Big Novel

 

" Useless f*****g Doctor..." Stefan mumbled as he reluctantly sat at the dining room table picking at the sandwich Marcus had made him. 

"She'll wake up when she's ready Boss, I know your not a patient person by nature but unfortunately there's nothing you can do right now but wait and take comfort in the fact that you know she's alive and the knowledge that you'll find her," Marcus said as he poured himself and Stefan another coffee. 

Stefan sighed, "I know it's just the fact she's alone with Mia, and Mia could be hurting her right this second... it breaks my heart that I can't protect her." Stefan confided in a tone that almost sounded broken. 

Marcus needed to snap Stefan out of his sad state, it was helping no 

one so he did the only thing he could think of he leaned across the table and without warning punched Stefan who's chair fell backward with the impact. 

"WHAT THE f**k WAS THAT FOR?!" Stefan screamed as he scrambled out of the chair and stood to face Marcus who was grinning at him. 

"Your angry...good," Marcus smiled. 

"OF COURSE I AM ANGRY, YOU PUNCHED ME! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT YOU, BIG GRINNING i***t !!" Stefan snarled turning angrier as Marcus's grin widened. 

"Good because your sad and defeated mood was helping no one. Now your angry instead of a blubbering mess channel that anger on Mia and focus on the fact that you'll find Lilly soon and catch up to Mia and get revenge. Don't sit and blubber about how worried you are about Lilly, Mia 

won't kill her she needs her alive and anything she dishes out to Lilly, Lilly 

will endure knowing you're coming for her- she's a fighter Lilly and not some 

weak kitten, despite her natural kind nature, she knows how to defend 

herself and she can hold her own...long enough for you to find her." Marcus 

said as he took a sip of his coffee and pointed to Stefan's suggesting he do 

the same. 

So you punched me because you thought I was moping and you were 

trying to snap me out of it...?" Stefan asked in a mildly amused tone as he 

rubbed his painful jaw. 

"Precisely," Marcus smirked expecting Stefan to be grateful. 

"And you couldn't just tell me that I need to snap out of and that Lilly 

will be fine for the meantime instead...LIKE A NORMAL PERSON?" Stefan 

asked as he picked up the chair 

"Well...I suppose I could have. But I didn't think of that...besides my 

way did the trick." Marcus said grinning. 

"YOU'RE A f*****g MORON! But...thank you," Stefan said 

begrudgingly. 

"Your welcome. Now eat your sandwich, you'll need your energy to 

save Lilly, I can't have you fainting on me like a girl when all the action kicks off..." Marcus teased making Stefan smile. 

"Your the one acting like a woman...like a mother hen nagging at me to eat," Stefan countered 

"That's because someone has to take care of you whilst Lilly is 

temporarily not here and naturally with my kind and sweet nature I am the natural candidate..." Marcus joked, "besides everyone else apart from Jason who's busy guarding Gemma, is too scared to approach you right now." Marcus admitted this time making Stefan grin. 

Stefan ate his sandwich, which surprisingly wasn't awful since Marcus made it and then he sat in silence trying to stay focused on his mission and stay positive, not allow himself to fall into a pit of despair. "What do 

you think is taking Jamie so long?" Stefan finally asked breaking his silence. 

"I am guessing they stopped at a safe house whilst they are waiting on transport...since Jason contacted the council on your behalf when Gemma was being operated on, Mia's mafia money has most likely been frozen and her private jet been seized so she will most likely be waiting on the Russian's helping her with transport," Marcus replied. 

"I was meant to contact them in the car but I was so focused on trying to get in touch with Lilly and then when I saw Gemma lying almost dead...and her maybe being our only lead if Jamie betrays us again...l couldn't focus on anything apart from finding Lilly." Stefan admitted that was smart of Jason. It won't stop Mia tough, she's smart and probably planned for this situation but at least it will delay her a little, giving us more time to find her and with the council aware that Mia is a traitor they will have their men and resources out looking for her too." Stefan said making a 

mental note to thank Jason- he really had seemed to change and was really stepping up and pulling his own weight in the effort to find his sister. 

"Yeah, he's been a great help, he even helped protect the men whilst they were unconscious until they woke in case there was another attack and asked for a picture of Mia organizing for it to disturbed to both the police on our payroll and his old associates in Dive bars and with my permission offered a £50,000 reward for anyone who finds her," Marcus 

said 

"When this is all over, perhaps I will give him another chance and offer him a job- a legitimate job in one of my companies, something with some responsibility and good pay- he has proven he is worthy of another chance and it would be good to have him around, for Lilly's sake. What do you think?" 

