The nurse, satisfied that she had helped the little girl as best as she could, made her way back to her room to share the good news. She softly knocked at the door, but when she was met with no reply she knocked harder.

Not having visited the girl in hours, she slowly opened the door expecting to find the tired girl sleeping but her room was entirely empty, the bathroom door was left ajar revealing a similarly deserted room.

Her immediate thought was that the curious girl must have gotten bored and decided to explore the hospital, but after spotting the napkin that lay across the neatly made bed that read 'thank you' followed by a smiley face she began to panic. Darting her eyes around the room she noticed that the stuffed animal that had previously adorned the window seal was replaced with a now empty space, similarly to the folded clothes she had left on the counter merely hours before.

She rushed out of the room and made her way to the security room. "Can I see the security footage from hallway B please," She asked the security manager who was practically falling asleep at his desk.

"Try and get it as close to room 207 as possible," She hurriedly interjected.

Sure enough, there was Darcy exiting her room and slightly limping her way through the hospital and out of the entrance. The nurse cursed under her breath before asking the completely disinterested man to forward her the footage as well as the footage of Darcy's arrival at the hospital.

She made her way to her supervisor's office and reported the issue then proceeded to attempt to contact Mr Russo unaware that he was unable to answer, already on a plane headed her way.





Feelings were mixed among my brothers. All of them had this hopeful, excited look in their eyes, an emotion I haven't seen in years.

Our line of work requires complete emotionless, you can't let anyone know how you're truly feeling. It's a weakness.

However this has clearly been thrown out of the window as soon as my little sister was mentioned.

Me and Dante were the only ones seemingly skeptical about this situation. I won't let myself get excited until she was in front of my eyes, hard physical evidence that she was alive and this wasn't actually some sick joke.

My other brothers took a completely different approach. Angelo and Luca were smiling brightly and were high energy which was the normal coming from them but Gabriele and Romeo were uncharacteristically happy.

Lorenzo and Arlo, the best at concealing their feelings are also visibly cracking. Lorenzo was shifting in his seat, clearly nervous about this whole situation and Arlo had joined Luca at looking at room decor for Darcy's new room.

All I can think about was how it would completely crush them all if we didn't end up bringing Darcy home. I know I'd have to kill whoever was behind preventing that from happening.

Sitting in the back of the large van, I analyse my brothers while we make our way to the hospital. We'd usually opt for a limo or a series of sports cars but we are trying to keep a low profile until the situation becomes clearer.

Once we arrive I silently climb out the van, my brothers walking behind me while debating whether or not she grew up to look more like dad or mom.

We enter, Lorenzo leading the way as usual as he leads us to the reception. Strangely, the receptionist looks worried as she tells us to wait while she grabs the nurse and doctor responsible for Darcy's care.

I take the opportunity to survey the surrounding area. The hospital is tiny but decent enough, obviously not comparing to our private one but it'll do. There was only four people in the waiting room, each of them understandably stealing glances at the eight men in suits.

The receptionist returned and pointed us in the direction of an office that read 'Dr. Cullen'. We enter and are greeted by two guilty looking staff members who both give us a tight lipped smile. The man in a white coat sits at the oversized oak desk while the nurse in scrubs stands behind him, her hands behind her back.

There are four chairs placed in front of the desk which Lorenzo, Arlo, Dante and Gabriele immediately sit in, the rest of us leaning against the back wall.

Once we are all in and the door is shut the doctor begins talking "So I assume you are the potential guardian of a-" He pauses before turning over the folder that rests on his desk, revealing a name "A Darcy Russo," He finalised, aiming the question at Lorenzo.

"That's correct," He replies.

"What's your relation?" He asks, beginning to flip through the file. "Brother." He states in his usual cold tone, "We all are," He adds, referencing us.

"Right Mr Russo, I'm afraid we have an issue," He says sheepishly while slightly moving his chair out of the way, giving the floor to the previously silent nurse.

Lorenzo raises his eyebrow while Arlo slightly leans in, intent on hearing what this 'issue' could possibly be.

"Well I-," She begins before pausing to clear her throat. "Well as you know Darcy was left here almost a week ago, she came in with an extensive list of injuries all pointing towards abuse," She explains, pausing as Angelo sucks in a sharp breath.

"She also had a litany of previous untreated injuries as well as being clinically underweight," She lists, opening her mouth to continue but being interrupted by Dante.

"What kind of injuries?" He asks, his tone deadly.

"Unfortunately it's quite the list," She sighs, picking up the file and looking at Lorenzo for confirmation to continue who returns a quick nod.

I feel the anxiety rise in my chest, a feeling I hadn't experienced in years as she begins to read the list the injuries.

"Well she came in with a broken arm which we had to cast, three broken ribs which, from the angle of the bruising were most likely caused by repetitive kicks to the abdomen which resulted in a punctured lung, she also had a severe concussion caused by blunt force trauma as well as extreme blood loss," She lists, not looking up from the sheets of paper.

"Now as for the previous injuries, we could only detect a previously broken ankle that healed without a cast, which could present problems in the future," She states, now making eye contact with Lorenzo. "There are also old scars, bruising, and burns as well as signs of sexual abuse," She trails off.

"Sexual abuse?" Lorenzo repeated now completely in shock. "Unfortunately we can't be one hundred percent sure without a rape kit but we did discover two bite marks on her inner thigh," she sighs, now placing the file down.

The room remained utterly silent, everyone taking in this information. I look down to see my hands shaking so I quickly shove them in my pockets.

I know it's selfish but apart of me wishes this wasn't my sister, I held out hope that this could still be a joke or a plan executed by one of our enemies.

My sister is somewhere out there, living a normal childhood with no worries and although it was painful not being able to be with her, it was worth it knowing she was happy. But that's not reality, the reality is us, sitting in this cramped office listening to how our little sister had been tortured and violated.

Nobody deserved that, especially not a child.

Lorenzo was completely and utterly silent, causing Arlo to step in, "Okay," He says shakily. "Can we see her?" He asks, causing the nurse to nervously shift on her feet.

"That was the issue," The doctor finally speaks up.

"Well explain then," Angelo grits, becoming agitated.

"Once I had finished my rounds this morning I left her to sleep but when I returned hours later I discovered that she was no longer there, she had taken her belongings and left this," she said holding out a small piece of paper.

We all leaned over, inspecting it and seeing a napkin with 'Thank you :)' written in beautiful cursive writing.

The doctor turned his computer screen in our direction before clicking on a video of a tiny girl who couldn't be more than four-eleven limping out of her room and exiting the hospital. "She left on her own accord," He says, stating the obvious.

"Right well send us the address of the place she has been staying and we'll go get her," Gabriele rushes out, already getting up out of his seat.

"We actually don't know," The nurse reveals hesitantly causing Lorenzo to snap out of whatever trance he was in.

"What?" he seethes, voice raised.