"Ava?"

Uncle Leo's voice pulled me out of my workout; I slid one of my earbuds out of my ear and smiled at him.

"What's up, Uncle Leo?" I asked, pausing my playlist as he entered the gym, stopping a few feet away from me.

"I'd like to speak with you once your workout is done." He beamed warmly at me. "I'll be in the study whenever you're ready... no rush, okay, kiddo?"

"I'll be there soon... I was actually just finishing up. Is it okay if I take a quick shower? I don't think Grandma Clara would appreciate workout hair at the ball tonight." I said jokingly, taking a moment to reset the stationary bike I was currently using.

"Of course. I know how your grandmother is about appearances." Uncle Leo chuckled before he left the personal gym, humming as he disappeared around the corner.

Curious about what he wanted to talk about, I made my way to the locker room and swiftly took a shower before changing into a new pair of leggings and tossing an oversized t-shirt over my sports bra. Choosing to take the stairs instead of the small elevator, I lightly jogged up the stairs, nearly colliding with Aidan in the hallway.

"Where's the fire?" Aidan joked, wrapping his hand around my arm to steady me.

"Ha ha," I stuck my tongue out at him before noticing how nicely dressed he was. "I was just on my way to see Uncle Leo... what are you doing?"

"Taking Lola out for brunch," he grinned. "It's our six-month anniversary, and I wanted to do something special... can't make dinner plans because Grandma's ball is tonight."

"Such a romantic!" I pressed my hand against my heart and batted my eyelashes, laughing as my brother swatted my upper arm. "I'm just messing with you, bro... I'll catch up with you later. And tell Lola I said happy anniversary!"

"Have fun talking with Uncle Leo!" Aidan called over his shoulder as he headed for the foyer.

I headed into the kitchen to refill my water bottle before going to the study, barely registering Mom standing at the front door. I did a double take and noticed the door was angled to hide whoever was outside talking to her; curiosity piqued my interest and I stopped just outside the study.

"Mom?"

"I'll talk to you later," she said in a low, rushed voice before shutting the door and spinning around to smile at me. "Hi, baby girl."

"Who were you talking to?" I tilted my head sideways to study her.

"I'll explain later... I have to go find your father." Mom avoided my question and my gaze as she motioned toward the study. "I won't keep you from your uncle much longer. And don't forget that Aunt Skylar is picking your dress up this afternoon."

Mom disappeared into the living room without another word, leaving me confused in the hallway. Sighing, I shook my head and knocked on the door, only going in when I heard Uncle Leo give the okay.

"Ah, Ava! Have a seat... I'm just finishing up an email." He waved me in, his smile just as bright as it was in the gym.

"Okay... do you know who was at the door? With Mom?" I asked, sinking into one of the chairs.

"Ah, I do know," Uncle Leo sat back in his chair, resting his hands together in front of him. "And no, I will not tell you. Your mother will explain everything when she is ready to do so."

"Yes, sir." I shifted in my seat. "You wanted to speak with me?"

"As you may be aware, our agreement of you stepping away from the family business is coming to its six-month mark in a couple of days. I wanted to check in with you and see how you're feeling."

"I'm... okay. I think," I replied with a small smile. "I've had a lot of time to reflect on things."

"Good. I don't want you to feel like you owe any of us a decision right now." Uncle Leo said as he nodded. "We can extend the agreement if you feel like you need more time, even if it's only a couple of days or months."

"I'd like to take a couple of extra days if that's also okay with my parents," I said sheepishly. "My next appointment with Dr. Hamilton is at the end of the week."

"Then we will have this discussion then." Uncle Leo smiled before his eyes flickered to the door behind me. "Until then, someone is here to see you."

"Who?" I turned around in confusion, my gaze landing on the person leaning against the doorframe.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Uncle Nate!"

I jumped up from the chair and ran over to Mom's youngest brother, who wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.

"Nobody told me you were back from your trip!"

"Surprise," he waved his hands in the air before ruffling my hair. "Besides, I heard you've been busy the last few months... figured you could tell me all about it over brunch."

"Sounds good to me!" I glanced back at Uncle Leo. "Is there anything else you need me for, sir?"

"No, you're dismissed, Ava. Enjoy some time with your uncle Nathan before your grandmother requires you home for the ball tonight." He waved us both from the study with a wide grin. Uncle Nate slipped my arm through his and led me to the front door.

"Let's go before anyone else decides to steal one of us away." Uncle Nate said jokingly, pretending to sneak out of the house. I laughed at his antics and followed him to the car that was waiting for us in the driveway.

"So, tell me," Uncle Nate started once we arrived at the restaurant and the waitress led us to a table. "How are your therapy sessions going? Still seeing Dr. H?"

