“This is not true,” Xavier defended while shaking his head. “I never covet your woman, Sir!”
“Lies!” Lewelyn screamed while crying hysterically. “Y-You forced yourself inside my room and confessed that you liked me. When I rejected you, you threatened me and tried to hold me!”
“No!” Xavier declined. “I never d…”
Xavier stopped when Cesar pinned the gun muzzle onto his forehead.
Click.
There was a clicking sound as Cesar put the gun’s hammer down. After that, every sound was muted. Xavier could only hear the loud beating of his heart.
“Are you saying that my wife who was crying so hard is lying to me?!” Cesar shouted.
“I… won’t dare lie to y…”
“SHUT THE **** UP!
Xavier’s shoulders tensed. From the beginning, he was never given the chance to explain himself, and everything was decided.
Whatever the truth is, Xavier will be punished by Cesar. No one would listen to a lowly and powerless driver.
“You touched something which isn’t yours, young man,” Cesar said while grinding his teeth.
With bulging eyes, he stared down on Xavier and added, “The only punishment for coveting what isn’t yours is death.”
Cesar placed his index finger onto the gun’s trigger, when suddenly, someone shouted, “That’s impossible!”
Everyone looked at Frederick, who suddenly screamed.
“Xavier won’t ever do that!” Frederick added.
Eyes rounded, Xavier looked at his one and only friend.
Frederick is the most cowardly man who Xavier met in his whole life. During Frederick’s first day at work, he almost collapsed after seeing a dead body. Since then, Frederick had been determined to stay low while working in this dangerous mansion.
But that cowardly friend gathered his courage to defend Xavier.
“What is this wimp…” Cesar paused to look at Frederic’s wet pants before he continued, “…talking about?”
Frederick was so scared that he peed on his pants just by trying to save Xavier. But it was too late to back out. He could not stay still and do anything when Xavier was about to die.
Gulping his fear, Frederick responded to Cesar.
“A moment ago, I a-asked a maid.”
Frederick glanced at Xavier and then diverted his eyes to Lewelyn.
“It was Madam Lewelyn who called Xavier in her room,” he said, and then pointed to the evil woman.
Lewelyn’s face turned bright red.
Whoever leaked this information, she vowed to kill that person next.
“T-That’s not true!” Lewelyn uttered, gripping her husband’s arm. “I am the victim here! Why are you doing this to me?! You should not defend him just because you are his friend!”
“B-But…” Frederick stuttered.
“Honey,” Lewelyn called her husband. “Ask the maids. You c-can ask the maids. They will prove the truth.”
Cesar, who will absolutely take his wife’s side, nodded his head.
“Call the maids who were serving my wife,” Cesar commanded.
Calling the maids to confirm the truth? Xavier doubted it would be helpful.
Who will take the risk and side a driver against the Madam of the house?
“Madam Lewelyn is…,” one of the maids started giving her statement. She glanced at Lewelyn and saw her glaring at her.
If the maid says the truth, then she knows Lewelyn will kill her next.
Therefore, she shut her eyes and decided to save her life instead.
“T-The driver went inside M-Madam’s room!” the maid shouted a lie.
Xavier looked at the maid while shaking his head. He prayed she would stare at him and pity him, but to no avail, the maid kept her head down while lying.
“I heard Madam shouting and asking him to stop. B-But, the driver threatened her life. If the madam won’t let him do what he wants, then she could just give him money to pay his debts.”
Then, the maid showed the bank cheque that she had found inside Lewelyn’s room and gave it to Cesar.
$2 million.
It is the exact amount that Xavier needs to pay his wife’s debts.
No more words needed; Cesar aimed the gun at Xavier.
He will die tonight. That’s final.
Hanging his head low, Xavier stared at his swaying shadow.
“My family,” Xavier murmured.
With no strength left, he bent down and kissed the ground.
“My family has nothing to do with this. P-Please, spare them.”
Cesar looked down at Xavier. “Even if I wanted to, I could not do it now. Your wife and your son had disappeared already when my men arrived in your apartment.”
