LOGAN'S POV:

Archor's trial had been a nightmare. My men were angry. This was something that should've been investigated when the death occurred all those years ago. And because it wasn't, it was my problem now.

I hated how different he acted around his daughters. He was all apologetic with them and yet, while he was being questioned, he didn't act like he cared at all. I was ready to get the formalities out the way and just kill him, he was making life difficult for everyone. He was being tortured in the hopes that he'd admit what he'd done and then, he would be killed. But he refused to say a word.

Finally, I thought he was going to speak up and admit to being guilty when he demanded my presence early this morning. I'd left Mia asleep. She'd been struggling to sleep a lot recently and the last thing I wanted was to wake her. I couldn't stop myself from gently kissing her forehead though before I left.

When I arrived at the warehouse where Archor was being held, I was disappointed to find he didn't want to co-operate. Instead, he told me there was 'something I needed to know' and told me to search one of his warehouses. I was sure it was just a pathetic, wild goose chase but I didn't want to risk it. There was a look in his eye, a challenging glint that I wanted to beat out of him and the sooner I knew what happened the day of Julia's death, the better.

I took a group of men to the address and searched for hours, losing my temper many times when I found nothing. One of my men finally found a loose floorboard and we managed to peel it away to reveal a hollow beneath the floor. I was relieved and ordered them to continue ripping up the floor until they found something when my phone started to ring.

"Hi darling," I said, a smile on my face knowing that she was thinking about me. "Everything okay?"

"Hey," she said, her voice a little softer than normal. I wondered if she'd only just woken up and the thought made me smile. "Everything's fine." I didn't quite believe her but she continued before I had the chance to interrogate her. "I was just wondering where you keep the Christmas decorations. Ash and I thought we'd decorate."

I smiled. "That's a great idea, baby, but I don't have any decorations."

"Why not?" she asked.

I laughed. "I don't usually bother with Christmas," I answered. I never bothered to celebrate Christmas as in my opinion, it was a holiday all about family and spending it alone year after year wasn't worth celebrating. But I knew Mia loved Christmas and the thought of being with her this year made me smile. "I'll send someone to get whatever you need, text me a list, okay?"

"Thank you!" she said excitedly and I laughed before ending the call and turning back to my men.

"What's down there?" I asked them, approaching to see a large gap in the flooring.

One turned to me. "A staircase, sir," he answered.

My phone pinged with a text from Mia and I checked it to see a long list of items. I grinned and forwarded it to some of the soldiers at the house. "Go down and see what's down there then," I barked when I looked back to see all my men staring at me expectantly.

They flinched before scurrying down the stairs and I watched as they disappeared into the darkness before following. I pulled my gun from my holster, wary about what I was about to walk into. I didn't trust Archor in the slightest and I wouldn't put it past him to try and get rid of me so the trial was put on hold or forgotten about altogether.

But I'd made a promise to Mia that no matter what, I'd go home to her and I wasn't about to break that promise.

At the bottom of the stairs was a metal door and I frowned at the sight. Like an idiot, the soldier that had been brave enough to go first tried to break it down but it wasn't even making a dent. "Is there a lock?" I asked, unable to see properly past all of them.

"No, Sir," one of them answered.

"Looks like a thumbprint scanner."

I grit my teeth. Of course, he'd fucking sent me here knowing I didn't have access. I was furious for about five seconds before I realised exactly what that meant and what needed to be done. "Then one of you go and bring me back his thumb," I ordered.

One of the men nodded and shot back up the stairs. I wasn't a particularly patient man and I was itching to know what was behind this door. I wasn't expecting to find anything of importance when he'd sent me. I assumed it was an attempt to waste my time but you don't hide a basement for no reason. And I was supposed to have access to everything regarding the mafia so a reinforced metal door that only he could open in my warehouse was definitely something worth looking into.

It took a long time for my soldier to return and when he did, the sun was setting outside. I wanted to get out of here and back to Mia. I couldn't help but wonder what my house looked like now – most likely covered head to toe in lights and tinsel. But I didn't care, as long as it made her happy.

The thumb worked and the door clicked before swinging open. I frowned, peering inside to see shelving units full of files. I sighed, knowing it would take hours and hours to go through them all. "Great," I muttered, my mind still on Mia. "Let's get this done as quick as possible," I ordered, pushing through them all gathered at the door and stepping inside.

I approached the large shelving unit and pulled out the first file. "Who are you?"

The voice startled me and when I turned, I saw the last thing I ever expected to see. She looked painfully familiar. Her eyes were the same blue, her hair long and dark, but frizzy and messy, like it hadn't been washed in a long time. Her skin was extremely pale, her clothes were dirty and she looked petrified.

But more importantly, she looked just like the woman I was in love with.

Except, this woman was older, with wrinkle lines and greying hair. Tears filled her eyes and she wrapped her arms around her legs, looking at me through the bars of the cell she was in. "Who are you?" she repeated, shifting uncomfortably.

I swallowed; my throat suddenly dry. "You're Julia," I stated, unable to process the fact that I was looking at Mia's mother.

She nodded slowly, nervousness in her eyes as she shifted her gaze from me to my gun and then to the men behind me. "Did Archor send you?" she asked quietly, her voice shaky, "are you here to kill me?"

I shook my head, stepping forward. "No," I told her, "You're safe."

"Why are you here?"

I couldn't answer her questions. I needed her to answer mine. "How are you here? Everyone thinks you're dead."

She backed up as far as she could against the wall. "You have to tell me who you are!"

Her tears fell and I could see she was shaking. I hated it, she reminded me so much of Mia and I just wanted to comfort her and reassure her. "My name's Logan," I told her, holding up my hands, "I uh... Archor sent me here, he's on trial for your murder."

She looked taken aback for a moment. "The mafia knows?" she gasped, again looking between me and the men behind me. "Do you work for him?"

I couldn't help but scoff. "No, he works for me. I'm the Don," I explained and her eyes widened further. "You don't need to worry, you're safe. Let me get you out of here." I scanned the room and found the keys hanging opposite the cell door, almost there to taunt her. I grabbed them and unlocked the door before stepping away. She looked hesitantly at me before taking a slow step forward.

"He... he's on trial?" she asked and I nodded. "What about my daughters? Are they okay? Do you know them? How old are they now? I uh... I've lost track of the years."

"They're fine," I told her as she shuffled further towards the cell door. "They're twenty now. I'll take you to see them now if you want."

Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head. "Not like this," she whispered, her eyes straying to the corner of the cell where there was a mess on the floor. My heart broke for her. She'd been locked up like some sort of animal and left to rot. Archor must've fed her and done the bare minimum to keep her alive but this was no way to live. "I don't want them to see me like this," she sobbed.

I shook my head and stepped towards her, wanting to wrap my arms around her and tell her it was all okay. "No, come with me and we'll get you some food and you can shower and change and then you can see your daughters, okay?"

She nodded, stumbling the rest of the way out of her cage and collapsing against me. "Thank you," she whispered. My eyes watered – possibly from the smell – but I couldn't let go. I hugged her back tightly, wanting her to feel safe for the first time in years. After a few minutes, she pulled away and wiped her eyes before I helped her up the stairs and to the car. We headed back to house and all I could do was think about Mia. Her entire world was about to get flipped upside down yet again and my stomach twisted just thinking about it.