"I think your right, he has earned it and I am sure Lilly would appreciate it." Marcus agreed 

Marcus and Stefan spent the next twenty minutes trying to stay positive by discussing Stefan's plans for the future when Stefan's phone went off, "What is it is it a ransom call? Or has someone spotted Mia?" Marcus asked. 

"No, it's Jason," Stefan said as he answered. 

"Boss, that's Gemma awake, I didn't want to leave her unguarded to tell you in person..." Jason said feeling a bit daft calling Stefan when they were both in the same house. 

"Thanks, Jason, you did the right thing. We will be down shortly." Stefan said as he stood and signaled Marcus to follow him, it was time to question Gemma, and one way or another he would get the answers he sought. 

Gemma attempted to sit up but a pain in her stomach forced her to lie back down. 

She had a splitting headache and her vision was blurry...where was she? She thought as she blinked the dizziness away and looked around the unfamiliar room. Was she in some sort of hospital? Why was she in a hospital? Suddenly the memories of what happened came flooding back and Gemma bolted upright determined to find out what happened to Lilly, not even the agonizing pain in her stomach would stop her! But as she kicked her left leg out of the bed and tried to get out of it she felt a sharp pain in her wrist and she was shocked to discover she had been handcuffed to the bed! What was going on? 

"Hello, is anyone there? " Gemma shouted alerting Jason to the fact she was awake and he called Stefan to inform him before he entered the room to check on her. 

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Gemma shouted as Jason entered and came closer. 

Jason ignored her question and went to pour her a drink of water. " I SAID WHO ARE YOU! IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE BASTARDS WHO is WORKING FOR MIA AND YOU'VE HURT LILLY, YOU'LL BE SORRY!" Gemma screamed as he refused the water the stranger offered as for all she knew it could be poisoned or laced with some sort of non-deadly but suspicious substance. 

Jason sighed at her refusal of the water, he would rather say nothing and just wait on Stefan but she was beginning to look scared and if she got too scared and claimed up Stefan might not get the answers he needed so he answered her question in the calmest tone he could, "I am Jason...Lilly's brother." 

Gemma studied the handsome man in front of her, he looked nothing 

like Lilly as Lilly was fair-haired with a porcelain complexion and this man 

had dark hair and a slight tan. "You're lying. You look nothing like Lilly and 

her brother is in rehab..." Gemma replied glaring at the stranger. 

Yes, I know I look nothing like her Lilly took after our mum and I took 

after our father. And yes I was in rehab but when Stefan told me Lilly was in 

danger I wanted to come with him to help." Jason explained again offering 

her water which she refused despite her dry throat. 

"Stefan's here...? I want to speak to him! " Gemma demanded hoping if 

he was here then he could confirm this stranger's identity and more 

importantly tell her what happened to Lilly. 

"Good because I want to speak to you too..." Stefan replied in an 

unfriendly tone as he entered the room and made his way over to her 

bedside. 

"Oh, Stefan I am glad you're back. Jamie shot me and he was with Mia, 

I think they took Lilly...please tell me you know how to find her? " Gemma 

said to worried about Lilly and still a little drugged up from surgery to notice 

Stefan's angry expression. 

"Funny, I was going to say the same to you..." Stefan growled as he hovered over her and glared at her. 

"What? I don't understand..." Gemma replied noticing Stefan's glare and getting the feeling something was going on that she didn't know about...something very bad judging by Stefan's glare and the fact she was handcuffed to the bed. 

Stefan stared deep into her eyes as he said, "well considering you have a secret connection to a Russian and have been texting in Russian...I thought you might know better how to find Lilly than me." 

Gemma gasped and looked at Stefan with wide frightened eyes, she wasn't frightened for herself but for her mother. She could see why it looked suspicious but she had nothing to do with Lilly's disappearance and she wanted to tell Stefan as much so Stefan wouldn't waste time on her that could be used on trying to find Lilly but she didn't want to tell him her secret without risking her mother's safety- she needed assurances first before she revealed her secret. 

"Yes, I have a connection to a Russian...but it's not what you think. I don't have any connection to the Russian Mob, in fact, I have more cause to hate them than you do... I care for Lilly Stefan you know that and I want to tell you the truth, so you know I am not involved with Lilly's abduction in any way but there's a chance if I do someone I care about may get hurt so I will need a few assurances before I talk..." Gemma said daring to look into Stefan's gaze so he hopefully knew she was sincere. 

Stefan took a few deep breaths to calm his rage and looked deep into Gemma's eyes he could see that she was telling truth. She may not have anything to do with Lilly's abduction but she could still be a security risk he needed to take care of so he had to know what she was hiding, "What are 

your conditions?" Stefan replied forcing himself to speak in a lot milder tone that didn't at all reflect the rage he felt inside. 

