Alison had woken up with a smile on her face. Her dreams were filled with images of Alex last night. She still couldn't believe that he was doing all of that just to fulfill what she had asked him.

She spent her morning helping James and Jordan to create a replica of an island for their school. Hunter had gone out with his friends that morning and so did Xander and Damien.

It was after 10 A.M that Jess called her and asked her to hang out with her and Ayda. It was a warm and sunny day, so Alison changed into a white short sleeve summer dress that reached just above her knees. She applied a bit of makeup, left her hair free, put on her sandals and left her room, and headed downstairs to the west wing to see Mason and ask for his permission.

She was a few steps away from his office when suddenly her phone rang and her mother's name flashed on the screen. Alison smiled and looked around. The corridor was too silent and the thought of going upstairs to her room seemed crazy, so she quickly walked to the ballroom and slipped inside, and closed the door behind her.

She talked for 20 minutes with her mother in the silence of the ballroom. The doors were soundproof so she didn't notice that hell broke loose outside. After ending the call, she looked at her clock and hurried to the door. She was going to be late and Jess would kill her for sure. She walked into the once again empty corridor and quickly went to Mason's office. Once she was in front of the office's door, she took a deep breath. "God, I'm getting too used to this ridiculous rule of taking permission for going out." she whispered under her breath angrily before gathering her courage to knock on the door.

"Come in." she heard Mason's loud and angry voice and for a second she thought about running away but she hesitantly opened the door and peeked inside and halted in her place on the door frame and looked at the scene in front of her.

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife and made it hard to breathe. Rich, Mason, and Ben were standing there, watching her like she had grown two heads. But there was another man in the room who made Alison's blood freeze with his malicious look. Two other scary-looking bald men covered with tattoos had stood behind him.

"Alison!" called Rich shocked.

"Ummm," said Alison as she moved on her feet uneasily and looked at Mason who was speechless. "Sorry, I just wanted to ask if I can go out with my friends, but I think It's not a good time. Sorry."

She turned to leave but a deep voice with a thick Russian accent stopped her. "So this is the famous stepdaughter." she turned to see the malicious man had now stood and was taking slow intimidating steps toward her. A nasty smirk was on his lips while he was staring at her with mischief glinting in his eyes. "So you are Alison. You are hotter than what I have imagined."

That seemed to bring Mason out of his trance. "Rich!" he said and Rich was beside Alison with a few long and fast strides. He put a firm hand on Alison's shoulder and guided her outside. "See you soon, Alie," chirped the Russian man and Alison shivered at his promising tone. She had no intentions of seeing him ever again.

"Don't even think about it, Volkov." Mason's dangerous and blood-freezing growl was the last thing that Alison heard before the door closed behind her and Rich.

Rich didn't release her from his hold until they were in the back garden. "I'm sorry." said Alison. She felt guilty although she had done nothing.

Rich looked at her and frowned. "It was not your fault, Al." he said reassuringly but his signature warm smile was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a cold scowl plastered on his face as he called a number on his phone. "Green, bring a car to the back door. You should take Alison out. take Nilson with yourself." he said on the phone.

"Who was that man in Mason's office?" asked Alison after Rich ended the call and they were waiting for Oliver to come.

"No one that you should worry yourself about." said Rich and clenched his jaw. His eyes were fixed on nothing as he stared forward.

"I'm sorry. I should have called you instead of coming to Mason's office." said Alison embarrassed, sensing that she had caused a trouble unconsciously.

Rich looked back at her and this time a ghost of a smile played on his lips and his eyes warmed up. "Seriously, Alison. You did nothing wrong." he reassured her. "Don't worry yourself about it. Just go and have fun with your friends. And something else." he said and pulled out his wallet and brought a black credit card out of it and held it in front of Alison. "Here, take it." he said. "Sorry, we should have given this to you sooner. We have forgotten."

Alison blushed understanding what he meant. "Thank you but I still have money myself." she said shyly.

