Effie   Growing up, I had the best life possible. I had my mom and dad and even two older brothers. I was the youngest and always treated like a princess. My dad was my hero, and I tried to spend all my free time with him. If I wasn't with him, I would usually be at my mammaw's bakery or at her house, helping her bake. I loved to be in the kitchen with her, and I even talked to her about my dream of going to culinary school for college to be a baker when I was old enough. She was my dad's mom, and I spent a lot of time with her. My brothers were both computer geniuses, just like my dad. So if they weren't hanging out with their friends, then they were with Dad in his office talking about computers and learning anything new that they could. They were also both really good at sports. My oldest brother played football and my other brother played baseball. They both got scholarships to college to play professional ball. There was even talk of them being able to go pro with it. Even though they both liked to play, I wasn't sure if they would continue with it after college. They wanted to work with my dad in the family business at my Poppy's company. They were really good brothers and even though there were a few years between us, they always tried to do stuff with me. They tried to get me to play sports with them, but I wasn't very good at it. I even ended up blacking my own Dam eye one time. I still can't figure out how I managed that one. But they always told me that I didn't need to be able to play sports with them. I was good at cooking, and they were good at eating, so they would do that with me. They tried to help in the kitchen, but they weren't good at that at all. So I guess we were even in that way. Everything was going fine in my life until I turned fifteen. By then, both of my brothers were already in college. My youngest brother was eighteen and had just started college, and my oldest brother was nineteen and a sophomore in college. I was the only one left at home, and more often than not, I was with my mammaw or my dad. I was never close to my mom, so I wasn't often around her. My mom and dad were hardly ever at home at the same time, and when they were, they had been fighting more and more. When I turned sixteen, they got a divorce, and even though my mom didn't want me, she fought to take me away from my dad. I was the only thing that she got in the divorce since my dad had proof that she had been cheating on him for years. The guy that she was sneaking around with was some powerful guy and he tried to do what he could to get his lawyers to take everything from my dad. But because of all the proof that my dad had, he wasn't able to make it happen. So he helped to take me from him instead. Even though I didn't want to go and was old enough to make up my mind, the judge made me go with them. I later found out that he paid the judge off to at least make that happen. That was all that he was able to do, though. Even though I was taken from my dad and uprooted from my home, I still called and texted him all the time. Mom's new аs hole boyfriend tried to take my phone from me and give me one that was monitored by him, but I refused. I wouldn't come off with my phone and wouldn't let them have it. When he tried to stop me from taking it, I just turned the ringers off and hid it in my bra so that they couldn't find it. I never used the phone that he tried to give me and always left it at his house when we moved. When we moved, they moved me across the country to Russia, and I was NOT happy about that. I was very smart and had a photographic memory and could remember everything that I read or listened to. I could also speak several languages as well as read and write in them. My dad knew, but my mom didn't care about my education because she never wanted me. When she got pregnant with me, she wanted to have an abortion, but my dad wouldn't let her. Because of that, she has always hated me and never wanted to have much to do with me. That's why I always spent most of my time with my dad and my mammaw. At one point, she even tried to tell my dad that I didn't belong to him, but a DNA test proved that I did. Since she never wanted me, she didn't pay attention to how I did in school or anything. That was all up to dad to take care of. So she didn't realize or even know that I was exceptionally smart. I could have graduated from school early, but I didn't want to. So because she didn't know how smart I was, I was able to put an app on my tablet that helped me learn how to speak, read, and write Russian. By the time that we got to Russia, I knew the language and could understand everything that went on around me. But I didn't let any of them know. We got settled in his house in Russia and I hated it with a passion of a thousand suns. I wanted to go back home. I wanted to be back with my dad and mammaw. I didn't trust this guy at all and knowing what a bltch my mother is. I had a really bad feeling about being here. Turns out that the feeling I had was correct. And as I turned seventeen, I paid closer attention to what was going on around me. Thankfully, even though my mother got custody of me, my dad got visitation and I was allowed to spend holidays and the summer with him. Every chance that I got, I went to stay with him. I let him know about not feeling safe being over there and we made a plan to get me away from there, just in case. So that if something happened, I could get away and no one would be the wiser. The only thing that I hated was that I wouldn't be coming back home to Washington State. I would be starting over in a new state, and I would be alone at first.   