AN: S'up guys. New chapter. Hope you like it. It's a wee bit longer than the other ones have been. I don't even know. Glad you all seem to be enjoying the shit. This chapter takes place about a month after the last one, but the second section of it sort of takes the form of a flashback, just to clear that up. Shilo is looking back on something that happened not long after she moved into the towers, but hopefully that part is pretty self-explanatory. She's settled in a bit here and is starting to get a bit comfortable... let's hope that comfort won't last. 8D Enjoy and thank you for the reviews, it's great reading them. Keep them rolling in!

Warnings: Somewhat disturbing at the beginning. Language on Luigi's part.

Pavi ran a fingertip around the rim of the wine glass perched on the table next to him, a low chuckle leaving him as he watched the GENtern he had just bedded slowly wake from her drug induced sleep. The large, crystalline blue eyes opened and blinked slowly. First she was groggy, then confused, then scared as she realised that her wrists and ankles had been tied to the posts of the bed in one of the disused guest rooms of the Geneco tower. Pavi delighted to see each emotion flicker across the young woman's face. It had been a month now since he had brought Shilo into her new cage and still he had not gotten what he wanted from her. Of course, Pavi had his needs and so he would often leave Shilo sleeping alone (he rather enjoyed the thought that she would miss his company) and wander off to find a willing GENtern, of which there were many. This one had been merely unfortunate – something about her face had awakened the bloodlust in him. He wanted it, the flawless skin and perfect symmetry. And so he had slipped a little something in the wine he had graciously served her to make the poor girl sleep and give him enough time to secure her. She was new to the job and would not be particularly missed by any of the other GENterns under his family's employment.

"Ah, you're finally awake, cara," he crooned, approaching the bed slowly. He reached over to the table which stood beside the bed and lifted the small pocket knife he kept there for such occasions with a dim flash of silver. The young woman who had now begun to whimper and he leaned down to trace the very tip of the blade along her defined jaw line with a low hum. She gave a small sob, attempting to twist away from him though with her wrists bound together and held above her head and each foot bound to a bed post, she of course did not stand a chance. "The Pavi apologises," he purred with mock sincerity, "He is not a patient man. He must-a... get this out of his-a system somehow, si? You are-a not her," he mused softly, more to himself than to the woman, "You are-a not small or-a delicate. You-a did not blush when-a the Pavi touched you. You crawled all over him like a whore, didn't you?" He chuckled, before giving a soft sigh at how her pursed lips trembled in fear. "You know what I-a want from you, bella," he murmured, his husky tone reminiscent of the one he had earlier used when muttering his endearments in her ear. He brushed back her waves of thick blonde hair, almost fumbling in his eagerness. "Let us begin, hm?" With that, he made the first cut into her forehead.

Oh, how beautifully she had screamed.

Not too much longer and he had finished with the young woman, her screams had now ceased. Everything had ceased, because she was dead. He had watched her bleed out across the sheets. In the en suite connected to the guest bedroom, he had cleaned his new face of blood and had scrubbed his hands as well. It had been easy after that to find another GENtern and persuade her to embalm and moisturise the face for him. She seemed reluctant at first to touch it – she was also fairly new, Pavi realised. But with some gentle persuasion she had agreed and Pavi had sent her on her way.

When he returned to his bedroom, Pavi's heart pounded and lust gripped his stomach as he had laid eyes upon the pale little figure curled up amongst his sheets, her collarbones rising and falling with her deep, even breaths. He bent down next to her, running a ringer down the curve of her white cheek and her eyebrows knitted, eyelids fluttering slightly as a small groan escaped her and she attempted to turn her head away from his prying hand. He suppressed a bitter little chuckle. It seemed that even when asleep she was unwilling to let him touch her. Delicate – that was what she was. Entirely delicate. Even her health was unstable after the years of poison in her system and she continued to pollute herself with her father's "medication" purely because if she did not, she could not breathe. She would become weak and faint and a terrible pain would wind its way through her heart like twisting coils of barbed wire. If anything, her delicacy made him want her more.

