Alex

"I see her."

"I see her smiling. Dancing. Twirling on the other side. She's happy. She told me to tell you that she's alright. That everything is going to be okay."

"She wants you to move on. She said you deserved happiness too."

Alex eyed the woman's hand rubbing the glass orb in front of her as she smiles with her eyes closed before he glances over at Cash standing behind her.

"Where did you dig her up?" His low tone growled without removing his gaze from the woman before him.

"A source claimed she was reliable. I really thought she did at first." Cash replied huffing his breath out before he stepped away and stood beside Alex while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Shame." Alex says before he stood up and the woman stopped rubbing her palm tilting her head over his tall figure hovering her before Alex leaned forward.

"Has anyone ever told you Gypsies whore is nothing but a two faced dog liar?" Alex soft tone was nothing comforting but he was satisfied when his words made her eyes popped in fear.

"I-I d-don't know what you mean sir. I just told you what I sees. I control none of it." Alex could sense fear in her voice as she scrambled her stuffs and pulled out a Tarot card instead. "H-Here. Let me read your-" Alex didn't let her finished when he snatched the cards away from her hands and threw them scattering over the floor.

"I don't need you to read my life. I told you I wanted you to find who killed my sister. But yet you lied, like you lied to your all other customers and gained money by feeding off their grief. Have you no shame?" He asks leaning himself closer with his palm pressed flatly against the table.

"S-sorry. P-please, give me one more chance." The woman starts to beg him and Alex clenched his jaw tight. "Fine. I gave you one more chance to look. My sister was kidnapped and disappeared almost ten years now. I want to know who took her and whether or not she still alive or dead. I need my closure. You are not the first con artist I met over the last few years and certainly not the last."

She shakily nods and began touching the glass orb again swiping her palm around trying to find some sort of connection with the beyond but Alex knew that look long before he even got his answer. He had been dealing with them for years now to know which is true which is fake before he stood up again closing the front button of his expensive suit.

"I see something. I see a man. Blonde hair like the sun, marks on his w-wrists. He held the deepest secret. It was nothing but dark, dark presence around him, d-dark pasts, shadows." She rambles in tears for her life but Alex only sighed pinching his nose bridge before he slammed his palm harshly on the table. The woman jumped in shocked pulling her hand away from the orb when the table shakes and Alex grabbed the glass orb harshly in his hand.

"Lies." His words seethed through his teeth as he stares down at her from across the table. She felt smaller with Alex towering his tall heights over her.

"N-No I don't, I swear. Please. Please. I don't wanna die." The woman plead but little did she know, Alex was already had that murderous look in his eyes. "What makes you think you deserved to live by cheating others on daily basis?" He held the orb tight in his palm before he swung it over her face sending her flying off from her chair and fell to the ground.

"I gave you a chance. You could have said you're a fake and a liar or stop trying to fool me twice. But you kept going on and that's riled me up inside." Another blow swung over and hit her on her face again. Blood sputters over the floor from her mouth as Alex swung the glass orb again.

Alex felt nothing but raged inside him when he swung those orbs until he realized the woman's face has crushed in pieces and covered with bloods. By the time he's done, the woman's face is beyond recognizable. If it wasn't for Cassius quick act pulling Alex away from bashing that poor woman's head with her own glass orb, he might have continued still.

"Enough Alex. She's dead." He says sternly pushing Alex down on the chair letting him take a breath. "Fucking Gypsy whore! Wasting my fucking time!" He grunted wiping his bloodied hand with the handkerchief Cash handed him.

"I'll handled this. You go home please." Cash told him and Alex rolled his eyes at him. "I don't need to be told Cassius. You work for me remember?" He adds.

"Fine. I'm sure you're capable of cleaning up your own mess then? I'm leaving. Have a good night sir." As Cash was about to leave Alex pulled him by his elbow stopping him. "I'm sorry. You are more than that Cash. I didn't mean it that way." Alex stood from his chair holding Cash by his shoulder staring deep in his eyes.

"I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Thank you for cleaning this shit up for me." Alex knew Cash would never leave his side. After all these years, he has been standing by his side helping him build his empire after he inherited his business from his father Leo.

The business was all legitimate until Alex got into a different kind of business. Right after Leo's death, his mother Ellen remarried to Oscar Diaz and Alex was only five at the time. All the money that he inherited was given to him as soon as he reached eighteen. Oscar took care of him like a son until a bad business gone awry and killed both of his parents the night of their fifteenth wedding anniversary in Monaco.