In the year that I had spent over here, I managed to make friends with some boys who were the sons of the head of the Russian Mafia. They were Rodion Smirnov's sons. My mother's husband was one of the members of the Russian Mafia but he wasn't at the top of the food chain so to speak. He was just a lowly peon in the middle of the totem pole. But he had dreams of being higher up in it all and even one day being a leader. I grew the closest to the oldest boy, Leandro. We spent a lot of time together and eventually started to date. Because I was still underage, we never took it further than holding hands. Right before I turned eighteen, we finally slept together. It was the most magical night of my life. I was in love with Leo and wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I thought that he felt the same way about me. Boy, how wrong that I was.   A couple of days before my birthday, I went to Leo's apartment to see him. I had overheard my mother's husband talking, and I needed to let Leo know what he said. I didn't want to keep it from him because their lives were in danger. Not only were their lives in danger, but mine was as well. I managed to record everything that he was talking about on a video so that Leo would believe me. I had a key to Leo's apartment because he didn't want me to ever have to knock. He said that it would one day be my home, so I should have a key to come and go as I please. When I let myself in, I could hear voices coming from his office. I walked in that direction and I heard him talking to some girl and his brother. He was telling the girl not to worry because he didn't love me. He only loved her and would only ever love her. That I was just a job to him because they didn't trust my stepdad and wanted to keep him close to them. That as soon as they figured out what was going on, he would be dumping me and finding a real woman. After all, who would want a stupid American woman when he could have a Russian woman? He kept talking to them, but I didn't keep listening to them. I quietly walked back to the door, took his key off of my keychain, laid it on the TV stand, and then slipped out of the door. I shut it quietly and then headed to the elevator. When I got back downstairs, I told the guard who was always with me that Leo wasn't home and I'd come back later. So he took me back to my mother's house. I knew that none of them were home today. He was in a meeting and she was out spending his money. So when we got back, I went up to my room and shut the door. When we first moved here, I found out that my room had a secret tunnel in it that led outside. After some snooping, I managed to find out that no one even knew that it existed in the house. So I kept my emergency bag stashed on the other side of the door. Thankfully, I didn't have any cameras in my room. There were plenty of them outside of my room, throughout the house, and on the grounds. But there weren't any in the tunnel or at the end of it. So I grabbed a couple of duffle bags and filled them up with all of my clothes and stuff. I didn't really have much here, because I left everything back at home with my dad. I made sure that my messenger bag didn't have any trackers in it and then put it across my shoulder.   The phone, laptop, and jewelry that I got from any of these people I left here on the dresser. The only thing that I had from Leo was a teddy bear and I knew that there weren't any trackers in it. So I took it with me. After I had all of my stuff packed up, I double-checked that I had everything. Once I knew that it did, I went into the closet and hit the secret panel to open it. I stepped through the doorway and grabbed my bookbag. I got my phone out of my pocket and turned it on, put the bookbag on my back, and picked my bags back up. After I made sure that the door had closed back all the way and latched completely closed, I started down the steps that led to the secret tunnel. When I got to the bottom of the steps, I stopped and listened for a few to make sure that I couldn't hear anything. Once I knew that I was in the clear, I walked down the tunnel that would take me to my freedom. I had to walk for about half an hour before I got to the end of the tunnel. Once there, I sat my bags down and then sent an SOS out to my dad, letting him know that I was coming home. We had everything prepared for if my mother happened to call him to see if he had talked to me.   