Author's Pov

Hades took out his phone to monitor the CCTV as Tristan made his way out of the dining room followed by Morpheus.

“Alex is here to see you.” A staff member comes to inform.

“Tell him this better be important or he can fuck off.” Ares replied back.

None of them were in a mood to entertain guests, not that they're ever up for hospitality but today is a particularly bad day to bother the Konstantinos brothers.

The guard wordlessly leaves knowing well that he better not say anything if he values his life.

“What're you doing?” Zephyr asks his younger brother.

“Keeping an eye on the boy.” Hades answers.

Zephyr and Ares move towards him to see for themselves what's happening in their home. They saw as Morpheus left giving Tristan a nod but before they could see anything further, Alex knocked on the door and entered the dining room.

“Good morning.” He said too enthusiastically for someone who hasn't slept the whole night.

“What is it?” Zephyr asks straight away.

They knew it would be something important if he came to meet them at home. Alex was the senior surgeon and supervisor at the Konstantinos’ personal clinic. He treated the brothers whenever needed and supervised the treatment of the prisoners making sure they lived as long as ordered.

“I have update on the guy from last night.”

Trio haven't bothered to introduce their father to anyone, neither did anyone know who Athena was —everyone knew to not mess with either. It was better this way so when they needed to move out, no one would know how they were ever related to the Konstantinos brothers.

“Are you waiting for a dramatic reaction or a candy? Speak Alexander!” Hades was getting more and more annoyed with each second.

Alex instantly straightened up. “As you know he was shot in the shoulder and he didn't bleed as much to lose consciousness, so I concluded he might've panicked seeing his own blood which caused that —it’s quite common with fainthearted patients— but his blood sample says otherwise. We found flunitrazepam —commonly known as roofies— in the test which knocked him out.”

“So you're saying he was drugged before he got attacked.” Ares asks.

“Do you know when he passed out?”

“Shortly after getting to the safehouse.”

“And how long before that was he shot?”

“He went back home and then to the safehouse so… around forty-five, fifty minutes.” Zephyr answers.

“It takes about fifteen to thirty minutes for the pill to work so I'm guessing he was drugged after getting shot.”

It didn't take the trio long to guess what had happened.

It was all making sense to them now. And the realization hit them hard. There were a few possible scenarios that would’ve played out but they were afraid they knew exactly which one was true.

Morpheus only stopped by his house to pick up Athena and she was the only person he met after the attack. She could possibly be involved in this. The trio weren't the people who trust easily. They never think anyone is reliable but for some reason they didn't think Athena did anything. It wasn't her tears for their father but something else about her that they made them believe she's innocent.

The second explanation could be that Morpheus hasn't told them everything since he couldn't remember properly. But that seemed too optimistic. It was just a hope that their father would turn out to be a victim.

The third and possibly the truth was that their father drugged himself. He took the pill so Athena would have to make the call and the brothers would panic thinking how critical the situation was.

And that leaves them with a conclusion, Morpheus planned everything. From getting shot to how each step of the night would play out. Which all could only mean one thing.

He wanted to bring Athena to their home. For some reason after all these years, he wanted her to live where she belonged.

“Are you sure it couldn't have been before he was shot?” Ares asks, trying not to think of what his brain has concluded.

“Yes. ”

“Does it have any side effects?” Zephyr asks, keeping his face neutral of the anger he was feeling.

“Patients commonly have dizziness, temporary coordination imbalance or hazy memories of the event but that doesn't seem to have happened in his case.”

“Right. You can leave. We'll call you if needed.” Alex gave them a nod and left.

“It was all his plan.” Ares voiced their common thought.

“We should let him explain.” Hades said. “I'll text him to come here.”

“I don't know what he was accomplishing shooting himself in the shoulder. What if it had gone wrong?”

“Don't you remember his interest in anatomy, I'm sure he knows more than us about where to shoot.” Zephyr said, shaking his head.

“That still doesn't give him a pass to try it on himself. For fuck’s sake if he wanted to use a gun, we have plenty of people laying around in the basement.” Ares said frustratingly.

“Shh, keep your volume down. I don't think Athena knows what we do.” Hades said, rubbing a fist on his forehead. “He wanted to bring her here, there's no other explanation of why he did that.”

As the brothers waited for their father, Zephyr decided to check the cameras again but before he could, their father was already here so he turned all his attention to him.

