Not edited*
Ivan's pov. (before incident)

I sat at one of the bar stools completely bored out of my mind, taking slow sips of my drink to keep me preoccupied. Connor sat beside me, awkwardly shifting in his seat every few moments and playing on his phone to avoid making small talk.

"If you have a question just ask me already" I finally said, tired of his mouth constantly opening and closing like a fish.

"How are you so sure I had a question to ask" he inquired crossing his arms.

"You've spent the last few minutes opening and closing your mouth as if you have something to say but are too scared to say them. As your boss, I'm giving you permission to say whatever is on your mind" I taunted with a slight smirk.

"You're a bit of a prick aren't you" he joked.

"Being a successful CEO of a thriving business will do that to you" I answered the smirk on my face growing at his unimpressed expression.

He shook his head and the atmosphere enveloped us into a comfortable silence for a few moments until I spotted Alejandro walk into the bar. I observed him as his eyes scanned the crowd before landing on me as he began to make his way over to where I was sitting.

"Twice in one day, you better stop before I start to think you like me" I said once he was close enough to hear me. He rolled his eyes at my response before tilting his head towards the entrance, signalling for me to follow him. With a deep sigh, I got up from my seat and watched as Connor followed suit, his eyes silently asking if I was good. Giving him a curt nod as to silently assure him that I was fine before ushering Alejandro to go as I trailed a few steps behind him. Once we made it outside, he surveyed the area before focusing his gaze on me, his expression appearing to be slightly paranoid.

"I might have an idea of who's been sending you all of those letters" he began, pausing to see if he had my attention. I raised my eyebrow in an effort to get him to continue but before he could say anything else, a few men in black hoodies invaded our space.

"Is there something we can help you with" I asked the one who was standing in the middle, straightening up once I got a glimpse at what seemed to be a knife.

In the blink of an eye, the men lunged at us, as we brawled in the middle of the sidewalk. The one with the knife had his eyes on Alejandro as the other two began caging me against the brick wall. I immediately threw a punch at the one closest to me catching him off guard as he stumbled a few steps back. The other one swung at me sloppily making it easy to dodge it and get him into a headlock. I didn't loosen my grip around his neck an inch when the other charged at me.

Once he was close enough, I swung my leg out aiming for his leg as the one in my arms began to slump effectively loosing consciousness. The one who I just kicked let out an idiotic growl before charging at me once more as I side stepped and pushed him into the brick wall as hard as I could thankfully knocking him out. I slouched over the catch my breath before hearing a pained groan behind me. Whipping around, I watched as Alejandro stumbled back clutching his gut, as his shirt reddened with blood. The guy responsible for the wound turned his attention towards me as he began walking towards me.

"Ivan Stone, killing you will give me so much credibility." He taunted, a cocky smirk etched on his face.

"You're more than welcome to try stronzo" I taunted watching as he attempted to size me up. Like his friends, he charged at me with the same knife he used to stab Alejandro, aiming for my gut as well. When he was close enough, I dodged his jabs and right hooked him when i got an opening following it by a left hook. Staggering back, he clutched his jaw as blood gushed from his mouth and launching forward once more lazily waving the knife around.

Annoyed at his consistent messy attacks, I swung my fist back as hard as I could and rammed it to the side of his head, effectively knocking him out. I hunched over to catch my breath before remembering Alejandro was wounded, his groans rippling through the serenity of the night. I rushed to his side, gently taking his suit jacket off to hold against his gut to stop the bleeding as I frantically whipping out my phone to dial the police and ambulance simultaneously.

"Hello, I need an ambulance, my friend has been stabbed outside of the Karaoke Crave" I shouted into the phone as I glanced down at Alejandro, his eyes slightly drooping. "Do not die on me you stubborn son of a b*tch" I warned him, softly slapping his face to keep his eyes open. His eyes widened a fraction as he continued to slip in and out of consciousness.

I hung up on the operator after hearing that an ambulance was dispatched to our area and left Alejandro's side momentarily to unmask the men who had attacked us. I took off the hood fo the man closest to me and used my phone to get a picture of his face, doing the same with the others.

Once I hear the sirens approaching our location, I rushed back into the bar hectically searching for Amelia, launching towards her once my eyes met with hers. I watched as her eyes scanned my distraught appearance, concern etched on her face, as she began walking in my direction meeting me halfway.

"It's Alejandro, he's-he's been hurt"

Amelia's pov.

I sat numb in the waiting room as the hospital buzzed hectically with nurses and doctors running around to different rooms. My face most definitely looked horrendous, if the past hour of crying relentlessly was any indication, my makeup was ruined.

It had been about an hour or so since Alejandro was rushed into surgery and the entire time I silently prayed that a miracle occured and that he'd be ok. Connor and Sierra sat with me in the waiting room, Sierra tracing random shapes into my back as a way to reassure me that she was here if I needed her. Connor awkwardly sat across from her, flashing me a small smile whenever our eyes connected but he was absolutely clueless as to what was going on.

