CHAPTER TWENTY

CRYSTAL

Nicholas remembering the house in Greece is not only bad, but it is also catastrophic. That place holds Crystal's greatest and deepest secret, she knows her brother will never forgive her if he ever learns that she has known that house's secret all along. For years.

Crystal rushes to her room, locks the door, grabs her untraceable phone, and goes to the bathroom.

With shaky hands she calls one of the two numbers saved on the phone. She tabs her foot on the floor harshly as she waits for the person on the other side to answer her call.

"Chrissie?"

"Zaire, thank God. I was afraid you weren't going to answer!" Crystal tries to express her relief with a low voice; she can't risk anyone hearing her.

"Of course I would answer; I will always be here for you. Why do you sound like you are having a panic attack?" The concern is lucid in Zaire's voice.

"Nicholas remembered the house in Greece. He and Alonso are planning to go there to retrieve the box Milo gave him as a kid." Crystal's hands start to shake as she imagines her brother's reaction if he gets his hands on the letters. She will surely lose him forever. Deep down inside, she knows she deserves whatever Nicholas might do if he were to find out her secrets.

"Well, his journey will not be beneficial because dad has the box. He couldn't risk it falling in the wrong hands."

"Zaire I am more concerned about him finding you. If he does, and if he learns who you are he will know why Ivan is after me!"

"Listen to me Crystal everything is going to be okay, I promise. Dad and I won't allow anything bad to happen. Alright?"

"Alright." Crystal takes a deep breath and forces herself to relax.

"Now tell me, has anything interesting happened since we last spoke? Maybe something regarding the Italian mafia boss?" Zaire's voice turns a little playful, a little teasing.

"Well, I won a street fight last night." Crystal instantaneously smiles; it has been a while since she went to an illegal fight. It is refreshing.

"Your tone tells me that you won?" the pride radiates from each word he says.

"Yup. Although the price was to have my forehead stitched." The Brazilian woman's mood turns and she remembers that she will have a scar on her face.

"Please tell me you had a professional look at the wound."

"Actually, Alonso stitched it for me." The sense of uncertainty overwhelms her for the millionth time in the past few days. A part of her, however, tells her that drowning in such ideas is pointless. After all, Alonso might hold a grudge when he uncovers all the things she is hiding. Therefore, he might take back his claim on her, if that is even possible.

"Alonso huh? You know I am starting to believe that he does actually love you."

"That is not what is important Zaire! I mean what about how I feel?" Crystal yells into the phone.

"And how do you feel?" His question takes her by surprise.

"I don't know; it varies from moment to moment."

"Meaning?" he trails off encouraging her to clarify her statement.

"I don't know Zaire. I mean he is attractive and he seems like a decent guy, for a mafia man, but I don't know him enough to fall in love with him, to want to marry him. And it feels like everyone is attempting to convince me that I love him even though I know I don't. It is suffocating, and unimportant given everything that has happened; everything that is about to happen."

"You want some unbiased advice?" Crystal hums simply because even though Zaire is two years younger than her, he is definitely wiser.

"Well, love is not something that you wait for to happen. You don't need to know someone to love them. You can love a person based on something they did or a quality they have. Perhaps, they represent something for you. Either way, it is not something that follows rules. Thus, you need to stop thinking about whether you love him or not. Let time decide for you, let life work its magic. In the end, what happens is what is meant to be." Crystal smiles at his words.

"Thank you Zaire." She says sincerely.

"Anytime Chrissie. Listen, back to the original topic, I need you to figure out when they are coming so I will know when to hide."

"Yeah, of course I will." She assures him with a sense of sadness that their call is coming to an end.

"I have to go but don't worry I will handle the situation with Nicholas and Alonso. They will be safe, and so will you." And just like that he hangs up.

The next morning, Crystal learns that for the first time Zaire didn't keep his promise. She stands in the living room as everyone looks at her anticipating her reaction. Lucas' words ring in her ears: Nicholas and Alonso have been abducted by the Russian mafia.

Her best friend explains to her how the two men went to Greece the night before to retrieve Nicholas' box and how they got ambushed by the Russians a few miles away from their destination. Their cell phones are off and their trackers are somehow turned off; there is no way to find them.

Crystal stands in her spot for a few minutes as she thinks of everything that Lucas says. His hand touches her cheek and directs her to look him in the eyes.

"I am sorry Crystal. I came last night to tell you what they were planning but you were sleeping and they were already gone. I tried to convince Nicholas to talk to you before he left, but he… he refused." Lucas tries to apologize and justify things. Crystal, however, doesn't hear a word he says.

She pulls her untraceable phone from her bra and dials Zaire's phone. The Brazilian woman doesn't even care that everyone might discover that she has known about Milo and Zaire all along. Her priority right now is the safety of Nicholas and Alonso. She decides to handle things one at a time.

"Where did you get this phone?" Ignazio asks her but she just gives him a blank look as she hears the line ringing.

