iii

J O L I E N

It wasn't until I pulled into our driveway and didn't see either my father's car or Silia's that I rummaged in my pocket for my cell phone.

Almost more, but what worries me is the fact that not a single light was on in the whole house. Which was really strange, because after 8:00 p.m., there was always someone at home.

As my fingers wrapped around the phone, my heart immediately started beating faster. I heard the vibration but didn't take it seriously. Silia often nagged me that I shouldn't be on the road for so long. I thought she would only have something to complain about again.

Heart pounding, I swiped the screen and stared at the messages in disbelief.

10 missed calls. 3 messages.

That was not good. I felt it immediately. This oppressive feeling that you suddenly got like through a seventh sense and immediately knew that something was wrong.

Seconds or even minutes passed in which I just stared at the display. For fear of opening the news. Afraid something bad might stand there.

But I was spared opening the messages. Because at that very moment, Silia's incoming call appeared on the display. Shaking, I swiped right and took the call, feeling bad and my heart pounding.

"Where the hell have you been?" were the first words Silia threw out at me. Her voice was thin and exhausted. It sounded exactly how I was feeling. "I had to do detention.", my racing heartbeat refusing to ask what was going on, so I breathed in and out a few times. "Oh right," Silia said before sniffing.

Oh no. Was she crying?

"Silia, what's going on?" I somehow managed to get the question out, even though I was only whispering it. "Jolien. You have to go to the hospital..." her voice broke. Tears welled up in my eyes.

Hospital?

"Silia, what happened?" She didn't say anything for a while, just cried softly into the receiver. When Silia had recovered enough to control her uncontrolled sobbing, she answered in a voice choked with tears: " Dad was in an accident... and A-Amelie..." "What?" I interrupted, shaking.

The tears that had just spurted into my already reddened eyes now ran in streams down my cheeks, leaving a stinging sensation. But the pain was nothing compared to the feeling spreading in my heart at that moment.

"Amelie is in a coma. Dad's with her in intensive care right now. Please come quickly...", Silia's voice broke again and I heard her crying. "I need you.", she whispered after a while, when she finally found the strength to continue speaking. "I'll be right there."

There was only one hospital in Silverside. A single. I had never wondered if that was enough. If it would be possible to treat every resident of Silverside. Never wondered if it was enough to save everyone. These are the questions that ran through my head now. Was the hospital sufficiently qualified? Sufficiently equipped?

It was almost a miracle that I was even able to follow the marked path to the hospital between the veil of tears.

After taking a wrong turn, I'd stopped the car and forced myself to take a few deep breaths. to calm me down It didn't help if I sat down in front of a tree because I was so upset. It helped. After a few seconds I managed the last kilometers without getting lost again.

I rushed to the reception where a young lady with curly blond hair was sitting and talking on the phone. I pounded on the counter impatiently, earning me a disapproving look from the woman. But I didn't care.

I couldn't just stand here still and wait for her to end this stupid conversation. As she wrapped the phone cord around her finger and laughed out loud, I realized that this conversation was most definitely not business related.

I angrily waved my hand at her to hang up. She looked at me confused and then laughed again. When this chick breathed seductively, "Oh, baby, don't say that!", into the receiver, all my fuses blew.

Completely beside myself, I snatched the phone out of her hand and yelled, "Your baby, has to work now!" Then I threw the phone against her chest. "Are you okay?" she said, horrified, which only provoked me even more .

Today everyone seemed to think they could do whatever they wanted with me.

"It didn't sound like work. I'm looking for the Chesterfield family." She looked at me with an annoyed expression, raised one of her much too thinly plucked eyebrows and said: "It's okay."

She tapped the keyboard and muttered to herself, "Chesterfild. Chesterfield. Oh, there you are." The color drained from her face and she looked at me pityingly. "Mr. Chesterfield is on A3, room 30. Miss Chesterfield is in intensive care. Your sister left a message for you is with her father." I nodded and was already turning away when she spoke again: "I'm very sorry about what happened. I hope your sister makes it." I nodded silently and started walking.

I hoped so too...

The hospital was really small. Which didn't exactly alleviate my previous concerns.

