Chapter 17: Ivan and Emilio Fox!

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- Look at how much you grow up since the last time I saw you. (IVAN - CALM)

So you came to kill me, huh? (IVAN)

- I would die at the hands of my own creation, there is no bigger honor than that. You were and always be... my Masterpiece. (IVAN)

- I will take my revenge... even beyond the grave. (IVAN)

- I finally... pay my debt. (IVAN)

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Anna has just woken up abruptly from her deep slumber like she was struggling for her own life with an invisible force. She was breathing heavily and she was exhausted physically and mentally.

Ivan was still hunting her for some reason, she thought that she will feel better when would have killed him, she did, only for 5 minutes.

Doesn't that mean revenge... is pointless... and... meaningless the whole time? She wasted so much energy and time, for what? For 5 minutes of satisfaction?

There were a lot of pieces that were missing in Ivan's behavior, so far wasn't making any sense. She had read about the techniques of 'brainwashing', 'manipulation', and 'Stockholm Syndrome', but Anna didn't have any of these.

Instead, for some reason... she felt that she lost something... something important... to her? How does this make any sense? Ivan was not someone important... was he?

No!

How could he be?

At some point, Anna remembered the last thing she heard. She starts checking her surrounding. The place kinda looked like a hospital, and she was in bandages, and next to her was Carlos.

Does this mean that someone saved them? Whom? And why?

Just in time, when Anna was thinking about their current situation Carlos's eyes opened. Anna explained to Carlos and he agreed with her.

If the person who took them wanted them dead, they would already be dead by now, he wouldn't have to treat their wounds.

Besides, they have a huge disadvantage, they were in unknown territory and they have no idea about the identity of the person who saved their lives, but that doesn't mean that person is their ally.

In their current condition, they were severely wounded, so the best option is to buy some time until their people find them and at the same time to find as much information as they can.

Soon after the door opened and a man came in, with a mature appearance with white hair. Carlos recognized the man immediately and greet him.

- Mr. Emilio Fox! So it was you that saved us? (CARLOS)

Anna was relieved because she thought that the one who rescued them was Carlos's friend.

- I'm glad that you have woken up, it's been a week since you passed life-threatening after your surgery. Rest well, in a couple of days when you will be better, we will have to talk. (EMILIO)

However, soon she realized that Carlos was talking to him like a business partner, so he wasn't one of Carlos's men. So why was he in that place?

- Mr. Fox, I'm really grateful that you saved our lives, but I'm afraid I have to ask... why were you there in the first place? (ANNA - SUSPICIOUS)

After Anna's question, Carlos realized the situation. Even though he was grateful to the man, it was also suspicious that he was there in the first place too.

- "Why Mr. Fox was there? I don't think it was a coincidence, so does that mean he somehow knew Anna's family, or he is also involved with Ivan. Is he an enemy or an ally?" (CARLOS)

- I understand your suspicions during our circumstance of meeting, but I can assure you that I'm not your enemy or any kind of threat to you. Your priority right now is your health, in a couple of days, both of you will be better, I promise that we will talk and I will answer all of your questions, as much as I can at least. It's not like I knew everything about Ivan too. (EMILIO - CALM - POLITE)

Just the name Ivan makes both of them alert and raise their guard. However, they both knew that they could do nothing for now, not at least until their people found them.

Emilio left the room before they even have any chance to respond to him, so their only option is to wait, stall and buy some extra time until they will be found.

A couple of days later Anna and Carlos had their breakfast, two bodyguards came into their room to escort them to the man they met yesterday. While they were walking they observed their surrounding, it was definitely a big luxurious place but they were also feeling that they were in an underground war hideout. They reached into a place that looks like a living room, but there weren't many pieces of furniture.

- Miss Wilson and Mr. Santana I'm glad for your recovery, my name is Emilio Fox. (EMILIO)

Emilio offered them to take a seat and both of them didn't interrupt the man, took a seat, and started listening when he started explaining to them his story with Ivan and the connection he has with Anna's family.

- This is going to be a very long story since I'm going to start from the beginning. (EMILIO)

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When he was 8 years old his father suddenly brought a woman into their house after 5 years of his mother's death.

The woman wasn't alone, a 13-year-old boy was next to her. He remembered that the first thing he noticed was the same expression they both had. They looked like they had just survived a war zone or something.

