The Syndicater (Dark Verse #6)

2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Amara, Tenebrae City

Being a mother was exhausting. Being a mother while being a mob wife was extra exhausting.

Tempest, the light of her life, the joy of her heart, the strength of her soul, had the lungs of a beast. Amara loved her, but good god, Tempest was living up to her name, and she was only just about a year old. Lord save them when she was older. She and Dante were both tired for reasons beyond their first child's teething and keeping them up at all hours.

Amara cracked her neck as she walked into the new rehabilitation center, thanking her common sense that morning for having worn flats instead of heels. Honestly, she didn't have the strength to even get out of bed these days. Thanks to her husband, her wonderful, thoughtful husband, who let her sleep for a few extra precious minutes while taking care of their baby, and thanks to her mother, who was truly an expert when it came to managing her grandchild, Amara felt a bit relaxed leaving the house for the first time in a week.

The weather had slowly started to change in the city, the lush green hills turning more rust and orange as the cooler season breezed in. Wrapping her chic blazer around her—one of the new ones that fit her more voluptuous, post-pregnancy body better than her older clothes—Amara entered the large new compound of the rehabilitation center a few miles out of the city, not too far from the Maroni compound that she called home.

The new center—that she'd been calling New Haven in her head—had just opened a few weeks ago, just a year after starting. It was built on a large property that the Maroni family had owned— now her family name, she had to remind herself at times—that Dante had signed off for this project. It was a decent start to what she hoped would be something much larger one day. For now, there were three buildings manned by proper security in the compound. Two were residential for housing the children who were rescued from the clutches of the trafficking ring, most probably operated by The Syndicate. One building was for classes, food, and staff offices that included psychologists, teachers, and managers. It was comparatively a much smaller operation, but the need had been for speed, not scale, and thanks to being the wife of the Outfit boss, getting shit done on a faster timeline had been a perk.

She had personally overseen all the designs and worked with the crew that had built it from the ground up, a passion project close to her heart and the hearts of everyone she loved.

"Good morning, Dr. Maroni."

Amara paused in the lobby to see Nellie, the middle-aged woman she had personally hired as the manager of the compound, to take care of things on a day-to-day basis. Nellie, a Tenebrae native, had previously worked in the same position in an all-boys boarding school. Though she had a strict, disciplined air about her, Amara sensed her inner kindness immediately and realized she would be the perfect fit to foster the children who would be there, hopefully temporarily.

"Good morning, Nellie," Amara greeted her with a warm smile. "Sorry, I was away for a week. Tempest has been teething and her first birthday is coming up soon. It's been hectic, to say the least. What did I miss? Give me a run down, please."

Nellie pressed her hands over her grey shirt, something Amara had noticed she did out of habit before speaking at length. They had kept the attire for all staff casual, mainly so the children would feel more at home.

"Counting the last batch, we have a total of thirty-six boys right now, ages four to fourteen," Nellie began to talk as they walked down the lobby. "They're all meeting the three in-house therapists once a week, and all are attending different classes in groups of three to five times a week. They've been particularly happy about the movie weekends. Some of them have taken to the outdoors. The game room is also ready. We're just waiting for you to look it over once before we open it."

Amara took in all the information and walked into the large open area that led to all three buildings, looking around. Children, boys mainly, were running around playing catch. Sadly, in the year they had been looking, they hadn't found any batches of girls so far, just the boys they had rescued. Some were sitting on the grass, enjoying the sun. Some caretakers, all of whom Amara had personally hired and Dante had vetted, kept an eye out to make sure everyone stayed safe. It was a weekend, and on the weekends, there were no classes and no sessions. Just movies and letting kids be themselves. The sight warmed her heart in a way she'd never have thought of, not without the experience of being a mother herself. Loving a child and losing a child, both experiences had changed her from the inside.

Amara breathed in the crisp air and anchored herself in the moment.

"The detective called," Nellie continued as they stood looking at the kids. Two young boys, barely five, wrestled in the grass while laughing, their sounds tinkling in the wind like beautiful chimes.

"Any updates?" Amara asked, waving at a young boy who grinned at her. The children all knew her. She was the one who talked to them first before introducing the other doctors to them. Some days, she got them sweets, and she knew that was why most of them liked her more. But she didn't care. She liked being their favorite, liked the way their eyes lit up when they saw her. It was so pure, so precious, and she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that there were monsters who had tried to tarnish and ruin that light from their eyes.

"They've tracked three of the boys' family," Nellie told her. "Two of them had filed missing reports, but one of them hadn't. The detective is investigating that one, but for now, as soon as the families are here, they will come to get the boys. Most probably tomorrow."