And even though I was going back to the States, I wasn't going back to Dad's house. I knew that they would find me there. And even though I am about to be eighteen in a couple of days, the last thing that I wanted was for any of them to find me. After I sent the SMS to my dad on my phone, I used a texting app and used it to send two texts to Leo. One to let him know that I heard everything that he said, I was done with him and leaving, not to look for me. And that his key was left on his TV stand. And the other was to warn him about my stepdad and attached the video to it. After I sent those messages, I deleted the app off of my phone. Before I put my phone back into my pocket, I saw a text from Dad telling me to be careful and that he loved me. We were using burner phones so that they couldn't be traced or linked back to us. The last time that I was home, I left my regular cell phone at the house with him. That way, no one could tell that we had a plan, and that we had been talking. When they came to him looking for me, he could say that he didn't know where I was at.   Technically, that would be true because he wouldn't know where exactly I was at. All he would know was that I was in Texas, but he wouldn't know where. At least until the heat died down off of him and he was able to join me. Then both he and Mammaw would be coming to live with me. I couldn't wait for that day to get here.   For now, though, I am ready to start my new life. As much as I loved Leo, I honestly hope that I never see him again. I know that it will take me a while to be able to move on. But I hope that one day, I'm able to find a man that will honestly love me for me. For now, though, it's time to start my new life. I put my phone in my pocket, picked up my bags, and left the tunnel. I made my way through the woods and came out the other side. When I came out of the other side, I had brown eyes, and brown hair thanks to a wig and contacts. I had a vehicle stashed there and when I got to it, I unlocked it and tossed my bags into the back. Now to get to the airport. Goodbye Russia, hello Texas.

Effie   My name is Effie Rosabel Kelly Collins, and this is my story. For the past two years, I have been going by the name Rose Kelly. I am trying to keep anyone from being able to find me. When I left Russia, I was using my actual name, Effie Collins. As bad as this is going to sound, my mother doesn't know my full name. My dad and grandma were the ones who named me because she didn't want me. It's been two years now since I ran away from Russia. I was utterly heartbroken when I boarded the plane and left to head back to the States. I expected my mother and her husband to treat me like shift and abuse me. But I didn't expect that the man that I loved was just playing me and using me. I'm still not sure what the hll he got out of stringing me along. The only thing that I can figure out is that maybe they suspected that Egor, the stepdad, had been going behind their backs trying to make moves and take over. The guy that he had been working for really creeped me out. When he was around, I locked myself into my room. And if I heard them coming to my room, I would grab my go bag and sneak into the tunnel. I was only ever around the guy the first time that he showed up at the house. I was still just sixteen, and I overheard him telling Veronica, the mother, and Egor how much money that they could get for me. And all they had to do would be to tell my dad and the cops that I just ran away and no one could find me. Thankfully, I was smart enough to get that all on video on my burner phone and send it to my dad. That way, if something happened, and I went missing, he could give it to the cops. After I heard that conversation, I really didn't trust them, but there wasn't much I could do about it. So If I knew that he was coming to the house, I would either leave or hide. Then I had met Leo and thought that I finally had someone in Russia that I could trust. I felt so much better when I was with him. I even loved to spend time with his family. He only took me around them a few times. I was only ever around his dad briefly, but from what he said, his dad was trying to find his missing sibling. From what I understand about it, they didn't even know that he existed until recently. And once he found out, they all started to look for them. Leo said that they were told the baby was a boy years ago but because of lies saying that it died. They're not really sure if it was a boy or a girl. I spent time with his mom always treated me like I was one of her own. That's what hurt me the most about leaving Russia. Alena was always good to me and when I was there, we would do stuff together. I had even confided in her about how my mother took me from my dad when she had never even wanted me. I was able to talk to her about a lot of stuff. And as much as I hate to say it after I heard what Leo said to his brother and that girl. I started to wonder if she was just nice to me because he was using me. I hated that I felt that way because Alena was always nice to me. Before I left, I sent her a text telling her that I was leaving and why. I also thanked her for always being there for me and being more of a mom to me than my own ever was. I had written all the numbers in that phone down in a notebook before I factory reset it and then left it there. So I had her number if I decided to call her or text her. I did get another phone when I got back to the States so that I could send her a text occasionally. I had a layover in