As the pull-out doors opened, I let out a bedside nurse before getting in and pressing the letter A myself. It was only seconds before the door opened again with a soft beep. I followed the signs to room 30. Outside the door, I hesitated, unsure if I was ready for what awaited me.

Was willing to know what had happened...

I've never been more scared in my life than at this moment. That moment when I pushed the doorknob and walked into my father's hospital room. Soft voices reached my ears as I quietly closed the door behind me.

My father sat in a bed by the window and Silia in a chair next to it. She held his hand and looked at me with swollen and red-shot eyes.

The other bed, which was by the side of the door, was empty. Apparently my father was lucky and didn't have to share the room with anyone for the time being.

I sprinted and fell into his arms. Tears streamed down my cheeks again as he wrapped his arms around me and cried softly. "What happened?" I asked in a tear-choked voice, unsure if I even wanted an answer to that.

"I had a car accident. The brakes didn't work.” “Just like that?” I asked suspiciously. However, I immediately regretted it when I noticed Silia's punishing look. "I don't know how that happened either," he retorted, wiping tears from his face after I broke free of the hug and pulled a chair up against the bed as well.

"Are you alright?" I checked him out, but didn't see any obvious injuries. "So far yes. I have a cracked rib. Some bruises and a concussion. I have to stay here for a few days for a check-up," replied my father, twirling the covers between his fingers.

"And what about Amelie?" "She's in an induced coma. It's for safety, so her body can recover better from the injuries." he added when he saw my shocked face.

I knew that he wanted to take my fears away with these words - but it was no use.

My little sister was in a coma. It didn't matter whether it was just for security reasons or because she had to. It was just as bad for me. Simply unimaginable.

"How long?" I couldn't bring myself to say more. My mind was blank. Every question that had been floating around in my head in the car, at the reception desk and even outside the room door seemed to have been blown away. Just dissolved into thin air.

"They do not know. It depends on how long it takes her to recover," Silia forestalled my father. She probably even spoke to the doctor.

I felt bad. For letting her go through it all alone. I should have been here. At your side. Not in my car. Because of a man. Who suddenly seemed so far away. All my problems seemed to vanish into thin air at once.

Make room for more important things. Room to take care of my little sister. Space for believing that everything would work out for the better. Space for the thought of having to be strong. For her. For my family.

"You should sleep, dad. Silia, we should go home. We'll be right back tomorrow morning. But I'll go to Amelie again." "You'll have a problem there; the visiting hours are over." Silia replied weakly. "They're going to have a problem if they don't let me see my sister," I said firmly, standing up.

Before stepping out of the room, I turned to her again. "I'll meet you in the entrance hall in ten to fifteen minutes."

In fact, the nurses wanted to deny me access to my sister's room. But if my time with Malio had taught me anything, it was to not let it get you down.

To assert my will, very Malio-Like, and not to let anything or anyone stop me. If necessary with violence, which is why the nurses threatened me with the security service.

But after further discussion and the sudden sound of the alarm, they let me into Amelie's room. "But only five minutes!" the nurse called after me before I could close the door behind me.

"Hey Amelie." I greeted her.

Insight. That was all it took for me to dissolve completely. I cried bitterly. Didn't even fight it anymore. I wouldn't make it anyway. Crying, I pulled the chair to her bed and grabbed her little hand.

"What are you doing, sweetie." I ran my thumb over the back of her hand and wiped my tears from my face with the other. "You are already sorely missed. Please don't let us be here without you for too long. Me need you. Silia needs you. And Dad? What will Dad do without you?"

The steady beeping of the machines filled the silence that settled over me like a blanket.

"I'll come and annoy you any day. Telling you the latest gossip every day. Maybe I'll sing you your favorite Disney songs. You're not alone, you hear. But please, get well soon." I waited in vain for an answer. For a sign. For anything.

I missed her smile. Missed her voice. Missing everything of her already. Everything seemed much sadder, colorless, and dreary without her presence, without her bubbly nature.

After a while, during which I had completely lost the sense of space and time, the sister's face appeared in the doorway. She made herself known with a clearing of her throat. I guess my time was up.