Amara nodded. It made her heart happy to think of the families who had lost loved ones reuniting with them. She knew firsthand how it felt to be separated from the people you loved. But worse, she knew, having witnessed it in Tristan, what it did to someone who lost their loved ones without any answers. And every time a family came to pick their baby up, it restored the faith in her heart for all of them that one day, sooner or later, they would all be reunited and restored with love, healed from the wounds inflicted by time and distance.

"Please make sure it goes smoothly," Amara replied. It was unnecessary, though. Nellie wasn't just good at her job; she was passionate and protective of these children. That was something Amara respected a lot about her. In the beginning, every time a family had come, Amara had wanted to be there. But between being a new mother and wife and getting the center up and running, it had begun to take a toll on her, and Nellie had stepped up. Amara knew that if Nellie felt something was off, even when the families came, she wouldn't let the child leave without calling Amara or Dante. She knew what was at stake here, and that was why Amara felt like she could trust her to run things.

"Dr. Amara!" a young boy shouted from the lawn, running towards her so fast down the slight slope of the hill that he came barreling into her with his excitement. Amara felt a breath whoosh and steadied herself, holding the seven-year-old upright before he fell down on his little butt.

"Easy, Lex," she chided him before softening. She had a soft spot for him. He was one of the first boys she had bonded with here, the only boy left there from the first batch they had found. He had been in the group with Xander, and though Xander had become more family than anything and all the other boys had eventually gone home, Lex was the only one left behind with no family. He was an orphan, his family having died in an accident. He had been raised by his grandmother, who had passed away last year, leaving him vulnerable. His story, the fact that he was the only one remaining from that very first group, and the fact that he'd seen all those other kids be picked up and left had softened Amara to him more than others. Lex was a precious child with a special heart. He knew his family was dead, that there wasn't anyone for him out there. He had suffered horrors she knew about from his sessions, and yet, the boy had the most infectious smile and the most iridescent heart on him. Amara loved him like she loved Xander.

Speaking of…

"Can I talk to Xander, please?" Lex asked right on cue, his dark eyes and dark hair shining with good health as he looked up at her in an endearing, beseeching way. This was something he did every time she came to visit. The kids weren't allowed to use phones, so he sought her out. Knowing Xander was with her friends, he asked her to call him so he could talk to his friend. It was kind of adorable.

"Since you asked so nicely," Amara smiled at him, taking out her phone and dialing a number that was on her most frequently called list thanks to this young boy.

The phone rang twice before being picked up.

"Hello," the young, quiet voice spoke. Xander was a conundrum, which wasn't something she thought she'd have said about a child. Amara had seen his psych evaluations, thanks to Tristan and Morana permitting her access to his files, and it stumped her. His past was an utter mystery, with no records of his birth or his life before he was found. They had estimated his age by guessing because they didn't know how old he was, and he never said. His intelligence was off the charts, making it more difficult to guess his age correctly, and his personality was darker, more somber than any young boy's should be. He was always quiet, always respectful, but always observant. And it wasn't just him being on the spectrum or being high-functioning. Amara knew, her psychologist intuition telling her, that there was more to it than any of them knew. She just hoped, for all of their sakes, that it wasn't something that could bring danger to their doors.

"Hi, Xander. Amara here."

"I know," the boy said in the same monotone. "I have your contact saved."

Of course, he did. She called him thrice a week. Morana had given him a phone of his own so he could call any of them at any time. While Morana was also apprehensive about his past, she had a deep respect for his intelligence and refused to coddle him because of it. Tristan was… well, Tristan about it.

"Lex would like to speak with you," Amara started, and Lex raised his hand for the phone. Amara chuckled, handing it over to the boy and watching as he took a few steps away to the side to talk to his friend privately. "Hi, Xan! How are you? Did you miss me? I gotta tell you about this new…" his voice trailed off as he walked to the end of the clearing and sat down on the grass. This was something he did every few days, and knowing what she knew about him, Amara let him. There was something beautiful about the bond the two boys had forged in their circumstances at such a young age, and Amara wanted to foster it and hoped it grew into an organic, powerful friendship, much like Dante's and Tristan's, as time passed. Having a true friend in one's corner could make so much difference, especially during a difficult time. She knew from experience, and that was why she wished the boys could nurture it.

Her heart gave a pang at the thought of friends. Vin, one of her closest, oldest friends, had been deep undercover into The Syndicate for almost a year now. He had sent Dante updates occasionally when he could, but Amara missed him a lot, especially since he'd been quieter for a while. She just hoped he would come out of it unscathed and undamaged, but even if he did, she would help heal him as he had helped her a long time ago. The scars on her wrists, hidden underneath her bracelets, tingled with the ugly memory of her past.