"Crystal, are you okay? Are you hurt? Please tell me you're safe." Milo's voice appears on the other side of the line.

"I am fine, but Nicholas, he... he…" She cannot bring herself to say it.

"I know." His voice is filled with sadness, worry, and regret.

"Is Lorenzo next to you?" Milo asks her. She looks at the older man who gives a raised eyebrow as she answers with quiet 'yes.'

"Put me on speaker."

"Wait what? But…" She tries to object but Milo doesn't give her a chance.

"Chrissie what we are dealing with is way important than emotions and secrets. It is time that I finally face him." She takes a nervous deep breath before she obliges.

"Enzo?" Milo's voice echoes in the room causing both Lorenzo and Camilla to freeze in their spots.

"Enzo, I know you are there. Please…" Milo begs desperately. Crystal doubts that he might have tears in his eyes.

"You lied to me; you made me blame myself for your death for years." It is hard to detect the emotion in Lorenzo's voice.

"And I will carry the guilt of that to my grave. But our sons' lives are on the line. We have to…"

"Wait. Is Zaire okay?" Crystal interrupts.

"I don't know yet."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think you want me to answer that Chrissie." His words cause Crystal to think of the worst possibilities and a tear slips down her cheek.

"Is he…"

"No, he is alive. I don't know for how long though."

"Hold on a second…" Lucas points an accusing finger at Crystal.

"He just called you Chrissie, and you seem to be extremely worried about his son. How long have you known about them? How long have you been hiding this from Nicolas and I?" Crystal is about to answer, but Lorenzo beats her to it.

"It is not the time for feelings boy." He tells Lucas before he turns his attention to Milo.

"Do you know what happened to my son and his friend?" it is clear this time that his voice is devoid of emotions; he is in his mafia man mode.

"Yes. My son, I am sorry I let you believe he is dead too by the way. But Crystal called him yesterday and told him everything. Thus, he went to Greece to make sure that the house was secure before Nicholas and Alonso arrive. Sadly, the Russians were smarter, they were waiting for them a few miles away from the house. Zaire tried to save them but he got three stabs in the stomach in the process. I am sorry I wasn't there Enzo, I should have been there to protect him, it is the least I owe you after everything I put you through. But there is so much you don't know, there is so much I have to tell you…" Crystal catches on to the fact that Milo lies; Zaire was already in Greece, he has been living in that house for years.

"Then tell me." Lorenzo's voice is soft, forgiving.

"One one five eight two." Is Milo's reply.

"What does that mean?" Alberto speaks for the first time.

"When?" Crystal asks not giving a notice to Alberto.

"Sunset." And he hangs up.

"Is that some kind of code?" Leora asks her father who gives her an uncertain look.

"Yes it is. We are to meet him in two days at dawn." Crystal answers as she walks to the window and stairs through it at the woods.

"Where?" Ignazio walks up to Crystal.

"I will tell you when the time comes."

"No, you don't get to do that." Lucas' high tone surprises Crystal and it causes Mila to let out a yelp.

Lucas pushes Ignazio out of the way and forced the Brazilian woman to face him.

"I want answers Crystal. How long have you known about this? How do you know about it? Do you know what Ivan's endgame is?"

"I have known about them for a long time, it doesn't concern you how I know, and yes I do know what The Russian mafia boss wants."

"These are not the answers we want Crys." Ignazio tells her in a softer tone.

"Well, they are the ones you are getting." She attempts to leave the room but Camilla stands in her way. The older woman raises her hand and attempts to slap her. Crystal however, sees it coming and grabs her hand before it has the chance to collide with her face.

Crystal would never disrespect her thus she gently lets go of Camilla's hand and looks her dead in the eye.

"You don't know anything, you think you do, but you don't. And I know you all think that I am a hypocrite or a liar. Honestly, I don't' care because the secrets that I carry are not mine. Therefore, I had and still don't have any right to share them with anyone. You might disagree, but like I said you don't know the full story.

As For Ivan, he doesn't want me; he wants the information I have: Milo's location, his son's name and location, their hiding places, and whether Allegra is still alive or not. I know the answers to all these questions, and I will die before I give Ivan the chance to know them. He wants to complete what was started twenty years ago, he wants to kill them, and I won't let that happen.

I realize that this caused my brother and Alonso to get kidnapped, and I won't put the blame on them simply because I have no right to do so. I hoped that Milo would be able to handle Ivan and Dante before things got this bad, but I will not apologize. All that matters now is to find them and rescue them."

"We are not going to do anything. I don't trust you Crystal, not anymore. Just yesterday I had a big fight with Nicholas about keeping things from you, and now you are telling me that you have been lying to us this entire time? Because of you the last thing I said to him is 'you are a coward.'"

"Lucas…" Ignazio puts his hand on Lucas' shoulder but the Brazilian man shrugs it off.

"You are a hypocrite."

"I know."