A small sigh left him and he brushed his lips lightly against her smooth cheek. "Buonanotte, bella."

xXx

Life at Geneco Tower was not so difficult. Shilo had expected it to be hell, but it was not entirely bad. Pavi did not seem to expect payment of any kind in return for ensuring that she was alive, nor did he allow her to spend time in the presence of his siblings. Shilo could not say she was happy but she was... somewhat content, at the very least. She would say that her days were reminiscent of the past seventeen years of her life, had the day not came when he had encouraged her to go outside. It had been a week or so after he had brought her to the tower and it had been unexpected, to say the least.

"Come-a here, cara mia. There is-a something I would-a like you to do for me." He had told her that the kitchen's supplies were running low and that usually he would not ask such a thing from her but everyone had been terribly busy lately and it would be a great help if she could run out for a moment and collect some things from the shop that he told her was just around the corner from the tower. It would take only fifteen minutes, he had said, and the press would not bother her if she covered her head and kept her pretty face down – he expected that they would not even recognise her now.

She had been terrified, but she knew that she owed at least this to the man who had, essentially, saved her life. And so she had tied a silk scarf around her head, covering her wig and the sides of her face effectively and had taken the cold, golden coins he pressed into her small hand. It had been difficult to bring herself to step out through the front door. Even through the glass she could see the busy, swarming life of the street outside. However, she had taken a deep breath, mentally steeling herself, and had taken one big step, which had been enough for her little heeled boot to land on the concrete outside. There. Easy.

Pavi had told her to go left, that it was just around the corner and that she couldn't miss it. Sure enough, there it was; a small convenience store. She had entered meekly, head down lest she be recognised and bombarded by questions and cameras. Reaching into the pocket of her coat, she pulled out the small list Pavi had given her just before she left, squinting a little to read it beneath the dull fluorescent lighting. The lights flickered in a way that she thought would give her a headache and the droning hum of the refrigerators was almost unbearable.

She lifted a small basket by the door and had gone on a hunt through the shop. It had taken her longer than it should have, as she was completely unfamiliar with such a place and had little to no idea where anything was. However, she managed and when she reached the end of the list, she saw that Pavi had written a small note to say that there would be enough money for her to buy something to eat as well. She considered this for a moment – something to eat probably meant 'real' food; a sandwich or perhaps a small pot of pasta. Saying that, however, she could have anything she wanted for lunch back at the Geneco tower. So that must mean...

Quite suddenly, she had found herself standing in front of shelves of sweets and chocolates. Her daddy had never allowed her to eat unhealthily – the only exception had been on her birthday, when he had allowed her a small amount of sugar as a treat. Of course, she was not really familiar with any of the kinds of sweets she found herself faced with. She did not know what was good or what she liked, so she had lifted a packet of anything, adding it to the rest of her purchases. She had passed the coins over (thankful that the cashier was an old man who seemed to be having trouble counting her money, never mind recognising who she was) and had hurriedly made her way back to the tower, grateful that the receptionist had taken the shopping bags from her with a large, fake smile and an "I'll take those for you, miss."

She had scurried over to the elevators, hopping in anticipation to taste her prize and had barely stopped to speak to Pavi when she reached his rooms. He had raised an eyebrow in expectation. "Well? How did it-a go?"

Taken by surprise, she had come to a halt. "Oh... it was-... yeah, it was fine." And with a small smile she had rushed on into the bedroom, perched on the mattress cross legged. A small rustle of the packet and the quiet crunch of the hard shells of the sweets against her teeth and then she had given a deep, contented sigh. Outside was definitely good if it meant that she was treated to this afterwards every time she ventured through the front door of the Geneco tower. She had not even bothered to turn and see Pavi standing in the doorframe watching her, half baffled and half amused.

xXx

"I don't give a fuck if she wants to or not."

"Fratello, the bella-"

"I don't give a fuck what she said. You tell the little whore to put this on and be ready within the next hour or both of you are fucking dead."

Pavi sighed as his older brother shoved an armful of black material at him, before storming off again down the hallway. He gave a roll of his eyes, turning back around and closing the door behind him. Shilo peeked out from the bedroom where she had been waiting for the intimidating eldest Largo to leave. The masked man glanced over at her, before holding up the black material that had been tossed at him as an explanation.