"I am, and they're going well, I think." I took a sip of the iced water one of the servers had set down in front of us. "I feel like they've been helpful anyway... I don't remember everything that happened the night I was kidnapped, but I do remember most of it. And that's been beneficial in my healing journey, according to Dr. Hamilton. She said she's seen quite an improvement in me since I started to see her every week."

"That's so wonderful for you, honey. I'm proud of everything you've been doing to become the better version of yourself." Uncle Nate squeezed my hand supportively. "Now... tell me about Elijah."

"There's nothing to really talk about," I said a little too quickly, my cheeks turning pink under my uncle's knowing smirk.

"We both know that's not true, Ava." He paused to let the waitress take our orders and zip off to the next table before continuing. "I only know bits and pieces that I'm told, but I want to hear from you."

"Let me guess, my mother blabbed to you about my boy problems?" I rolled my eyes.

"No, actually... Aidan's been keeping me updated on things at the manor." Uncle Nate admitted, sipping his drink. "Your brother's been concerned about you for the last six months, even though you keep telling him you're fine. He doesn't quite believe you... but he knows not to push you. Speaking as someone with experience of losing out on a relationship with their sister for saying the wrong thing, I get why he only shared his concerns with me."

"And what did Aidan tell you?" I asked quietly, my heart sinking into my stomach as I thought about Aidan being worried about me.

"That he's never seen you so happy before. That he's afraid this mess with Elijah is going to cost him his best friend. That you're going to step away from the family business for good, which will then mean you will leave the manor and never come back."

"I never said I was going to leave the manor."

"But that's one of his concerns. He believes that a little part of you will resent everything and everyone in the manor because they're all reminders of the life you may end up walking away from, and it kills him to think that means leaving him." Uncle Nate leaned back in his seat, his eyes never wavering from my face. "Kid's deep, even in a rambling state of panic."

"He never said anything to me..." I mumbled, snatching a napkin off of the table to dab at my eyes before the tears decided to flow like a river.

"Because he knows how important it is for you to make your decision without any kind of influence from the family. It has to be 100% all you, if you choose to stay or not."

"What would you do in my position?" I asked curiously.

"I would have done everything you did in the last six months." He said honestly. "I would have taken the time to figure out who I was, and who I wanted to be, and I would have talked with any of my family for advice and support. I would have been gentle with myself to ensure that I was confident that whatever I decided was the right decision for me."

"How do I know if I am making the right decision for me?"

"That, I'm afraid, can only be answered by you. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Your whole life, you feel like you've only been seen as the 'Mafia Princess' because of the family you come from... but any of us who have watched you grow up from that sassy little 4-year-old to the woman sitting in front of me, we have always seen you as 'Ava'. The girl who loves to play in the rain and have tea parties with Clara. The girl who dances around the manor with a bright smile on her face and a joke to make someone laugh if they're having a bad day. The girl who reads romance novels until 2 am with a cup of hot chocolate, who paints the most incredible scenery I have ever seen, and who loves with everything she has because she knows what it's like to feel alone in the world. That is who we see when we look at you. You are so much more than just the 'Mafia Princess'. That version of you is only one part of the beautiful young woman I'm lucky enough to call my niece."

"Thank you, Uncle Nate." I whispered, smiling back at him. "Honestly, that is something I think I needed to hear all along."

"Any time, kiddo. I know your mom sometimes has a hard time expressing her feelings... that's probably something she's still healing from, that your uncles Gio and Theo and I caused before you were born." Uncle Nate sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We weren't the best brothers, but it's been nice mending our relationship since then."

"Hear, hear!" I jokingly cheered, causing him to laugh. "Seriously though, I agree. Having everyone around has been the best... I couldn't imagine not having any of my cousins around, or Uncle Oliver, Aunt Raelle, and Aunt Natalie."

"It has definitely been the best part of my life," Uncle Nate agreed, flashing a grin as our lunch was brought to the table. We settled into a comfortable silence for several minutes as we let the other process the conversation with each bite.

"Uncle Nate?"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"How did you know Uncle Oliver was the one for you?"

"It took me a long time to figure it out," he said slowly, setting his fork down. "I wouldn't say I struggled a lot with insecurities growing up, but I think it took me a lot longer than most to accept my feelings for others. I didn't know who I could trust, who was actually a friend versus who was just using me to get something they wanted. Not everyone experiences that kind of insecurity in the Mafia world... the kind of lonely that comes with never knowing your place with other people."

He paused, trying to put together his thoughts.

