RAVEN

As the nurse begins to draw blood, she avoids eye contact with me. If it was any other circumstance, I probably wouldn't think twice about it. I'd likely believe she was scared of where she is, or who she's doing this for. However, considering she isn't our normal nurse, I think it's because she's been told not to inform me of anything.

"What is this blood test for?" I inquire, as she switches out the vial to begin filling another. I want to tear it out of my arm and smash the damn things against the wall to stick it to Cain, but I don't. There isn't much use. If I did so, they'd just fucking tie me down and get the sample anyways.

"Don Cain wants to ensure that you're not pregnant."

I'm shocked she's allowed to tell me that much, but the sound of it has me rolling my eyes. Of course that's why she's here. "I'm not pregnant," I assure her. "I just had my period. He knows this." I only just lied to him about having bad cramps to help cover for Luca.

"I'm just doing what I'm told. He asked me to take your blood and run tests for both of you."

"Both?"

"Yes, you and—" she abruptly stops speaking and closes her mouth. "I've said too much. Let me finish up and I'll be off."

Why is he taking Dove's blood too? He's already seen the positive pregnancy test. Does he want to ensure it isn't a false positive? Dove's been having morning sickness for a couple weeks now, she's definitely carrying Adiv's child.

It's just another way for him to force control over the women of this house.

Once this is done with, I'll head over to Dove's room and check up on her. She should know that he's testing her to ensure she's pregnant. I think she deserves to know anything that can affect the baby.

When the nurse has gathered enough blood, she applies a bandage to my arm, tape to the vials, scribbles something on them and then scurries to my attached bathroom to presumably wash her hands. I take the moment to lean forward to read whatever paperwork she has in a folder.

Quickly, I pull out my phone and snap photos of the five pages within and then ensure everything is as she left it. I hide my phone back where it was and position myself back in my chair, feigning as if I'm too focused on applying pressure to the puncture.

When she steps back into my room, she doesn't seem suspicious. In fact, she still seems a bit frazzled, which leads me to believe she doesn't do work like this often. She slipped up by telling me more than she should've. I'd bet this is the first time she's ever done something like this.

I wonder what would make her desperate enough to seek out money from Cain Brooks. She's visibly uncomfortable with the morality of what she's doing. She appears to think she's doing something immoral, so what happened for her to ignore that in desperation of a quick cash injection?

What does she think will happen with the results of these tests? Is she assuming I'm pregnant and that Cain is about to seek out the baby daddies and kill them both? There's no way this nurse isn't aware of who Cain is and what he does, so I imagine her mind is running wild with scenarios. It would explain why she's so nervous.

Nervous enough that it hurt when she pricked me with the needle and it'll surely bruise.

She gathers her supplies to carefully put them away into her bag and then leaves the room without saying anything to me. Once she's gone, I pull out my phone to glance at whatever she was carrying in her folder.

I spend a few minutes, zooming in to study each and every detail of the paperwork, but it doesn't exactly reveal anything to me that I'm not already aware of. It has each of our names—Cain, Mariposa, Leo, Dove, and I—as well as our birth dates. It's essentially a brief overview of our medical histories, including our blood types, illnesses, weight and height, etcetera.

None of it holds any useful information to me. At least, not that I can recognize.

I ignore it for now and head down the hall to Dove's room, softly knocking on the door. When she welcomes me, I step inside, closing the door behind me for some privacy.

"How are you feeling?" Is the first thing I ask when my eyes meet hers. She looks a tiny bit better than the last time I saw her, but I can tell that she still isn't well. With the loss of Adiv, I'm not sure she ever will be.

She shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know, honestly. Probably the same." After a sigh, she rips off the bandage on her arm from where she had blood drawn and tosses it into the trash. "At least I haven't been puking my guts out."

"Has the morning sickness passed?"

"It hasn't bothered me for about two or three days now, which is nice."

"How about nighttime? Are you sleeping?" After that night, she began having dreams. Not nightmares, but dreams, where she was with Adiv and their future child. It's like her brain was wanting to do the opposite to her and instead of reliving the trauma, it was forcing her to see what her life might've been like had Adiv still been here.

Worse, in my opinion.

