Elena's pov .
The silence that followed that conversation was deafening. We had so many enemies to even know who could possibly be working with her .
I never thought I'd think this ..but I really wish it's another guy she's seeing and not her being a traitor.
The convoy came to a stop in the private airport. The jet, black and slick, had its stairs down . Shining against the sun . I stepped out once my brother opened the door for me. I slipped on my sunglasses grabbing my phone from my pocket just checking if Sam replied ,seeing nothing I put it back in my pocket.
Hunter walks over to Maddox murmuring something to him I see him point towards Zoe who had her back to us ..her face on her phone.
I chewed on my tongue as I watched her put her phone back in her pocket and walk up the flight stairs into the jet awaiting for us to depart.
I followed next . Inside it was slick . Leather black seats that looked comfortable, goldish flooring, details of white . It looked expensive and very similar to Rio's jet . I hate how everything reminds me of him .
I sit near the window, securing my seatbelt, I grab a plush blanket, headphones and I press on the little screen putting on SpongeBob, my comfort show .
Finally everyone gets settled and just as I had thought, Maddox claims a seat next to me . I stiffen, God I hate how he makes me feel like my skin is crawling just by breathing the same air as him . Rio did in fact ruin me for anyone else.
"SpongeBob? Really?" he suddenly asks and I suddenly wish I had put the volume to max so I would have ignored him but I turn to him .
"Yea ..why what's wrong with that?" I ask pausing because I don't want any distractions once I start watching.
"Nothing ..it's just that it's a nine year old's show ..," he shrugs .
I scoff with an eye roll .
I don't answer him I press play and this time I do put the volume to max .
Soon enough we were in the clouds . I was nervous and I knew it won't be an in and out situation, this is something my brother had been planning for since he was seven ..it's an operation that will end in bloodshed and the thought makes my stomach drop.
I look around at everyone . We had created this bond together and I honestly wasn't ready to lose any of them . But that's something I can't control . No one was forced to come .
I sigh attention back on the screen as I watch Squidward yell at SpongeBob for annoying him .
Two hours go by . I'm not sleepy I switch from one animation to another .
I suddenly stiffen when I feel Maddox's hand grazing my thigh . From my peripheral I see him looking at his screen watching some sci-fi movie .
Maybe it was an accident . But he suddenly moves his hand on my knee . I snap my gaze to him fully . He's still acting ignorant about it . I move my leg and I watch him smirk to himself .
Gross . The fuck is wrong with him .
I try relaxing, his hand suddenly shoots up grabbing my thigh .
I gasp standing up abruptly shooting daggers at him .
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I snap moving away from him .
"What's going on here?" Hunter stands dropping a magazine he was reading.
"Maddox is being a creep he keeps touching me!" I snap .
Hunter sighs pinching the bridge of his nose .
"Maddox?" Hunter asks looking at him .
"You told me to try and get with her .." Maddox says .
What the fuck? ..I look at Hunter waiting for an explanation . He avoids my gaze .
"What?" I ask .
"He wanted me to get with you so that you can get over Rio and forget about him ..," Maddox drops the bomb and we all go quiet .
Now everyone is looking at Hunter . Ellie gasps dramatically.
"Hunter what?" I ask voice cracking.
"I wanted you to forget about that asshole h.." I cut him off .
"No! ..you do not get to decide that for me Hunter. That is my personal life ..one you have no right to dictate!!" I yell now in front of his face .
"Wow . so you're still in love with that bastard?" He asks shaking his head .
"What? No ..I'm not .." I defend my voice suddenly shaking.
I step forward pointing at him ..
"You had no right to do that ...if I still love him or not is none of your business...as long as it doesn't affect the operation ..,"
I step away and disappear into the bathroom . Shutting the door behind me . I hear murmuring from the other side but I tune it all out as I walk to the mirror .
The reflection that looks back at me is changed . I look thinner, dark eyes, my eyes that once held so much light now empty and hollow .
I sigh closing my eyes . I remember how it felt when Rio touched me . How he looked at me with so much love .
"No!" I snap at my reflection.
I walk out of the bathroom, now a bit composed, I find Maddox seated in another seat . Good .
My brother gives me a sad apologetic look but I'm not having it . I sit back down .
LATER
After the jet touched down, the world was dark and quiet, 4am, Italy hidden beneath the darkness of dawn .
We went straight to a hotel Hunter owned so we could rest up, I was sleepy and bleary-eyed from the long flight .
I barely remembered this place from when I was little, just flashes of cobblestones and warm sunlight in my mind.
When I woke up around ten, the morning was gentle, golden light spilling through tall windows . The air smelled faintly of bread and the distant sea, sharper, richer than I remembered .
Streets that had seemed huge and magical as a child now felt intimate, full of detail I'd never noticed before, the worn cracks in the stone, the way the rooftops leaned together, colors deeper, heavier with history.
Italy felt alive in a way I hadn't known at ten, like the city had grown up too, and I was finally old enough to see it . It was the same, and yet completely different, like stepping into a memory that had grown up alongside me .
We moved from Italy to the United States as soon as I got to Aunt Lilly after my mother's death, two months later we left Italy . We moved around a lot, until I finally went to college and I ended up settling in New York .
My hotel room door opens Ellie steps in .
"Morning . Let's move ..,"
I nod .
The drive to the estate where we needed to fully prepare for the operation was long and tense . Millions of questions swam in my head . I didn't know what ..but I could feel it in the air something was definitely wrong I just didn't know what.
The estate sat just above the shoreline, carved into the cliff like it had always belonged there . Pale stone walls warmed by the sun, tall arched windows staring out at the water like unblinking eyes .
The sea stretched endlessly below, dark blue and dangerous, crashing softly against the rocks as if even it knew to keep its voice low here . It was mesmerizing.
Iron gates guarded the entrance, heavy and ornate, opening into a long gravel drive lined with cypress trees that stood straight and silent, like soldiers on watch.
The manor itself was old, centuries old, its beauty not polished but earned . Ivy crawled up the stone, balconies curved outward, and terracotta roofs caught the light like burning embers at sunset.
Men in suits patrolled the space with heavy guns to their sides . The gardens trimmed and shaped to perfection .
"Wow ," I whisper looking around at the huge beautiful place .
"This was one of dad's properties ..,," Hunter says leading us up the steps inside the manor.
I took a deep breath, ready to face whatever will happen within the next twenty four hours or more .
We are about to get back what belonged to us and I can already see the blood trail we will leave in our wake . Because from how I've known Hunter he will stop at nothing and no one .