Julius Caesar

Alexander's POV.

I was being very patient.

I was being so very patient with Augustus and his actions. Spending his nights drunk and sad and his days talking nonstop with Zig- his childhood friend, apparently, or Ledger- one of my men who constantly paired up with Julius if anything was needed to be taken care of. He wasn't even going to his university but spent all his time indoors, which was very unlike him.

And it irritated me that I didn't know how he was doing. I didn't dare ask him because even though I knew what I did was right, I couldn't bring myself to talk with him about it. And whenever I walked into his room in the afternoons, I'd find him hunched over his table, scribbling things with ferocity.

I was afraid my son was losing his mind.

But I'd call out his name and he'd look up at me smiling. And that didn't make me feel better. Because the only person he smiled to was me. He was simply pretending. For me.

As for Julius, I'd already planned when and how I'd get him back. Two weeks was enough of a punishment for him. All I had to do was head there and I knew that both, Julius and the doc.u.ments would be in my hands. I had even sent one of my men to the place where they kept him and installed cameras to keep track of the enemy.

I knew this would be easier than they might've anticipated. All I had to do was be patient. Patient with Augustus and patient with my wrath that had been begging for release for quite a while.

After all, patience is bitter but its fruit would sure be sweet.

...

Samara's POV.

I could've simply ignored him. I swear I could've. I could've ignored what he said. What he yelled. But there I was, sitting on the huge, scarlet armchair in the reception, with the neck of a crystal wineglass with red wine between my fingers. There I was, drinking away the horrors of what my love hurtled in my direction two days ago as I studied my arse of a brother who seemed to be watching something particularly interesting on his laptop screen.

It was odd that the time he didn't spend shooting innocent animals dead, he stared at his laptop screen like his life depended on it.

After finishing my wine, I pushed myself from the armchair and headed to the window where I enjoyed the sunshine on my b.a.r.e arms. I was then reminded of my room's window and piano and how much I missed it.

I sighed heavily before Maxime's voice cut my useless train of thoughts.

"I'm heading out, Sam," he said and I didn't turn to him. "Will be back in a while."

I nodded at the window, not caring where he went. It wasn't like he cared if I cared, and at that point, I couldn't lie to myself any longer. I wasn't here for Maxime. I was here for Julius. For my curiosity about him, that got the better of me.

I slowly turned to find my brother's laptop on the table he sat at. I walked to it, feeling numb with excitement and curiosity before placing the wineglass at its edge and sitting in front of the laptop.

I flipped it open and there was a password, but it didn't take me long to figure that it was 'LEO'. All caps.

The wallpaper was a black, blank screen with one folder. With difficulty, I moved the cursor to the folder (I was having a bit of difficulty using technology because I hadn't used any for eight whole years).

The folder opened and there were, I read, one-hundred and fifty-three video clips. I was a bit apprehensive at cl.i.c.k.i.n.g on one, scared I'd accidentally watch a p.o.r.no, but...it didn't quite look like it.

I clicked on it anyway.

Leonard's face close to the camera was the first thing I saw. It was dark where he took this video but I could tell that he was smiling. Tousled, blonde hair, wide, dark eyes, dimples, and a button chin. I quickly hit the pause button and took a deep breath. Seeing him after having had made peace with it, was very painful. I shook my head, gathered myself, clenched my fist, brought it to my c.h.e.s.t, and then resumed the video.

'We have a birthday to celebrate!′ Leonard yelled at the camera then looked to his left where Maxime's face popped. He hooted and I remember smiling because it was seldom I witnessed Maxime all carefree and happy. Especially after Leonard's death. They then spoke in French about some girl, whom they thought was cute, before Maxime looked behind his back and tilted his head.

′Pére*. You're ready? Do you wanna take over the camera now? We wanna start already!′ Maxime said and my heart stopped. Dad was there too? I was grinning like an idiot. I thought it was so cute that they were celebrating a birthday together. I even wished I was there.

