and learnt anything from my family, it was to always be prepared for any adversities. Being a syndicate family whose lives were always at risks, we knew what we were getting into from the get go.

Since Antonio was made the syndicate head, he always ensured that the culprits to any crime were punished and not their families. It was hard to enforce this rule with the allies at first but eventually, everyone agreed.

Suffice to say, the fact that Sofia and Aurelia's kidnapping didn't spread like wildfire and that it took us going to Italy to discover the truth meant one things - it wasn't any of our allies.

"I've spoken to Val." Gemma's soft voice broke through the cloud of thoughts in my mind. "She's preparing a plan of action. And she's also getting more people involved."

"I can't believe we've los..."

"We've not lost her. We don't know where Sofia is, Gus." Gemma sat on a chair across from mine, leaning over the table. "All we know is that she's not landed in Spain."

"It doesn't take a genius to understand when a flight carrying them has gone missing, it hasn't vanished into thin air. Someone did something."

At that moment, a new fear came to life. What if Sofia and Aurelia are dead?

Gemma moved across the table and knelt before me. She held my hands, rubbing her thumbs over my knuckles.

"I know you're worried for them. Love makes us all think of the worst scenarios."

It was love. I loved Sofia since I understood what it felt like to be cared for. I'd loved her for a better part of my life.

It was with her that I also understood that what I had was unrequited love. Sofia Salazar Moralez, in a most caring manner, had once made me realise how much I missed out on seeing what was in front of me.

~

I still remember the conversation we had just before she had confessed her love for Alejandro.

It was a dull evening, and she sat in the garden alone. At times, she looked up into the skies as if she was praying for a miracle to save her from feeling lonely.

I'd just returned from a mission when I saw her that day, swinging but not enjoying. She smiled at me and waved.

I walked across to the garden side, ignoring that Maria was waiting for me inside. Every time I came back from my mission, I had a ritual. I'd meet Mama first before anyone else.

That day, I broke that ritual.

"How was it?" She asked. "Made our cartel proud?"

"I always do." I sat next to the swing, on a bench.

Sofia turned to face me, twisting the swing. "Are you happy?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't seem to!"

The truth was, I wasn't. For sometime, I'd this gnawing feeling in me that something bad was about to happen. At that moment, I assumed it to be that mission and something bad happening to me.

But what Sofia said that day confirmed my gut feeling.

"I'm thinking of leaving Alejandro," she said, turning away from me. She swung back and forth, her feet still grounded. "I think I'll go back to Spain and help Santos with the business."

"Did Alejando do something? I'll talk to him. I'll talk to both Al and Anto." I didn't realise when I stood up and faced her. "You can't leave me, Sof."

"You?" She stood up, squaring me. "You think this is about you? Get over yourself, Agustin."

"Then what is it about?" My chest felt heavy. I know, in that moment, whatever she would say would break me. But I needed to hear it. "Is it about Alejandro and how he doesn't care for you? Or that you needed to get away from him for him to follow you?"

Sofia rolled her fists. She wanted to punch me across my face. Refraining from physically hurting me, she looked into my eyes, smirking.

"It was never about Alejandro. It was always about me. How I didn't respect myself. How I needed to love myself to know who loved me."

"People love you here, Sofia. It may not be Al, but Val, Mama, Anto and..."

I couldn't say it.

"And you?" She placed her hand over my chest. My drumming heart felt a wave of calmness.

"Yes, me. I love you. I always have."

"No, you didn't."

Sofia moved away. Her back face me.

I wanted to hold her arm and twist her to face me. I wanted to hurt her for the way she hurted me now. I wanted to see pain in her eyes.

Funny, what we assume as love and affection sometimes make us feel angry.

"You're not thinking straight, Sof." I could have said a lot more but refrained. Moving back, I took a deep breath. "Talk to Val or Gemma before doing something you'll regret."

She chuckled and turned around.

"It's great to know that you'd send me to them to talk. But when it comes to you, or your brother, you'd not even think of listening to yourself."

My teeth gritted. My eyes heated up. Whatever pent up anger she had towards Alejandro was released on me. And I wasn't ready to bear the blunt of it.

"I'm not the one running, Sofia."

"Oh but you are. You are running from your true feelings. Just like your brother."

"And you'd know about true love and feelings. Because you've mastered it, right."

They say hurt people would do anything to hurt others. I felt anger course through my veins and spew hurt in the form of words on her.

"Sofia Salazar thinks she knows all about love because she read what...fairy tales? Peoms?" I scoffed. I was tearing her down. "You know nothing of love, Sofia. You're just a beginner of the same game we all play. You don't even know the depths of it."

Before I could walk away, she held my hand. Tears brimmed her eyes.

I'd done what I always promised never to do. Hurt Sofia.

"You don't love me, Agustin. You've never."

"And you know that because..."

My mother used to say that in some fights, people would use harsh words to scathe each others. In others, they'd use emotions.

I didn't know what Sofia was employing but she was hurting me so deep, I wanted to walk away and never see her.

"Agustin Moralez only truly loved one girl. Gemma..."

I chuckled, twisting my arm away from her grip.

"Don't walk away from me, Agustin. Don't you dare..."

"You're not in the right state of mind, Sof. Please rest for sometime before thinking about taking any decision."

"I will."

How was she able to let go of all her anger and accept what I said? How was she not fighting me? Why was she giving up?

And those questions led me to stay.

"Agustin, I know what I said hurt you. And I wanted to hurt you." She looked up towards her room - to the open windows of her balcony. "I wanted to feel good by hurting someone."

"Glad to be your punching bag."

"Thanks." She wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve. Looking into the grey sky, she took a deep breath. "But the other part, I'm not sorry about that."

