Chapter 18

Marcel's POV

She left me stunned, rooted in the same position as I looked at the open door. Before my legs picked up the message to move from my brain, they were already out of my sight. 

"Alex, we need to stop them," I said, grabbing his collar.

"No, you have to stop her from leaving," he said, shaking off my hand as I moved towards the staircase.

Grabbing the door handle, I could see her as she looked at me.

"Sweetheart, please open the door. Baby, open up for me," I said, trying the door handle. 

I could see her tears as clear as daylight. 

"No, no, no! Nyasha, please don't cry. You know what your tears do to me. Please, my love, just open the door for me," I begged her as she placed a hand on the window as though to wave goodbye. 

I placed mine opposite hers, just like in the movies, as the car pulled away.

"Nyasha!" I yelled out as I went after her, but the car picked up momentum, taking them away from me.

I was a failure as a man, a failure as a husband, and I had just failed as a father. Turning to head back towards her father, I found him already in his own car. The door closed, taking him away. Only her brother remained.

My love for her was dangerous, I realized at that very moment. She was the only one who could break me, and my actions these past few months reflected such.

"You have broken her," her brother smiled. "In a good way, that is. Because of that, you are still breathing, my friend," he said as he put on his shades just as his car pulled up.

----

"Who the f**k are these people! I need answers!" He yelled, looking at the heads of each family in the business.

They all looked baffled. Lost, to be exact.

The Russian's laughter led to silence as everyone turned to look at him. Stepping out of the shadows, he wore a wide smile showing off his perfect teeth.

"When you called me, Martinez, I did not know it was for love," he said in a lazy tone as he took a seat, putting his legs up.

"Do you know someth...?"

"You see, I have heard rumors of a family. Not just a normal family like yours or mine.

They are shadows in this world, shadows that scare even the boogeymen.

They make even the yakuza look like headless chickens.

Make grown men want to crawl back into their mother’s womb.

And if you are looking for these people, you will leave a trail of bodies to get to them.

But trust me, you will not be the one doing the killing," he chuckled. "Do you accept their blood on your hands?"

"You will find them if they want to be found. 

Many had died trying to find them, but only one lived.

Go to the old house. Look for a man by the name of Nikolai Vanderbilt. By telling you this, I am already a dead man," he said as he grabbed his coat and wore his hat. "Tell your papa, my debt to him is complete," he smiled.

He looked on as the Russian left.

She can't be her. The woman who made all the fairy-tale witches look like chump change. The woman who could turn a man's heart to stone harder than medusa's victims. She was known to be ruthless, but no one knew why.

If it was her, he was indeed lucky to be alive like her brother had mentioned. 

Matter of fact, encountering that whole family, he felt blessed to be breathing as he walked out of the house, heading straight to "the house."

---

"I am here to see Mr. Vanderbilt," I said in a clipped tone.

The nurse showed me to his room as I found him sitting by the window. He sat still looking outside as I stepped into the room. Alex stood beside me, remaining silent after I begged him to help me, asking for his forgiveness in the process.

While we were here, I had men looking for her from all parts of the world.

"Nikolai," I said as he swiveled around in his wheelchair. 

He smiled in our direction as I looked at the dark glasses he wore. 

"Uri told me, and I am afraid the people you are looking for are very dangerous. Are you sure you want to find them," he said.

"Yes."

"Are you willing to lose anything to get their location," he said, removing his glasses, and I realized he was blind. Obviously not by choice judging from the burns around his eyes.

"Yes," I said in a hard tone.

"There is a book underneath my mattress. Inside is an address. Tell them I sent you, they will allow you in. It was a pleasure 'seeing' you young Martinez," he said with a smile as Alex looked for the address.

Thanking him, we left heading back home.

This is turning into a scavenger hunt, I thought to myself as I thought of our next destination: India.

Lying in bed, I thought of all she had said. The little minx had played me when I thought I was the one playing her. She really was something else, my wife. I felt my heart swell at the thought of her being mine. My equal, if not more, in every aspect, and I had hurt her.

The following morning, we headed to India, and I was surprised to find the address led us to a club.

"Nikolai sent us," I told the bouncer. 

He led us to the back where we found local mobsters enjoying themselves before weapons were drawn once they saw us.

"Now, gentlemen, this man here is my guest," Neil said as he walked up to me with a wide grin.

"How was your trip, little brother," he said as I looked him straight in the eye, not wanting to show any weakness. "Relax. Nothing will happen to you or else she will kill me herself," he chuckled, calling the bartender, placing an order for them.

Both sides still had their weapons drawn.

"Now, if you want me to be celebrating your funeral, I suggest you keep your firearms raised, but if not, you know what to do," he said in that same tone, so similar to his father's. The men slowly lowered their arms. Even my own men obeyed him.

"Walk with me," Neil said as he left the private room heading towards the main club as he took his drink from the bartender.