He was only twenty and starting his career in business where he dropped everything and chased the person that killed his parents. His act of violence was so cruel when he finally found the person that works for a certain cartel organization that it raised curiosity in their own community.

The Diaz was always in legitimate business but after Alex's cold blooded hand murder the son of The Santos family, Javier, that had his parents murdered, it opened few eyes in their community. Edmundo Santos was notorious for his business, legitimate or not, but his reputation proceed him in this world. Drugs, guns, human trafficking was on top of the list when people heard of his name.

When he heard what his son did and Alex final act of revenged, he was not angry or upset but was rather impressed. Javier was a spoiled brat, raising in wealth and money and when he couldn't get what he wants, he will find a way to show them. He wanted Alex's sister June Catalina for years but she never liked him and Alex knew not just it's due to his temper and his spoiled character that made June disgusted by him. June is not attracted to men - period. Unlike him, both genders attracts him equally.

But when he sneaked into June's room and tried to rape her, Oscar had him captured and threw him into jail for what he did. Little did he knew is that Javier managed to escape and plotting on murder when he and Ellen celebrated their anniversary in Monaco at the time and ended with Alex and June being an orphan.

Edmundo was in Greece at the time when it happened and it occurs too fast for him to stop any bloodshed that his son caused. So instead of punishing him, he took Alex in under his guidance and mold him into the next leader carrying his organization. Which is where he met Cash or Cassius in the first place. His first friend and his right arm man that sworn into protecting him no matter what.

Alex sighed as he walked towards his car that his driver had held the door opened as soon as he stepped out of the store. "No luck sir?" Dan questioned and Alex sighed.

"Another one bites the dust." He simply replied before he slides inside the car and Dan pushed the door closed.

.

The ride home was nothing but silenced. But the moment he stepped into his family's home right here in New York, the silence were more deafening than earlier.

He stood in the middle of his family's lounge room staring at the empty shelves that used to hold his family picture frames. The emptiness he felt in his heart made him turned into this cold blooded person ever since he lost his parents and June.

June was taken from their home a week after his parent's death while he was away in his revenge flee and ever since then, he was never the same man he was back then.

The only thing he knew is that her room was a scattering mess and there was blood all over her bed sheet and the walls.

Alex never trusted the police or any law enforcement in this city knowing how corrupted they were. So he took the matters in his own hand and became a ghost in the past. He disappeared for years trying to look for June but failed and there was an informer saying she dies but until he sees her own dead body with his eyes, only then he would finally rest in peace.

He left everything behind and let his father's trusted man, Shan to take over the company while he's gone. He hasn't come back since but he knew he left the company with a trusted person.

Now he's at age of thirty years old and he was nowhere near in finding her. Each days felt like another hopeless attempt to find her and with each person he encountered, all was nothing but a failure. But as destroyed as his life has been, there is only one thing he still has that remained true and real and he hold on to that person more than his own life.

The only person he trusted most was his childhood best friend Nora. They are inseparable since they are young and they dated, once in high school but they finally come to their senses that they are better off as friends rather than lover. Nora sensed that Alex was into men when she noticed how he kept checking on her past boyfriend but Alex denies her.

But she was never wrong and Alex finally admits to her when he fell in love with his first boyfriend then, Liam. But they didn't last more than two weeks when Liam broke his heart.

Nora own an artisan bakery shop for her love of baking. She took lessons herself when she was staying in France for a year learning to make the perfect pastries before Alex gave her the money to open her own store. She hated Alex used his influenced in Nora's life decision but truthfully, she felt she was helping him more than he's helping himself.

Since the tragic incident, Alex has became this emotionless person and she noticed how that sparked that used to light in his eyes had dimmed. She misses his dimpled smile most when she's cracking jokes every time Alex was feeling down.

But lately all he ever did was stares at spaces and frowned. She hated to see the joy inside him had vanished. She knew about his past and what he did to avenged his family. She knew about how obsessed he got into finding June and the person that did this to her. She never questioned his morality but instead, she told him not to involved her in his matter.

The bakery was the only space where Alex felt human and she made sure of it. Every morning coffee or late evening talks with couple of scones and croissant would relieved him from feeling like a monster which he already blamed himself.

He never told her what he did or bragged to her what he has done. But a little piece of her healed a little piece of his own heart since June and Nora was closed and she is almost like a sister to him. Nora knew each act that Alex performed on those victims of his has taken a toll on him as well, especially he no longer sleeps more than few hours at night.