Shaking it off, she watched Lex talk on the phone as he picked at the grass and asked Nellie about him. "How is he doing?"

"Surprisingly well," Nellie answered. "He's well-behaved and makes sure others around him behave too. He's become a sort of peacekeeper. He breaks up fights and keeps all the spirits high. Kids go to him when they need something."

"He's a leader," Amara mused, watching the boy talk intently.

Nellie nodded. "Dr. Armstrong thinks he's either putting up a facade or repressing, but it's too early to tell. He needs more time to give any conclusive evaluation."

Amara understood that. It could be tricky even in general, but especially with children. It was important to take time and be sure before any kind of diagnosis or the stakes were too great and could impact the child's whole life, or worse, add to their trauma. From her experience, she knew for a fact that any child with the experiences Lex had carried baggage in their brain, consciously or subconsciously, and without proper care, it could manifest in a multitude of ways, some extremely dangerous.

"Keep a close eye on him please," she instructed Nellie. "I want to know if there are any behavioral changes with him at all."

She hoped there wouldn't be, at least not negative. She was rooting for the little boy to do well, rooting for him to have a fabulous life filled with love and joy, and she would do everything in her power to ensure he could live it.

A few other kids greeted or waved at her too, and Amara looked at the little compound, at the little lives impacted by one singular evil entity.

They didn't know much about The Syndicate. In fact, none of them had even known about the organization until Morana had become a part of their lives. It was like a pandora's box opened up when Tristan and Morana got together, aided by The Reaper and the Shadow Man, exposing them to The Syndicate. Even though the organization had been active for decades, her own trauma incited by them and executed by her biological father who worked for them, it was only recently that they all got to know about them.

There were too many unknowns in the foray, things they didn't know anything about.

And Morana's airport guy, who they were sure was the Shadow Man, seemed to know a lot but not share a lot. Amara did wonder what his endgame was. Was he a narcissist playing with them or a vigilante working in the dark? Was it a power-hungry game or fueled by something else? Was he an enemy or an ally? What was he that an evil organization that everyone feared was terrified of him? Was he a bigger evil or lesser? How could he be lesser if he terrorized the monsters so? Though he was an unknown too, she had a gut feeling about him. He had aided them so far, even saved Morana's and Zephyr's life, and led them to their first group of kids. But Alpha, the only one in their group who had talked to him at length, didn't have an iota of an inkling of who he was or what he wanted. '

'Cryptic motherfucker' were the exact words her one-eyed brother-in-law had used. Amara wasn't sure what to make of him, but the more she learned, the more certain she was that he was goal-oriented. From a psychological point of view, he seemed like a fascinating study, and in a very academic way, she wished she could talk to him just to get a better understanding of his motivations and his psyche.

Lex ran back to her with her phone, breaking her thoughts.

"You have a good chat?" she asked him, taking the phone, clicking on a random email notification and realizing it was a spam link before deleting it.

"Yes," the young boy enthused. "He thinks he's getting adopted."

Amara felt her eyebrows go up. The boy was all but adopted. She knew Morana was looking into the legal paperwork, which was tricky without Xander's records. She knew it because Morana had told her about it on their group video call the other night with Zephyr. Though it was a little tense between the two women—Morana juggling through her identity and feeling guilty about Zenith's death, and Zephyr juggling through the darkness in their world and grieving the loss of her sister—Amara had begun doing the group calls every other night. Both the women needed to heal, and it wouldn't happen in isolation. They all needed each other, especially if things were going to get worse, as had been forewarned by the Shadow Man. Amara was willing to take his word for it—much to the consternation of others who were more emotional about it than logical. But he knew shit none of them did, and so far, he hadn't guided them wrong. So, she had made it her mission to keep the girls together. The tension would ease, but they all needed to stand up and get through it together.

But that brought her to the point, how did Xander know about the adoption thing? Becasue she knew Morana hadn't discussed it with him yet.

"Why does he think that?" Amara voiced the question.

Lex shrugged. "He didn't say. He's just happy about it."

Very interesting.

Another boy called for Lex, and he ran off with a "Thank you, Dr. Maroni!" thrown her way.

Amara watched him go, her mind trying to figure things out but hitting a wall every time. She wished she had all the answers. She wished she could interrogate the Shadow Man just to put an end to all the questions. She wished she could talk to Vin to understand what was going on.

Amara walked around the kids, checking up on them, and wished that one day, they could all heal. A darker part of her wished that one day, in the future, the culprits would die deserving, painful deaths.

She could only hope.