That was until they both moved away from the camera and I squinted at the screen to notice a girl sitting on a wooden chair in the centre of some space. Some very familiar space. With a heart lurch, I realized it was Julius' 'haven'. She sat, knees touching, on a wooden chair, hair over her face, and hands not visible. My smile faltered when Leonard and Maxime walked toward her and stood at either side of her with wide smiles.

My breathing stopped when the camera was moved closer to the girl at a disturbingly fast speed. The girl was blindfolded with a cloth in her mouth and was in nothing but a short, dark dress. And she wasn't happy like a girl on a birthday should be. She was crying desperately and my heart. Oh, my heart...

Leonard, my dead brother, knelt next to her and I could make out the stage's platform at the back. I watched his hand trace her t.h.i.g.h as bile crept up my oesophagus.

'What's your last birthday wish?' He cooed and I had to clasp my hands over my mouth when I noticed Maxime draw out something from the back of his pants. A scalpel.

'Come on, Leo! People paid to see something worth the while-' scolded a familiar, rough voice behind the camera.

People paid? What? What was Dad saying?

Leonard looked at the camera, smiled sinisterly before his hand disappeared under the girl's dress. She squirmed to no avail as Maxime laughed, running a hand down her hair.

'Women are crazy,' he said with a chuckle before leaning toward the girl's ear. 'Just say you like it.'

Women are crazy...

'You should've licked it, frére*,' he then chuckled. 'More fun.'

'No, man. STDs,' was my dead brother's reply.

'Are you done with the chit-chat?' was what Dad told them. 'Get on with it!'

The girl squirmed even more as Leonard reached for his back and retrieved a scalpel too.

'Alright, alright. Any last wish?' He yelled at the wailing girl, smile gone, before he laughed, his violent facial expressions changing completely. 'Oh, I forgot. You can't even speak.'

And he swung his scalpel and I exited the video. Oh, God. Oh. My. God.

I clicked a video after the other, my brain paralyzed with fear. What was I watching? What were they doing? I wanted to scream but all I did was cry and cry as I watched Maxime stitch a baby's lips as Dad watched. As I watched Leonard **** a lady and abuse her in indescribable ways. As I watched them soak someone in gas and tease them with a lighted cigarette. I couldn't stop watching. I couldn't stop revealing and revealing more truths.

They were all lies, lies, intricately woven lies. And I was stuck in the middle.

I almost lost my sanity when I watched a video of a room full of money and my dad standing proudly, smoking a cigar. I almost barfed when I watched Leonard and Maxime carry buckets of red fluid. I needn't think of what it was. I knew. I knew. And almost died when I watched them splash it on a girl, no older than thirteen while laughing and yelling 'Thou shall be cleansed! Pig blood!'

I almost stopped breathing when-

"I'm back!" I heard Maxime's voice echo down the hallway and immediately snapped the laptop shut, pushing myself out of the chair.

I was staring widely at the reception's mouth, panting, and waiting for Maxime to pop out any second.

I shut my parted lips as he appeared with a sick smile plastered on his face. His hair was stuck on his forehead with sweat and his white shirt clung to his sweaty, lean torso. He studied me for a while as I distanced myself from the table and hoped that my emotions weren't evident on my face. I was impossibly bad at this. I couldn't even be good at it if I tried because what I saw killed those skills a thousand times.

"Hey, sis, what's up? You look like you've seen a ghost-" He commented and I speechlessly shook my head. But I realized I was acting suspicious so I forced a few words out of my mouth.

"I've never been better," I choked out.

He narrowed his eyes at me, then averted his gaze to his laptop, then the wineglass on the table as I gulped and moved away from the table a little more.

"Okay! Cheer up! I came up with a great idea." He then walked toward me, running a hand through his dark hair and grinning.

"A great idea?" I pathetically stumbled on my words as I stared at him approach me in absolute fear.

"Yes," he whispered excitedly, nodding. "I've figured how to bring Julius to his knees. How to open him up."