California and I bought a phone from there so that if it was tracked, that's where it would show up. Egor and Veronica thought that they were so smart to give me a phone that they could track. They also thought that they could listen to my phone calls and read my texts as well. It just goes to show how stupid that they both are. My dad is a computer genius and was able to access the phone and fix it so that nothing I did on it would show up to them. The only things that they could see were calls and texts that were sent to me. Nothing more and nothing less. I did have my ways of keeping track of what was going on back at the house of hll in Russia. And I know that they have been trying to find me. They have even gone to my dad's house looking for me. It was a waste of time because by the time that they showed up there, my birthday had passed and I was legally able to be out on my own. A judge even told Veronica and Egor when they took Dad to court over me being gone, that I was now eighteen and old enough to leave their house. There was nothing that they could do about it. Because they were trying to push the issue to get me back at their house, Dad outed them. The judge asked why they were trying so hard to get me back there when I was of legal age to be on my own. As this was a different judge from the one that they had paid off, he couldn't figure out why I was with them in the first place. He even said that I was old enough to decide which parent that I wanted to live with at sixteen and it made no sense that the other judge would make me go with them. So Dad told them what he did, and why they wanted me back. His lawyer even showed all of the proof that he had that showed why he wanted me. When the judge heard the conversation about them wanting to sell me and say that I ran away, Dad said that he was pissed. Dad told the judge that although he didn't know where I was, he knew that I was ok because I'd been checking in with him. Dad told him that I let him know after my birthday that I had left from out there because I didn't feel safe. That I was safe and planned to stay that way. But that I didn't tell him where I was going.   I think that the judge understood why Dad said that. Because if he didn't know where I was, then he wouldn't have to lie under oath. And technically, he didn't know where I was at. All that he knew was that I was in Texas. With the video that Dad had of Egor and that guy talking about selling me, the judge was able to put Egor in jail. It didn't last long because he was able to get out with help from his lawyer. But he now knew that if I went missing, he and his buddy would be the first places that they looked. The judge also granted a permanent restraining order against Egor, the guy, and Veronica. That way, none of them could come around me. And the way that he worded it, they couldn't even send someone who works for them or otherwise around me. If anyone of their people or someone that was hired by them came close to me, they would all be in jail. Dad said that there is an investigation into girls going missing and they think that these guys are responsible for it. So he gladly filed a special restraining order to save me from them. Once I turned eighteen, I had access to a trust fund that my poppy and nanny left for me. They were my mother's mom and dad, and I loved him so much. He didn't get along with my mom because of how she treated my nanny and I. Nanny was the love of his life and he didn't like it when anyone was mean to her. For years, mother was always mean to both of them and then we found out why. My great aunt, my nanny's sister, had lied to my mother and told her that she was actually her daughter. That my nanny kidnapped her from her because she lost her baby. That was so far from the truth. It was actually the other way around.   My great aunt was pregnant at the same time as nanny was and when she lost her baby, she tried to steal my mother from her but was caught. She told them that they would pay for it and then did by turning my mother into a bltch and turning her against them. They did two DNA tests with two different companies to prove to her that she was their child. But she still took that aunt's side. Even though they didn't have anything to do with her losing the baby.   So when they passed away, I was left everything that they owned. Because she legally separated herself from them, Veronica didn't get anything. She tried to contest the will, but it did no good once it was proven that she legally separated herself from them. They also made sure that their wills were airtight, so that she didn't get a penny of their money. My Poppy came from money. His family had a very successful business. His family owned an IT company and through it, is how my dad and mom met. My dad was a computer nerd and was smart as hll. He got a job straight out of college at Poppy's company. Mom latched on to him right away. Even though she didn't want anything to do with my Poppy and Nanny, she begged them for a job. And then she never wanted to work when she was supposed to.   