Chapter 18 - Seventeen: The Panicked Brothers

Daniel's P.O.V

I watched as Sam dropped the last shard of glass in the tray.

As far as my eyes could see there was only blood, my baby sister's blood.

She was sleeping as Sam took care of all the cuts that were covering her hands. It was a good thing that she was unconscious, otherwise, she would have felt so much pain.

I could not remember the last time when I was this much terrified, or maybe I did. The day she was taken away from us.

The panic, the sadness, and the fear of losing her that I was feeling at the moment were exactly the same that I felt fourteen years ago when our baby sis was taken away from us.

I could not understand what exactly happened to her, which made her go to the length of self-harm.

The image of the moment when we all first entered her room after breaking the door as she stood in the center of the smoke-filled room with her hands bleeding and her eyes swollen from crying, was imprinted in my mind.

I would never be able to forget that scene ever and I could tell that the same goes for the rest of my brothers who were currently scattered around Domenic's room, watching in silence as Sam took care of our injured baby sis.

My eyes landed on Mark who was standing in the farthest corner of the room against the wall, hiding in the shadows.

A sense of guilt took over me as I recalled how both I and Domenic doubted him because we thought that he had ended up saying something very mean to her which led to her current condition.

Neglecting the fact that she was completely fine when she first returned with him.

Her attitude changed when she returned from the short tour of the mansion with Mrs. Smith and the others.

But what actually happened in that short time that led to this chaos? The question was bugging not only me but all my brothers.

I kept observing Mark as he stared at the sleeping form of Emilia. He was the one who caught her and saved her from landing on the cold hard floor.

As if he noticed my gaze his eyes turned to look right at me. I just nodded my head lightly at him, a small gesture of understanding and comfort.

I watched as his shoulders relaxed a little as if some kind of tension left his body.

The one sitting next to him on the desk chair was our youngest brother, Leo and unlike others, he did not store his sadness and pain inside his heart.

His eyes were swollen due to crying so much. He lost control over his tears the moment he had laid his eyes on the bloody and unconscious figure of our baby sis in Mark's arms.

The last time he cried like this was ages ago when he was twelve and Domenic forbid him from going to meet Grandpa during summer vacations.

Ever since then our baby brother who was not actually a baby anymore, stopped crying. However today the record was broken as he cried his heart out.

It had taken Crist a long time to calm him down, the ultimate weapon being the threat that he would be sent out of the room if he kept disturbing Emilia's sleep with his crying.

The threat worked its magic as he instantly quieted down, only a few hiccups left his lips every now and then.

Simon and Crist both were sitting on the floor against the wall, silently watching as Sam wrapped bandages around Emilia's palm covering the deep cuts that she somehow succeeded in giving herself

The concern was clear on Crist's face as he left clutching and unclutching his fists, a clear indication of the worry that was erupting inside him.

However, on the other hand, Simon was as still and indifferent looking as always. His eyes were devoid of any expressions.

Even though at first glance everyone thought Mark and Domenic were the coldest ones but in truth, it was Simon who was actually the coldest.

The reason was clear. He barely showed any other emotion on his face except the usual indifferent look.

He mostly stayed away from home or closed inside his bedroom, not joining the family dinners, not participating in vacation plans.

Except for the most important moments, he never made an appearance in front of us.

In the past fourteen years, he had pulled himself away from everyone, not caring about anything or anyone.

The fact that he was still sitting in the room and had already not left was the only indication that he cared about the person whom he loved more than anything at one point in his life.

That same love was still present in his stony heart, buried somewhere deep.

The door of the room opened and Domenic entered the room. It looked like he had aged ten years within the past three hours.

His always perfectly combed hair was no more looking perfect. His suit coat was nowhere in sight and his sleeves were rolled up with his tie hanging loosely around his neck with the top two buttons of his shirt left open.

This was a sight that was next to impossible to come across. He always looked picture perfect at every minute of the day but here he was, looking tired and completely worn out as he came near the bed and stood beside Sam.

Sam was a close family friend who also worked in our business, providing his medical assistance.

"She's in no danger. Just let her rest for the time being and make sure that she was properly fed and taken care of." Sam said in a low tone as he packed his bag and stood up.

His eyes landed first on Domenic and then at me. The message was clear in them, he wanted us to follow him out of the room because there was something he wanted to discuss.

The dread of what he was going to say settled inside my heart making my eyes immediately dart at the sleeping form of my baby sis.

She was alright, right? She was in no kind of danger, was she?