I stood speechless and found myself holding onto the table's edge for support. Because this was the worst news. The worst ever.

"You have?" I squeaked, fear a fist punching the living daylights out of me.

He nodded silently and leaned in to whisper in my ear. I almost scooted away but threatened myself to be wise. Composed, even when my brain was in complete mayhem.

"Dress your best and meet me in the bas.e.m.e.nt in fifteen. Preferably red," was what he told me.

He then backed away and I had to bite my lips not to utter a whimper as tears filled my eyes. His dull greys caught mine and I couldn't help but wonder about what he thought of his pathetic sister. A sister who seemed to have no problem with shedding tears for a murderer. A murderer who killed her father. Her father, a murderer. And who could've killed her brother. Her brother, a murderer. A psychopath.

And I wanted nothing, nothing, but to free myself from this dilemma because my heart was no longer mine. It didn't belong to that body. It was elsewhere. It was shredded and lost in the clutches of monsters. Murderers. And it petrified me because I wasn't supposed to be here. Because I was supposed to run as fast as possible from both of them.

I should've let the monsters deal with each other. People like me die. Die by the fire the monsters enrage in their battles.

And I'd caught fire from two wars.

I hadn't realized Maxime was calling me until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up with a gasp, feeling my heart race under my skin. I desperately looked into his ivory eyes, not failing to notice his scowl. Scary, monstery scowl...

"I'm sorry," I panted out, feeling my c.h.e.s.t constrict tightly and my fingers shake uncontrollably.

"Be there, Sam. Or I'll have to come and get you," he told me with a smile and a wink before turning to leave.

I pushed a shaking fist to my c.h.e.s.t, feeling my heart pound violently against it and squeezed shut my eyes. I could barely stand straight and almost collapsed from the sheer pain of my inability to breathe when Maxime rushed back into the reception, glared at me before grabbing his laptop under his arm and leaving. Leaving me to hyperventilate my fears and insurmountable trouble I was in.

I held onto the table and lowered myself to the ceramic-tiled floor. I let my hands trail down my neck, clutch it, pull at it. Because I couldn't- couldn't breathe. And I needed to pull out what was lodged there.

My mouth opened helplessly and I leaned forward toward the floor, heaving, and pulling at my skin because I wanted air.

Because my brother and Julius were killing me.

I was having a panic attack. The third in that week. And it felt like death was a ball of steel wool, sitting in my throat contently. S.u.c.k.i.n.g and s.u.c.k.i.n.g my soul out delectably. It was deflating my insides and reminding me painfully of what got me here. What left me to this. This dry-heaving, broken girl. A girl who threw her heart out to the wolves. An empty, folded girl, with her forehead, almost kissing the floor from the acute physical and mental torment of it all.

I straightened up with a sharp inhalation, tears blurring my vision. I had to calm down. I had to calm down to relieve this pain. I had to stop thinking about my brothers. Of my dead father. A father who did have blood on his hands.

Julius was right. Julius had always been right. And somehow this thought was the only anchor I found to collect myself.

Julius never lied to me, I whispered to myself. He never manipulated me. My brother did. He showed me the ugly, the terrible in Julius while he stayed under the sunlight. He killed me a hundred times. Maxime never really cared for me or he would've kept me as far as possible from him. From all of this.

I needed to find Julius. I needed him to show me the light. I needed him to help me out of this. Because I was drowning. I was fading away.

My breathing slowed down and my trachea opened up as air rushed in. I gasped hopefully, tears fumbling down my eyelashes. And then I remembered that Maxime gave me only fifteen minutes.

I had to go.

...

I wore a knee-length, blue dress. Navy blue.

I had my hair pulled in a ponytail and made sure I didn't have a trace of makeup on. I did the opposite of what Maxime told me to do. And when I descended the stairs, I had to pause in horror at what I witnessed.

There stood my tall, roughly handsome brother, smiling at me in a crisp, crimson suit that contrasted beautifully with his grey eyes. He stood, sandwiched between two huge men who looked scary. My God, so scary.