Since Dad worked for the company for years, he ended up being the COO of the company. Poppy put into the will that Dad could run the company as the CEO until I wanted to take over if I wanted to take over. But I own the company. I was smart just like my dad and Poppy, but I didn't want to run the company just yet. I wanted to open my own bakery just like my dad's mom, my grandma Octavia.   Poppy put it into his will that when I turned eighteen, everything would be left to me and it couldn't be signed over or transferred to anyone. Anyone except any future kids that I might have when they turned twenty-five. The only reason that I got it all at eighteen was because my Poppy knew that I was already taking college classes. Mom thought that I was going to the high school still, and I was. But I was taking all college classes. When they tried to advance me through the grades and let me graduate early, my mother said no. She didn't think that I was that smart. But Dad knew the truth and worked with the college to have me do my schooling online. I sat in the library and worked on a laptop during the day. When I moved to Russia, I told my mother that the school agreed to let me finish my work online. Which they technically did, since I was already doing it online. But Dad talked to them and explained what was going on, so they knew where I was doing my work from and why. My Poppy knew about me being in college because when I left, he was still alive. But a few months before I ran away from Russia, I got the call that both he and my nanny had been killed in a car accident. Dad said that it was supposed to be an accident, but they didn't think that it was. It was being investigated because everything about it was too fishy, as he said.   Since I got the money when I turned eighteen, I snuck back home and signed everything that I had to, to get it. Then I transferred it to an account that had my new name on it and Dad made sure that it wasn't traceable. That way, no one could find me. When I got to Texas, I picked a town to settle down in. I found an apartment that I could rent month to month and then started to look for a building that I could buy for a bakery.   Thankfully, the one that I found was huge and had a four-bedroom apartment above it. The bottom part of the building was perfect for a bakery. I put an offer in on it and it didn't take long for me to get it. I contacted a construction company, and they got started on renovations pretty fast for me. It only took a few months, and I was finally able to open up.   There were a lot of surprises along the way over the past two years. But the biggest surprise was my tiny little nugget that I was blessed with. Leo and I had only ever slept together a couple of times, but one of those times. But one of those times, we must have had a protection break. Because as I was trying to get my bakery open and settle down into a new town all alone, I suddenly found myself pregnant. My little nugget was a big blessing to me. And although my dad and grandma were excited for their grandson/great-grandson to get here, they knew that they couldn't move down here yet. But one person could.   My mom knew nothing about my best friend. As far as she knew, I didn't have any friends. But Dad knew Dove and knew her parents. Dove was a few years older than me, but we had been friends for years. Her parents lived beside my grandma and her dad worked at the company with my dad. He was just in a different part of it. Dove went to college for English because she wanted to be an author. So now that she was one, she could work from anywhere. When she heard what was going on and that I was pregnant, she packed up and drove down to me.   I was so thankful to have my best friend with me again. I had missed her so much and was glad that she moved to live with me. If it wasn't for her, I don't think that I could've made it these last two years. She's my ride-or-die best friend. If I had to hide a body, she would be the first person to grab a shovel to help me. Which is a good thing because before it's over with, I may end up needing to hide one. Especially since I'm pretty sure that I saw my аs hole ex in town a while back. Let's just hope that he stays away from here so that he doesn't find me.  

Effie   Today was Saturday and that meant that I could sleep in a little bit today. On Fridays, I always made extra of everything and then after we closed, I would make everything that we would need for Saturdays. I had people who worked for me that I could trust now, so I left them to open the bakery on Saturdays and Sundays. The weekend was for me to spend time with my little nugget. I didn't work on the weekends unless I had a taste testing or needed to make a cake for an event that happened on the weekend. I had a taste testing today for a woman that called me a few days ago. I think her name was River something. She just got engaged to four men, FOUR. I could barely handle my one man and she's got four. She's gotta be a special lady to put up with all of them and get engaged to them. She told me that her wedding isn't going to be until June, but she wants to pick that cake out now and have me save the date for her. I appreciate the fact that she is giving me so much notice for her cake. Usually, I get people who only want to give me a week or two