Twilight Requiem

Locked and Freed

That night, while Nyx was making dinner, she overheard her dad and Elaine talking in the living room.

“You said she has no money. But now her money goes to her brat,” Elaine hissed,

George huffed.

“I don’t know. I got all the benefits when she died. How would I know she put up a trust fund for her?” he replied.

Elaine pushed her hair back and spoke.

“What are we going to do now? This house, it's still in her name.”

“Then we’ll make her sign the transfer. Easy as that. But the trust fund, I can't do anything with that, especially if that bastard Celestino is the executor.” George hissed at Celestino’s name.

Elaine huffed.

“Are you really going to let her leave? How are we going to eat? Who will clean?” she asked.

George looked at her.

“Tell your daughter to move her lazy ass.” He spat, surprising Elaine.

“You said when we moved here, we would never work; we would never lift a finger. Who will do all the chores if your brat leaves? Do you have money to hire a maid?” Elaine snapped.

Nyx smirked as she stirred the stew. She hasn’t left yet, but they are already in chaos. Once the stew was cooked, she turned off the stove and turned around to grab a bowl, but Natalia was there with her arms crossed.

“You can't leave. You are our maid,” she sneered.

“I'm your landlady,” Nyx replied, walking past her to grab a bowl.

Natalia gritted her teeth and grabbed Nyx’s elbow, spinning her around.

“You think you're so smart, so lucky? Just because your mother left you a bit of money? Huh! You are still unwanted. Your own father doesn’t want you. He doesn’t even acknowledge you as his daughter,” she said, taunting her Nyx, but the latter just gave her a bored look.

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

Natalia frowned, and then she smirked when she remembered something he overheard years ago.

“Do you know why your father doesn’t see you as his daughter? He said his daughter died and the one that came back was not his daughter,” she said, smiling.

Nyx was taken aback.

“What do you mean by that? What do you mean I was dead and came back?” Nyx asked.

Before Natalia could speak, George came in.

“Nothing you need to be concerned about. Is the food ready?”

I nodded.

“Natalia, you set the table,” he ordered, surprising Natalia.

“What? I'm not a servant!” she exclaimed.

Then her mother came in.

“Just do as he says,” she hissed at her daughter before glaring at Nyx.

Natalia stomped as she grabbed the plates and set the table. Nyx, on the other hand, started serving the food while thinking about what Natalia said. She made a mental note to ask Celestino about it.

As she served the dishes, Elaine went upstairs to get Esther. Once the table was set and all the food was served, they took their seats. As usual, George grabbed his food first, followed by Elaine. Nyx placed food on Esther’s plate like always and helped her eat, while Natalia was still scowling.

After dinner and cleanup, Nyx went to her room to pack her remaining belongings. While folding clothes, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” she said.

The door opened, and her dad came in. She was surprised to see the man, as he never came to her room before.

“What is it, Dad?” she asked.

“You don’t need to move, you know,” he said.

“I want to. It's been years since I accepted that I was never part of this family, your family,” she told him.

George sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. He then looked at his daughter and spoke.

“No. You stay here. Esther needs you and wants you here.”

“Dad, you just want a free babysitter. I am leaving, and you can find a new maid and babysitter,” Nyx said.

George scowled.

“Nicola!” he growled hoarsely.

“What, Dad? Why do you want me to stay? Want money or free maid?”

Nicola asked, frustrated.

George balled his fists, and then he slapped her. Nyx froze as her face turned to the side. Her hand went to touch her stinging cheek.

“You hit me,” she mumbled.

George stood up, face contorted in rage.

“Damn right I did! You insolent child! You think just because you have your mother’s money and that bastard Celestino’s protection, you can act like you have no family. You are stuck in this house for the rest of your life!” he snarled.

Nyx glared at her father.

“No. I will leave this hell even if it’s the last thing I do!” she spat back.

“Let’s see about that,”

George said, and then he walked out of her room and locked the door from the outside, locking her in.

“No! You can’t lock me in here!” she screamed, banging on the door.

Cheek still stinging, she tried to pry the door open. Unfortunately, she couldn't. She looked around her room for her phone. She found it under her pillow, and she pressed speed dial one for Celestino.

It rang three times before he answered.

‘Nicola, what’s wrong?’ he asked worriedly, especially after what happened with Edward.

“Celestino, help me. Dad locked me up in my room. He wouldn’t let me leave. He’s keeping me locked up,” Nyx cried.

Celestino cursed in Siberian.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll be there. Pack the things that you can carry. I will get you out of there,’ he told her.

Nyx nodded.

“Okay. Please hurry. He hurt me,” she said softly, like a whisper.

Celestino was quiet before Nyx heard him let out a string of curses in his native tongue.

‘I’ll be there,’

He said, and then the line went dead. Nyx immediately grabbed her bag and packed the clothes she was packing. She also packed her toiletries and her laptop and other gadgets.