Behind them was the door that kept Julius away from this atrocity and that was guarded by another pair of guards. I suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

What were they going to do with him? Julius?

"Come here, sister," Maxime extended a hand toward me and I gulped before reluctantly approaching him.

When I stood in front of him, I tried ignoring the two intimidating men who stood by my brother and decided I needed to just breathe my way into and out of this. I smiled at Maxime because it was the right thing to do; it was what fit my role. Because this was just an act. It had been that all along.

"I thought I told you to wear red," he said, monotone, still smiling and blinking. "I wanted us to match."

"Blue and crimson aren't that bad," was my pathetic comeback. There was obviously no way I was telling him, ′I am defying you...psycho.′

He merely nodded in my direction before he gave me his back as his guards, or whoever those men were, turned too. Maxime waved at one of the door guards and they quickly opened the door.

I couldn't breathe at this moment because my heart was inside that room. If they hurt my heart, I die.

Maxime stepped into the brightly lit room, followed by the two guards before I finally staggered inside after them. I really needed support because I thought my kneecaps just got dislocated.

I moved from behind Maxime and my eyes immediately fell on a smirking, shirtless Julius. He was wearily eyeing Maxime and sizing up his men. He then glanced to his left and almost did a double-take when he saw me standing there, looking like an utter mess.

He then quickly whipped his head back to Maxime with slightly parted lips.

"Finally," he was the first to speak. "I was waiting for that visit for quite a while. Kept wondering when you'd take matters in your hands instead of handing them to your...sister." He then glanced at me and I gulped at the intensity of his forest-green eyes.

Maxime didn't respond, instead, he c.o.c.ked his head at one of his guards. They both briskly walked to Julius and I had to clap my hands over my mouth to make sure I wasn't producing any unnecessary sounds. Sounds like screaming, because- look at my heart... Look at it!

Maxime stood facing the three of them while I stood at the side, by a wall, for support. The guards harshly held onto Julius' arms as he simply looked at them and smiled lopsidedly. And I realized that this wasn't what he was supposed to do. He was supposed to cry because none of this was funny. Those were all scary things.

Julius then glared at my brother as his smile turned to a smirk. "And now you're handing your matters to other men's hands?" He screwed his face sarcastically. "Intriguing."

"How can we get your father here?" Maxime asked and Julius rolled his eyes before looking pointedly at me.

"She knows."

"She knows?" Maxime turned to me and I gulped, shaking my head.

"He said, his father disliked him. That he wouldn't care less. That he didn't know what was his weak-weakness-" I blurted out the words, my heart dying in my c.h.e.s.t.

"See?" Julius then said, thankfully returning Maxime's attention to himself. "She knows."

"I didn't get my answer, Alexander Jr," came my brother's response and I looked at him confused.

"That's all I have to offer."

I clenched my fists. That was bad.

"Oh?" Maxime's deep voice rang in the place. The place where he killed, tortured, and r.a.p.ed many innocent people, children, babies. I shut my eyes as the horrendous images flooded my mind. "But I have lots to offer."

Julius smirked. "How generous," he said. "Please let's cut the crap and get started already."

Maxime raised his eyebrows, his features hardening. "Oh, we will cut the crap. But I have to exactly know where to cut it."

I furrowed my eyebrows at his wordings. I didn't understand what he said but Julius seemed to have understood because his posture changed. It became more relaxed even though I knew that what came out of my brother's mouth was surely vicious. He was leaning on the guards like they were his lifelong friends.

Met by Julius' silence, Maxime started circling him and his men like a predator. I watched him study Julius who seemed to look everywhere but at me. I was so very scared for him.

He didn't see what I saw.

Maxime's features lit up with a smile before he retreated to his position. I shuddered.

Maxime met Julius' cold eyes, then commanded, "Turn him."