"Nonsense." said Rich. He grabbed her hand and put the card in her palm. "Use as much as you want. I want you to use a great amount of money by tonight. Its pin is 2865."

Before Alison could protest, Oliver pulled over a car with tinted windows beside the garden and stepped out with another man. Rich dragged Alison to the car and opened the backseat's door for her. "Take her where she wants." he ordered sternly to Oliver. His face once again was cold. "Stay close to her all the time but do not bother her privacy. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." said both men as they sat in the car once again.

Rich glanced at Alison again and his face become satisfied once he saw a glint of golden pendant shaped like an eagle shining on Alison's neck. He smiled then. "Have a nice day, Alie." he said and closed the door and waved for her as the car drove away.

Rich turned on his heels and walked inside again and went to the office. He opened the door and his shoe made a crunching sound on broken glass scattering in front of the door. He saw Mason sitting behind his desk with his face in his hands. Ben had sat on a sofa smoking a cigarette, his eyes fixed on the coffee table and his face was grim.

"What did the bastard want?" asked Rich as he stood in front of Mason's table.

"To threat us." growled Mason. "That fucking bastard had come this long only to say he will destroy us all. Did you send guards with Alison?"

Rich nodded. "Green and Nilson went with her." he said. "I told them to stay close all the time."

Mason nodded and looked away. "I'll call father." he said. "They should come back. It's not safe that they stay that far. We should inform Gray wolves as well. West should know what happened today."

"Did you tell anyone to follow Volkov?" asked Rich.

"I did, but I told them to stay far. I don't want to lose any of our men in vain." explained Mason. "They have eyes of a hawk. They had not remained hidden all this time for no reason."

"We should keep everyone close." said Ben. "I will call my father to come back as well from his trip. I think you should tell Damien, Xander, and Hunter to stay in the house or warehouse all the time. The same goes for Alison."

Mason nodded. "But we can't keep Alison and Eva in house and with guard without explaining. They should also know what they should expect." he said thoughtfully and then looked at the others. "I think It's time we tell them that we are mafia."

*************************

Soon it was Sunday. Alison had sprawled on her bed like a starfish and was staring at the ceiling. Yesterday was fun for her, but her mind was always dragged toward the Russian man in Mason's office who screamed danger. Who was he? What did he want? Mason looked so angry. Also, the number of guards had been increased around the house and the security had been intensified as well. It was all suspicious. Her mother and Albert were coming back that afternoon three days sooner than their plan. It was suspicious as well. But at least her mother's return was something good.

Alison groaned and hid her face in her pillow frustrated. She then sat on her bed crossed leg. Her hair was a mess. She puffed a strand of hair out of her mouth. "Okay, I can't continue like this. I'm getting crazy." she said to herself aloud. She thought for a moment and then clapped her hands. "That's it. I will make cupcakes for everyone. I had not thanked Damien. It will be great."

She then jumped out of her bed and ran to her vanity and brushed her hair and pulled it into a bun. She then ran downstairs and to the kitchen. "Marisa!" she yelled excitedly. Marisa who was working in the kitchen jumped and turned to her startled. "Goodness me Alison. You gave me a heart attack." she said and put a hand on her heart. "What is it, dear?"

"What is the favorite cake flavor of the family? And what is yours?" asked Alison.

Marisa smiled. "Oh, It's hard to say." said Marisa and thought for a moment. "They like different flavors. The youngest, James and Jordan, and also me of course like chocolate flavor. Hunter and Rich like orange flavor. Damien and Xander plus Albert like lemon and Mason, as much as I can remember likes strawberries."

"So I have so much to bake" said Alison and jumped on her feet and Marisa looked at her with wide eyes as Alison ran to the fridge and pulled out her needed ingredients. "Sorry Marisa, But I'm going to ruin your neat kitchen for a few hours."

Marisa chuckled understanding what she was doing. "It's alright, honey." said Marisa. "Let me help you as well."

