37. Katerina

I sat in the passenger seat of Alex's car as he drove down the road towards the house. Ella was in the backseat, sandwiched between Vanessa and John as she slept. She had cried herself to exhaustion after we left the courtroom, where Angelo and Margaret had been found guilty of all crimes committed—from drugging their oldest daughter to illegally adopting their son and money laundering. Who knew that they had to keep so much from their children? It had been the shocker of the century when we heard about every crime they committed.

"What will happen now?" I had asked as we watched Vanessa and John lead Ella to his car after they had driven to the courthouse with us.

"We'll wait to get the date of their sentencing," Alex answered, but I shook my head. He raised a brow, making me sigh.

"What will happen to Ella? She's still a teenager, Alex," I replied. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"It's up to her who she wants to stay with. I wouldn't blame her if she doesn't want to speak with me ever again. If I hadn't pressed charges on them all those months ago, then Ella wouldn't be suffering this way," he stated. I shook my head, cupping his face to make him look at me.

"What happened wasn't your fault, Alexander. Who's to say if you hadn't pressed charges on them, let alone placed a restraining order on them, that they wouldn't have still been doing all those terrible things they've been charged with?" I said. He pursed his lips. "You are her big brother, whether you share the same DNA or not. You watched her through her good and bad moments, and this will not be an exception. She'll be upset, but she'll never hate you."

"Your fiancée is right, son. You did nothing wrong in regard to what happened here today," we both looked over to see his biological parents making their way towards us. "Everyone in that courtroom today were victims of Margaret and Angelo, including their youngest children. No one but them is to blame for what happened. Angelo and Margaret did this, and they will pay."

Alex and I stood at the top of the courthouse steps with Valentina and Alessandro De Luca as they looked towards the car where John, Vanessa, and Ella were currently waiting for us. "Your sister needs you more than anything right now, Alexander. Whatever you do, don't let her push you away. She'll be in denial, but she will still need you to tell her that everything will be okay. That the four of you will get through this together."

"Your mother is right, Alexander," Alessandro said as he held his wife close to him. "They need you now more than we do. You grew up with them, and they look to you for guidance and support."

"We have all the time in the world to catch up, but right now, they need you." Valentina nodded towards the car, where John had just gotten out, looking towards us and waiting for us to go. And that's what we did. We walked away from Alex's parents with promises to meet up the following day for lunch to catch up.

"Let's get you guys home," Alex stated as we climbed in, and my heart broke as Ella sobbed in the backseat, wanting her parents back.

And that's how we got to where we are right now, with Alex driving down the empty streets of Brooklyn towards the house. The radio wasn't even playing in the background, making for a rather quiet car ride back. The trees swayed back and forth with the wind, shaking their colorful leaves to the ground. Fall was here, and winter was only weeks away. Mine and Alex's anniversary was also approaching. It still feels strange that it's been a year since Alex and I got together, even if it had been a small bump in the road. In the short time we've been together, we've been through so much that it blows my mind.

"Would it be okay if we stayed with you?" Vanessa asked, breaking the silence.

"We don't really want to go there," John added. All three Storm siblings still lived with Angelo and Margaret, despite two of the three being grown adults who could get a place of their own. I wouldn't be surprised if Angelo and Margaret had forbidden them to move out.

"Yeah, of course." I turned, looking over at them with a smile that they returned, even though it didn't quite reach their eyes.