Xavier’s loosened eyes lifted.
His wife and son disappeared before Cesar found them?
A moment ago, Xavier couldn’t contact his wife. He thought that it was because Cesar’s men brought her and his son to the mansion. But are they missing?
Xavier tilted his head and looked at Frederick.
The only one who knows Xavier’s family is his friend.
‘Does it mean that Frederick told my wife to escape beforehand?’
Now he realized why Frederick kept on telling him to stay where he was and hide.
‘How stupid of me. I am such an idiot,’ Xavier blamed himself even though it was too late.
“You begged me to spare your family. Does it mean that you’re admitting your crime?” Cesar asked.
Xavier bit his lips firmly as he curled his mitts into menacing missiles. He kept his mouth closed, as if this was the only way to aid Cesar’s anger and to protect his wife and son.
“Xavier! What are you doing? Tell the truth! You didn’t do it!” Frederick shouted.
“Ahhh sh*t. Dog knows how to bark,” Cesar complained before he aimed his gun at Frederick instead and pulled the gun’s trigger.
Bang!
“Ahhhh!” a loud piercing shot resonated in the cold air.
Frederick cried out loudly while holding the gunshot in his injured leg.
As Xavier watched his friend wriggling in pain, he lost more hope.
Cesar aimed the gun back at Xavier and demanded, “Speak.”
Palpitating, Xavier started to Cesar. If he keeps on staying quiet, Frederick will die.
Xavier can’t do this to his friend.
Frederick saved his family, so he had to do the same.
“Kill me. Just kill me!” Xavier shouted; blue lines hissed on his neck.
Cesar laughed menacingly as he saw Xavier’s desperation.
“Kill you?” Cesar asked. “If I pull this trigger right now, everything will end just like that. Do you think that would satisfy me and my wife?”
The old man raised his hand and grabbed Xavier’s cheek. He squeezed it tight while his foot stepped on Xavier’s hand.
“Ugggh!” Xavier groaned in pain as he glared back at Cesar.
“I won’t give you a painless death, you lowly and dirty beggar!”
Cesar’s secretary gave something to him.
Xavier watched the whole scene before him and saw a blue and red tablet in Cesar’s hand.
‘What is that? A drug? A poison?’
As Cesar held him tightly, he showed him the drug in his hand and grinned.
“Do you know this? Without this, you wouldn’t be able to work in this place. There will be no corpse to deliver without this thing.”
For a year, Xavier was curious why there were so many corpses going in and out of the mansion. Finally, he figured out the answer. It is because of that drug. Where it came from and what it is for, Xavier has no time to know that.
One thing is for sure. Xavier delivered hundreds of corpses who died after taking this drug, and now, it is his turn.
“Take this, and meet your family in the next life,” Cesar laughed before he forcefully put the drug inside Xavier’s mouth.
“Hmmff!”
One man pinned him down. Others covered their mouths.
As Xavier struggled to spit out the drug, he recalled his wife’s smile and his son’s laugh.
After that, he won’t be able to see them again.
‘Maybe this is my punishment,’ Xavier thought while the drug slowly melted on his tongue.
Just like the corpse, he would vanish from the world without a trace. And Xavier thinks it is his punishment for doing something so evil for the sake of money.
When the drug entered his system, Xavier quickly noticed the subtle hallucinogenic effect in his body. He saw the yellow swirly tinged film covering his vision. It was hard to breathe, as if Xavier was fighting against the demon that was dragging him to the pit on the ground. He felt himself slipping further and further from reality, and that’s when the intoxicating calmness rushed over him. He fell on the ground.
Thud.
Someone yelled his name from a distance.
“Xavier! Xavier!”
He opened his lids.
Xavier saw the people who were watching him die slowly and painfully.
Cesar, who threatened his family and forced him to kill himself.
Lewelyn, who wrongly accused him of a crime he did not do.
The maid who lied.
The men who dragged him down.
The secretary of Cesar who hired him in this place.