"Your Uncle Oliver... he was a friend of one of my college roommates. We were in the same study group for one of our science classes, and the day that you were born, Sky called me. She told me that Jade had no idea about the call and made me swear not to say anything, but she knew Jade and she knew it would eat her up inside if one of us didn't know she went into labor and something ended up happening to her, the baby, or both. After we hung up, I sobbed for a half hour straight... Oliver found me on the top floor of the library, tucked away into a corner where nobody else was, and he held me until the tears stopped. He listened to me vent about how crappy we had treated Jade at our mother's funeral, and how awful I felt that I wasn't at the hospital to be my sister's support. And after all that, he wiped my face clean, helped me up from the floor, and bought me a cup of hot chocolate from the little cafe down the hall."

"I didn't know that." I said as Uncle Nate let out a slow breath.

"It hit me as we sat in that cafe, bonding over our drinks." He continued. "The way he had comforted me in a time of need, without even batting an eyelash... the kindness he had shown me. That was the start of it. After that, I found every excuse in the book to hang out with him outside of our study group. I just liked being in his company more than anything... It sucked being away from him for long periods of time, but we were our own person apart and I think that helped our relationship build a lot stronger than it probably would have if we had spent every single minute together."

"Were you ever worried about what others would think of you dating him? Like your family?" I asked, leaning forward on my elbows. "I don't mean worried as in 'Oh my gosh, you're dating a man? The horror!', but more like 'You are from completely different worlds, why would you do that?' Kind of thing."

"To an extent, yes... although it's not like you and Elijah. Oliver didn't grow up in the Mafia world like I did, so there wasn't a family rivalry to consider. But there was some... concern that Oliver wouldn't be able to handle that side of me. That our relationship was only going to end in disaster, and possibly get me killed because it was a 'distraction'. Your Grandma Sofia believed in us though... I think if it wasn't for her support, I would not be with my person right now, living the best life possible."

Uncle Nate studied me for a moment as I processed our conversation; he must have seen something in my eyes because he reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Talk to me, Ava. What's on your mind?"

"I think... a lot of the internal struggle I've been dealing with the last six months comes from my lack of relationship experience," I admitted, chewing on the inside of my lip. "I mean, I flirted with boys since high school, but I've never had a boyfriend. Then Eli came around and I thought... well, I thought maybe that could be different. Obviously, it didn't turn out that way... how am I supposed to move on if it wasn't a relationship in the first place?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't agree with you on that," Uncle Nate shrugged at my expression. "I think you're trying to look at your connection with Eli in a traditional relationship aspect, and yes that would make sense. But your relationship with him isn't traditional in the way you're trying to process it. You may not have gotten to the 'Will you be my girlfriend?' phase, but there's something you don't realize."

"What's that?"

"The entire time you haven't had a real boyfriend, Elijah has only been in one other relationship. And that's only because her family was trying to use him to move up in our world."

"Really?" I scrunched my nose in confusion. "How do you know that?"

"I used to play poker with some of the cousins. Once that family has some alcohol in their system, they like to spill secrets, even their own. That's why they haven't gotten anywhere." He smirked a little. "Nobody trusts them."

"Interesting," was the only response I could.

Uncle Nate glanced at his watch, then signaled for the waitress to bring over the check. He let me sit in silence to contemplate the conversation as he paid for our food. Leaving a tip on the table for the waitress, Uncle Nate stood up and extended a hand to help me from the chair.

"I hope this conversation helped you," he said as we walked out of the restaurant. I nodded as the driver from earlier opened the car door for us.

"It did. I have some new things to discuss with Dr. Hamilton the next time I see her."

"Good. Now let's get you home so you can get ready for tonight before your mom kills us for being late."

We laughed at the thought as we headed back to the manor, spending the rest of the time sharing childhood stories to lighten the atmosphere from brunch.

By the time we reached the manor, Uncle Nate and I had laughed so hard over memories that my side was hurting. The amusement had me so distracted that I didn't notice the cars in the driveway or Uncle Leo's men all over the place; the change in the atmosphere didn't register with me until after we stepped into the foyer and I was nearly tackled by a sudden force of a person.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Mom wrapped her arms around me tightly, causing me to gasp. The panic in her voice clicked in my head when she pulled away and I could see tear streaks coating her face. "Why didn't you answer your phone?!?"

"I'm sorry, it must have been on vibrate from brunch... Mom, what's wrong? Why have you been crying?" I stared at her before shifting my gaze to look around the room. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Ava... you're okay." Dad let out a sigh of relief when he exited the study before his expression turned back to grim.

"Yes, we've established I'm okay," I said, a little annoyance leaking into my tone. "Will someone tell me what's going on, please?"

"It's your brother and Lucy," Dad responded, gently pulling me away from Mom as Uncle Nate stepped in.

"What?" My body stilled as I tried to gauge Dad's body language. His next words caused my heart to drop into my stomach and ice to fill my veins.

"They were taken... by Ramsey."