The memories of the next few years goes by, how she would wake up screaming and at least one of the boys would come in and comfort her. How slowly the nightmares faded and instead she would wake up and need to be by one of them. The boys always allowed her to come in, if she saw that they had company she would leave and go to another brother. Blake always seemed to be willing to have her next to him and so she grew very close to him even though he was the oldest and twelve years her senior.

Slowly, just like before the boys pulled away from her. The oldest ones she fully understood, by now Blake, Isaac and Preston were working full time at their company. She knows that they worked long hours and then they needed time to relax and destress. 

It was the younger ones, Casper, Flynn and the triplets that hurt. The triplets were only two years older than her and so she was the closest to them. Yet, now it seemed that they never had time for her. Casper and Flynn, were four years older than she was and so they didn't spend much time with her and never seemed to want to if they had family activities. 

Elizabeth and Clayburn always made time for her. They were just like parents to her and that made it easier for her to grieve her parents, but move on with her life.

Then was her thirteenth birthday. 

"Ili, can you come to the living room? We need to have a family meeting." Blake calls to her and there's something in his voice that makes Iliana's heart beat fast and a cold knot of fear take root in her stomach.

Instead of answering Iliana leaves her room and walks quickly to where Blake is waiting at the foot of the stairs.

"Blake?" Iliana has always been an observant child and now she's noticing the signs of tears on Blake's face. The fear turns to dread in the pit of her stomach. Whatever he has to say, it won't be anything good.

Blake does his best to give her a reassuring smile before taking her hand in his and leading her to the living room. Already most of the other brothers are there.

Iliana doesn't wish to take any seats by twins that don't have their other twin there so she stands unsure until Blake pulls her onto his lap and encircles her with his arms. It is both comforting to her and alarming that he needs to have the comfort as well.

Once the last of the boys take their seats Blake begins.

"A short while ago I received some phone calls. About an hour ago, mom and dad told me that they were able to wrap things up early and were coming home today to surprise Ili for her birthday. They wanted me to make arrangements.

"Shortly after I made arrangements, about twenty minutes ago now, I received another phone call. It was the highway patrol. Our parents car had been, no other word for it, ambushed. Both sides had enough bullet holes to make swiss cheese of the car. Our parents and their driver were all killed."

Blake's voice broke as he finished relaying what the police had told him.

There is silence as the other ten take in his words, then slowly tears start coming and some of the boys release sobs.

Iliana had turned white. She finds it hard to breathe.

Blake feels her distress and helps her through the attack.

"How long before I have to leave?" Iliana asks and the boys all look at her in shock.

"Why would you leave, Ili?" Blake asks confused.

"Your parents were my guardians. With them gone, either my parent's family or the state will take over my guardianship. How long before I'll have to leave?"

"You aren't leaving, not unless you wish to go. My parents stated in their will that I was to become guardian of my brothers, any under the age of eighteen, and you as well. I have already called my lawyer, and had him send in the paperwork for all six of you. So unless you would prefer to leave, you don't need to pack."

"But, it's my fault that they are dead." Iliana remembers herself saying that and the pain is just as strong as she remembered it.

"No, Ili, this was a planned murder. It was in no way your fault. Someone, someone close to my parents had to have been in on it or there was no way that they would have known. They had changed their plans just earlier today. There were only four or five people that could have known and one of those people was also killed. This was in no way your fault." Blake speaks loud enough for all his brothers to hear.

Most of them echo his words, but Ili noticed then as she does in her memory, that not all of them agreed vocally and she doubts that they believed it either.

Then things seemed to swirl and change and she sees the same scene only from a different point of view.

It seemed to be Casper's, one of the ones that she thought blamed her for his parents death.

His thoughts and feelings shock her as she feels what he's feeling. She always thought he didn't much care for her. But now?

The scene changes again, and this time it seems to be the same but Flynn's point of view. Iliana silently gasps as she feels how he truly felt.

This happened a couple more times and each time it was the point of view of one of the boys that she always thought blamed her for their parents death.

The scene changes from that painful memory to the years following. 

How she would need to leave the house at night since she couldn't sleep and would go swimming, hoping to tire herself out.

How the triplets started to come out there as well. How they introduced her to the joys of skinny dipping. 

Iliana smiles. It had taken her nearly a year to go from wearing underwear to going full on nude. It never felt strange or unnatural to be fully nude around them or them around her. There was nothing sexual about it either.

Then the boys stopped joining her.

By her fifteenth birthday most of them hardly spoke to her.

She understood the oldest ones. Blake and the others had a hard time keeping the company going after their parents death. Many of the board of directors doubted in Blake's abilities and some even went so far as to sabotage his efforts in working for the company.

At one point there was even an effort for a hostile takeover. Blake and the others managed to foil that, but it was a near thing. When Blake found out that some of the board was behind it, he had them up on charges and won. They were forced to sell back their stock in the company to him and sent to jail on some sort of fraud charges, she was never sure what exactly.

But the triplets, she had at least one of them in each of her classes.  She has the intelligence of her father and so was able to skip two years worth of classes. She was taking advanced placement classes in an effort to have a step up on other students when she left high school and started university.