And last, Frederick who’s lying on the floor covered with blood.
Tears flowed like hot flames. His throat sobbed, yet no words came out. He had no strength left and all he wanted to do was to close his eyes.
‘I don’t want to die.’
But at one point, Xavier accepted that it was likely bound to happen.
Accepting his defeat, he laid down on the ground and looked at the night sky.
He remembered his wife’s smile, his son’s laugh and the promise that he would make them happy.
‘I am sorry.’
With those three words, Xavier apologized for everything. For being a worthless husband, and for being a negligible father.
He was so sorry that he couldn’t fulfill them anymore.
‘I’m sorry that you married a worthless guy like me,’ he apologized to his wife.
‘I am sorry, I wasn’t that kind of father you wanted to boast to your friends,’ he apologized to his son.
When Xavier closed his eyes, he recalled the bloody man in the cadaver bag.
Before he decided to save him, he made a bet to see who is lucky among them. In the end, Xavier believes that he never stood a chance.
He laughed with tears and slowly lost consciousness.
Xavier stopped breathing.
He ceased moving.
Everyone thinks Xavier is dead.
‘But they were wrong.’
Because the night won’t end until they deliver Xavier’s body to the 53rd warehouse.
In the empty street of McKenly, a van quietly made its way. McKenly is a ghost town, and it’s been years since people left the place. Many feared visiting, especially at night because of the rumors that ghosts have appeared recently in this area. However, for criminals, this is the perfect pathway to use for transferring dead bodies. “This place is scary,” John, who was sitting in the passenger seat, complained. “It seems that any time, a ghost will appear. They said this town was cursed. If you bring a corpse here, then the corpse will haunt you forever.” The driver, Bradport, laughed so hard while driving. “Are you telling me that Xavier will stand up and eat us? Stop being a wimp. That won’t ever happen.” Taking a deep breath, John looked behind the van and stared at the corpse inside the cadaver bag. Clutching the seat belt, John stared at the road again. Certainly, the curse of the town is just a rumor. But tonight something will happen that can make everyone believe it mi
Xavier woke up on a soft sheet as a streak of sunlight trickled in through the window. Slowly and reluctantly, he opened his eyes. He blinked several times to clear the hazy vision as he scrutinized his surroundings in confusion. And then, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. He was in a room that was the size of his apartment, and on a bed that was as big as a studio, with extremely expensive-looking furniture all around. ‘What happened? Where am I?’ Last night, he woke up in a van. He killed the men who were supposed to deliver his body in the 53rd warehouse. Then, he drove the van in order to escape and find his wife and son. ‘But after that, what happened?’ He closed his eyes and tried to recall last night’s event. When he was driving the van, he felt a throbbing pain that he thought his head would crack open. Xavier held his head with one hand, while the other held the steering wheel tightly. Dizzy, the surroundings turned blurry. He thought it would be better to stop
Criminals. To be a criminal, one had to go against the rules. The first time will make you regret it. The second will make you think twice. The third time might be thrilling. But at 4th, 5th, 6th… you will stop counting anymore. Xavier went against a rule. But he stuck at first, which is the level of regrets. Because not all criminals were born as one. Sometimes, it happened because you had no choice. To eat. To live. To survive. Those are the essentials of life. Therefore, when Xavier was looking at the members of the Mafia, who bowed their heads in front of him, he doubted if he was still in phase one of being a criminal. Driving for the corpse is his first. Killing goes for the second. But deceiving the mafia members might be for infinite numbers. One thing is for sure, Xavier did not feel the thrill of being in this crazy situation. ‘I am the Mafia boss?’ The boss of the criminals?’ Xavier asked himself. He wanted to shake his head and deny that this was his realit
The sun set to the west. Xavier stayed in the room all day while thinking of a way to get out of here. When he stood up and looked outside the window, he was surprised that there were no men guarding the gate anymore! Even if it was weird that everyone suddenly disappeared when nightfall came, Xavier could not let this chance pass by. It’s now or never. Carefully, he tiptoed towards the door and gently twisted the doorknob. The wooden door creaked as he pushed it open. He peeked outside and saw the empty hallway. ‘Maybe, the Mafia boss wanted to be alone at night,’ he guessed. As quiet as a mouse, Xavier exited the room and closed the door. He used the same path he took before and arrived at the balcony. It’s empty either. The deafening silence echoed in the surroundings like a scary melody. There was only one light to brighten the huge hall, which made the place eerie. Xavier gulped dry saliva and suppressed the fear. He took a deep breath before he walked down the stairway.