So after an hour when the cupcakes were ready and they were cooling down, Alison made creams with four different flavors for everyone and then covered the cupcakes with cream and put slices of chocolate, orange, lemon, and strawberries on top of each one.

"They look delicious." clapped Marisa happily and licked her lips.

Alison picked a chocolate cupcake and placed it in a dish and gave it to Marisa. She kissed her cheek and hugged her. "Thank you, Marisa." she squealed. "You helped me a lot."

"you're welcome, honey." said Marisa. "The boys are in the game room. Take theirs for them."

Alison nodded and put some of the cupcakes in a tray and then headed upstairs and to the game room. The wide smile that was on her lips faltered slightly when she heard angry voices through the cracked door of the game room. "Xander, stop it." growled Damien angrily.

"Why? Because I'm accusing your newfound little sister?" scoffed Xander. Alison frowned. They were talking about her. What Xander said next made Alison's heart sink and her breath to choke in her throat. "Someone has heard her talking about it. I'm telling you, this girl and her gold digger mother are two of those bitches who use their charms to fool idiots like you, and then after they steal your fucking money they will disappear and will laugh at your shocked faces."

Alison felt as if someone clenched her heart tightly. Tears welled up in her eyes and her hands shook badly. She didn't hear any more of his unfair and cruel words. She silently put the tray on the ground and walked to her room.

Insulting her or calling her names was one thing but involving her poor mother in that cruel feud was the other thing. How could he? She thought as she quickly picked a few clothes and put them in her backpack. Silent sobs were shaking her body and tears were streaming down her cheeks as she ran out of her room and toward the front door. She bolted out of the house and ran to the gates not listening to the guards who were calling her.

She ran out of the gates and toward the bus stop not far away. To her luck, a bus just stopped at the station and she jumped in and sat on a seat. Her whole body was shaking and she was a mess. She pulled out her phone and called the only one who could calm her down at that moment. "Ash!" she sobbed in the phone as Ashley picked the line.

"Jesus, Al." said Ashley worriedly. "What has happened? Where are you?"

"Can I stay with you for a few days?" asked Alison with a cracked voice.

"Of course you can." said Ashely. "For now come to the boutique. you know the address. Do you want me to come and pick you up?"

"No, It's okay. See you soon." said Alison and ended the call. Her heart was too heavy. She leaned her head on the window and cried silently.

*********************

Damien grabbed Xander's collar. "Fucking stop it Xander or I swear to break your jaw." hissed Damien.

"Do what you want, my dear brother." said Xander calmly. "But it's not going to change the fact. Susan had heard her talking with West. Maybe West coming here and offering help was part of their plan."

"Susan!" scoffed Hunter with folded arms. "What a reliable resource. She is a bitch. Everyone knows this but you don't want to believe."

Damien released Xander and pushed him back. "Listen here, Xander." growled Damien but just then the door opened and James and Jordan walked in while eating cupcakes. James was bringing a tray full of cupcakes with himself.

"Where did you guys get this?" asked Hunter confused.

"Someone had put it behind the door." answered Jordan.

"It must have been, Alison." said James. "Marisa said that she had baked these for us and had brought some for you guys up here. So we came to join the feast. Where is Alie?"

Damien and Hunter looked at each other shocked. "Fuck!" whispered Hunter as he dashed out of the room followed by Damien. After searching the house for good 10 minutes one of the guards informed them that she had left while crying.

"Mason's going to kill us." said Hunter and ran a hand through his hair.

"let her go." snorted Xander. "One bitch lesser. Now we should only throw out ...."

Xander's words were cut off by Damien who punched him hard in the face. Xander fell on his back and hissed in pain as he held his bloodied nose. "WHAT THE FUCK!!" he yelled.

Damien pointed a finger at him. "This is all your fucking doing, Xander." he said. "You are going to regret it bad. Just pray that she comes back home or so help me god, I will kill you." he said before leaving the groaning Xander on the ground.