"No luck, bella. You're-a going whether you want to or-a not."

Shilo groaned. She had been putting off her first appearance to the public since the opera as long as she could and it seemed that Amber would not take 'no' for an answer anymore. She had been promised that Shilo would be beneficial, after all, and now she wanted to reap the rewards for her inconvenience. She left the safety of the bedroom before approaching her 'benefactor,' running a hand over the material in his arms. "What's this?" Although, truth be told, she already knew, really. The battle really was lost. He had warned her of this about an hour ago as she had sat perched on the bed, watching him fix his hair and insert a pair of glinting golden cufflinks into his shirt sleeves. "I know-a Amber. She is-a stubborn, bella." And he had been right, though at the time she has crossed her arms and declared that she did not want to go to the charity auction.

"Your dress. Amber insists that you-a wear it tonight."

She sighed, relieving him of the pile of material before turning to make her way into the bathroom.

"Shilo."

After hesitating for a moment, Shilo turned back around to face him with a questioning raise of her eyebrow. She had meant to respond with a "Hm?" in the blasé way that he often would when she wanted to grab his attention, but the small sound had died in her throat. She didn't have the confidence that he did, after all, and the small amount she did have seemed to leave her when she saw the unnerving smirk he was giving her before he stepped forward and gave her a gentle pat on the cheek, much like he had the first night she had stayed with him. "You'll-a be fine, bella. And try not to-a take too long. Luigi is a... little impatient." And then with a chuckle, he had let his hand fall, walking over to the window and lighting a cigarette. A little unsurely, she had retreated to the bathroom to go about getting into the heap of material that was supposedly a dress.

The process of changing into the dress had been generally successful, with the exception of one brief moment of panic when she had thought her arms were stuck. The dress was consisted of a great deal of wispy black and grey material (heaven forbid her heel should catch on the hem or it would be destroyed) and was to be worn with a shawl of a similar material. Shilo was just thankful that Amber Sweet had seen fit to cover her up, considering what the woman herself often wore. It seemed that Geneco's CEO was eager to continue the extended imagery of her "innocence" – that was what had attracted the public to her in the first place after all.

"Ah," Pavi looked her up and down, grinning in appreciation when she emerged from the bathroom. "Molto bella," he commented with a low hum, not drawing his eyes away until Shilo had fidgeted where she stood. His eyes snapped back up to her face and he slipped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to his side. "Now, cara, we should-a get going before-a my brother dispenses of any more of-a the staff."

Only a few minutes later, Shilo had been shoved into the limousine by a less than patient Amber Sweet who did not seem to care if the rather inconvenient skirts of the dress were torn in the process. Luckily, Pavi had been there to break her fall when she stumbled... well, somewhat luckily. Seeing as Amber's bodyguards sat either side of her on the bench opposite them, that left Luigi Largo to sit on Shilo's other side and she sat stiffly between the two brothers. Pavi was perfectly relaxed, arm still locked around her, and allowing his fingertips to trail over her upper arm. However, she could feel the tension practically radiating off Luigi. The car turned a corner, forcing her to slide over slightly, her thigh now resting ever so lightly against Luigi's.

"You'd better get your fucking leg off me."

Shilo had never moved back from someone so quickly in her whole life. Pressing back against a now chuckling Pavi was better than being anywhere near his older brother. "Relax, fratello," Pavi crooned. "Are-a you really so uncomfortable being near women?"

"Shut the fuck up, Pavi," Luigi growled by means of a retort and Pavi had cackled in response.

"How does-a the truth feel, brother?"

"I thought I told you to shut the fuck up." With that, the eldest Largo quickly pulled a knife from the inside pocket of his jacket, wielding it threateningly and Shilo was fairly certain that jumping out of the moving car would be a safer situation than the one she was currently in. All she could do, however, was lean as far away from the offending blade as physically possible.