When Xavier opened his eyes, he found himself in a dim place. His feet and hands were tied on the wood chair. No matter how much he tried to get out, it was futile. Breathing heavily, he looked North. He saw a man approaching on his side. Step. Step. Finally, under the lighting, he saw the man with droopy eyes which were darkly shaded. It was Gian, the underboss of the Harbor Black Mafia. Gian was holding a piece of paper as he stood in front of Xavier. “Xavier Green,” Gian read the contents in the paper. “Graduated of business management in Harvard University. Married and a father of a 9-year-old boy. You have million dollars debt from the loan shark and to pay for that, you are working as a driver.” With Cheshire grin, Gian stared at Xavier. “So far, this is the information I got regarding you.” He showed the paper in his hand which contained Xavier’s photo. “Your picture and your face right now are very different.” “I already told you that before!” Xavier shouted. “That m
Mario Scoffer used an abandoned factory located in the middle of the woods as his hiding place for his illegal business.The place was littered with broken glass and empty beer bottles and there was smoke everywhere from the men staying inside.In the corner, Mario was sitting on an empty container while counting the money he collected from the borrowers who paid their debts for today.“Seventy-six, seventy-seven, seventy-eight. That’s it?” Mario looked at his men after counting the money above the old-looking wooden table.The men flinched in fear at Mario’s stare.“This is less than last week. What happened?”No one answered.Mario slammed the desk hard.Bam!That was when one answered the question.“It is because one of the borrowers did not pay this week,” he reported.“Who? Who the hell skipped paying?!” Mario demanded.Afraid to utter the name, the man clutched his hands together. “X-Xavi…”He couldn’t finish his words because Mario threw a bottle of beer on his head.“Ahhh!” th
“I heard there was a man who owes you $2.5 million. I am paying his debts.” Mario could not understand why someone suddenly came here to pay the Green’s debts. Even if he looked closely at the man, he doesn’t not resemble Xavier. It also impossible for him to imagine that the poor family has connection with a scary looking guys like them. Above all, no normal person would bring a million dollars with in in cash. And so, as Mario stared at the masked-man, he wondered, 'Who is this crazy rich bastard?' As Mario remained unresponsive, impatient man uttered, "Why aren't you answering?" “I am s-sorry,” Mario apologized. He squinted his eyes to him as if trying his best to recognize his face which was hiding under the disguise. Yet he had no idea. "I was just... surprised," Mario added in a slow pace. "May I know your relationship with that pathetic loser?" Pathetic loser. It sounded natural coming from Mario. Because people who couldn't pay their debts and who had to be on their
Black Family owns the “Black Corporation”, or known as “The Heart of the City”. It is the largest corporation, owning electronics, gadgets, automobiles, food, insurance, card, finance, department store… companies.That is why, the brain, or those who wanted to be the brain of the city, are eager to monopolize the influential and wealthy family.“I was so happy that you allowed me to join you and your family for this exquisite dinner,” Cesar Fugito, the number two candidate for Mayor, said to the head of Black, Grabriel Black.Gabriel, his second wife, daughter and son were also present in the dining room. In front of them is a long mahogany table, tarnished silverware, votive candles and food prepared in perfection. The chandelier above gives a warm aura that will make everyone comfortable. But even if the dinner looks presentable, the members of the family weren’t happy to see the guest of the night.“I hope you are enjoying the food,” Gabriel responded to Cesar.“Sure! This is the