They barely spoke, with cold and emotionless eyes, he was always wondering what happened to them to be like that?

His father told him that he would marry the woman and give them both his last name, at first he wasn't happy at all, he thought that his father had an affair with another woman and had an illegitimate child.

But soon that thought vanished when he realized that they had an accent, so they were foreigners. Besides the boy wasn't even looking like his father or his mother at all. The woman was blond with blue eyes but her son's hair was auburn with green eyes.

Soon later his father told him that this marriage was necessary for these people's protection and they had to pretend they had a normal happy family. His father told him that in the outside world they would be a real family, and it was ok if he didn't fully accept them, he just have to pretend.

His father had never explained to him why they had to pretend to be a family or why they needed protection, or from whom. The only thing Emilio could do was to obey his father, but he was also curious about the two new persons who had just entered their lives.

They were living in the same house, but still, they were living like strangers. They had never tried to know each other or interact with each other lives. Emilio tried to know Ivan better, be friends with him, or even better become his big brother, but that had never happened.

Ivan was always cold to him barely speaking or wanting to be around with people. He was mostly in his room and got out when it was necessary, no one knew what he was doing for so many hours in his room.

Emilio on the other hand was exactly the opposite of Ivan, he was a happy, playful, and social child with a lot of friends. Ivan didn't look to be affected by that, he didn't look jealous or irritated at all by how different he was from Emilio.

At first, Emilio thought that Ivan hated him or felt annoyed by him when he tried to be closer to him.

After two years of effort to come closer to Ivan, Emilio just gave up and moved on with his life.

Emilio wanted to ask his father why he married that woman since he could tell that they didn't have any feelings for each other, why they needed protection and from whom? This was something he always wanted to know, but he was also afraid to ask, why his dad had never told him? Even he was older?

Were they in danger too? Until one day he overheard a conversation between his father and his stepmother.

His father was actually apologizing that he couldn't do more to help them and keep them safe, while his stepmother told him that he had already done a lot for them than anyone could do.

But the most shocking part was what his father told her next that it wouldn't be fair for Ivan to have such a burden at a young age, the woman told him that this was Ivan's decision, and the only thing they could do was to support him. His father then started yelling at her saying that Ivan might not be his son but that doesn't mean he doesn't care when he is going to see such a young boy joining the military.

Emilio left soon after that because he heard footsteps and didn't want to get caught. When he was alone in his bedroom he started thinking about why Ivan wanted to join the military?

He was only 15 years old, what about his studies?

Soon he got his answer, apparently, Ivan was a genius, close to Einstein level and has already graduated and wanted a career in the military and of course, the military gladly accepted him.

Emilio was stunned, he had no idea how smart Ivan was, not that he let him know anything about him anyway.

After Ivan had left to join the military, Emilio was feeling kinda empty and that something was missing, how strange, why would he feel like that?

He was wandering in the big mansion like a ghost until one day he heard whispers not far from him, did he finally lose his mind and started having delusions or something? He started walking in the direction of the whispers and he saw two housekeepers gossiping with each other in a low voice, so the whispers were from them, thank god, at least he didn't start becoming crazy or something.

But he could never imagine that the housekeepers in the house badmouthing Ivan and his mother, he was really shocked, he had no idea, he kept listening to them. Apparently, the housekeepers were glad that the weird kid of the gold digger had left because he was really scary.

Scary?

Emilio was stunned by what other people were thinking about the new members of his family, he had no idea about the rumors and bad reputation the mother and son had outside of the house.

No one had asked him anything about them, so he thought that people accepted them. The people around him had a different attitude and image in front of him, but what about Ivan?

He had no idea, no, more precisely he didn't even think that they were different when Ivan was alone with them. Were they so cruel to Ivan in his face?

Did they mock and ridicule him when he was not around? Was that why Ivan was so distant from him? Did he think that he was mocking him? Did he think that Emilio actually hated him? No wonder he was avoiding him.

But why people were calling Ivan scary?

Emilio had never seen anything scary about Ivan.

He was seeing only sadness and loneliness in his eyes, so why no one else could see that? What had he been through?

No, what they had been through, he came with his mother to be safe from something or from someone, but they ended up in another hell?

Damn, what the hell is wrong with people? Why they don't mind their own business.

Emilio wanted to apologize and make it up to Ivan, but it was too late now, he was two years late. Deep down he knew that nothing would change between them.