After she packed everything, she changed her clothes. She wore her faded jeans that were getting tight around her belly, a black shirt, and a maroon hoodie. She also put on her worn-out Vans, making sure she was all ready once Celestino arrived.

George and Elaine were in the living room, discussing their Paris trip while watching TV, when three black SUVs parked outside the house. They stood up, and before they could take a look outside, the door was kicked open by armed men wearing black suits. Elaine screamed as she clung to her husband. Celestino then walked in, and his eyes, blazing with fury, settled on George.

Before George could utter a word, Celestino threw a punch, sending him down to the floor.

“How dare you lay a hand on that child?!” Celestino roared, even pulled out his gun, and pointed it at the man on the floor with a busted lip.

Elaine was screaming, which made Natalia come downstairs. She gasped loudly when she saw the armed men. Elaine yelled at her to go back to her room, but one of the armed men grabbed her arm and pushed her towards her parents.

George was glaring daggers at Celestino.

“You have no right to barge in here, Celestino,” he snarled.

“I don’t care about you or your stupid family. I only came here for Nicola. She is coming with me before Niana rises from her grave because her beloved husband hit her daughter.”

Celestino spoke, voice cold and dangerous.

“She’s my daughter; I will discipline her the way I see fit,” George hissed.

Celestino gritted his teeth and backhanded George, throwing him down to the floor again.

“Stop! Stop!”

Elaine yelled, using her body to shield her husband from Celestino.

“If this is just about that b***h, take her! She is in her room, the farthest door upstairs!” Elaine exclaimed.

Celestino straightened his back and signaled his men to get Nyx. Two armed men rushed upstairs, and soon they heard the sound of a door being kicked down. When the two armed men came down, they were carrying two bags, and Nyx was right behind them.

Nyx cried into Celestino’s arms, and the latter wrapped his arms around her protectively.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly.

When she looked up, Celestino’s eyes darkened when he saw her swollen cheek and the bruise forming around it. He turned towards George, who was now standing.

“You bastard!”

Celestino roared and was about to attack George, but Nyx stopped him.

“Don’t. He’s not worth it,” she pleaded.

Celestino gritted his teeth and pointed his index finger at George.

“This is not over. I will make you pay for what you have done. From cheating on Niana to hurting her daughter. If I were you, you would start looking for somewhere else to live. I am buying this house from Nicola,” he said.

Both Natalia and Elaine turned pale.

“What? You can’t throw us out! You got the b***h now, just leave us alone!” Elaine snapped.

Celestino told his men to escort Nyx to the vehicle. Nyx went out of the house with her father calling out to her. After Nyx was outside, Celestino glared at both George and Elaine.

“You have one month. One month to vacate the property.” He told them, and then he went out of the house with his men following behind him.

As the SUVs left, George was left fuming.

Inside the vehicle, Celestino carefully inspected Nyx’s swollen cheek.

“You don’t have to worry about anything. You will be staying with me from now on. They won't be able to hurt you,” he told her.

Nyx cried, and Celestino hugged her.

The drive towards Celestino’s luxury apartment was short. The servants took her bags to the room that was prepared for her.

“Do you really only have two bags? Do you need my men to get the rest of your things there?” Celestino asked as Nyx sat on the edge of the bed.

Nyx shook her head.

“All that was left there is junk. The important ones are already in my friend Eugenie’s place. I will get it tomorrow,” she replied, and Celestino nodded.

“Alright. I will let you rest now. Call the maids if you need anything,”

Celestino said, and then he turned around, ready to leave when Nyx spoke.

“Thank you for always having my back,”

Celestino smiled at her.

“For the daughter I never had. Goodnight, Nicola,” he said and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Nyx finally let out a sigh of relief. Relieved that she was finally out of that place, out of their grasp, and now ready to move forward with the life she wanted.

********************************.

Meanwhile in Naples.

It was a quiet night despite the growing threat around them, but Ivan was restless. He was standing on top of an old building guarding the night, still thinking, when he felt a stinging pain on his face all of a sudden during dinner, and he couldn't pinpoint what it was or where it came from.

‘It's probably mate. Our mate is hurt,’

His Lycan said, and it made Ivan clench his fists.

“Who would dare hurt her?” he hissed.

‘We do not know. Until we find her, we wouldn’t know. How are we going to find her, Ivan. I want my mate,’ Casper said.

“I should have pushed her to tell me more about herself. How could I be so stupid?” he said through gritted teeth.

Then he thought of something. He thought of doing something for his mate despite the distance between them.

He held out his hand as the wind gathered around him.

“Please wind and air, go to wherever my mate is and bring her comfort if she is unwell, keep her safe when she’s in danger, and make her feel like my arms are around her, keeping her warm,”

Ivan whispered to the wind before letting it disperse. Ivan then looked at the moon, praying to the Moon Goddess to keep his mate safe.