Mafia's collateral (M Book2)

The picture

>>Eris

"Looks like she didn't pick up," The nurse looked at me as she patted my head, "We can try one more time if you want,"

I looked at her, but before I could say anything else, I heard the unmistakable sound of Mom's footsteps, fast and purposeful. She appears in front of me, her face flushed with anger.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she snapped, yanking the phone from my hand. I barely had the time to react. "You can't just take someone else's phone!"

She thrusted the phone back to the nurse, who looked more concerned than angry. Mom grabbed my arm, her grip firm and unyielding, and yanked me away from the nurse.

"Maam," The nurse tried to intervene, "It's fine! I allowed her to use the phone."

She didn't even bother to look back at the nurse, or stop for her, she simply took me away.

"I'm trying so hard to make sure you get better, and what are you doing!?" Her words stung, "You tried to call your sister, didn't you?" I just wanted a few minutes with Sera, to hear her voice, to feel connected to her.

"..." I didn't give her an answer.

"Why! I'm here! Why do you need her!!" She glared at me, "Just ask me! I'll give you anything you want!"

"..." I want Sera. I want to talk to her.

But now that I didn't get to do that at all, the fever began to take over me faster. My world spun and although she was pulling me along with her, the world around me became so dizzy, it took me with it.

I fell to the floor.

"Maam!!!" The nurse, though she was far, still noticed and came running over to help. And only when she ran over and took me from Mom, did I close my eyes and let myself be taken by the darkness

***

>>Somi

"We heard something," An underling of mine came to me while I was having tea in the lounge of my house.

"What?" I asked

"The woman that belongs to Azef, her sister is in the hospital again."

"The one I sent last time failed so miserably." I glared at him, "Do you think you'll do something better this time?"

"Yes," I heard another voice from the back, "You might succeed this time," The private detective I hired came into view, "Because it seems the kid isn't with Azef, her mother took her apparently." He came and sat down on the single-seater couch next to mine, "Azef took the older one with him."

"Her mother?" I looked at the detective, "You told me last time, they didn't have a mother."

"Seraphina doesn't have one, but apparently the kid's mom is alive." He looked at me, "Azef took the woman and vanished, but the kid is very accessible at the moment."

"If they left the kid behind, doesn't it mean that brat doesn't mean much to them?" I asked as I sipped my tea.

"Could be," The detective answered, "But I also learned something else,"

"What?"

"Seraphina was originally taken in as collateral. Her father ran away with Azef's goods. The father seems like a scumbag but the sisters were close."

"Hmm," I brought the tea cup down, "But she definitely isn't 'just' collateral when he presumably did so much for her."

"You're right," He hummed, "Since he took her with him when he learned of the Soma's searching for them, she must mean a lot to him."