"I'm exhausted with everything, but I'm only sleeping a little."

There's a knock on the door and a woman pushes it open with a smile on her face. "I brought you something to eat," she informs Dove and then walks into the room to place a plate down with some sort of wrap on it near the entry.

"Thank you," Dove offers a forced smile back as she gets up to gather the food.

I quirk an eyebrow when the woman leaves, curious why Dove is having food delivered. She shrugs, "It started a few days ago. I'm guessing the chef heard about me being sick so they've been making me lunch to encourage me to eat."

"That's nice," I comment. Not only has she been vomiting a lot because of the pregnancy, but she hasn't exactly been consuming a lot because she's grief-stricken and has little desire for food.

I don't blame her. I can understand what she's feeling.

Luca had said to me that the feeling he felt when he lost Adiv is the same thing he'd feel if he lost me and I get it. I love him and it'd destroy me if he was taken from me.

I don't want to exist in this world—in any world—where Luca isn't. Death would be dancing down the halls of heaven compared to a life without him being mine.

If anything, I'd think that Dove's sense of loss is even more intense. And I don't mean because of the hormones that are causing her to be more emotional than normal. She's literally carrying a piece of Adiv with her. She's surely replaying in her mind—over and over and over—the events of that night and reminding herself of all the milestones that Adiv won't be here to witness.

He won't see their child's first steps. He won't hear the child's first word. He won't be there for graduation. He won't get to witness the child if they get married. He won't be able to hold any potential grandchildren in his arms.

There are so many things that she'll have to face alone. There are moments in the future when she'll look at her child and it'll remind her of the man she was supposed to spend forever with. The man that was supposed to be there with her to raise the child.

Just as every time she meets her father's eyes, she'll be reminded of what he took from her. Not only took from her, but he stole the life of her child's father. It's because of her own dad that her child will never get to meet its father.

I truly don't know how she can stand to look at Cain. If I was in that exact situation—if I was pregnant with Luca's child and Luca was taken from me in the same manner—I absolutely would not be reacting in the same calm manner. I'd be plotting Cain's death before they'd be able to bury Luca's body. There's no way he'd survive crossing me in that manner.

He shouldn't survive for crossing Dove in this manner, but it's also not my decision. She'd be upset with me if something happened to her father. I don't want to steal from her as he did.

But we're also two very different people in that sense. She can easily forgive and see the good in everyone. I feel as if I'm more realistic in that sense—there is nothing good about Cain Brooks.

I just pray that it doesn't take something else for her to figure that out. Especially not something worse than what's already occurred.

"I thought so too," she comments, taking a bite of the wrap. "I think it's helping stimulate my appetite again."

"That's good, you need to eat."

She purposefully takes a massive bite of the wrap as proof that she's trying and I'll admit, it's nice to see her being playful. It's a good thing to see that the loss of Adiv hasn't completely erased her spirit.

I know he wouldn't want her to wallow in grief. I hope she knows that.

After a few minutes of talking, I tell Dove that I snuck photos of whatever paperwork the nurse had, but as I begin to explain that I didn't see anything meaningful in the pages, someone else comes to the door—one of Cain's guards—and informs us that Cain would like to speak with Dove. When I stand, he attempts to stop me, insisting that Cain only mentioned Dove.

"I don't care," I snap. "I'm coming with her."

He narrows my eyes at me, his sight dragging down to my feet and back up. He's sizing me up, trying to figure out if he can take me if I put up a fight. However, after a minute, he finally utters, "Fine. Let's go."

Fuck Cain's men thinking they can push me around. I'm not the type of woman that's going to back down. Especially not now. I'm going to do whatever possible to protect both Dove and her unborn child.

He leads us to Cain's office where we come upon him aimlessly flicking his pocket knife around—the one with the imprint of a rose with a crown atop it.

"Ladies," he greets, but it's not in a welcoming way. It's said more in a tone where we're clearly a nuisance to him.

I notice that Dove purposefully cradles her stomach, as if to rub in his face that she's carrying Adiv's child. That a piece of Adiv still resides in this room right now because of it.

He notices the action and immediately snaps, "We already discussed this, Dove. You're having an abortion," he hisses the last sentence like he has the tongue of a snake.