Alex plopped down on the couch with a glass of bourbon in his hand before he pulled out his phone and tapped on Nora's number.

"Hey." The soft voice cheered and it's already healing a bit part in him.

"Hey. Got home safe?" Alex asks her. Ever since he got himself into this mess, he made sure Nora is secured and had his own men followed her each time she left for work and after she's done closing her shop.

"How is it today?" Nora asks him. He sighed longly taking a sip of his drink before he replied.

"Disastrous. I'm so tired Nora." Alex expressed himself at her and she might have heard him told her that few times in the past but each time he wanted to give up, June's face came back haunting him in his dream and he continued on the next day.

"I know Alex. I know. I'm so sorry that you had to deal with this but there is always your choice remember? She wouldn't want you to live like this." Nora told him and he might have heard this multiple times by now. Nora wouldn't want him to live with dirty hands and making more enemies instead of letting everything go.

"You know I can't Nora. Each time I did, June would came to me and cried for my help. What if she's alive and waiting for me. What if she was barely holding on and when I'm already close, I gave up on her. I can't do that to her Nora. I can't." Alex's voice sounds pleading but the break in his voice made Nora sighed.

"Ten years is too long for you to find her Alex. Even if she's alive, do you think she would blame you for giving up?" Nora could sense Alex is at verge of giving up but somehow he held on still.

"I don't want to talk about this now. Talk to me about something else." Alex dismissed her worries by changing the topic of their conversation.

"Sure! You wanna know how many hipster walked in to my store today and asks for my number?" She chirped turning Alex's frown into a soft chuckled.

"How many? On second thought I don't wanna know how many. I wanna hear their drinks order and what they wear." Nora chuckled at his ideas. He could hear ruffling on her side assuming she getting herself comfortable to tell him.

"I met four men with hair buns, three with nose pierced and all of them with a tattoo up their sleeves. It is either soy milk, almond milk, non gluten, non dairy, no foam, and I don't even understood why all of them obsessed with nose rings. It's ridiculous and it looks stupid!" Nora rambles and Alex snorted at her non stop babbled.

"Did you gave them?" Alex asks and Nora scoffed.

"Yeah, you wished. I just told them I have four kids to feed at home and I wanted to date men to make sure my babies are not growing up without a dad." She told him.

"Nora one day those line isn't gonna work and one man would believes you and wanted to be your baby daddy. That time, I'm not gonna tell you I said so." Alex warned her before that her little lies would cause her in trouble one day. But she knew perfectly well that no matter what, Alex would always be there to save her from all the creeps that bothers her just like a big brother.

"I know I know. I just wish a normal man would just come and spoke to me like a normal human being. You know, like in the old movies. I refused to believe that the chivalry is dead. I still had high hopes." Nora claimed and Alex shook his head imagining that one day he might too find love that he yearned so much over the years.

"Me too. I'm tired, think I'm going to sleep." Alex cut off not wanting to let this conversation linger any longer.

"Get some actual sleep please. I see you in the morning." Nora says and he hummed wishing her goodnight.

Alex headed to his room and began undressing himself tossing his bloodied shirt in the hamper for the housekeeper to grab the next day. He showered, letting the hot steaming water runs down his back relieving his tension muscles.

After shower, he stood by the mirror at the sink staring at himself and reflected on everything that had happened today. His mind flashes with the image of the woman he beat till death before he shook himself from his cluttered mind. He opened the mirror door and grabbed the prescription pills inside before popping couple of tablets into his mouth and swallowed it with a handful of tap water. He sighed closing the bathroom light off before he climbed on his bed to sleep.

"Alex."

"Alex. Helped me!"

"Alex! Please."

"It hurts Alex. Hurry!"

"JUNE!" Alex jolted from his sleep drenched in his own sweat even though he didn't wear any shirts and only shorts brief under those thick blanket. His heart racing in his chest as he gripped the blanket close to his chest and tear began to fall down his face.

"I'm sorry June. I'm so sorry. I wish I knew how I can help." He cries pressing the heels of his palm against his wet eyes. He turned to the window on his side and noticed the rain drop flickering on the window sealed and remembered exactly the night he found out June was taken.

"Where are you June? I don't know where else to find you." Alex whispered leaning himself on the side back on the bed and his eyes stares at the window and by the time he realized, dawn is coming and the rain had stopped replaced by the sounds of bird chirping outside.