and I've even had someone come in and want a five-tier wedding cake the next day. Needless to say that they got turned away. I told them I could make a small cake but didn't have time to do a five-tier cake. I already had three cakes, all two or three tiers for that day. They tried to get people to stop coming here because of that, but a few of my regulars were in here that day and witnessed it. The woman was rude, nasty, and just plain mean from the get-go. And after I told her I couldn't do the cake that she wanted, she just got worse. I have to say, I love my regulars that come in. There is a group of lovely older ladies that come in for coffee and pastries every morning and sit, chat, and eat. They knew the girl and told everyone what she had done, and how mean she was to me. So they all backed me and she was the one who looked bad. One of the ladies even took a video of how she was acting and sent it to the girl's fiance and mom. I'm not for sure but I think that the fiance left her. But it was a combination of things, including her cheating and admitting that she was using him for his money and was going to divorce him and take everything from him. Apparently, she planned to dr*g him and take pictures of him in bed with another woman so that she could take everything of his. This guy is a billionaire and has a big company that is well-known all around here. So when he got that video on top of the other one, he dumped her and pressed charges against her. She tried to blame me for her attitude and has even come into the bakery, spewing her threats at me over it. It's to the point that I'm ready to press charges on her for it. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Today is Saturday, and I don't need to be in the bakery until around eleven. I have a taste testing at noon and I need to go in to get everything ready for it. So I slept in until about eight and when I woke up, it was because of the two little hands on my face patting me. Then I heard him "Mom, mom, mom." There isn't a sound that I love better than to hear my little boy saying my name. I opened my eyes to see him lying in bed beside me. "Good morning, my handsome little nugget. I missed you yesterday. Were you a good boy for your aunt?" I asked him. "He's always a good boy for me, aren't you doodle dumpling? I would've let you sleep some more, but he was wanting his mom, mom. And I have a video conference in a few minutes with my editor. I have my new book coming out soon and she's being an absolute nightmare about it. I'm telling you that I am so close to asking for a new editor. I've been having problems with this bltch for a while now." She told me. "What the hll is here deal? I know the last time you were on a video conference with her, she was a complete bltch. I'd talk to the owner of the company and tell them what is going on and what she's saying. Don't you both have to record every video call and phone call that you have? Send all of that as proof as to how she's treating you. I can guarantee that they won't let it continue and she gets fired over it." I told her. She sat there thinking about it and then agreed with me and said that she'd call him now so that he could decide if he wanted in on the video call or not. After she left, I got up with my nugget and went to get breakfast. I made us some scrambled eggs and toast and after we were done eating, I cleaned up. I put my little nugget in his pack in play and put cartoons on for him and then went to take a shower real fast. I left my doors open so that I could hear him and I had the baby monitor. It didn't take me long to get a shower and after I was done and dried off, I put on a pair of jeans and one of the shirts for my bakery. The difference between mine and my employees is that mine says owner while theirs say staff on it. After my shower, the rest of my morning went by with me playing with my little nugget and spending time with him. When it was almost eleven, Dove came out of her room to sit with my nugget while I was in the bakery for a couple of hours. She looked like a big weight was lifted off of her shoulders. And she promised to talk to me about it when I came back upstairs. I went down to the bakery and got everything ready for the taste testing. Right at noon, the woman River came into the bakery with her four men and their little boy. I was surprised when she walked in the door. She's the girl that I saw with the woman who looked like Alena at the beginning of the week. What surprised me even more was when she introduced herself and her last name was Smirnov.   I managed to not show any reaction to her last name and led them all to a table to sit. Then I went and got the tray of cakes for them to try. They wanted to do the testing with just them but said they'd call for me to ask questions if they have any. I have no problems doing that and I usually do.   I was happy when they finally left after making their decisions. I don't know who she is but I can only hope that she's not related to him. And if she is, I really hope that he doesn't show up here. I don't want him to find me. But I worry about that for another day. For now, I'm going to go spend time with my little boy.  