I haven't seen Ivan since the karaoke bar when he bursted through the doors to inform me of what had occured moments prior. I was slightly disappointed when he wasn't with Sierra and Connor, their only response was to shrug at his whereabouts. My heart was relieved that he wasn't seriously injured in the street brawl both of them had partaken in but it yearned to be in his embrace during this stressful situation.

A nurse stepped out of the room my father was placed in, her expression not revealing what his condition was or whether the surgery was even successful.

"He's going to pull through, the surgery went without any complications and the knife just barely missed his vital organs" she informed us, as we all let out a sigh of relief at the news.

"How long will he need to be in recovery" I asked.

"We'll need to keep him here for 48 hours to monitor his condition but after that he should remain at home until the wound is fully healed. We'll send him home with some ointment to keep the wound protected from any bacteria and some ibuprofen for the pain" she responded, briefly giving me instructions on how to care for him in the meantime.

"Can I see him" I asked needing to see him personally to fully appease the worrying I had been doing since he was stabbed. She nodded in response with a smile as she ushered us into the room, closing the door once we were all in the room.

Stepping into the room, my ears were immediately assaulted with the constant beeping of the heart monitor that displayed the steady heartbeat of my father. My eyes greedily trailed over his sleeping figure, looking for any signs of his previous injuries, thankfully he appeared to be in a better condition that when we first got here.

I quietly tiptoed to the bedside and took a seat in the chair, intertwining my fingers with his as I rested my head against the edge of his bed. I began humming the tune of a song, my mind replaying the events of tonight and how everything went sideways towards the end. A strangled cough followed my a groan brought me out of my daydreaming as I snapped my head towards my father.

"What happened" he groggily asked.

"You were jumped my a few men and was stabbed by one of them" I filled him in, sitting forward in my seat. "Do you remember who those guys were?"

"I was too busy trying not to get stabbed to get a good look at any of their faces but I'm sure Ivan can identify them"

I shifted my body to face him as I began. "What did they want with them two of you anyway?"

"I'm assuming they followed me to keep me from revealing the identity of the person sending the letters to Ivan and once they saw that I was with him they decided to get rid of the both of us, thankfully they failed" he explained, sliding up into a seated position with a bit of a struggle.

"Mind sharing this mystery person's name with me" I inquired slightly hopeful to get some answers even if they weren't from Ivan himself.

"You saw what happened tonight, do you really think I'd put you in harms way like that"

"I'm a grown adult, I can handle it"

"Well I won't be able to handle loosing you for real this time so it's gonna be a no for now" he told me, his expression pained at the sheer thought of loosing me forever. I huffed in annoyance, crossing my arms to show my disappointment, a laugh bubbling from his chest at my child-like behavior.

A knock sounded from the door, followed by Ivan peaking his head in asking for permission to enter the room.

"No" I said at the same time as my father invited him in. I whipped my head to my father, glaring at him as he sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. Ivan ignored my answer and came in, shutting the door behind him as he turned his attention to me. I observed as he grazed his eyes up and down my body to assure himself that I was fine, I let out a humorless chuckle at his actions.

"If you truly cared about my well being, you wouldn't have left me during the one time I needed you the most" I angrily spat watching as my words visibly pierced him, his expression portraying the hurt he felt. His expression showed how sorry he was but right now I wasn't in exactly in a forgiving mood, so I turned away from him.

"I was at the precinct giving a statement on what happened and giving them the photos I took of the guys that attacked us since they were gone before any police arrived at the scene" he explained trying to get me to understand the reason behind his absence.

"Are they content with the information you gave them or will I have to give a statement as well" my father's voice breaking the apparent tension between us.

"They want you to give one as well since you were also present during the attack but they agreed to wait until tomorrow to stop by and get it to give you some time to rest"

They continued to talk about the incident very vaguely and I assumed it had something to do with the fact that I was there. Getting fed up with their secrecy, I got out of my seat and walked out of the room ignoring their voices calling my name.

My eyes began to fill up with tears once more as I took a stroll through the halls of the hospital, my steps faltering as I heard muffled voices around the corner. I slowly inched forward to get a quick peak around the corner, my heart stopping at what I saw. My heart stopped as I took in the sight, pulling my head back and gripping the wall for support. I used my mouth to muffle the sobs coming out of my mouth as I stumbled to get back to my father and Ivan to tell them who I saw.

Bursting through the doors, I immediately let the sobs break out as I mustered enough courage to speak the next words "It's my mother isn't it, the one who's been sending the notes and the one who sent the men after you"

I watched threw teary eyes as they both nodded simultaneously, staggering back as if the confirmation blew a hole threw my chest. I slid down the wall and began sobbing uncontrollably into my knees as the sheer impact of what she had down weighed me down.

"If it's any comfort, she's going to pay for what she did by spending the rest of her life in jail" my father comforted.

"Let her burn in hell for all I care" I angrily snapped, using the back of my arm to wipe the tears from my face.

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I could only make one update this week as I've been jam packed with school work and such. Please let me know on how you liked this chapter by commenting, sharing and voting, it means the world!

Love y'all<3

A.O