I furrow my eyebrows in shock, confusion, and horror. "You already discussed this—" I twist my neck to glance at Dove for an answer because this is the first I'm hearing of it.

"If you continue to disobey me, you'll be married off. I've already set up a contract with a man to potentially be your husband."

What? I narrow my eyes at my uncle, disgusted by his words. Never mind marrying me off, but he'd do that to his own daughter?

Dove is clutching her tiny belly tightly, protecting it as she snarls at him, "Then I hope he's ready to be a step-father, 'cause I'm having this baby."

Standing beside her, I grab her hand to hold as a reminder that I'm here and that I'm on her side. I'm always on her side.

But this is also one of the first times I've ever witnessed Dove standing up to her father. She's never been as feisty as I am—I don't think she's even ever sworn in front of him—so it's a contrasting sight to see her so visually angry towards him.

However, I also know she's suddenly acting like this because of the baby. She would give up her life to protect that little one and she hasn't even held it in her arms yet. I believe there isn't anything she wouldn't do for the baby.

And that just so happens to currently include standing up to her psychopathic father.

Suddenly Dove doubles over in pain, clutching her stomach. Concerned, I reach for her and ask what's wrong. "I don't know," she mutters, "I think I'm gonna' puke." She rushes off to the nearest bathroom—which is just behind Cain—and I listen as her knees hit the flooring and she voids her stomach.

I take a step forward in an effort to go to her and give her aid, but then Cain speaks and I stop dead in my tracks.

"Shit happens, Dove. You can't always protect those you care about. No matter how hard you try. Sometimes God has other plans." As he says the words, his eyes meet mine and something in his gaze causes all the hair on my arms to stand on end.

Because he's said those exact words to me before.

The day my parents died.

Abruptly and randomly from some sort of stomach illness.

Despite all of the warning buzzers going off in my head right now, I feign as if my mind isn't piecing things together and roll my eyes, rushing past him to help Dove. I help hold her hair back, rubbing soothing circles on her back as she retches.

I was young when my parents died and I think because of that fact, I've never intimately studied the details of their last days. I was only a child and I believed the things I was told. Why wouldn't I? The things I was told surrounding their deaths were told to me by adults who I'd trusted as a child. I was innocent and naïve.

Both of my parents died of sudden illness. It was never explicitly stated exactly what—it was mostly speculation that it was some freak viral illness that struck them—and I'd never thought much of it because when it comes to an illness like that, it's not always something you'd question. I was young, so I didn't think twice about it.

But as I rub Dove's back, it's as if Cain's statement to Dove earlier has triggered some sort of repressed memories in me because now I feel as though I'm recalling things that I don't think I've pondered before.

Like the fact that shortly before my parents death, Mariposa was angry with my mom. They would bicker in rooms where Leo, Dove, and I weren't present, but I could still hear them arguing through the walls. I can't recall exactly what they were discussing, but I know that the overall tone of the conversation wasn't pleasant.

I can remember my parents falling ill. They were vomiting a lot for a few days and complaining of stomach pains. I recall asking my mom what was wrong and she informed me that they must've had food poisoning, but that it'd get better in a few days time.

It didn't.

In fact, Uncle Cain had brought by something to eat as encouragement of hopefully getting better but they only got worse. And that's when Cain comforted me by telling me, "Shit happens, Raven. You can't always protect those you care about. No matter how hard you try. Sometimes God has other plans."

Even then, I recall thinking it was odd that he said, You can't always protect those you care about.

Care about. Not love.

I think it's because he doesn't know what love is. He can't comprehend such a feeling.

Hindsight is 20/20. When I see how someone randomly began bringing Dove food after her pregnancy was made public and her subsequently getting sick in the same way, it reminds me of my parents and what little I remember.

I think Cain poisoned my parents. But why?

And that makes me believe he's also poisoning Dove, likely because she's defying his demand to have an abortion. Is he trying to kill her? Or is he doing what he can to ensure that she loses the baby?

Jesus Christ, if I thought Cain was a horribly evil man, it's only gotten worse. How can someone do that? To poison your own brother and his wife and watch—feigning care and concern—as they slowly erode? And then to take in their daughter and lie to her face for her entire life about what happened?