“What’s so important that I needed to be here immediately?”

Ares steps up and decides to start the interrogation. “We wanted to ask if you remember anything else from last night? Possibly what happened after you got shot.”

There was a shift in his demeanor that the brothers noticed. Morpheus was more aware of his surroundings now and it could only mean that he was guilty of something.

“No, I think I’ve told you everything already.” He tried keeping his voice neutral.

“Did you eat or drink anything during your ride back home or to the safehouse?” Zephyr joined the conversation.

Morpheus knew where this was going and he hated it. His sons were too smart to ignore the obvious and he wished he’d done a better job.

“None that I remember.”

“Is she an accomplice?” Zephyr asked, leaning against the table.

“What?”

“What was her role in this? Did she shoot you or drug you?”

This was it. His secret was out. Morpheus couldn't deny it further because it was useless now. He knew his sons will find out but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.

“She's just a child.” He was pissed at his sons and his tone conveyed that clearly.

“Doesn't mean she isn't capable of helping out in your sick plan.” Hades said.

“She didn't do anything. It was all my plan. No one else helped me with it.” Morpheus said with his voice not wavering.

He would never mention that Oliver shot him. He knew how much his sons love him, they wouldn't wait to listen further and go kill his only friend.

Oliver only went through with the horrible plan because he trusted Morpheus and wanted what's best for Athena. They both had high expectations for everything to work out right but it didn't.

“Why did you do it dad?” Zephyr's jaw clenched as his eyes saddened.

“I wanted her to live with you.” Morpheus said, not meeting their eyes.

“And what is that gonna achieve-”

“I thought you'd like her if you met her.” Morpheus looked directly into Zephyr’s eyes as he said the words.

“She doesn't wanna be with us either, atleast don't punish her in all this.”

Hades thought saying that would make his father change his decision but Morpheus was firm on it. He believed this was the only way this could work and he was ready to do anything for his granddaughter.

“She just needs love. If you give her that, she'd like you.” Morpheus tried telling them.

“We don't want her to like us.” Ares said, raising his voice to prove his point. “Why don't you understand dad, we don't want her in our life.”

“But she deserves to have a father.”

“We don't want a kid. If we did she would’ve had us for the last sixteen years.”

“Why do you always think about her?” Zephyr was getting frustrated by his father's biases towards Athena. “We were kids too. We made a mistake and first you didn't let us make it right and now you're forcing us to never move on from it. Why can't you just let us live our lives?”

“Because it's destroying hers.” Morpheus’ voice broke and the trio's heart squeezed painfully. “You’re having the time of your life without any responsibilities but she's… She's falling into the pit her parents dig for her and she thinks that's her life. She doesn't believe in love and relationships. She thinks it's all a beautiful lie. She thinks everyone is temporary.”

Morpheus looks up at his sons. “But if you accept her, she's gonna have a father and when she feels a sense of stability and love then… then she might change for the better.” He stepped towards Hades. “Trust me it won't be too hard to convince her, she's so trusting she'll give you a chance. You just gotta say the right things and be the right person. And it helps that she has a fondness for your wealth.”

“But that's not what we wan-”

“Zephyr, remember you used to beg me for a sister?” Zephyr knew where this was going. He’s heard it all a thousand times before. “You used to always talk about how caring girls are, how sweet they are to people they love. You even tried to bribe me with your Halloween candy to adopt a baby sister for you. Do you remember that? You were five.” Zephyr remembered that but he stayed quiet. “Athena is such an amazing person. She's caring, loving, sweet and everything that you ever wanted.”

“Dad please-”

“Ares,” Morpheus tried negotiating with the last brother. “You're the oldest, you weren't the most responsible but you were always protective of your family. She's your family too and she needs you, she needs protection from what she thinks is right. She needs someone to guide her.”

Morpheus' tone was a decimal over begging. He was ready to try his hardest. He desperately wanted his plan to work and the trio felt their worst to see the man they idolize pleading them to see the truth.

Each of his words felt like a stab to the heart. The brothers were well aware of how evil they were but they didn't want to hear it from their father. They wanted to be saints in his eyes. They wanted him to love them unconditionally but they knew they didn't deserve his affection.

There was only one thing that could change his opinion about them.

Accepting Athena.

And that was the only thing they couldn't do.