While following Eve back to the mansion, Devin saw a car following behind him in his rear view mirror. He looked a little closer and saw that it was Pierce. ‘He’s just making this easier for me.’ Devin thought. Upon arriving at the mansion, Devin pulled up next to Eve’s car window and told her he’ll be back in a little while.

Devin was pulling out of the gate and looked to his left when he found Pierce’s car parked to the side of the road, but with no Pierce. This got him a little worried as he got out of his car and started looking for him. He didn’t have to go far as he saw Pierce hiding behind one of the trees on the side of mansion looking up through a window. Quietly, he approached Pierce and looked to see what he was looking at. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he saw who it was that Pierce was looking at. ‘Sonofab*tch!’ Devin thought as his face became enraged. Flexing his fist open and closed, he walked up behind Pierce, grabbed him by the shoulder and punched right in the face knocking him out cold.

“You nasty prick!” Devin spat. He then looked down at Pierce and instantly he wanted to punch him again! He ran his hand over his face and let out a sigh, before bending down and picking up the unconscious Pierce and headed back to his car.

Eve was unaware of what had just happened outside of her bedroom window, as she got undressed. She was thinking about how Pierce’s eyes traveled up and down her body earlier. He made her feel dirty all over as a few tears escaped from her eyes before she fell to the floor holding herself closely. She must’ve been crying out loudly because before she realized it, Julian was by her side holding her close.

“Eve what’s the matter?” Julian asked as he started moving his hand in a circular motion all over her back.

“Pierce…” she sobbed out.

“What did that bastard do?!”

“I was talking to Devin and saw Pierce come into the coffee house. He was staring at me Julian…” was all she could get out as she started sobbing uncontrollably again.

“It’s alright, I won’t let him come near you again.” He said as he kissed her forehead.

Julian continued to hold Eve in his arms, completely ignoring the fact that she was naked and let her finish crying.

Darkness was the first thing that Pierce saw when he opened his eyes. ‘Where am I?’ He thought. His head was killing him. The last thing he remembered was watching Eve as she got undress and then complete darkness. He had been spying on Eve from below her bedroom for weeks now and when he saw her at the coffee house today, he knew he had to be near her. A lecherous smile spread across his lips but then suddenly it was gone as he felt a sting on the side of his face.

“Aw golly !” he cried out.

Devin had been sitting across from Pierce for the last two hours waiting for him to awake. After arriving back home, he sat Pierce down in a chair, tied him up and blindfolded him. Devin was still fuming from the way Pierce was watching Eve as she undressed. He had never felt this much hatred towards anyone in his life before… well except now for his recently discovered grandfather Alistair. He had been deep in thought when he saw out of the corner of his eye Pierce begin to stir. He watched him closely as his face scrunched up a bit before he suddenly had this lecherous smile spread across his face. ‘Bastard!’ Devin thought venomously as his balled his fist up and punched Pierce again.

“Sick bastard!” Devin shouted.

“Who the hell are you and what do you want with me?!” Pierce asked in a frantic voice.

“I’ll be the one asking questions not you and you better tell me the truth or else face the consequences.” Devin said in a serious tone. “Question number one, why were you looking at my mother through her bedroom window?”

When Pierce heard this person call Eve his mother, he automatically knew who this person was.

“So Duke told you before he died huh?” Pierce blurted out.

Devin was taken back by what Pierce had just said.

'How did he know that?' Devin thought curiously. "I know some things but all and that’s the reason why you’re here. I want the rest of the answers that I seek.” Devin said.

“I only know what my sister Liz has told me. She knows more than I do.”

“Tell me what you know.”

Julian watched quietly as Eve slept peacefully in her bed. She had been so exhausted after crying her eyes out about how dirty Pierce made her feel, that when she was finished he had to helped her get into her nightgown then helped her climb into the bed. After making sure that she was out for the count, he headed towards his bedroom to grab his laptop then headed back to her room.

