Chapter 40
Xavier
Corrine exits the room and immediately hugs me, pressing her head into my chest.
“What’s wrong, Butterfly?” I ask her.
“I’m just so grateful for you, Xavier. I can’t imagine the things those men did to Sasha. It makes me sad to think she has never known what a real family could be like. My family isn’t perfect, but at least we know we love each other.”
I pull away slightly and squeeze her shoulders. “I am going to, no, we will show her what a real family is like. But first, we have to get her somewhere safe. I just hope she doesn’t think I’m sending her away.”
A knock sounds on the door, and we both nod to each other before heading to answer. Both Jamison and Jonathan step through, followed by Kaz and Andre. Jonathan straddles a bar stool, pulling another closer and gesturing for Kaz to sit down. Jamison walks around, pulls the third bar stool close to the other side, and proceeds to sit down. I see Kaz roll her eyes as she hugs Corrine, then walks to the chair to sit. Andre sits in one of my armchairs while Corrine and I take up the couch.
“So what’s the plan?” Jamison asks.
I don’t get a chance to answer before we all turn to the sound of my guest bedroom door opening. Sasha emerges wearing one of my T-shirts. Her hair is wet, and she doesn't have a lick of makeup on. I've never seen her so dressed down before. She looks younger and more innocent. I can see the bruises on her arms and legs, and it makes me angry. I’m so angry I don’t realize my fist is clenched until I feel Corrine’s soft hand sliding over it. I relax and open my fist, letting her fingers entwine with mine. I look over to see Sasha staring at Andre while he completely ignores her. There is a tick in his jaw while he scrolls his phone. I’m unsure of his problem or why he won’t look at her now. It was practically his idea to bring her back to Italy with him. He’s doing a shitty job of pretending to be on his phone, though.
Sasha must have gathered some courage because suddenly, she’s sweeping past Andre with her head held high, sitting on the couch next to Corrine and me. Andre watches her out of the corner of his eye, looking away again quickly once she is seated facing him. Thankfully, Sebastian and Riley chose the perfect moment to walk in and break up the tension.
Then again, this could get awkward. They approach the other chair across from Andre, and Sebastian pulls Riley onto his lap.
I breathe out before speaking: “Now that everyone is here, we should discuss the plan for keeping Sasha and the rest of us safe.”
Jonathan clears his throat, causing us all to turn towards him. “After careful consideration, we all agree that Sasha going to Italy with Andre would be the best-case scenario. Andre can keep her hidden and safe there while we figure out how to handle Lockhart.”
“What!” Sasha growls out while glaring at Andre. “I can’t go to another country with him! What am I even supposed to do there?”
Jonathan smirks, "How will he keep her safe when he has to entertain his many potential wives?”
The look Andre gives Jonathan is threatening, but he quickly schools it before looking at Sasha blankly. “My cousin Liana will be there to help me. There are plenty of things to do around the estate that will not require her to leave. I also have 24-hour security.”
I grab and squeeze Sasha’s hand, causing her to look at me. “I just want you to be safe. This is the best thing we can do right now. I swear you can return as soon as we resolve everything. Your freedom will be yours.”
She looks at me, nodding her head yes. “Okay,” she says, and my heart breaks at how defeated she sounds. I want to reassure her more, but I just need her to trust me. I can’t worry about keeping her safe and worry about our uncle at the same time.
“I have a question for you, Sasha,” Sebastian says. Everyone turns to look at him in surprise. “You act like you never knew about Xavier being your brother. Why should we believe you after all the crap you put us through?”
Riley’s eyes go wide. She looks like a deer caught in headlights.
“I don’t think now is the time to bring up past shit,” I growl out. The protective brother in me comes out in full force.
“It’s okay,” Sasha says, looking at me. “It’s a valid question; you all deserve an answer.” She closes her eyes for a second, rubbing both hands on her thighs nervously before she starts. “I went to my uncle when I was young. There wasn’t much time before he was treating me like his possession instead of the niece I thought he loved so much. He took everything away from me. My freedom was completely stripped away. He made me need him for everything…and then he used me. I didn’t realize it until I was older, but by then, it was my only taste of freedom. When he offered me the opportunity to apply to Bolt Corporation, I saw it as an opportunity to escape from his other business endeavors.”
Sasha looks blankly at the floor while she speaks, too nervous to look me in our eyes, “I’m not proud of my actions, and I’m not saying they were right. In those moments, I was doing everything I could to escape my uncle's clutches for even a small fraction of time. I am truly sorry for all the hurt I caused.”
Riley looks at Sasha with sadness in her eyes. “In my heart, I always knew there was more to your story. It might not seem like it, but I am thrilled you are safe now.” She squeezes Sebastian's hand before continuing, “We both are.”
Sebastian doesn’t care. I’ve known that man for a long time, and I can still see the disdain written all over his face. He does love Riley, though, so he doesn’t say anything for her sake.
“Thank you,” Sasha whispers. “That means a lot.” She then turns to me. “Xavier, I was never told about you. I swear it. In fact, until recently, I wasn’t aware of any other blood relatives.”
“What do you mean?” I ask her.
“I was in my, I mean, our uncle's office and I saw a file he had left open on his desk. It was a DNA test. I didn’t read it thoroughly, but I could have sworn it said biological son. I racked my brain earlier, and I just don’t think I would have confused that word.”
“Was there a name on the file?” Jamison asks from the island.
“Not besides my uncle’s. It said unknown sample, and that was it. I’m sorry. I should have looked harder,” she stutters.
“It’s okay,” I say, squeezing her hand again. “I will figure it out. In the meantime, we will keep you safe. If we have a cousin out there somewhere, we will find them.”