Just like that, the two guards robotically turned Julius who wasn't even fighting back and pushed him onto the stage platform, such that he stood up with his upper body laid flat on the stage's floor. His hands were held firmly, one by each guard and his legs were locked in place by the guards' feet, leaving me his scarred back to stare at.

I couldn't see his face and panicked. I couldn't know if he was in pain or was okay. And I couldn't do a thing to help him. Heavens, I didn't even know what Maxime was planning to do. So I held my breath and waited.

And then Maxime took out a scalpel. And I thought I fainted because I thought I lost my vision. But I looked down and my feet were planted firmly on the ground. I was still standing. In fact, my feet were moving. I was walking and I was grasping at Maxime's arm.

"What are you doing?" I panted out and he stopped in his tracks surprised.

"What am I doing?" He retorted and I shook my head weakly.

"You can't do-do that," I pleaded. "You know you can't."

Maxime smiled. "Relax, Sam. This is for Leo."

I speechlessly shook my head as I felt tears splatter on my b.a.r.e arms. Maxime gave me one final disregarding glance before shaking my hands away. I stumbled back and held onto the wall breathlessly.

I watched him approach Julius slowly, his fingers skillfully arranged around the scalpel.

"I will not stop until you beg me to. Until you beg me and scream it that you have the answer I need," Maxime said calmly. So calmly it killed me again. And I wondered how much more death could I take alive before it actually ends me. It seemed a lot.

And he swung his scalpel and there was a lot of screams. And I think that they were all mine. Because my scarred heart was being shredded. Shredded and shredded. And I was screaming and wailing. I had a fist against my c.h.e.s.t as I glimpsed his bloodied back. His bloodied scarred back. And that brought more tears to my eyes as I continued screaming at my brother to stop.

But murderers only had ears for their demons.

So I miraculously found my footing and decided that I wanted him to hear. Even if that meant screaming in his ears. If it meant slapping him and killing his demons. I rushed to him, and with all the force I could muster in this feeble being of mine, I pushed him away from Julius.

Maxime flew backwards and almost fell before catching himself at the last moment. He had dropped his bloody scalpel and was glaring at me. I breathed out and daren't even turn. Or I'd see my wounded, wounded heart.

My tears flowed freely. "We need to talk." I asserted shakily and he narrowed his eyes at me.

Maxime was about to head to his scalpel, apparently ignoring me, when I yelled at him, completely losing my damned mind. "I SAID, WE NEED TO TALK!"

Maxime stared at me wide-eyed but I wasn't finished yet. Women are crazy, huh? Oh, he had seen nothing and I was going to show him more of that.

I turned to his stoic-faced guards. "LEAVE HIM and GET THE F.U.C.K OUT OF HERE!"

Both the guards looked at each other, then at Maxime and I pursed my lips. "DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?"

The guards let go of Julius and solidly walked out of the bas.e.m.e.nt. I furrowed my eyebrows, my breath hitching as I watched Julius use a hand and try to turn himself. When he finally did, his head was bowed and his c.h.e.s.t bloodied from his back wounds. It took my every inch to fight standing by his side and helping him out. He stood hunch-backed as if it'd kill him to straighten up. He wouldn't even show his face.

"Might as well go and kiss him," Maxime's taunting voice cut my thoughts and I fully turned to him, standing straight.

"And you might as well go f.u.c.k yourself, you bloody sociopath!" I yelled at him and he scowled.

"You will regret this so much Samara," he said venomously. "Mark my words." He then turned and walked out of the door.

I stood alone with Julius, watching him do nothing but watch the floor. I slowly approached him and touched his arm, but he winced and my heart stopped. He slowly looked up at me and tears formed in my eyes at his condition. His face was red, lips bleeding probably from biting down on them and his romantic, green eyes wide and glassy.

"I'm sorry," was all I could whisper before I took off, not forgetting to pick Maxime's bloody scalpel from the floor.

...

"What is your problem?" was the first thing Maxime yelled at me when he saw me step into the reception. His white, button-up shirt was half-open with his suit's jacket thrown on the armchair and with a cigarette between his fingers.

