The Unraveling of Raven (The Unraveled Trilogy Book 1)

by Theresa Sederholt

  Duke nudges me awake. “We’re here, you need to wake up.”

  I look up. “Where’s ‘here’?”

  He points to the plane. “We’re at a private airport in Charleston, South Carolina.”

  Oh God, this is it. “Where are we going?”

  He doesn’t answer. He just pushes me out of the car. If I get on that plane, I will never be found, but I don’t know what I can do. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

  Vincent gives me a look. “You can go on the plane.”

  We climb up the steps, and I head into the restroom. I realize I still have my phone in my back pocket. I have very little battery left, plus Duke is right outside the door. I notice I have a message from Jax. He says he needs me. Oh Jax I need you more, so much more. What I wouldn’t do to turn back the hands of time. I decide to text, rather than call Jax.

  Jax

  They don’t know I have your phone. The battery is low, so I will shut it off, after I send this. Duke killed Marco and Erica. Duke’s father, Vincent, showed up and took us out of the house. We are taking off from a private airport in Charleston, SC. I don’t know where they are taking us. This madness needs to stop. I have seen three people murdered today, and I need to know that you’re safe. Please don’t look for me—this needs to end. I’m probably going to die, so I guess I’m not running anymore. You need to know, I only ran because you made me feel too much and it scared me. For the first time in my life, I’ve experienced pure love, and I will die, knowing that, for a little span of time, in my life, I was really happy, and it was all because of you.

  Yours always

  Raven xo

  I hit Send. When it’s done, I shut off the phone and go back to the cabin.

  Vincent is looking at me, and then he smirks. “You look just like my brother, and we all know how that ended.”

  A chill runs through me. “Cara, I see in your eyes that you remember me. I was not aiming for Antonio. I was aiming for that prick, Joseph. But leave it to my goody-two-shoes brother to jump in front of him.”

  I glare at him. “Vincent, my name is Raven. Is that little confession supposed to make me forgive you for murdering my father?”

  He laughs. “I see you have your mother’s fire in you.”

  My eyes fill with tears. “Where are we going?”

  “Some place far away from here.” he replies. He looks like pure evil. I close my eyes. I can’t look at this man, let alone talk to him. I drift off to sleep as we jet through the night sky.

  WE WALK INTO MAX’S office, and my phone beeps. I pull it out, and it’s a text message from Raven!

  “Jax, what is it?”

  I can barely breathe. “A text from Raven,” I read them the message. Does she really think I won’t look for her?

  “Tony, you need to start checking the airports in Charleston for flights that have left tonight. Max, we need to go through the stuff that Tony found.”

  I see a look on Max’s face that scares me. “Jax, if she doesn’t want to be found, it will make things much harder.”

  I mentally count to ten. “Max, I’m going to find her—no matter what.”

  He starts pacing. “Jax, I didn’t say we wouldn’t. I’m just telling you, it will be harder.”

  I take a deep breath. “Then I guess we better get started.”

  DUKE NUDGES ME AWAKE, “Buckle up, we’re getting ready to land.”

  I look across at Vincent and he is just smiling at me, making my skin crawl. “Cara, I’m looking forward to getting to know my niece.”

  I just close my eyes, fighting the bile that is rising in my throat. “Duke, where are we?”

  “Italy. Sicily, to be exact.”

  There is a driver waiting for us when we land. Vincent is speaking to him in Italian. There’s no need to let them know I understand what they are saying. When Joseph sent me to boarding school, I was housed with children from all different parts of the world. I learned Italian, Spanish, French, German, and a little Norwegian. I never thought this would be how I would use my language skills. We drive in silence, until we reach a beautiful villa on the coastline. Under different circumstances, this would be breathtaking. The gates open, and we drive up a long driveway that wraps around the cliff, to the top of the hill. The colors are magnificent; so many pastel shades, set against the blue Mediterranean. As we step out of the car, Vincent looks at me. “Welcome to your new home, Cara. You are free to wander around the grounds, but there is no escape. There are armed guards that have been told to shoot you, if you try to leave. All your needs will be taken care of during your stay.”

