"Where were you all day?" Angelo asked as soon as Eva stepped into the house, his tone curious but laced with the protectiveness that came naturally to him. His question caught everyone's attention, and all eyes turned toward her.
"Date," she said simply, heading for the kitchen.
The sharp sound of shattering glass broke the brief silence, drawing her attention. Ashely stood frozen, a broken glass of water at his feet, his expression a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"You're seeing someone?" he asked, his voice unsteady. Ashely, though still adjusting to his new normal after his captivity, had been opening up to everyone in the family in recent days, his once-guarded demeanor beginning to thaw.
"Yeah." Eva shrugged, unsure how else to respond.
"You should invite him over tomorrow," Alexzander said suddenly, his tone casual but with a subtle edge of command.
The others immediately agreed, their overprotective instincts kicking in. Plans to scare the poor guy offâor at least flaunt their wealth and gunsâwere already being whispered among her brothers. Eva rolled her eyes but didn't argue.
The rest of the day passed without much incident until loud shouting echoed from the backyard. All the brothers rushed out to find Eva pacing angrily, phone clutched tightly in her hand.
"What the hell do you want me to do?" she yelled, not noticing their presence.
"No one knows about it, so cover it up like it never happened!"
"I shut that damn laboratory down as soon as I was in chargeâwhat more do you want from me?"
Her voice wavered slightly, frustration turning into fury.
"I will never follow him," she snapped before hanging up abruptly.
"Hey, what's going on?" Callum asked, stepping forward with his usual calm. The others lingered, concern evident on their faces.
Eva sighed heavily, brushing a hand through her hair. "It's nothing new. There was a laboratory running twisted experiments on members of the assassination squad... even on newborns. I shut it down as soon as I took over, but now someone's trying to reopen it to finish whatever 'work' they think is so important."
Her voice softened slightly as she moved to the living room, dropping onto the sofa. Despite her anger, she felt an odd sense of relief being able to talk about it openly with them.
"What kind of experiment was it?" Xavier asked cautiously.
"Honestly, I don't know, and I don't want to know either," she replied firmly, leaning back and closing her eyes.
The next evening, Eva answered the door to find Neron standing there in casual clothes, looking both confident and slightly amused.
"You're early," she noted, stepping aside to let him in.
"Well, I am meeting one of my girl's families," Neron said with a smirk. "Better early than late, right?"
"What do you mean one of your girls?" came an angry voice from behind them.
Both Eva and Neron froze, turning toward the sound of the voice. Massimo stood in the doorway, his presence imposing and his gaze sharp. Eva immediately felt a sense of unease wash over her.
"Dad, you're home," she said, her voice unsteady as she chuckled awkwardly, trying to mask her shock.
Massimo's eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable. "Well, we wanted to be here when Alexzander said your lover boy was coming," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "But to think you're dealing with this..."
Before Eva could react, Isabella, who had been quietly preparing dinner, suddenly appeared at Massimo's side. In an instant, her movements were a blur. She was wearing her usual homely cooking apron, but the deadly grace of an assassin flowed effortlessly through her every motion. A sharp knife was pressed to Neron's throat in the blink of an eye, her cold, calculated gaze locking onto him.
"Mom, wait!" Eva's voice cracked as she rushed forward, her eyes wide with panic. She shot a pleading look at her mother, her usual composed demeanour completely gone in the face of this unexpected situation.
"He's cheating on you," Isabella said in a deadly tone.
"You didn't tell them?" Neron asked slowly, trying not to flinch under Isabella's knife.
"Tell us what?" Alexzander asked, standing at the door with all the others.
"Why don't we all talk inside? It's a long story," Eva said, her gaze still a dagger aimed at Neron.
They all moved to the living room, the tension thick in the air.
"Speak up, now," Massimo commanded as soon as they were seated.
Neron hesitated, glancing at Eva before blurting, "I mean, there's Felicityâ"
The room fell silent.
"Felicity?" Alexzander repeated slowly, his expression unreadable.
Eva's head snapped toward Neron, eyes narrowing. Neron winced under her gaze but knew it was bound to come out sooner or later.
"Who's Felicity?" Angelo asked, his brows furrowing.
"She's..." Neron paused, trying to gauge how to salvage the situation. "Someone important to Eva and me."
"Important how?" Xavier pressed, his usual playful demeanor replaced with genuine curiosity.
Eva sighed, realizing there was no avoiding this now. "Felicity's... part of my life. Our lives," she clarified, looking between her brothers. "But this wasn't how I wanted to bring her up."
"Wait," Angelo interjected, narrowing his eyes. "Are you saying you're dating both of them?"
Eva met his gaze evenly. "Yes."
A chorus of reactions erupted: Xavier's stunned laugh, Angelo's sharp intake of breath, Callum muttering something under his breath, and Alexzander's icy silence, while Xander and Austin looked too stunned to speak.
"You didn't think to mention this sooner?" Alexzander asked, his tone calm but laced with disapproval.
"I didn't know how to bring it up," she replied.
"And Felicity's okay with... this arrangement?" Callum asked skeptically.
"She... well, we haven't spoken to her about it yet, and..." Neron trailed off.
"She's too naïve and innocent to be dragged into this stuff," Eva continued.
"This shit is more complicated than my whole life," Xander snickered.
"Language," Isabella warned him.
"When do you plan on telling her?" Austin and Massimo asked in unison.
"Soon," Neron replied quietly.
"Any other surprises we should know about?" Xavier asked casually, though the weight of his question was unmistakable.
"Surprises?" Neron echoed, his smile faltering slightly.
"Like how you've been seeing Eva and meeting us for the first time, and Felicity?" Callum added, his tone more challenging now.
Neron looked at Eva, silently begging her to tell him they already knew, but her shaking head crushed his hopes.
"What more?" Xander asked, annoyance creeping into his tone.
"Well, she might be someone's daughter," Neron said, trying not to reveal too much.
"Well, no wonder she's born," Xavier commented dryly.
"Her full name is Felicity Schmidt," Eva said, and the room fell completely silent.
"She what?" everyone asked in unison.
"What theâ"
"You're into the Russian's girl?" Xander asked incredulously.
"He has a daughter?" someone else muttered.
"They dumped her at the orphanage when she was born and kept it well hidden," Eva sighed.