"What is your problem?" I bellowed back angrily. "This wasn't what we agreed on!"

"Dammit, Samara! We agreed on avenging our brother-"

"Well, I'll be goddamned!" I shouted, getting closer to his face. "Not in this way!"

"I didn't kill him! You were the one who wanted me to go-"

"You could've killed him if I didn't stop you!"

"You're saying all this to hide under the truth!" He yelled, screwing his face in anger. "You never cared about Leonard!"

I was taken aback by his words. I inhaled deeply. "How dare you accuse me-?"

"You never stopped loving him!" He then exploded, his cigarette breath fanning my face as I flinched. "You never will. You can't! Not for anyone! Not for Leo."

"I don't love him!" I yelled back, clenching my fists. "And this isn't about him! I don't want to talk about-"

"Well, I want to-" He demanded authoritatively as I held my h.i.p.s.

"Well, there isn't anything to say that would entertain you," I scowled. "So let's talk about this-" I raised the bloody scalpel in his face. He looked taken aback and backed away to stare at it.

"What about it?" His voice lowered and I tightened my hold around it.

"What about it?!" I made a face. "Is it completely normal for someone to witness their own brother carve someone's back with a scalpel. A scalpel, Maxime!"

Act it through, I thought, he shouldn't suspect a thing. I didn't know what he was fully capable of. But he was an animal through and through.

"I had to get creative!" was his stupid comeback.

"No, honey," I frowned. "You got animalic! You were absolutely barbaric!"

"Well, he killed my father!" He protested. "And my brother! And he killed you, dammit!"

"It wasn't him!" I defended uselessly. "And what do you mean killed me?"

"Well, he's totally got you under his influence-"

"Just shut up!" I clenched my jaws. "I'm perfectly aware of what I'm doing."

"Oh?" He smiled viciously. "Like you were perfectly aware of what you were doing, using my laptop, huh?"

That shut me up.

And it was like an alarm went on in my brain. Chaos, chaos, chaos. My toes curled and my heart hurtled as I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow. Maintain the act. Maintain it, or you'll be dead. Dead, dead, dead- I chanted in my head as my eyes almost teared up at the effort this was taking.

"Yes, I used your laptop," I agreed with him smartly. He raised his eyebrows as if impressed I complied. Impressed at my audacity. "I didn't know the password at the beginning-" Make it as believable as possible. "When I figured it out, I saw one file-" I smirked despite the fire lashing out in my brain. Maxime stood statue-like, listening to the lies I fed him. "With lots of videos," I breathed out. "But I was scared to click them."

"Scared, huh?" I knew what Maxime was hinting to but I had to play dumb to win a day.

"Yeah, Maxime," I decided to play with my words. "I get easily traumatized by watching such things."

"Such things?"

I lowered my voice. "Look, you shouldn't be angry or defensive that I knew. All guys watch p.o.r.n at your age. It's fine," I said, inching toward him and smirking. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline and I almost exhaled loudly, exposing myself. He was swallowing my lie wholly.

"How did you figure it was p.o.r.n?" He narrowed his eyes at me as I forced out a believable giggle.

"I saw you grin at your laptop screen. What else could you be watching? Natural geographic?" I commented as he breathed out loudly.

"Of course not," he smirked. "I hate animals."

"So can we go back to how you were using a scalpel?" I swiftly changed the topic. Maxime narrowed his eyes and smiled lopsidedly.

"You're a story Samara," was what he told me with a smirk. "You're way too smart."

My heart skipped a beat. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Probably terrible.

"Don't ever meddle into this again-" I made sure my tone changed. "You handed this to me and I shall be the one to get done with it."

Maxime smirked, nodding halfheartedly. "I better get answers soon," he said, his eyes glinting disturbingly.

"Yes," I pressed. "You will."

After that, I turned and walked away from him to my room where I prepared a first-aid kit and some blankets, readying myself to spend a very, very long night with Julius.