Flicker of Hope

Chapter 9

Evianna's POV

Nervous.

Excited.

I am feeling so many things at once that it's getting overwhelming. After the revelation, I went up to my room and just stared at the ceiling.

I'm meeting my family in an hour.

I was broken out of my thoughts when the sudden realisation came in. I needed to look presentable in front of them. It's been years.

No. You're a bad bitch. You've been through so much without your family. If they don't accept you for who you are then they shouldn't be called family. My family is the Kastellanos. They have been there at my lowest and I will always be there for them.

But it wouldn't hurt to give them a chance.

I decided to go with a two piece black jumpsuit and put on my black dock martens to accompany the outfit.

As I was finishing up my makeup, I heard the doorbell ring. Shit, they're here.

I quickly finished up by putting on the family necklace, some rings and sprayed some perfume on.

As I was entering the dining room, I could hear some whispers. They were all familiar to my ears. But what caught my attention was what Μπαμπάς said to them.

(dad)

"When we heard that your daughter was missing, we did some research of our own. And based on what we discovered, there's something that I want to show you that will come later"

Of course he would say that. What does he think I am? A package that will suddenly arrive at his doorstep. Typical Μπαμπάς.

I heard Mr Romano or dad say "I appreciate you for helping us in this situation. We have been mourning for years and to get this information out of the blue made us determined in doing everything we can to get her back."

My heart beat faster. They miss me. With that I entered the room with my head high and neutral expression. Just in case.

Show time.

Elijah's POV

Tonight is the night we are having dinner with the Kastellanos. Everyone is on edge because we don't know what to expect. We're just hoping that they will give us a hand in finding our bambina.

(baby)

When Alex came home today, he said that Evie wasn't in school. He looked stressed probably because he wasn't able to find her. That made me worried.

Why isn't she in school? Did something happen? I hope she's safe.

Dismissing those thoughts, I got ready for dinner. I see my Alessia wearing a beautiful dress that makes me fall in love with her again. Even after all these years and after what we've been through, we still made it work. We were there for each other to pick up the broken pieces.

"Cosa stai guardando, mio marito?," she asked me cheekily as she sees me looking at her through the mirror.

(What are you looking at, my husband?)

"solo ammirando la tua bellezza," I said while wrapping my arms around her waist and putting my chin on her shoulder.

(just admiring your beauty)

"Do you think we will find her soon," she whispered, afraid of what my answer could be.

"Si Alessia. I will do everything that I can to bring her back home to you. To us." I said, my voice full with determination.

"Okay," she nodded and smiled at me. Cavolo, quel sorriso.

(gosh, that smile)

I gave her a kiss and we went downstairs to meet with the boys. All of them have mixed emotions. Most common one, hope.

Arriving at the Kastellanos, you could tell why they are the second. Guards were everywhere and they patted us down to ensure we would not harm their leaders. If they weren't in the mafia, I would already shoot them in the eye. But understandable since another mafia is stepping into your territory.

We were greeted by Milo Kastellano and his wife at the foyer.

"Welcome Mr Romano and family. As you know, I am Milo Kastellano but you can call me Milo and this is my wonderful wife, Agnes. My children are inside getting ready and they will be joining us at dinner" Milo said with a small smile, but in a hard tone that we all know too well in this profession.

"Thank you for accepting us into your house, Milo. You may call me Elijah and this is my wife, Alessia. These are my sons, Ezekiel, the current don and Antonio, his second in command. Here are the triplets, Elias, Ethan and Ezra, Alexander and-" picking Emilio up into my arms with him shyly waving at the Kastellanos " this is Emilio, my youngest son" I concluded and shook hands with Milo.

We could see how rich and exquisite their mansions are with the designs that are sculptured around the premises. Obviously, we are rich too but those Greek architecture are beautiful.

Entering the dining room, we are met with five boys and one girl. They were all talking to one another but I could see that only three of the boys resembles the Kastellanos while the rests looks nothing alike.

"Romanos, meet my children. The eldest and current don, Adonis, his brother and second in command, Ares and my youngest son, Alastair. These are Ryan, Gio and Anastasia. I adopted them a few years ago and they are basically my children." Milo said while they nodded at us in greetings.

I see Agnes looking around the room, trying to find something "Where's the other one of you rascals?" she asked with a hint of mischief towards the children.

The boy I know as Gio put a hand on his heart, feigning hurt by her words said "Hey, we are not rascals. We happen to be the life of the party. Without us, your life would be boring and sad."

The Kastellanos just shook their heads with a small chuckle leaving their mouths, used to this kind of response. I could hear my sons snickering in the back.

"She's getting ready in her room. She'll be down soon," the girl, Anastasia answered.

"Who's she?" Antonio asked them.

The Kastellanos were looking at each other, having a silent conversation between their eyes. Hm strange.

"She's our other daughter. She's been having a rough time but nothing to worry about. You'll meet her soon," Milo responded.

All of us nodded our heads and multiple conversations were ongoing, getting to know the other party.

After a few minutes, Milo told me that when he heard about our missing princess, the Greek started their own search for her. This seemed to have caught everyone's attention as the sole focus was now on him.

I am so grateful that the Greek's have accepted to help us. Knowing that we have a mafia higher in position will make it easier to track Evie.

I expressed my gratitude to him and his family on behalf of my family. As we were talking, suddenly the door opened and everyone's head turned towards it.

When I say everyone gasped and looked shocked would be an understatement. She looks so much like my wife. She's wearing an all black outfit and has her head held high, radiating so much power. But what made my heart beat faster was the necklace she was wearing.

The signature Romano necklace.

All of my family was in a trance. Everyone had tears in their eyes. Not believing that their princess was standing in front of them. Scared that it could be a dream.

She was observing everyone and her eyes looked at every one of us. But when her eyes stopped at Alessia and I, her cold face dropped and she had a small smile. Although, her eyes showed pain, longing, happiness and hope.

"Mum, dad," she whispered with a broken voice.

It's her. My Evie.