"Good night, Amelia. i will come back tomorrow And the day after tomorrow. Rest assured that someone will always be here. Are you waking up?" Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks as I leaned in to kiss her forehead, my lips trembling.

I thought I had already experienced the darkest hours of my life with the death of my mother, the death of Elena and the separation from Malio. Thought it couldn't get any worse.

But losing your love to another woman on the same day and then also finding out that your father was in a car accident and your little sister was in an induced coma was so cruel that it certainly earned you first place in the top 3 of the worst days ever...

****

For a week we were in the hospital almost twenty-four hours a day. We took turns sitting at Amelie's bedside.

Read her something. Played the soundtrack of their favorite Disney movie Frozen or just told her the news of the day.

The doctors had told us that talking to the patients would help their recovery.

And after a long week of hoping and praying, we finally got the message of salvation. The news that they wanted to bring her back slowly. Amelie's body was stable enough to handle the rest of the process of full recovery on her own.

We were relieved that afternoon, fell into each other's arms. Thank you for this message.

That evening I fell exhausted into the soft pillows of my bed.

The last week had drained me so much that I was sure that I definitely needed some rest first. Unfortunately, nothing came of it because I had to go back to the Academy starting tomorrow. On a Friday, I still didn't understand what the point of it was. But our father no longer accepted that Silia and I stayed away from class as Amelie was now waking up and he sat by her bedside every free minute. And that meant he couldn't see any reason for us not to be able to go back to class.

I was happy about the news that Amelie should finally be taken out of the artificial coma, but the more I thought about this thought, the more it worried me - because what was to come was uncertain. The consequences of her injuries were still unknown.

But there was also a good side to all the stress. Aside from not going to the Academy, so I didn't have to see that stupid La Cruel face, I had so much going on all the time that I didn't give Malio a thought.

It was like he'd been completely out of my mind for the past five days. At least when I wasn't thinking. In the time when I just functioned. had to be strong.

It looked different in those moments when I was alone in my bed. Like now. Then the thoughts around Malio crept clammy and secretly back into my head.

I was still in shock. Was absolutely speechless about his engagement. And I felt so stupid for almost getting involved with him again that night. It's hard to imagine how I would fare now if it had really come to the fore. I would probably be a wreck then. Even more than I already was.

Because maybe I could fool Bekka, Brandon and Gray, who called every day and asked how we were, and especially Amelie. I could also fool Silia by waving his hand, making a fake smile and telling her that if she carefully asked about him, I'd long since forgotten about Malio. I was very good at fooling them all. Everyone except me.

I knew I was lying. Knew it wasn't. Knew I wasn't over him and most certainly never would be.

Malio had burned itself into my soul. Everything reminded me of him. Everything reminded me of us.

By now I was sure there was only one way to forget him. Unfortunately, falling victim to sudden amnesia probably wasn't exactly high. So like it or not, I just had to start coming to terms with the idea of having to live in a world where I couldn't have Malio. I sighed at the insurmountable task that lay before me.

Annoyed, I grabbed my water bottle that was always by my bed and brought it to my dry lips. Only to find the next moment that it was empty.

Great. Now I actually had to get up again and go down to the kitchen to get a water from the fridge.

It would be so much easier to fill the bottle with tap water from the attached bathroom, but unfortunately I didn't like still water. Which now forced me to swing my legs over the edge of the bed, step out of the room, and down the creaking stairs.

My father's angry voice stopped me midway down the stairs. "Are you insane? My daughter was in the car too!" he said loudly.

Was he on the phone?

"She was in an induced coma. If something had happened to her..." I sat on the stairs and watched him pacing, cell phone to ear, gesturing wildly.

"No, I'll tell you something now. If you get too close to one of my children again...", he angrily took the cell phone from his ear and stared at the display. Apparently the person opposite had hung up.

What did he mean by that? It almost sounded like the accident, wasn't an accident at all... Was he in trouble?

"Everything okay?" I asked cautiously after I got up and entered the kitchen. He winced and slipped the phone into his pocket.

"Yes, of course. What should be?” He spoke much too quickly. He always did that when he was trying to hide something.

