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1667 Words
Walking into the apartment he shared with his father and brother, Markus looked down at the strange new footwear he stumbled over in the entryway. Two weeks had passed peacefully for them all while he successfully helped Jaxon get better while doing his courses, mob work, and helping at home. Then again, it helped that his brother was his study partner in times like this.
As he passed the living room, he saw a man sitting on the settee across from his father. "Sir, the documents she's presented to the courts all list you as controlling and abusive. She knows that she doesn’t have a chance at getting custody of an eighteen-year-old, but she is vying for custody of the sixteen-year-old."
"Not happening," Markus ground out between his clenched teeth. "I don't know what kind of game my mother is playing, but she doesn't deserve custody after she abused my father and abandoned her kids. I'll take the stand in my father's defense, and I don't mind taking a shrink's competency test to do it, either."
He turned, spotting Lukas out of the corner of his eye. "My little brother and I are treated the same from how he talks to us to how he disciplines us."
The man frowned. "Actually, there are a lot of discipline techniques that are now being considered child abuse. That includes enforcing counseling that is not court-appointed, raising your voice, and taking things like tech or privileges from children. Hell, even grounding is considered forcible confinement now."
"What entitled snowflakes decided that using cause and effect teaching was abuse?” Lukas snapped.
Chuckling, the man rose to his feet. "Trace, it’s nice that the boys have grown into their own quite well. One might say that their openness and willingness to question the laws is proof that you've done an admirable job in raising them."
"I try, and my friends have helped a lot. Boys, supper is in the oven. Lukas, it's your turn to set the table. Markus, you’re on dish duty," Trace said, watching them vanish into the kitchen while grumbling every step of the way.
Turning back to the man, he said, "What's she trying to pull, Cassius?"
"She claims to have a high-profile boyfriend willing to raise her children with her."
His frown deepening, Trace thought of every high-profile person he knew that was single. The only one that came to mind was one he knew would back him up. "I need evidence. As soon as I have what I need, I'll call you."
"Perfect," Cassius replied. "So, we're doing this again?"
Trace nodded, "I have to. For my boys, I would burn the world."
Once his lawyer was gone, Trace moved into the kitchen as Markus was putting the casserole on the table. "Your mother is trying to claim that she saw me abuse you both, and that she's got a high-"
He was cut off when his phone rang. Pulling it out, he stared down at the number before smirking knowingly. Sliding the green button across, he answered the call.
"Si, Padrino Wilson?"
"I have a bit of an issue, and would like to talk to your boys in person. Can you be at my villa in an hour's time?" Xander replied.
Trace nodded, "The boys are having their supper right now.”
“I will allow them to eat first, then. I expect to see all of you in the next three hours, however. I need this taken care of tonight, entiéndeme?
“Yes, Sir, Don Wilson. We'll be there."
Lukas and Markus shared a look as their father hung up the phone. Lukas grinned wickedly, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Mark?"
"If you're thinking about catching her in a trap of her own making, then, yeah. I’m thinking what you’re thinking," Markus replied.
Trace smiled. Knowing that they would watch out for one another was the reason he slept easy at night. He adored both his sons. Going as far as to get a DNA test done the day each of them was born, he ensured his ex-wife couldn't say they didn't belong to him. It would be hard to deny it anyway, because both looked nearly identical to their father. Due to looking so similar despite the differences in their body build, the boys had a tendency to dye their hair opposing colors. For Lukas, red streaks were his normal go-to, but Markus would forever choose golden-blond tips.
"Xander wants us at his villa, so eat, then meet me in the parking garage. I’m going to talk to Cal to let him know," Trace said as he grabbed his duster and pulled it on.
When they got down to the garage, their father was already sitting in the car. Taking all the empty side roads he could find before pulling into the underground parking lot of Xander's building. He looked at the guard, nodding as the man let him pass freely.
"Yo, Markus! Good to see you, man," Rico said as he jogged up to them. "My cousin's off the head with the bullshit his new girl is getting on with. Says he doesn’t believe his Godson would employ an abuser."
