{ Flashback / Third Person POV }
At the age of fourteen Andrea's whole world came down around her. Yet again.
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Athena and Hector went to town to get some supplies, while Andrea stayed hidden in the cottage with Jason.
Over the years Alastair had hired men to find them, and they never had much luck.
Until this day when they spotted Athena at the store with who they assumed was her husband or guard. Hector was indeed both.
Athena and Hector knew they were being followed, and they weren't going to lead them to Andrea.
They wouldn't put her through that.
They called Artemis on Hector's secure emergency phone to tell him what was happening, and to ask him to get Jason and Andrea to live with him. It would be safer.
Artemis agreed with hesitation.
Athena then called Jason, she thanked him for all he had done to help her and Andrea, and she told them their current situation.
Then Athena asked to talk to Andrea.
"Nana, are you and Pa on the way back?" Andrea asked over the phone
Athena knew she didn't have time because her and Hector hit a dead end. They saw that the men had guns. So it was get shot and be taken to be tortured for Andrea's location, or drive off the cliff into the water to drown.
Athena and Hector already knew the answer, it didn't even have to be discussed as they looked at each other and clutched each other's hands. They knew that neither of them would be willing to give of that girls location. She meant too much to the both of them.
"No angel, it'll all be explained to you later. I promised I would never lie to you, and I intend to keep that promise. I don't have a lot of time, but just know that I'm so proud of you, and who you are becoming. You are so much stronger than I ever was, and you are only fourteen. I love you so much angel, and I want you to always remember how loved you were, and how incredibly strong you are." Athena says with tears falling from her eyes
"I love you too Nana, but your scaring me." Andrea says over the phone
"Drea you don't have to be scared, you are safe, and protected. Artemis and Jason are going to make sure of it. Remember everything we taught you, and know that over the years you became my granddaughter. I love you and your Nana.. and I wouldn't have changed a thing." Hector says
"I will. I love both of you so much, and thank you for everything. I'm sorry your in danger, because of me." Andrea says figuring out how bad the situation must be, and they knew she was crying because her voice was starting to crack.
Hector held his wife's hand as she gave him a nod and they drove off the cliff. Drowning them both. Andrea heard it and stayed on the phone, even when the connection went out.
She gave into the emptiness and slid to the floor with her knees to her chest crying.
Jason had tears in his eyes not because he had lost two other people that he cared about and loved. He was use to loss.. but because he just watched the one he thought of as his daughter break right in front of his eyes. And there wasn't a thing he could do to take her pain away..
He sat beside her on the floor, and held her to his side in a half hug as she cried. They stayed like that for hours, until Artemis showed up.
Andrea knew this was the moment they tried to prepare her for, so she picked herself up, cleaned her face, and walked to pack up all of their things along with hers. She wouldn't leave their belongings behind. She just couldn't.
Jason and Artemis stood in awe watching the strength that was practically radiating off of her.
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Artemis and his son Jason took care of Andrea, from then on.. well along with other mafia members and their maids.
Artemis was the one who told her the whole truth about who killed her mother and why. He also had to tell her why Athena and Hector drove off a cliff.
Artemis even told her about the mafia, and that he was the boss. He vowed that he would keep her safe at all cost... and that when he found her father that she would get to decide what happened to him.
He owned her that much.
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Artemis wasn't good with his emotions, and he never let them show. That's why him and his son weren't close after his wife died. Most considered him to be cold and heartless, and he honestly was on the outside.. but over the years he changed a little.
All because of Andrea, she had a way of being a shining light, even when all she saw was darkness, and all she felt was emptiness.
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Artemis forced himself to show more emotions so Andrea would learn ways to handle hers.. and Jason followed his fathers lead.
The three of them were broken in their own way, but somehow it worked like it needed too.
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Andrea was raised by men that most people feared, and taught their kids to fear.. but strangely she wasn't ever scared. She had already seen a monster, and she had already lost everything.
She wasn't even afraid to lose herself... and that's what would make her dangerous.
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Artemis and Jason still made sure that Andrea was a protected, and kept secret. High ranking members of the mafia, and their maid Isla who lived with them ; were the only ones to know that she was under their care.
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They never found Alastair, he had disappeared. Leaving his wife and son on their own.
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Jason gave Andrea normalcy until he got married and moved, but she was happy for him... or at least as happy as she could be.
Then she only had Artemis and Isla.
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Even as Artemis got older, he taught Andrea secrets about the mafia, and how to work within it. He even taught her how to fight like a mafia boss, and taught her about how mafia men think.
But when Artemis got older and weaker, they found out he had cancer. He had to leave someone in charge. So with the help of Andrea ; Artemis found his replacement.
Ander.
Andrea's half brother, who had swore into the mafia after his mother died of a heart defect. He wanted to find his father, and eventually make him pay. He hated him. Ander wasn't even surprised when he learnt all that his father had done.
The only thing Ander didn't know going into it was that it was Andrea's call to let him into the mafia, and the small fact that they were related.
Andrea asked Artemis to keep quiet of that small detail. Simply because she didn't want the drama that it could bring if he knew.
Jason came to visit a few times while Artemis had cancer, Ander was living there doing business, but it was left to Isla and Andrea to take care of him.
When Andrea turned twenty four Artemis died, and surprisingly the funeral was the last time she saw Jason. She was always happy for him, and his now normal life somewhere on a farm. Although she couldn't help but feel a little betrayed and hurt by the situation.
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Isla ended up being the only constant in Andrea's life. Sure she was the maid, but she was highly trusted. She also happened to be around the age her mother Scarlett would've been.
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Eventually the opportunity arose when the mafia started changing for Ander to become the boss over all the mafias. Simply because he had done such a good job, and was only getting better with time.
The thing no one realized though was that Andrea was the one secretly helping him along the way, and no one outside of Ander and Isla knew.
Ander wasn't even fully aware of just how much she was helping him. She only wanted to see Ander, and the mafia succeed. So she was comfortable in the shadows watching and helping.
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Not long after Ander took over he wanted to change things even more. So he placed a "boss" in different places to help things go smoother, and hopefully less stressful. Only he would still have full control over everything.
So when Ander had to make a strong alliance with a wealthy man who he wanted to run Italy, he asked Andrea if she would be willing to help him. She agreed.
Only she caught the mans eye, and he said that if he wanted him to swear into the mafia, accept Ander as his boss, and run Italy ; then he would need something of good will. He choose Andrea.
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Ander didn't like the idea of an arranged marriage , but he needed everything to go smoothly for the mafia to become even stronger. He wanted better business, and this guy could help ensure that in Italy.
So Ander arranged it, and then asked Andrea later, she said no.. but at that point it didn't matter.
She was already tied in. Legally forced too.
She thought about running.. but that didn't fit her after all she had been through. She wasn't going to cut and run.
Surely she could handle an arranged marriage...