"Luigi," Amber drawled, watching the whole exchange in what appeared to be utmost boredom, "I told you not to bring any knives." The oldest Largo brother merely sneered, tucking the knife back in his pocket in resignation. Shilo let out a shaky breath that she didn't even know she had been holding. At this point, she was more concerned about surviving the evening than answering any questions put to her by the press.

When the limousine rolled to steady halt outside the venue where the auction was being held, Shilo was thankful that Luigi quickly slipped out, though not without attaching a gaudy grin to his face. Next had been Amber, accompanied by her bodyguards, and then Pavi had nudged her towards the door. "Go on then, bella." With an uncertain glance back at him, Shilo moved to get out of the car and was immediately blinded by camera flashes. Shouts ran through the crowd at her appearance and with a jolt she realised that not only was she surrounded by a swarm of journalists and photographers, but a large crowd of members of the public had also formed to catch a glimpse of the famed Largo siblings. Her head was swimming and she was vaguely aware of Pavi's hand on her shoulder.

"Shilo, here!"

"Over here, Shilo!"

"Shilo!"

She didn't know which way to look first, the flashes overpowering her senses and the shouting harsh to her delicate ears. It seemed that Amber was giving some sort of little speech about how exciting it was that Shilo Wallace was making her first official public appearance.

"Enjoy it, bella." This was Pavi's voice, of course, murmuring in her ear as he bent down a little to speak to her. "One little wave from-a you will-a send them into a frenzy. Just-a try it." And so Shilo lifted one small hand a little hesitantly, giving a tiny wave. Sure enough, the swarm of journalists had erupted and that made her uneasy smile just a little more confident. Questions were poured into her ears, more than she could focus on.

"As you can all see, Shilo is still getting used to her new lifestyle," Amber chirped, suddenly sweet and smiling for the cameras. "But she'll be happy to give interviews at a later date. Right now, we all just want to enjoy an evening together as a family." Shilo had to fight very hard to keep the smile plastered to her face, as her supposed benefactor threw one thin arm over her shoulder, spouting nonsense about what a happy family they were, and supposedly all too happy to have her join their home.

At first, the paparazzi did not move, but after Luigi bellowed a stern, "Fuck off!" they scattered before any knives could be thrown. Pavi, still with his head held high and a smile for any last minute photographs that could be snapped, kept his arm wrapped firmly around Shilo's waist and guided her into the venue as she had seen him so often do with GENterns when she watched the events attended by the Largos in the safety of her bedroom. To think that she was here with them now, just over a month later. It was both incredible and unnerving.

The venue in which the charity auction was being held appeared to be perhaps a grand hotel of some kind. A large hall had been reserved for the event and it was immediately obvious, particularly to someone like Shilo who had lived a fairly bourgeois but not overly privileged lifestyle , the wealth that had been expended on the building, not to mention the clothes of the people inside. People swarmed in excitement awaiting the start of the event, champagne glasses clutched in surgically altered hands and bright, perfectly straight teeth flashing with conversation and laughter. The chatter of the inhabitants of the room hushed upon the entrance of the Largos and the young girl in their tow and they were immediately greeted with applause. At this, Shilo spared a questioning glance at Pavi, however, he was busy drinking up the attention along with his siblings, bright grins lining each face as they accepted the praise.

The Largos and their little 'guest' made their way further into the hall and immediately, both Amber and Luigi dispersed, leaving her standing alone with Pavi. It seemed that the new CEO of Geneco was busy mingling with those who she was now to meet with occasionally for business, shaking hands here and there and embracing the pretty little plastic wives that clung to the arms of their genetically perfect business husbands. Her brother, on the other hand, was making his way steadily towards the nearest waiter, and immediately began throwing back alcohol. Pavi halted a waiter by raising his hand, relieving him of a glass of champagne which he handed to Shilo with a teasing, "Not too much, bella." Shilo had hesitated for a moment, blinking down at the glass and giving it a light swirl. Daddy had never allowed her to have alcohol, of course. Then again, daddy was not here and daddy would never tell her what to do or what not to do again. With a small sigh at the thought, she took a little sip, choking immediately, her eyes widening. "It's-a good, no, bella?" Pavi had questioned, clearly amused. He directed her to a seat in the front row of the area reserved for the auction which would soon take place, the glass still clutched in her hand.