Julian had been researching Devin’s family background for weeks since his and Eve’s encounter with the young man for lunch that day. Devin’s eyes had been haunting Julian ever since. He saw a younger version of Eve in the boy and couldn’t shake the feeling that he was connected to her some how. He never told Eve what was doing for fear that she would be upset, so he kept quiet. Since boy’s father’s death, Devin was the only person Eve would talk about. Julian noticed early on how fond she had become of the boy and wanted to make sure that he wasn’t some kind of criminal that would hurt her.

He had been combing through many reports and notes he had on Devin and nothing really seemed to add up until now. Julian had been comparing some more notes he had on Devin when he came across his birthdate. ‘This doesn’t make since. Why does Devin have two different birthdays?’ Julian thought as a puzzled look appeared on his face. One report said that Devin was born December 25th, 1978 and the other one said December 30th, 1979. Which one was his birthday? Julian then looked a little deeper and also found out that Devin had two different birthplaces and two different social security numbers. And as Julian continued to look, he found out that Devin’s newly deceased father, Duke Marshall, had many mysterious checks appear all signed by Alistair Crane for the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars every three months dating back to December 28, 1978. ‘What the hell is going on here?!’

“I’m waiting. Tell me what you know.” Devin said as looked at Pierce who was still tied to the chair blindfolded.

“I know that you’re Eve and Julian’s son. I know that Duke is Julian’s older black brother. I know that Duke took you from the hospital the night that you were born. And I know the real reason why Julian left Eve before he found out that she was pregnant.” Pierce said calmly.

“Why did he leave her?” Devin asked Pierce in a curious voice.

“Many people think that Julian left Eve because Alistair threatened to disinherit him, that’s a lie. Alistair threatened to have Eve killed if Julian didn’t leave her and marry Ivy Winthrop. Alistair wanted Julian to believe he’d do it too. So Julian did what he thought was the only way to keep Eve alive, but little did he know that if any harm came to Eve then Alistair was a dead man.”

“I’m not following, what do you mean?” Devin asked as a confused look spread across his face.

“Julian inadvertently got Alistair into more trouble when he became involved with Eve. You see Alistair was deep in debt and owed this crime boss a lot of money. So he did what he had to do to keep Eve and Julian apart. Only you made matters worst.” He then paused before continuing.

“What?!”

“Alistair is in deep sh*t with this underground syndicate. He came up with this plan you see. You and Eve are the key. Alistair golly ed up big time when he had you took from Eve. He made sure that Eve and the crime boss never found out about you and made damn sure that Julian never knew about you either. The crime boss just recently found out about you and what happened with Eve in the past. Alistair was going to use you when the time came and Eve to payoff his debt.”

“So let me get this straight, you’re telling me that Alistair had me kidnapped from my mother and forced my father into a loveless marriage, all because he was in trouble with this underground syndicate? You must take me for a fool!”

“It’s the truth honest!”

“Alright then, who is this crime boss? I want their name.” Devin threatened.

“If I tell you who this person is, I’ll be killed. It’s better that you don’t know.”

“I want their name!”

“I can’t tell you that! They told me that once Eve was away from Julian that I could have her.”

“You sick freak! Who told you that?!”

“I can’t…” Was all Pierce got out as he suddenly slumped over in his chair. Devin wondered what the hell had just happened, so he approached Pierce cautiously. He looked at Pierce carefully before seeing some blood pouring from his right ear. He then saw a little red dot appear on his shirt and jumped behind the nearest wall as a bullet flew in through the window.

‘He was telling the truth! Damn it, I have to get out of here.’ Devin thought as he hid behind the wall. Devin then looked towards the front of his apartment, the hesitated a bit, before getting up and running towards the door. He had just about made it to the door when all of a sudden, he was hit by a bullet in his shoulder. He cried out in severe pain before hitting the ground with a loud thud. He managed to get back up moments later then struggled on his way out of the apartment.

After the sniper finished her job, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a few numbers.

“Hello boss, I did what you told me too.”

“Pierce Sanbourne is dead?” the man said on the other side of the phone.

“Yes.”

“And Devin…”

“He got away.”

“I want him and Eve in two weeks. Is that clear?” the man said to the female assassin.

“Yes sir.”