  He turns to Duke. “Son, come with me. We have lots to discuss.” He takes Duke into the house, and I’m left standing here.

  I walk into the villa. A housekeeper introduces herself as Maria and she shows me to my room. I look around the room, and it is beautiful. So much attention was paid to even the smallest of details. I decide on a bath, and then I need to figure out if there is any way out of here. The closest is filled with clothes. They are the right size, but they are dated. The bathroom is also well stocked. As I soak in the huge tub, I try to think of what to do next. I won’t turn on the phone. I can’t put Jax’s life in danger anymore. I don’t know when, or how it happened, but I realize, that I not only love him, but I’m in love with him. He is a part of my soul. I put my head back, trying to block out everything but his touch. His touch rendered me speechless. His kisses on my wrist were like a lightning bolt, jolting me right between my legs and curling my toes. That crooked smirk that could launch ships. When we were ready to fall and he would demand we lock violets to blues—that’s the moment I knew I loved him. I found his soul, and he found mine. Before Jax, I thought I made a nice life for myself, just teaching and enjoying life with my friends. Now I know, there could have been so much more. I close my eyes and let the tears fall. I wonder about Jackie. I saw the way she looked at Max. What’s not to like in him? Marco was right, he is very Daniel Craig like. My thoughts wander to Marco. The betrayal just blows me away. How stupid and foolish am I? I loved him like the brother I never had, but now I do have a brother—well, a half-brother, and he’s a killer; a cold-blooded killer just like his father. How much more does Joseph know that he hasn’t told me? Twenty years ago, I stood in that room next to my daddy and Joseph, just watching and listening to Vincent and Daddy yelling. After it was over, I blocked the whole thing out, never wanting to remember. Joseph sent me to therapy, but I never talked about it—what was the point? It wasn’t until Marco came into my life and convinced me that telling someone might help me find closure. It was Marco, I told about my darkest days. Those days died with Marco. My skin is pruning. I need to get out of the tub and find something to eat. I find a pair of jeans that fit, but the t-shirt is snug for me. Time to explore my prison and figure a way out of here.

  As I head downstairs, I see Vincent and Duke having coffee. It’s amazing how Duke just fell right into place with Vincent. As I pour a cup of coffee, I feel their eyes on me.

  “Cara, I see you found your mother’s clothes.” My eyes fill with tears and the bile. that I was fighting to keep down, is back. “Your mother loved it here. I don’t know what Joseph told you, but I’m here to set the record straight.”

  My mother’s clothes. That’s why the styles are so dated—they’re twenty years old. I have nothing that belonged to my mother. How ironic is it, that I’m being held prisoner, in the same clothes that she was?

  “Vincent, I was told that you held my mother for two months, after my father died. I was also told that you raped her repeatedly before she was rescued. She was pregnant with Duke. I was sent away to boarding school, and she gave birth. My mother could not look at Duke and hung herself. Joseph put him up for adoption. That about covers it.” I ramble through the information like bullet points on a paper.

  He looks at me with fury in his eyes. “Well, Cara, I think you’ll be surprised by what I will show you.”He gets up from the table, leaving Duke and m
e alone. We have a stare down. The family resemblance is amazing, and I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before.

  “Duke, please tell me you’re not buying into all this family crap.”

  By the look on his face, I know he is. “Raven, this is our family, and you need to understand that. Joseph was not your family—we are.”

  Oh my God, he really believes all of this. “What about your adopted family, don’t you love them?”

  He sighs, “They tried, but there was always something missing, and now I know what that something was; my blood and my heritage. I’m where I need to be . . . where I want to be. I hope that will come for you, too.”

  Vincent returns and hands me a photo album. “This was your mother’s, when she was here, and maybe it will help you.”

  I take it and decide to head outside to look at it alone. As I sit on one of the lounge chairs, I slowly open the book, and it’s like going back in time. The book is like a diary with photographs, attached to her deepest, most private thoughts. I feel like an intruder, but I have to read this. No, I need to read this.

