Chapter Three

Her apartment bell ringing made Isabella cleaned her hand and walked to the door.

“ Delaney, you'll spoil my doorbell one…” she opened the door and it was Valerie standing there, her eyes swollen and resting by her door looking sick. Isa sucked in her words and helped Valerie into her house, locking the door after her.

“ Are you okay?” She asked an obvious question but she needed to hear from the horse’s house. Valeria adjusted in the couch before looking up her.

“ I fell into….”

“ You're lying” Isabella said looking at her and Valerie tried not to meet her gaze .

“ I needed money and I couldn't come back here so I …”

“ So you went ahead to steal” Isa completed her sentence “ can you see what you get yourself into? Did you think my father will be happy seeing you like this? I've had to take of Jason even before I get to understand what I meant to take care of myself… I …” Isa broke down crying in the midst of her words.

“ I can promise you, I am changed now… I just needed .. I'm sorry, my Bella… I never intended to, I am sorry” Valerie joined in the tears while pulling Isa closer. They spent minutes crying until Isabella pulled out and stood up.

“Get a bath and change your clothes, I'll prepare something for you”She said and Valerie nodded.

Back in the kitchen,while cleaning up her dishes Isabella felt her tears flow against her control. Valarie Hart, her mother was into drug right before the death of her father, Felix Hart. He was a business man and he loved his wife so much and bought her drugs because it made her happy but that lasted until her father went on his usual business trip and didn't return. She was only eight years old and she didn't understand life at that moment.

For reason unknown to her, they relocated to Los Angeles and a smaller apartment but right before her, her mother sold everything that mattered to them just to get herself drugs. To save her brother from having to watch their mother destroy herself, she sent her brother to boarding school and with the aid of her new found friend, Delaney she was placed on scholarship by Mr Lynn Walker, Delaney's father. She had part-time lectures, got part time jobs to support her brother and herself.

Things got worst, Valarie slept out some other night. Came home and steal other times, gone to prison for stealing. She had took loans to bail her but Valarie couldn't stop. She didn't. Isabella cleaned her tears, proceeding to making meal and soon returned to her mother with a bowl of noodles. Valerie now cleaned up, dressed in her Isabella’s cloth and with her hair tied up in a ponytail looked more appealing.

“Thank you” Valerie said and Isabella watched her mother scooped the noodles. Isabella busied herself with her phone, searching for remote jobs to apply for.

“How is your brother?” Valerie asked out of the blues and Isa looked at her, it's been years since Valeria saw Jason and this was the first time she ever asked.

“He's good” Isa said, pausing a minute to watch her mother eat while wondering if she was finally changing. “Are you sure you’ll work on becoming clean?” Isa asked, her voice trembling. However a side of her wanted to believe that at the very least, her mother would want to fight for her better self.

“Yeah”Valarie assured and Isa went to sit before her and gave her a big hug. Later that night, they did some catch up. Called Jason and it was a family moment Isabella wants to relish in forever.

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“ Don, we have checked the whole of the west and we can't find anything about Brown” Seth said to the man painting on a canva. He had ash grey hair and every of his focus was on the lady he was painting.

“ Nicholas, go to the south. Get anyone that knows Brown” Victor Kade said and Nicholas nodded leaving the house while Seth stood beside him.

“ Did you want me to find out who the lady from the party is?” Seth asked informally, he was Victor's personal bodyguard but aside that they were friends.

“ No” Victor said and his lip lifted as he turned to look at Seth “ I saw you with a lady”

“Uhm…” Seth found himself blushing “she…Don, I don't know what to say” he confessed and Victor nodded turning back to his painting.

“ She's pretty anyways, just stay careful” Victor said, his mind drifting to the lady who had flared up because he offered her money. She was clearly having money issues with her brother and he had never met anyone who didn't need money.

“ Don… you're getting it wrong. I don't intend on having anything to do with her plus I love my women rather reserved” Seth said and Victor stopped, he loved his woman's boldness… unless she wasn't his woman but how she'd come to him and claimed him as though she couldn't feel the power he carried had him pondering. He looked at Seth again studying his eyes for a while.

“ Remain careful…you like her” he stated out and Seth stood still unable to argue anymore. Victor turned back to his painting again. He was conflicting with his own self.

Why was he pissed by her outburst? why had she acted like he was some dirt? Does she knows he was a Mafia don? Was she scared? Who rejects money? Who was she? He thought of searching for her just to settle h is curiosity but she already made it clear to him that she doesn't want anything to do with him anymore.

He wasn't going to chase after some random hyper weird lady, he had more pressing issues to deal with.

“Don” Seth called him quietly bringing back to reality, Victor looked at Seth then from his facial expression, turned to what he had been drawing absentmindedly. suddenly out of frustration smeered his whole drawing, he had been drawing the weird lady all along.