"I want your word that the person this involves will not be harmed by you or anyone in either yours or either of your uncle's organizations or anyone contracted by you or them. And that you will hear me out fully before you talk..." 

"Done, I give you my word, " Stefan said not having to think the unexpectedly simple conditions over. 

Gemma took a deep breath, " Okay, the person I have been speaking to is my mother...Katrina Romanoff, she was once the niece of the previous Russian Mob Boss and was meant to be married to a high ranking member of The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, in Mexico in an arranged marriage to strengthen the Russian Mob's and give them access to the Mexican / American border so they can slip their drugs and Arms into America under the noses of the American Mafia. Your Uncle in New York found however was currently doing business with The Jalisco New Generation Cartel at the time and wanted leverage against them for a better deal so he, along with your father took my mother as a hostage and threatened to defile her if they didn't get a favorable deal. When the cartel refused to negotiate your father and uncle's raped my mother and were meant to send her back to Russia in disgrace but your father...he became obsessed with trying to break my mother and so he kept her as his prisoner. My mother eventually fell pregnant with me and she managed to escape your father when I was six and she returned home hoping my uncle would accept her and me back but he said he had no need of a Mafia w***e and he threw us onto the streets. Gemma paused to look at Stefan who was staring at her speechless. "My mother stayed on the run from your father...our father... for the next four 

years until she heard you had returned home and killed him and she hoped that with his death she would finally have her freedom but she was wrong...your father had written in his will that if anything ever happened to him he demanded that your uncles track my mother down and kill her for the 'pain' she had put him through for leaving, the bastard claimed to have loved her and said she broke his heart. A year after your father's death one of your uncle's men found my mother and tried to kill her...he shot her when she was at home making my dinner ...I was only eleven when I came home from school and found her. My mum didn't die but she was left with severe spinal damage and unable to walk, she is bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. After the shooting, we ran and spent the next six years on the run but every time we got settled they found us again and we had to move so when I was seventeen I decided I would come to London and try and appeal to you to remove the hit on my mother when I arrived, however, I found you were...no offence not much different than our father, you drank a lot every night and treated women like objects hopping from one bed to another without caring for their feelings and you had a reputation as being violent so I couldn't just go up to you and introduce myself and hope you had a soft side... so I put my mother into hiding and got a job in your household so I could get to know what type of man you were to see if you could be trusted. I was beginning to lose hope you were trustworthy and I could rely on you when Lilly showed up three years after I started working for you and I saw a different side to you. I am sorry for not telling you sooner but honestly, you were a different person before Lilly and I had to make sure I could trust you to remove the hit and not do something stupid like see me as a threat to your inheritance or anything stupid and decide to kill me and then follow your father's wishes and kill my mother..." Gemma said taking a deep breath now she had told her whole story. 

Stefan needed a moment to absorb the shocking news- he had a 

sister...she needed help and she didn't trust him enough to ask...he 

understood why he would have done the same if the roles were reversed 

especially since what she said was true, he was a different man before Lilly 

entered his life but still it hurts to know that she needed him and he wasn't 

approachable enough to help. 

Stefan knew by Gemma's tone she was telling the truth but he pulled 

himself together and looked her in the eye to read her expression. As he 

looked into her eyes he saw regret, fear and hope, he knew she was telling 

the truth in his gut but he would have her translated texts soon anyway as 

confirmation, in the meantime, he decided to follow his gut. "I understand 

why you didn't tell me ...your right I was a different person before I met Lilly 

but if you had asked I would have helped...but if it was my mother I would 

have done the same thing. I am so sorry I wasn't there for you...and for 

everything, you and your mum suffered threw. Marcus..."

"Yes, Boss?" Marcus said hearing Stefan's shout, as he entered the 

room that he and Jason had subtly exited to give Stefan and Gemma privacy 

after Gemma dropped the ' I am your sister' bomb. 

"I need you to put the word out in my organisation and both of my deceased uncles that Gemma is my sister and her and her mother are considered Family and are to be treated as such, any attempt on their life will be seen as an attack against me and I will retaliate personally," Stefan ordered making Gemma sigh in relief- she had finally accomplished her mission and her mother was safe. 

"Sure thing Boss," Marcus said as he turned to leave. 

"Oh, and Marcus bring a tray of food down please and if there's any news on Lilly come and get me immediately...I will be waiting down here...with my sister." Stefan said making Gemma smile as tears of joy slipped from her eyes at the fact he was accepting her. 

Stefan made his way closer to the bed and unlocked Gemma's handcuffs and then sat on the chair next to her bedside, " we have a lot of catching up to do so we may as well start whilst we wait for news of Lilly...I would like us to build a relationship and I know you care for Lilly too...it make take our minds off worrying for a little bit, what do you say?" 

"That sounds great...where do we start..."

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