  I arrived here two days ago, after the surgery I performed failed. He was just too far gone for it to work, but I had to try for my Cara and Antonio. After the surgery, Vincent showed me a videotape of Antonio being shot; taking the bullet that was meant for Joseph. All of this, while my Cara looked on. I don’t think I will ever forget the look on her scared, little face. It will torment me always. I was told that Antonio died and if I wanted to keep Cara safe, then I needed to remain here, so here, I sit.

  Oh my God, my mother watched the video of Daddy being shot, and she thought I was still being held! Does Vincent think this will somehow make me feel better or makeup for all he took from me? I need to keep reading.

  The views here are tranquil; there is a peace that the sea brings with the incoming tide. Vincent is back. I don’t want to see him or deal with him, but I must. For the sake of my daughter, I will do whatever he wants.

  “Gabriella, you look so well rested today, I’m glad I brought you here.”

  “How long will I be held here, against my will?”

  “You’re free to go wherever you want; explore the grounds.”

  “I just want to go home to my daughter and get on with grieving Antonio.”

  “I can have Cara brought here. if that would make you feel better.”

  “I’ll do whatever you want. but you must promise me that you’ll stay away from Cara.”

  He smiles and walks away. He is pure evil. How could my Antonio have been cut from the same cloth?

  I never knew my mother was an artist. The next few pages are filled with etchings of me. It’s like she was doing them to try and remember me. They are beautiful and very detailed.

  It’s been a week, and I’m realizing I might never get out of here. I miss my Cara. She was just finding her independence, and it was beautiful to watch her. It’s funny what little things you remember most. Whenever Cara was deep in thought, she would tug at her ear lobe. When she is angry, her eyes get the deepest violet color, just like my mother’s eyes would. Daddy would say my mom’s eyes could render him speechless, and I never understood what he meant, until Cara.

  The next few pages are filled with violet eyes, all different shades.

  Two weeks have passed and Vincent said, he is not waiting for me any longer. I realized I had no choice. I tried fighting him off, but he’s much stronger than I am. My life is over, even if I do get rescued from this place. My tender-hearted husband is dead, by the hand of his brother. My husband’s brother has repeatedly raped me. Every time he finishes, he looks up to heaven, laughs and says, “That’s for you big brother.” He thinks Antonio is watching this nightmare. I can only hope that Antonio is too busy watching over Cara.

  I’ve had enough for today. Reading about my mother’s abuse is gut wrenching, and I am just too nauseated to continue. As I walk up the steps to my bedroom, I have a moment of clarity. I realize I never got my period and I never took my pills that last week. I’m usually so good with them, but getting kidnapped could render a person a little dense. I’m sure I will be fine, but then I remember how much Jax loved to go to cock heaven, and I smile for the first time in a long time. It figures it’s because of Jax and his wonderful, dirty bedroom language.

  I decide to take a nap. I enter my room, and Duke is sitting in one of the chairs. “Why are you in my room?”

  “Raven, I’m not a monster. Well, maybe to you I am, but I’m really not and I want to know more about you. I mean, after all, you are my half-sister.”

  I take a calming breath, “So, you choose now to find out about me?” I’m looking into his eyes, trying to understand him.

  “Raven, we have the same mother, so I would like to think that some of what I’m seeing in you, is part of her. Vincent said he would tell me all about the family, but he has only told me his side, I want more.”

  I sit across from him. “Okay, what do you want to know?”

  “What was she like? I really want to know all the little things you find out about a person over the years.”

  The tears fall; I can’t stop them. “Duke, she died when I was seven, so I don’t know much. My memories are faint, at best.”

  He takes my hand, “Please, Raven, whatever you can remember would be great.”

  I wipe away my tears. “Okay, well, she loved to sing and dance. She was very graceful and beautiful.”

  “Vincent showed me some pictures of her from when she lived here.”