Shilo was not sure where Pavi had disappeared to after he had gotten her settled, but she heard a rather shrill, feminine giggle from somewhere behind her and turned around to inspect just what was so funny. Nothing, it seemed, apart from the fact that Pavi had collected a group of rather obnoxiously loud women who clung to him like leeches. Leeches... Shilo pondered this. Now there was an insect that she had not collected yet. Another swig of champagne. Soon her glass was empty. She stopped a waiter for more and she realised that she was not even thirsty, just bored. This repeated quite frequently and she felt rather light and giggly by the time the auction began, Pavi taking his seat on one side of her and Amber on the other. Thank God it was not Luigi this time... that reminded her of the car journey here. Perhaps Luigi was not so comfortable around women after all, though he didn't seem too comfortable around anyone... perhaps that was why he stabbed them all. She gave an airy little giggle at that, but no-one paid much attention. She really liked that champagne.

xXx

This night was going rather successfully so far, Pavi decided. He had taken his time to enjoy some female company (it would be good for him to be distracted from Shilo's pretty little face for just a while – waiting was difficult) and somewhere in the middle of the auction, Shilo had taken the initiative to lean against his shoulder. Perhaps she wasn't as opposed to 'getting to know' him a little better than he had first thought. Not to mention that with a little whine of "fratello" Luigi had seen to it that he had acquired his sister's face. It helped, of course, when he informed his older brother that the two highest bidders had been poking fun at the eldest Largo behind his back. Things fell together quite nicely after that and the face he had so desired was his, much to Amber's displeasure. She found it "gross" that her older brother would be taking pride in wearing her face over his own. He begged to differ.

When the auction came to its close, he gave the girl at his side a slight nudge and large, drowsy brown eyes blinked up at him.

"Time-a to go, bella."

She gave a light groan, standing... and then staggering, so that he had to catch her before she took an unfortunate tumble. "You're drunk," he accused with a deep sigh. Tonight would have been the night that he finally gave into his desires – the girl had grown to be rather comfortable in his presence after all. And what better way to get what he wanted than to "comfort" her after the stress of her first public appearance since the opera? He had even hoped that the attention he had paid to the female attendees would inspire a little spark of jealousy in her... of course, all that was ruined now and it was quite a task to hide his bitterness.

She responded with a slurred, "No," leaning heavily against his chest. Of course she wasn't drunk, he countered mentally. He gave a roll of his eyes and tried to tug her after him, but it was to no avail. She would not be moved so easily. So he scooped her into his arms, ignoring the muffled, "hey," of protest and the weak little wrists beating at his chest. She gave up after a moment anyway and when he looked down at her she appeared to have fallen asleep. Silly girl.

The journey back to the tower did not take long. Pavi pulled Shilo across his lap to save Luigi the horror of having a girl's ankle brush his thigh. He scoffed at the thought, gently taking her weight into his arms once again and making his way up to his rooms without so much as a "goodnight" to his siblings – why break the habit of a lifetime, after all?

He lowered her to the bed, removing his own jacket, before relieving her or her shoes and shawl, though when he did so she stirred lightly, blinking at him. He smiled in response... well, perhaps it was closer to a grin. Once again, it would be so easy to take what he had wanted from the first day he laid eyes on her. However, he also wanted her to remember it. Plus the idea that she could get sick in the middle of their activities was not exactly appealing. Though... that did not necessarily mean that he could take nothing. It would be a shame, after all, to waste such an opportunity. While she was too groggy to pull away, he tucked his fingers beneath her chin, pulling it up for better access, before brushing stolen lips against hers, so gently that she perhaps did not even feel it at first, before increasing the pressure a little, slipping his tongue between her lips when they parted. One pale hand ran down her side, before he retained control and pulled away, watching to see her reaction. She giggled slightly, pushing at his shoulder with one frail little hand. Not a moment later, she as asleep again.

If she was as afraid of human contact as she let on, that had been her first kiss. Her very first kiss and she would not even remember it in the morning. That did not bother him, much, as she would certainly remember the next one. And the next and the next and the next.