Leandro   The past couple of years have been both the best and the worst years of my life. They've been the best in the fact that she found my missing sibling after all of this time. We were told when the bltch who tricked my dad and got pregnant that she lost the baby and that it was a boy. Looking back on how she always acted, it never did set right with me. When she was first around us, I was just a kid, I was only around ten when she first showed up out of the blue. But since I was the next in line to take over Dad's job, I was already being trained. So I was used to watching those around me and paying close attention to everything. When she showed up, I started to pay extra attention to her. I hated that my mom and dad were separated and that they both seeing other people. But when this new bltch of dads showed up, something just seemed so off with her. Of course, Dad didn't notice it because he was too busy working to notice it. Thankfully, he never brought her to our house. He kept her in his apartment in the city and that's where he would go to see her. But because I was always with him when I wasn't working, I would see her a lot more than the rest of the boys. She was only around for a couple of months and then took off again and he couldn't find her. But he gave up looking because he didn't care about her, he still loved my mom. Years later, when he was in Texas, he ran into her and a few people that he knew, were there. They told him that she was pregnant after she came back to her husband, but no one knew what happened to the baby. No one had ever seen it. When he confronted her and her husband over it, they told him that the baby had been a boy and had died at birth. It didn't sit right with me with the way that she said it. She told us that after she lost that baby, she got pregnant again by her husband and it was a boy. Dad didn't believe her, so she said that she'd get a paternity test done to prove it. That the little girl was with her mom spending time with her and she'd have her mom witness their doctor doing the test. When we finally saw the test, it showed that her husband was, in fact, the little girl's father. This bltch then broke down about how her dad was mad that she had a baby that wasn't her husbands and had killed it. My dad was pissed off and after telling her off and threatening her, we left. I told Dad that I didn't believe her, but he didn't want to hear it. For years, I thought that he had let it go. I snuck around behind his back and, with the help of my brothers, found the girl. We watched her for years and my second to the youngest brother even moved over there to go to college with her. We learned that she lived with her Nonna and had for years. Her Nonno and Nonna adopted her because her parents and siblings were abusive to her and had tried to kill her when she was just five years old. We then learned everything that she had been through, including losing her Nonno to a car accident. I checked into that and it seemed fishy to me so I kept looking into it. The more that I looked, the more that I got confused about shift. My dad had been acting suspicious for years as well and was just getting worse with it. It all came to a head o*******t when we were following him to find out what he was doing. We learned that not only did he kidnap one of the Italian Mafia dons for years, but he had also kidnaped his wife, the current godfather of the Italian Mafia, the older Mafia dons and their wives as well as others. When we got to the warehouse, though, this little fairy-looking girl was standing her ground against my dad. She had saved her family and was holding a gun on my dad. When he mouthed off to her and called her a wh0re and a bltch, everyone was pissed off. She just lifted her gun and shot him in the balls, well she skimmed them really. It was actually pretty funny, and I knew then that this was our missing sibling. After it was proven that she was our sister, all of us boys were happy because we finally had a little sister to love and protect. Over the past year, we have loved getting to know her and be a part of her life. She surprised us when she decided to have a relationship with not only our dad but our mom as well. Mom was thrilled to finally have a girl. I think that the main reason that she left my dad was because she wanted a girl and all she got was us boys. She got pregnant with the guy that she left dad for and ended up with another boy. Dad raised him as if he were his own flesh and blood because he loved mom. Our little brother's biological dad never wanted anything to do with him, but our dad loved him and treated him the same as us. Now that we finally have our sister, it's time for me to find my missing love. The one who got away. And when I find her, I won't ever let her go. She ran away from me over a misunderstanding. And when I find her, she won't ever leave me again. I'll do whatever I have to do to make sure of it. And the little bltch that cost me to lose my love, better hope that I never find her. Because if I do, I will rain hll down on her and make her pay for what she cost me.