  My anger is back. “Duke, she didn’t live here. She was held prisoner here and raped repeatedly by Vincent.” I can tell he doesn’t know what to believe, as he picks imaginary lint off of his pants. Maybe if he sees the real Vincent he will understand how evil and vile Vincent really is. “Let me show you something that he gave me today.” I pass him the book. “Please read this passage.”

  He starts to read and his eyes fill with tears. I know he murdered two people, but I also see how tormented he is, and how used he must feel.

  “Raven, thank you for sharing this, but I just can’t take any more of this.” He hands me back the book and walks out.

  The rest of the book is filled with all of the torment that my mother went through for the two months she was held captive here. Maybe Vincent gave me this book to show me what I can expect. Except, no one will be rescuing me. I’m so tempted to turn on the phone, but I won’t put Jax in danger. I can’t put him in danger. I love him.

  I get up, and am hit with a wave of nausea. I’m very dizzy. I really hope it’s not what I think it is, this could be really bad if it is. There’s a knock on my door, and it’s Maria asking me if I want lunch. Judging by the look on her face, I must look really bad. She helps me to bed and says she will bring tea and dry crackers.

  I spend the next two weeks going from my bed to the bathroom, throwing up my guts all day, every day. Vincent calls in a local doctor to look at me, and Maria is translating for him. I won’t tell him I understand what they are saying. I just don’t know if that will come in handy.

  I know I’m pregnant, and I have to fight for my child to get out of here. The doctor confirms what I already know, and says I am dehydrated. I need fluids, and I’m suffering from ‘hyperemesis gravidarum,’ which is severe morning sickness. He wants to put me in the hospital, but Vincent just sends him away.

  I curl up into a ball and cry. I’m crying for my baby, that has to go through this, and for Jax, who will never know that his love created another life. I’m crying for all the time I lost with my parents, but most of all, I’m crying because I can’t see a way out.

  I’M SEARCHING EVERY LEAD that comes through and calling in all kinds of favors, but they all lead to dead ends. I’ve never seen Jax like this. He really loves Raven, and now she is gone. I can barely look at him. I keep trying to be positive for him and for Jackie, but they are both lost without Raven. Jackie keeps looking at me like she knows I’m going to save Raven. I don’t have her fait
h that there will be a happy ending. I lost my faith in happy endings years ago. The longer time goes on, the less faith I have that we will find her alive. I can only imagine the kind of torture she is enduring at the hands of a madman. Time just keeps dragging on, and I have no answers for anyone. I know Jax’s pain, I’ve lived it. It’s a pain that slowly kills a man, one day at a time. I’m reliving a nightmare, except this time, it’s Jax’s nightmare, and I can’t stop it. I try to distance myself from Jackie, but I just can’t do it. I know it is best for both of us, but I’m losing all reason here. Three months since that horrible day, and it’s like time has stood still for all of us.

  Isabella is getting ready to send Junior back to school, but I know she is scared to let him out of her sight. We are all just going through the motions of life, but not really living.

  Mick accepted a job, as a security guard, in the Raiders building. He seems to be getting his life back, one day at a time. Sometimes, I go and have a coffee with him, and his first words are always about Raven. Raven doesn’t even realize the impact she has had on so many lives, without even trying.

  Jax’s mum is all over my arse about Raven and Jackie. I know she likes Jackie and maybe she thinks I should have a relationship with her. I swear, sometimes I think she thinks I’m Superman. I’m trying everything I can to find them, but nothing pans out. They have to be running low on money. There are no hits on any credit cards or at any ATM’s. I’ve contacted a friend that specializes in wire transfers. I have Tony working with him to look for anything that will tie it to the family.

  I find myself making all kinds of excuses to spend time with Jackie. Sometimes we silently run through the park. There is such ease with her. I really don’t need to talk and yet she understands. I don’t know when it happened, but she slowly broke through the barrier around my heart, and for me, this is not good. I decide to head to Raiders and try and go over a hunch I have with Jax. I need to put Jackie out of my mind, unfortunately, that is easier said than done.