Back in the living room Mr. Salvatore sat comfortably, accepting the tea with a pleasant smile.
"Thank you, Mr. Sinclair." he said, lifting the cup.
William sat across from him, eyes sharp despite his calm face.
The room was quiet. Salvatore took a sip, smiling and then another waiting. After his second cup he put it down with a 'THUD'. The smile on his face stiffened.
"…Where are they?"
William didn't answer immediately. His eyes flickered to Eleanor, who gave him a nod.
Salvatore noticed, and his face darkened. His cold smile stretched wider for a second—then disappeared completely.
"Search the house!" His men behind him moved immediately.
Heavy footsteps thundered through the house as they spread out, opening doors, pulling drawers, and knocking things aside without care.
"Hey—! What the hell are you doing?!"
Victor stumbled out from the hallway, his head still bandaged and shirt half-buttoned. He looked between them, confused and furious.
"What the hell?!"
No one answered him as they went tearing through the house. Eleanor stepped out slowly to stand behind her husband.
After several minutes, they came back shaking their heads.
Mr. Salvatore's jaw tightened. "Where are they?!"
His hand moved slowly to his waist, resting against the gun tucked beneath his coat, when police sirens echoed.
Salvatore's expression shifted again in annoyance. He glanced at William, his lips curling slightly.
"The Chairman will hear of this."
....
Too engrossed in their conversation, Little Roe and Azrael didn't seem to notice her presence.
Once she was isolated with her thoughts, everything came back to her.
Did she make a mistake? Azreal was neither a good guy nor did he have any intentions to be good to her. Today told her this much.
Valerie wasn't a fool. In fact, she was quite smart but she could never bother with complicated schemes.
Victor liked to say she had a fool's luck but she liked her peace so she solved things two ways, talking straight or beating the crap out of the other person.
She had dialed down the later since Little Roe was born though.
Taking a deep looking at the window, her eyes fixed in their reflection on the mirror. Little Roe seemed to love Azrael's attention, but it was probably because a 'daddy' was new to him.
Little Roe took out a bottle of milk from his little backpack and handed it to Azreal who held it cluelessly while the baby blinked expectantly.
Wordlessly she turned around, guiding his hand with minimal contact without even looking at him before turning away to stare back at the window.
Victor words circled in her mind, sending pangs of pain in her heart. He must think she was easy woman to say all these things about her.
Her tears fell silently.
Once her tears dried, Valerie felt a tug on her hair. She turned to see Roe clutching her hair in his sleep. Her lips stretched a little.
He must have dozed off after drinking milk. She took back his bottle and wiped his face when she felt hot breath fanning the side of her face.
Her hand stopped for a second before ignoring him.
Azreal on the other hand found how she ket her head down to avoid his field of vision in the compact spacer interesting.
"Is this postpartum jealousy?" he whispered, his lips touching her ear. "I read physical intimacy helps."
Valerie shuddered and quickly turned back.
"...Don't talk to me." She said barely holding back her voice from trembling.
She wondered how this meeting would have gone if he acted respectfully like a man meeting her family or at least didn't actively provoke them.
Somehow her tears fell more now.
Azrael's lips twitching faintly.
He reached out, fingers brushing against a stray lock of her hair.
Valerie flinched instantly, yanking it back. Pressing herself further into the corner near the door—as far from him as humanly possible.
In the front seat, Luka's felt the tension rising and he silently put up the partition.
…What the hell was he even looking at? His Boss... He shuddered at his image of a family man he was portraying right now.
Azrael leaned back slightly, gaze lingering on her profile.
"That was a good shot." He tilted his head, chuckling. "He could've lost an eye if you'd been a little farther left or perhaps were you aiming for his eye and missed?"
She clenched her fists tightly, turning to glare at him with tear-streaked eyes.
His carefree expressions darkened instantly.
"...Why the f*ck are you crying?"
She scowled at his fake concern before turning away.
"Valerie."
Azrael's jaw tightened. Grabbing her jaw, he turned her face toward him but Valerie slapped it away.
'PTAK!'
The sharp sound echoed in the car like a gunshot.
Even Luka flinched, his hands tightening on the wheel.
Did his boss hit the Young Mistress? No, he wasn't the type to. Then did Young Mistress…?! Damn...
Luka cursed under his breath. Silence stretched, suffocating like it could be sliced with a knife.
"...Did I humiliate you or did I hit that crazy bastard?" Then Azrael's voice broke the tension.
Valerie glared back, holding her breath.
His hand slowly came up her nape, while his cold eyes had her rooted to her place.
"I'm not a patient enough man for your childish tantrums." He spat out.
Valerie pushed him away in disbelief.
She glanced at Roe sleeping in his lap then back at Azrael. "It is all your fault! The whole world, now even my brother humiliated me because of you!" She whisper yelled, hiccupping between her tears.
Azreal frowned. If she had schemed, he would have beat her at her own game, if she had argued, he would shut her up but she was crying...
He didn't have anything in his arsenal for that.
Her crying... it was giving him a headache.
"Stop it this instant." He said slowly with a clenched jaw while she sobbed like a baby.
She shot one look at the partition before casting a glance at her sleeping son.
Her teary eyes met his burning ones. "I have never wronged you, I don't even know you! But every time I crossed paths with it ended in one-sided hurt and humiliation for me..."
She was stifling her sobs in her hand so Little Roe wouldn't wake up. "Even today...If you swallowed your pride for a day, it would save me some dignity, but... you acted like you were doing me some charity. Do you have any idea how I lived after you left that check thinking you have done your part?"
Her voice broke. "They call me your toy because you treat me like one!"