"I overheard a bit of the phone call. Sorry, couldn't avoid it. Is everything really okay?” My father looked surprised for a brief moment, but recovered within seconds and smiled at me. “It was just the insurance. The accident.

That was a lie. I recognized it. The way he looked down nervously and the way he'd conducted the conversation. He would never have spoken to the insurance company in that tone.

Now I had two questions. Two questions that catapulted all thoughts of Malio out of my head.

What did my father have to do with the accident? And what was he trying to hide?

M A L I O

Annoyed, I blew the cigarette smoke out of the open window.

I hated waiting, but it was still better than spending all day avoiding Soela.

When I got to the filter, I grimaced in disgust and threw the butt out the window. Ever since I broke up with Jolien, I've been smoking more. Somehow it calmed my troubled thoughts. My nerves. Everything she had done before.

For hours, Rash and I sat in our car observing an old warehouse about two hours from Silverside. It wasn't our area - but that wasn't what today was about.

One of our spies informed us that Lynn and his people wanted to make a fat deal today. But I didn't give a shit about the multi-million dollar arms deal either. All I cared about was Lynn.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Rash's voice suddenly broke the silence that had reigned in the car for quite some time. I let my gaze wander to him and frowned at him. "Are you serious, rash?"

He stared at his coffee mug for a few seconds and then shrugged. Didn't he have more to say about that?

I cleared my throat, forcing an answer from him. "Maybe it's time to just stop," he finally gave in. A response that made me snort in disdain. "You mean avenge your dead friend?"

Of course, I knew it was unfair to use his pain and anger at Elena's death as leverage, but I just needed Rash by my side. Needed him to not completely sink into my thirst for revenge. If that made me a selfish asshole, I couldn't help it. That's how I was.

"It's not fair, Malio. It's not my fault that things are getting out of hand with you. So don't take your bad mood out on me," I heard him say grumpily, while my attention was drawn back to the entrance to the hall. A black SUV pulled up in front of it at that moment.

Well, take a look. So it started.

I didn't light the next cigarette I'd already pulled out of the pack and instead threw it back in the center console storage compartment.

"Of course I want us to have this pig. But at what price, Malio? Is it really all worth it?" I suddenly heard Rash answer, which pulled me back to the present. "It's too late for those thoughts now, Rash. I'm in way too deep. Don't let all this have been in vain." "Malio, if you do this, you'll start a war!"

I was well aware of that. But it doesn't matter. I didn't care about anything except that damn guy who tried to kill Jolien that night. I was willing to pay the price - and to be honest, the prospect of dying was a lot more enticing than having to spend the rest of my miserable life with the wrong woman.

"I know, Rash.", I opened the glove compartment and pushed the silver pistol into his hand. It almost slipped from his grasp and I realized once again that he wasn't made for this life – that I was most likely the reason for his death, if I wouldn't finally leave him at home with such tasks.

I sighed and drew my own gun, pushing aside the thought of putting Rash in mortal danger, and took one last deep breath before getting out of the car and heading toward the SUV.

Seconds later, three men dressed in black jumped out of the car. Apparently they had realized that this visit couldn't be a friendly one. But even before these wankers drew their guns, their lifeless bodies hit the pavement. Three well-aimed headshots. It didn't take more to breathe life out of their bodies.

I hadn't even gotten to the car before Lynn got out and looked at me blankly. "Malio, you are making a mistake. We've overlooked your missteps until now. Labeled her as childish madness. If you kill me, you're going a step too far. Marrying the La Cruels won't help you there." He paused and just looked at me for a few seconds as I got closer and closer.

Doubts crept over me for a moment, but as Jolien's face appeared in my mind's eye, those doubts dissipated. All that remained was anger and darkness combined into a single emotion. Revenge. And this revenge drove me.

Lynn's grin widened as I stopped right in front of him. "If you do that now, Malio, I promise you one, only thing." "Oh yeah?" I growled menacingly. "The Dakarias will burn."

A smile crossed my lips. "Then so be it."

I reached out and slammed the butt of the gun into his temple, causing him to sag before my eyes. "Rash, come here and help me get him in the car."

We had just seized the right hand of the largest Chinese clan in this state - and the consequences of this action were still completely unclear to me at that moment.