The music stopped once he stepped out, and people stood back, clearing a path for him. One unlucky fellow who was definitely high did not get the memo as he bumped into Neil, making him spill his scotch on his shirt. The guy sobered up faster than a teenager sobering up when their mother arrived home, as he looked up at Neil.

Stretching out his hand, he opened his palm as he was handed a small white pill, which he slowly inspected.

"Open up," he said in a low voice. 

The man was about to refuse until two men held him, forcing his mouth open. Dropping the pill into his mouth, he watched the man as he kept it in his mouth.

"Swallow it," Neil commanded.

"Right now, your brain is unable to comprehend whether to relax your airway passage or to keep it contracted as oxygen levels lower in your system. Your neurons are firing signals at an exponential rate, and right about now, you should start experiencing..." He smiled as the man's eyes widened and he started to convulse in front of him. The men released him onto the floor. 

"My daughter bought me this shirt. It was my favorite," he said, looking at the soiled shirt just as the man took his last breath.

Moving out of his way, they continued walking, taking stairs down to who knows where. Snapping his fingers, I felt a cloth go over my head as he told us that we needed to just keep walking.

Never had I experienced such. This man definitely had control, knew how to control his men.

I felt the warm embers of a fire before the cloth was removed as I found myself standing in a brightly lit room.

"Daddy!" A little girl squealed as he scooped her up, showering her face with kisses as she held onto him tightly, giggling with glee.

He placed her down just as a beautiful woman walked in with a wide smile.

"Why do you smell like cheap alcohol?" She asked as he looked at her. He remained silent until she grabbed his ear, making him speak.

"Someone poured their drink on me," he said, wincing in pain, pulling her closer before smiling at her and giving her a kiss hello.

"Marcellus, please make yourself at home," she said in a clipped tone as she left the room with Neil right behind her. Her tone revealed her anger as I looked at Alex, who already looked relaxed.

"How does she know who I am?" I asked Alex, who simply sent me a smirk.

---

"How is your family, Lex?" Tariro said with a smile as I realized Alex must have spoken to her through Nyasha.

"Very well. Already missing me," he said sadly. "But what can I do? I must help this fool find his wife."

"Oh please, do not bother yourself. He must do this alone. I will have a car come take you to the airport and back to your family first thing tomorrow. Why should you suffer for his actions? Right, dear?" She said, looking at Neil, who nodded in agreement.

"So, you are looking for my sister. Tell me why I should even help you after what you did to her."

"Because I need her, she is my wife. The only woman I will ever love. She did the one thing no other could do: make me smile after such a long time. She brought so much happiness when all I gave her was misery.

"You were right, darling, they did break each other," she smiled, standing up. "Shall we? Dinner is ready," she said.

"By now, you have heard the rumors of how hard she is," Neil said as he handed his wife a plate of food.

"Yes, I have, but I don't care about all th..." I stopped when he raised his hand, silencing me.

"Let us enjoy our meal, then we will talk," Neil said as Tariro held his hand, giving it a squeeze. "No serious conversations during dinner," he said, smiling at his wife.

---

"I will be up in a few minutes. I still have to apologize properly," he said, kissing her before watching her leave the room till she disappeared.

Neil looked at the two men before him as he poured some scotched into glasses handing one to each of them before settling into a seat.

"Did she have nightmares?" He asked out of the blue as Marcel looked at him baffled.

"Yes." He said as Neil nodded in understanding.

"When I was young, our mother died giving birth to her. So we moved in with our uncle because papa was still grieving and unable to take care of us.

"When she was seven, I found my uncle coming out of her room when I got back home from school. That day I had been late because of sporting activities, and he took that opportunity to have his way with her. I found her sitting staring at the wall, and she did not utter a single word. In a fit of rage, I grabbed a knife and killed the bastard. He was supposed to protect us, not harm us. 

But it only got worse when I found her standing over our father's body, blood covering her hands as she gripped a broken bottle, repeatedly stabbing his chest. That was when she spoke, revealing that our father, our own flesh and blood, had allowed his brother to touch her for a few dollars to buy alcohol.

That was when the nightmares began. They subsided after papa took us in. We had been banished from our home, our village, but they did not know the whole truth. What adult would believe a child? But only one person did, and that person was papa. He found us one day while he was hunting for game meat, thus taking us I and treating us like his own flesh and blood. In his arms, we had our home. The nightmares she has are not because of what you think you did, but of what happened back then.

When I say that you broke her, what I really mean is that you actually made her feel. Yes, she knows I love her, that papa loves her, but with you, it's different. She is slowly feeling. Never have I seen her shed a tear, hence why she is deemed a hard woman, because she shows no pain. Your wife, my sister, is a very clever woman. Any fool would be lucky to have her, in this case, you," he said with a fond smile.

Marcel was at a loss of words. She had killed her own father, and he had killed their uncle, their own flesh and blood.

He knew right then and there that the men before him would kill for her, and she would do the same. He had to tread carefully.