No Strings Attached

Lamas' POV:

I made sure she didn't achieve her aim, trying to show her how helpless she was without me. She sat right there, on my bed, glaring at me, while I twisted and turned my seat with a finger to my lip.

"I know what you did, Lamas. First, you stopped me from killing him with that stupid little trick you pulled off about Elena and then you fucking gave me some work to do. You knew I had issues with those codes, you know how complex and time-consuming it was, yet you gave me those things to solve even when I was off the clock just to stop me from meeting him on time isn't it?"

"Yes, I did everything, just because I want you all to myself and I don't want you to hurt the child. But now, I'm willing to explain some things I never thought I would to anyone, and it's about your family. Yes your father, with how fucking strict he was, worked under the mafia for decades. But let me tell you something that you don't know. Vito, that man your father presented you to, is also a part of 'The Five'." Her brows shot up in realization. "And I know you don't want to accept the fact that Derek might be the murderer, but sadly, he isn't." I saw how the joy and relief washed over her face. I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't speak out of turn, but the thought of her being with Derek, irked me to the core. "The incident that happened was overnight. Nobody knew how or when. But I'm never too far from the truth. Your father made a promise. And you know, with the mafia, a promise made is a debt. You go against it, you fail...you, and your entire family. You're bound to die on that day. Your father worked under Vito, your husband-to-be and Jonathan was his secretary. Unknown to your father both men used to be very close acquaintances because they were both against Damon and Derek. So yes, they had to use a sort of means to try to get at them. Your father was willing to do anything just to win Vito's favor and that should explain the reason he was so strict towards you." I explained while she listened attentively. "You were their key, and they agreed that you would get married to either Derek or Damon. But the plan was disrupted when Vito claimed he wanted you instead. Your father offered you to him without a second thought. But you know what? They had other plans in mind. After your father had broken his promise of alliance to them because now you were in their hands, they came for him. He cut all ties with them because he wanted nothing to do with them any longer. And that was it. Jonathan came up with the plan to kill your family, while Vito was in support of it." I said and she had no expression on her face. I guess she had cried so much that she had no strength left to cry anymore. But I noticed her gulp. "I want to ask you a question. Do you think Jonathan wouldn't know that you belong to the family he murdered? Or do you think he doesn't have strategies to deal with you? You might think you have everything figured out, but once you know his history, you'll realize the kind of tactics he used to destroy people. He presents himself as trustworthy, and when he has you, he strikes." I snapped my fingers. "He makes you believe you have him and then, he strikes. You can't underestimate people like Jonathan. He has been doing this shit for so many years. And this trait is very common for people like him. Patience. They would never strike first at all. They wait, till you're caught profoundly in your desperation before they strike. You won't even know what hit you." I emphasized. "Do you see why you should listen to me now? Why I'm so bent on protecting you and our child? I know I caused it, but I'm taking full responsibility for what I caused."

Our eyes lingered on each other's. She said nothing for quite a while and then she looked away like she was trying to process everything I said. I just hoped she believed me.

"I know you want to get them bad. But you might need time to come up with a strategy. A better one." I said and she rose from where she was before heading out of the room. I sighed and turned back to my computer. Then I realized I needed to tell Christophe something about the apps he was working on. I called him.

"What's up?" He greeted.

"Some of those codings take more than 24 hours to decode," I said. "You can't do it in a couple of hours. Unless I'm mistaken."

"I'm done."

"What?" My brows shot up.

"You sometimes doubt my capabilities, Lamas." He said with a tsk and honestly, I couldn't agree more. "Where we are at right now is testing the apps. And we realized something is missing that may not make it good enough for marketing."

"What's wrong?" "

"They're too predictable. The apps are impressive, but they're like novels with the same storylines. You know what's going to happen next. The consumers are going to know their function before they even go beyond the home of these apps. So we need to do better in the app function to make it different from the ones we've created before.

"I know what we need," I said, the solution suddenly clear in my mind. "We need to take a step back and think about this from a different perspective. We need to think about what people want, not just what we think they want. We need to create something that will make their lives easier, something that will change the way they do things."

Christophe was silent for a moment, then he said, "You might be onto something here." I could feel the excitement in his voice, and I knew we were on the right track.

That evening I left my room to go check on Augusta. I'd not been outside of her room for a while now. I just hope she hasn't committed suicide. I thought I was going to see her in her room, but then, I saw her on the couch in the living room watching some TV and eating some popcorn. I had a feeling she was trying to figure out a different way to avenge her family. And I was here for her.