Even worse, he's now poisoning his own daughter? He could've killed her.

Those are the thoughts swirling in my head as Dove excuses herself from Cain's office, not caring why he requested she be there in the first place. I follow her mindlessly as she heads back to her bedroom to use some mouthwash.

I fucking hate him. I hate Cain Brooks. He's a piece of shit and he doesn't deserve to breathe another breath. What he does deserve is a slow and painful death. He deserves to beg for his life and to not be granted it.

I want to kill him.

"Rae, are you even listening?"

"Sorry, what?" My heart is racing in my chest, my ears are fucking ringing. I've just had some sort of horrible epiphany about my parents. One that I won't be able to shake for a long time.

"You said you took photos of some paperwork the nurse had?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry." I unlock my phone and bring up the photos, handing it off to her. "I—" How do I explain to her that I think her own dad is attempting to poison her to force her to lose the baby?

"Are you alright? You seem weird."

"Yeah, yeah, I just need a minute." I'm too afraid to fully answer her question because I don't know where to begin. I don't have any proof of my suspicions. Can I really speak them aloud when I don't have anything to back up my claims?

I walk to Dove's bathroom as she seats herself on the edge of her bed and splash some water on my face, taking a second to breathe. How could I have not even minutely guessed something like this earlier? Cain has always felt this weird animosity towards me. The fact that he probably murdered my parents could explain that.

He always threw in my face that him and Mariposa took me in and gave me a home, yet he was the one who took away my fucking home. Now that I believe what I believe, that was just another way for him to brag about what he'd done.

But I still don't understand why.

From what little I recall of my dad, he didn't hate Uncle Cain. Sure, they didn't get along like the best of friends, but now that I reflect on it, it was likely because Cain does bad shit and my dad didn't. They were simply too different.

Does it really matter why? He killed my parents in cold blood. There's something deep inside me that knows that's the truth. I can sense it within my bones.

I take a moment in the bathroom before joining Dove again. I still don't know how to tell her what I believe is the truth, but I know that she has to know. If she doesn't, it could be putting both her and her baby's life at risk.

"We have the same blood type, isn't that weird?"

"Huh?" I'm not entirely paying attention, in all honesty. There are too many conflicting and confusing thoughts swirling inside my head to focus.

"AB negative," she confirms, leaning my phone towards me to show me the proof. "You, me, Leo, and my dad. Isn't it supposed to be super rare? That's weird."

My face pales.

There's no way, is there?

"It's genetic," I whisper, not even sure if Dove can hear me.

But she does, as she inquires, "One of your parents must've had it then."

That's why Cain killed them.

I clutch my chest, feeling my ears begin to ring even worse than earlier. "He does. He—" I can't finish the sentence.

"Rae, what's wrong? You've been acting weird all day today. Is this about earlier? I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my talk with my dad. I'm trying to process everything and you know me, I'm—"

"I think your dad is poisoning you. Our dad." The words feel like acid on my tongue.

Is Cain my father? Did he murder my parents because I'm his child?

Is that why Mariposa and my mom were fighting shortly before her death? Did Mariposa find out they'd been having an affair and that I'm Cain's daughter? It would explain so many things. It makes complete and utter sense.

However, if I'm his daughter and he knows it, why has he treated me differently than Dove my entire life? Why did he try to marry me off as quickly as he could? Why have I always been a burden in his eyes?

"What are you talking about?"

"Earlier, in Cain's office, he said something to you and it triggered these memories in me. Memories of mom and dad. I remember them being sick—just like you. It got worse after Cain brought food to our house." I'm pacing the room as I speak, not sure I'm even making sense. "He's telling you to get an abortion and suddenly these meals are arriving at your doorstep and they're making you sick again? I don't think it's a coincidence. And now you're telling me that Cain and I have the same rare genetically inherited blood type?"

"Rae—"

"I know I have no fuckin' proof, but I'm positive that him and my mom had an affair at some point and that I'm his daughter. You're my blood sister, Dove. And now he's trying to kill your baby 'cause he can't stand the thought of you doing something that isn't his decision."

