Chapter 139

Aldo

“Boss, you’re pacing,” Carlo commented.

“No, I’m not,” I stated, mindlessly as my legs trailed the same path back and forth in my office.

Fuck. I was.

But for Christ's sake, I couldn’t stop. From the time I watched Eva and Stasia head down the hall to meet Layla, my worry took off.

My head was pounding with ongoing thoughts and worries about how the meeting was going with Layla. I felt as though I may have crossed another line by going behind her back, yet again, and arranging all of this.

The last thing I wanted was for her to feel as though I was trying to pawn her off on someone else. She wasn’t a problem, but she had a problem. And I was still heavily invested in finding a way to help her.

The moment I first met Eva and Stasia, I developed this overwhelming sense of dread. Not because I believed either woman was a direct threat in any way, but rather because I was worried about what was going to come from this meeting with Layla.

First introductions had been kept short and sweet as the twins were more eager than anything to meet Layla. But when they first arrived, everyone was taken aback by the astounding resemblance the two women shared with each other.

“Holy shit,” Carlo muttered under his breath. “I wonder if all of Layla’s extended relatives are this hot.”

I held back a scoff. Yes, well...Carlo wasn’t wrong in his assessment. Eva and Stasia were very model-worthy beautiful. It made me wonder if that was how they were able to keep such a low profile when it came to the true nature of their family.

There was a slight note of their Russian accent as they spoke but it was clear the two had spent a considerable amount of time in the States.

“You must be Aldo.” One of them smiled to reveal a flawless set of purely white teeth. “I’m Eva, and this is my sister Stasia.”

“Thank you for getting here so promptly,” I said. “I hope there weren’t any issues in getting here.”

“Not at all,” Staia said. “When Irena called, we immediately decided we had to be here.”

“It’s not every day you find out you have a distant cousin,” Eva hummed. “Now, we’ve been told about some of her symptoms, but I’m going to need to speak with her directly. Where is she staying currently?”

I pointed in the direction of Layla’s new room. “Third door down,” I said. “Please, go easy on her.”

That was two and a half hours ago...

All that time I’d been left to my own mental devices. How was it going? Was Layla able to open up to them?

Since the two had slipped into the room, he hadn’t heard any distinctive shouting or screaming. That was a good sign...Right?

“I’m sure everything is going just fine,” Carlo offered. “In any case, do you want to know what we gathered on our special Agent Carter?”

For once, in the last few weeks, I was actually glad for Carlo’s presence. I gave a curt nod and waited for him to give me his report.

“Tell me what you found.”

“Agent Daniel Carter resides on the upper East side of the city in a considerably nice apartment complex. However, lately, he hasn’t been spending his nights there.”

“Oh, really?”

“He’s either locked away at the station or he’s living out of his car.”

I raised my brow in question. Why would someone choose to spend their nights cramped up in their car when they have a perfectly empty apartment?

“Let me guess, he’s still trying to waste his time gathering information on us?”

“Your guess is as good as mine at the moment,” Carlo muttered.

“Has he been meeting with anyone?”

“No. But he spends an awful amount of time on the phone. So, clearly, there’s someone who’s been holding his interest lately.”

We didn’t know how much information Agent Carter was able to gather on my family as of right now. However, it went without saying that there was a likely chance we’d be able to find out.

If this guy was prone to spending the majority of his time away from his apartment, then that meant there was a chance we could learn more about him on a more personal level.

“Have someone else keep an eye on him in the next coming days,” I said. “I want you to find a way to get into this asshole’s apartment,” I said.

Carlo gave me a knowing smirk. “I’m already ahead of you. I've got the team scoping out the place to find out what kind of security measures we’re dealing with.”

“Good.”

Knock. Knock.

“Yes?” I called out.

Both Eva and Stasia came into the room with stoic expressions. Goddamnit. I couldn’t even tell if their meeting with Layla had even gone well or not.

I silently gestured for the two of them to sit down in the open chairs. At first, neither one of them spoke. Stasia turned to glance at her sister, urging her to discuss her evaluation.

“I’m just going to come out and ask,” I said. “How is she?”

“It’s just as I suspected,” Eva stated. “She’s suffering from a mild case of Dissociative Identity Disorder.”

What the actual fuck??

My blood ran cold. My eyes grew wide in utter shock as I glanced at Carlo who looked equally unsettled.

“Dissociative Identity Disorder?”

This was so far beyond what I had expected. I had no idea what to make of it.

Eva nodded. “Yes. She’s struggling to figure out who she’s meant to be in the life she has now.”

My brows furrowed. “What the hell does that even mean? She’s Layla! She’s always been herself—”

“Has she?” she questioned sharply.

Stasia shook her head. “You’re still seeing her at Layla Bennett—the same girl that you’d fallen in love with all those years ago.”

“She’s not the same person anymore,” Eva noted. “Deep down, you know this to be true. Ever since you’ve come back into her life, having walked out of it initially, she’s taken on a whole new persona.”

“She’s had to become stronger both physically and mentally in order to survive in our world.”

“Our world?”

A glimmer of amusement simmered in their eyes. Both sisters shared in a light laugh.

“Let’s not be coy, Aldo. We’re not like regular citizens, are we?” Eva asked, playfully.

Stasia bent her head forward. “We don’t abide by the rules that govern the general masses. We live by our own.”

“Regardless, it doesn’t change the fact that Layla has always been an outsider. A normal person who wanted nothing more than to make a positive difference in this world. Between the two of you, she’s the one who had to make the most adjustments to her life.”

“The changes may have been subtle at first. But what about when she needed to step into your place as head of the family?”

My heart sank into my stomach. “I see your point,” I murmured.

“People like Layla aren’t meant to become involved in our sort of business.”

I did not like where this conversation was headed.

“Is there a way to help her get better?” I dared to ask.

Eva nodded. “Indeed, there is. However, I’m not sure how happy you’re going to be when you hear the treatment I have planned for her.”