Leandro   I first met my Effie girl when she was sixteen years old. She had just moved over to Russia with her mom and soon-to-be stepdad, Egor. I was friends with Egor's sons and they both hated their dad for the way that he had treated their mom when they were together. Andrey and Adrian were both pissed when they learned that he moved on before his divorce was even finalized from their mom. When he made them come to the house to meet her and her daughter, they said that they honestly wanted to kill him. He was prancing his girlfriend around in front of them and was treating her like a queen. But when it came to her daughter, they were both mean to her. For the most part, she just ignored them and stayed to herself. The guys said that they talked to her and liked her. She was the only reason that they went around her. When Igor and Veronica finally got married, we were all invited to the wedding. That was the first time that I had ever met my Effie girl. She sat in the front row with Andrey and Adrian. She was wearing a black dress, which is odd for a wedding, but boy was she beautiful. I knew the moment that my eyes landed on her that she was meant to be mine. But with the age difference and the fact that she was underage, I knew that I'd have to wait to claim her as my own. But I made a plan so that I could claim her as soon as she came of age. Her brothers started getting her out of the house and bringing her around for me to see. Adrian said that he knew how I felt because he had felt the same way, but his mystery girl had gotten away from him. He's looked for her for months with no luck at all finding her. But I knew that he would keep trying to find her. He said that all he knew was that she was on vacation when he met her and that she loved to write. The only name that she gave him was Bronte. He got to see her for three days, and then she disappeared on him. He was determined to find her, and at the time that he first told us about her, I didn't understand. But then I met Effi,e and I would've searched every corner of the world for her. Which is what I ended up having to do a few years later. When I first met her, I stopped talking to and seeing other woman. The only one that I wanted was so close yet so far away, and If I couldn't have her yet, then it was nobody. So I got to know her and spent time with her. When she turned seventeen, we started to spend more time together, and with her dad's permission (her real dad) we started to date. Right before her seventeenth birthday, we had gone out on a date and then back to my condo. We had been making out for a while now and doing some light petting, but that night, we went all the way. It was the best night of my life. I was a lucky bаst3rd that got my girl's virginity. It made me happy that no one but me would ever know what it's like to be inside of her. If only I would've known that was the last time that I would get to be with her. A few days later, I would be ambushed by my brother and his best friend. As well as his best friend's sister. I had gone on one date with her years ago and that was it. The bltch pissed me off and I couldn't stand her entitled attitude. She thought that everything should be handed to her. She was a lazy bltch that didn't want to work for anything and wanted everything given to her. Dad had found out that she had been going around using our name to get free shift and to put fear into people. She had been telling anyone and everyone who would listen that she was my wife, and if they didn't do what she said, she'd tell me. Everyone knew our name, and no one wanted to piss us off. We also found out that she had been working with someone to give us a bad name. They were trying to get people to hate us so that they could move in and take over. Unfortunately, Dad wanted me to get close to her and find out who she was working with. We knew that it wasn't her brother because he was one of the ones who told us what she was doing. But he was trying to help us figure out who she was working with. I didn't want to play this game and take a chance of losing my girl. But in order to get rid of the ones that were trying to overthrow us and possibly kill us, I had to. I had to do whatever it took to protect my girl. So the night that the bltch was in my office in my condo, I wasn't expecting Effie to show up. I told her I had to work, and I'd see her the next day. So I didn't know that she heard the bullsh*t that I said to the bltch. It wasn't until I got a text from her later on that I knew she heard everything. She sent me two videos, one of me talking to the bltch and one of her stepdad talking to some guys. Hearing the shift that they said that they were going to do to her had me worried as fk. I wouldn't let them sell her and abuse her. I would get her away from them even if I had to take them to court with her dad and make sure he gets custody of her. When I tried to call her, she didn't answer her phone. But I got another text that was set to send at a certain time. By the time that I got it, she was gone, and no one knew how she left. The guards didn't see her, and she didn't show up on any of the cameras around that house. I even had my tech guy look and he couldn't find her on the ones around town, either. Her dad took one call from me after she left and that was to tell me that he didn't know where she was but that she was ok. And that I needed to stop trying to find her and leave her alone since I already have a woman that I love. That my Effie moved on and I needed to leave her alone. And then he hung up and blocked my number.   I didn't fking move on and I never will. I put together a team of investigators to try to find her and had bodyguards at the ready both here and in the States. So that when she was found, I could send them out to protect her until I could get to her. I was still trying to find out who the bltch was working with. But I wasn't in a relationship with her and never would be.   There was only one woman that I loved and wanted to be with. I would only ever be with her. No other woman would ever do. I had plans that I was going to keep. I was going to marry my Effie Girl and have babies with her. And I plan to spend the rest of my life with her. Those plans haven't changed and never would. I love Effie with all of my heart and soul, and one day, I will find her again, and when I do, I'll never let her go again. Not for all of the money in the world. She's mine forever and always.