"That part that I don't love you."

"The part that you love and always have loved Gemma."

"Sofia, please..." I was tired of listening to what every family member of mine had stated for a long time. There was nothing I'd felt for Gemma except for...

"I won't push you to believe against your wishes but I'd beg for you to listen to your heart when the time comes."

"Time comes for what?" I asked, unable to fathom why she was answering philosophically.

"When the time comes to decide who you want next to you. In life."

~

The pilot announced our descent. The sat phone next to my seat started ringing.

I couldn't muster the courage to pick it. The what if scenarios starting playing in my head, stating from the worst of the realities - death.

Gemma picked up the phone, and dialled some digits to answer.

"This is Gemma." Her eyebrows bridged, her tone lowered. She looked at me and then outside the window. "I'll tell him. Thanks for informing me."

As soon as she placed the phone back, I pushed my seat closer. She must have been startled by my action to lean back on the chair.

"Who was it?" I asked. "What's the news?"

"You need to calm down, Gus."

"Tell me." My teeth gritted. "Who said what?"

Gemma breathed through her teeth, turning to a side. "Val. She knows where Sofia is..."

"Where is she?"

Gemma didn't answer. Her voice was hoarse and tears brimmed her eyes.

"Gemma, I'm asking you something, where the hell is Sofia?"

"Can we please land first?"

"No." I grabbed her arm and pulled her off her seat. Her hand arrested my wrist. My grip was tightening on her slender arm, yet, I didn't stop. I couldn't.

"You're hurting me."

"Make it stop by answering."

"Agustin...STOP..."

Gemma pushed me away.

It make have been the shock in falling back or the way Gemma yelled my name, but I heard it ring in my ears. Her words, her appeal to stop hurting her.

Gemma walked away from me into the back of the aircraft. She stayed there till our flight landed.

When I went to call her, she didn't move from the bed.

"Gemma we need to leave. Anto is waiting outside."

"You go, I'll be out soon."

"Listen..." I wanted to apologise for my behaviour. I didn't know something so animalistic resided me in that was unleashed when Gemma stayed silent. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry."

"Don't...Don't apologise."

And with that, she moved to the washroom and locked the door.

Since we didn't emerge from the aircraft, Antonio and Val decided to enter.

As soon as my brother saw me, he walked towards me, and placed both his arms over my shoulders.

"We'll get through this. We'll get her back..."

"Who did this?" I asked, peering at Antonio and Valentina. Their face turned pale. Val bit into her lower lip as if she was trying her best not to cry.

"Gemma didn't tell you?" It was Antonio who began questioning.

"Goddammit, if she would have, would I be asking you again?" My voice spiked. The confined aircraft suddenly felt more restricting. "Why are all of you hiding the news. TELL ME..."

"It's Nicolas..." Gemma's answered from behind. She walked across to our side, holding a heavy file in her hand. "The intel Val has is that it's Nico."

My head spin. Bitter tang hit the roof of my mouth. "Val? Your brother did this?"

Valentina didn't have an answer. She looked at her feet, clutching her palms. Her head bobbed, and a hoarse voice answered in affirmation.

"We're tracking his whereabouts but for now, he's..." Antonio couldn't complete the sentence.

"Untraceable." I said, peering at everyone who decided to keep the news under wraps till we landed. "And what is Alejandro doing? He didn't care to come..."

"He's with the Allies. They're preparing a plan for rescue." Val spoke. "We've to get her out."

"You'll get her out when you'll find her. And for that, you'll need all the help in this world." I yelled. "He's not an ordinary man, Val. He's an agent. He knows how to go underground."

In the blindness of my anger, I threw the glass kept at the bar in the ground. Thought it didn't break, it was enough to make everyone stand on the side of the aircraft.

I walked out. The cold, evening air refilled my lungs with vigour.

I needed to find out where Sofia was. I needed to get Nico's location.

"Gus..." Gemma called me. She walked closer but maintained her distance. "I've a plan. I think I know someone who can help."

"Who?"

Gemma didn't look up when she answered. "Vincent."

"New York Capo? Your ex..."

She nodded. "He has resources. He can help."

"And what do we have to do to get his favour?"

"You don't have to do anything..." She looked up. The redness in her eyes had returned. I'd seen it when I was hurting her. Now, she was hurting herself.

How? I didn't know yet.

"I'll make some calls. We can leave in a few hours to New York." I was mentally making another plan to convince the New York Capo. In getting him to help, I had to present him with a favour.

"I've spoken to the pilot," Gemma said. "We can leave as soon as the jet is refuelled."

"You've just landed, Gemma. You need to..."

"I need to find Sof. She's my ward. I was incharge of her."

Right then, I realised the mistake I did when I hurt Gemma.

The reason she wouldn't name the culprit wasn't because she was protecting me. Gemma was hurt because the girl she was put incharge of, was hurt.

Me, in my anger, forgot to see how much Sofia meant to Gemma. They weren't just friend. Gemma wasn't merely Sofia's mentor. Just like Valentina, Gemma and Sofia had shared a bond not many could understand.

"I'll go home and get a few things before we start." Gemma turned but I halted her steps, holding her hand. She looked at my grip, this time a lot lighter that before.

"I'm sorry for what I did before..."

"I didn't take offence." She smiled - that fake kind where she looks at the ground instead of people's eyes. "As I said, love makes us all think of the worst scenarios."

She released my grip of her hand and walked away. I stood watching her go, her figure retreating into the dark of the night.

Sofia was right. Love does make us all think of the worst scenarios.

For me, those scenarios were still awaiting to happen.

~

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And also an update - there's going to be too much drama coming up ;)