Trace's jaw twitched with agitation. "He'll be single again when I'm done."
"No worries, yeah? He trusts you. Otherwise, he would have sent a warning to you instead of asking you to come talk it out. Come on, I'll take you up," Rico said, leading the way to Xander’s office. “How is Diabla Roja these days?”
“We got the shop up and running,” Mark replied. “I’m still taking my courses, but she and I are going to be business partners.”
Rico chuckled, “Nice. She’s a good girl, that one. It’s no wonder my cousin convinced her to let him be her Godfather, too.”
Getting to the door of the office, Trace heard a woman’s loud shriek.
"Dad, you and Mark do the talking, and I'll get her right where we need her." Lukas said darkly. He hacked the hospital and police records, pulling up everything he could find. Suddenly, he gasped, "Oh, wow, she's really willing to go that far?"
"What did you find, little brother?"
Lukas grinned at Markus, "A falsified hospital report stating that dad beat her until she was put in the ICU. It’s signed by Felicity, but she’s got no authorization from any on-call or ER doctors. Domestic assault needs an actual doctor to sign off on the report and initiate a police report."
Markus watched his father's eyes darken. He knew, while his father could be verbally harsh, that the man had never raised his hands to hurt them physically.
"Screw protocol," he muttered as he barged into the room ahead of his father and brother. Staring at the woman, he said, "Can you shut the f**k up? Dad never once put his hands on you, and you know it. Do you know how bad you made me and Lukas feel? We have trust issues because of you!"
"What are you doing, Markus?" Trace said crossly as he tried to pull his son back.
"Let him be, Trace," Xander called out. "It's interesting, no? This is the first time I've seen Mark so riled up."
Fuming, Markus looked at the man he'd grown up around. "I apologize for my behaviour, Signor Wilson. I brought you a present, Sir."
As soon as she saw the faded court stamp, Anabella started to panic. Grasping for the papers, she wasn't expecting to have her youngest son grab her arm and force her into the nearest chair. She looked at her ex-husband, sneering at his calm, stoic face. "I wish you were dead! I wish I'd never f*****g met an asshole like you, Tracy!"
Xander raised a brow, pausing his reading. "Tracy?"
"My full name is Tracy Adolph Roberts. I go by Trace, and my employer is well aware," the other man replied.
Nodding, Xander handed back the documents. "It seems you thought to use me, Ana. You lied to me, and caused harm to friends of my Godson and Goddaughter. That is shameful and inexcusable. Morgana!"
A few minutes passed before a female guard walked into the doorway. "Si, Padrino?"
"I've been played and betrayed," he answered. "Take this woman to Alejandro. Tell him she is a gift to use as he pleases."
Morgana shuddered, "Alejandro Cortez, Padrino?"
"Si," he replied. "We'll see how she likes to be handled the way she lied about. Your thoughts, Trace?"
Trace shook his head, "Let my boys decide. She hurt them the most."
He looked at Mark, who was watching the sky break open as the thunder rumbled. Rain poured down, soaking the ground below. Lightning flashed, and the room darkened slightly.
"She left us, lied, and didn't even fight for us. Luke and I both heard her say she only wanted your money, Dad. I did remember everything. I just didn't want to believe a woman I loved so dearly could be so vicious. I didn't want to believe that my mother could look at me and say that an almost two-year relationship was nothing more than a phase." Closing his eyes, Markus let out a breath. "I have a request regarding the case against my father, Master X."
"What about it?" Xander pressed, wondering how the more violent brother would handle everything.
"I want to do this the legal way, and watch her scramble to defend herself. Rather than give her to your man, could you lock her away to make sure she attends? The last time Dad took her to court, she didn't bother to show up," Markus said as he turned his dark grey eyes to Columbian Don.
Appreciating the method, Xander nodded. His pride was evident in his words when he spoke again. "Consider it done. Trace, stay and have a drink with me. Morgana, lock this puta in a secure room."
“As you command, Sir.”
- Writer