The words spill out of me like word vomit. It's as if someone has shined a light on all of the darkened corners of my mind. The memories and thoughts I've been pretending as though don't exist are rapidly bubbling to the surface.

"Rae," Dove reiterates my name, reaching out for me. She finally manages to gently wrap her fingers around my wrist to pull me to sit beside her. "Are you sure about this?"

I nod, "I don't know how to explain it, but I know I'm right, Dove."

She pauses, running the tips of her fingers over her forehead as if she needs a moment to process it all. "Everything you're saying makes sense. It's something my dad would do."

"What happened with the conversation about abortion?"

"He demanded I have one. Told me I'm not allowed to bring Adiv's baby into the world. Called him all sorts of names." She swallows with difficulty, emotional at the mention of Adiv. "I told him that I don't care what he says or does, I'm not aborting this baby. It's the only piece of Adiv I have left in this world because of him."

"Good," I tell her. "You know I'm always on your side. So is Luca."

She touches her belly, glancing down at it. "Are you sure he might've tried poisoning me?"

I sigh, "It's all speculation, but I swear I'm right. When you left his office and ran to the bathroom, he had this look on his face. I know it's not what you want to hear, but I just know it's true. He'll do whatever it takes to make sure we all continue to be controlled by him and that includes injuring you."

A moment of silence falls upon us. I don't know how to convince her that I'm right. She doesn't need proof that her father is a terrible person, she already knows that, but I know that she wouldn't want to ever believe something so heinous without concrete evidence.

"Think of it this way, if I'm his daughter, he knew that and still tried to marry me off to Marco knowing what type of man he was. He used me—his daughter—as a pawn in his game. That's how little I mean to him. You've said it yourself before, he's always treated me differently."

"He has," she confirms. "It never made sense, but if your mom and my dad had an affair, it could explain why he harbored some resentment towards you. He probably didn't like that your mom kept you—" she stops mid-sentence as if she's had an epiphany. "He probably wanted to force her to get an abortion too. But she didn't. She had you and maybe my mom found out at some point."

"Dove—" I reach out for her, grabbing her hand.

"It's okay. Ninety-nine percent chance you're right about all of it. It's just—It's a lot to process, y'know?"

"Of course," I assure her. "I'm not sure I'm even making sense, but it all pieces together in my mind."

"No,  it makes sense and it's absolutely possible. I wouldn't put any of it past my father. Our. Jesus, do you really think we're sisters?"

I nod my head, "Half-sisters, anyways."

"I guess that's the only good thing to come out of all this." She smiles, pulling me into a hug. "Are you okay?"

I close my eyes for a minute, breathing through it. "I am. I will be. But please don't eat anything in this house anymore. Pretend like you are, but don't."

"Why pretend? Why not call him out on it?"

"It's better to let him think you're doing it. That way we can watch his reaction to be certain. If he gets frustrated that nothing's happening, it'll be obvious what he's doing."

When it comes to Cain, I'm navigating a fucking mine field. If I move too fast, if I take a single incorrect step, the consequences could be lethal and devastating.

If I want to take on Cain, I need to be secretive about it. Confronting him with anything would be like wrestling with the ocean—a pointless battle. I need a bit of time to plan this so he isn't the least bit suspicious.

Besides that, I'd prefer to play this like Luca does. I'd like to hear his thoughts on how to deal with this. Considering he confessed to me that he'd like to kill Cain, I think hearing of all this would only make him want to follow through with his thoughts even more.

"I won't let him hurt this baby, Rae. It'll be him before it'll be the baby. I refuse to let him injure an innocent child. If he's able to do that without remorse, then there's no good left in him."

"What if it comes to that?"

"Then it comes to that. This baby—" she strokes a hand over her tiny belly, "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure they grow up nowhere near the life we've grown up in. Adiv promised me that and since he's not here to fulfill it, I'll do it. I'll do it as a last wish for him. It's what he'd want."

"I'm behind you," I assure her. "One hundred percent."

None of this will be easy, but it's nice to know that Dove is behind us. Cain's as crazy as the ocean is wide, but he's about to learn what happens when you fuck with two strong women.

Whatever halo I once might've possessed has officially been torn from where it once rested, snapped into two pieces, and I've stood each half vertically atop my head to form horns.