Chapter 65Franrigo shivered as the icy liquid slid down his throat. Fear gripped him as he swallowed hard; his blood felt stagnant from it. Tales of Mafia poisonings echoed in his mind. He'd heard and read stories of how people were poisoned in meetings like this, how that the Mafia never let people slip out without poisoning them either mildly or lethally, how it was the way of the Mafia to poison people so they would be forced to do their bidding, how they carted out bodies on a daily basis. He knew refusing their bidding meant no escape. The chilling reality sank in—he might be entangled in a deadly dance. The sip tasted like a pact with shadows, sealing an unknown fate.Franrigo shook visibly in horror. Why the hell had he even agree to this? He should have trusted the real Davidson. His gut had been poisoned by greed and now he was in this mess, this death trap with no escape. Yup, he'd found himself in shitty business.The Mafia king, a figure of formidable presence, sat uprigh
Chapter 66Franrigo swallowed hard.“Tell me what you wanna know”Marco glanced at the Mafia king and back at Franrigo.“We want to know how we can get Vincenzo's son, Emilio Rodriguez”“Hmm….I….I….". Franrigo stuttered. Franrigo swallowed hard, his conscience pricking him painfully. These guys were planning on killing his master's son.“Can you provide us with such information Franrigo?”Franrigo composed himself. He had an idea. He was going to turn the tables and make them agree to his terms. He cleared his throat, suddenly slightly more confident than before.“Even better. I have someone that has just the same ambitions as you do and they'll be more than willing to cooperate”“What do you mean you have someone? I don't need too many people on this deal, Marco. Cos'è questo? (What is this?)”, Podrego asked, getting quite upset and fast.“Don’t bore us amico. If you don't have the information we want, you say it”“I do. I know how you can get Emilio, son of Vincenzo Rodriguez. His
Chapter 67Franrigo's eyes widened in shock and caution, spitting the content out quickly, his mouth rejecting distastefully. Davidson's hand shook as he'd gulped his and had already taken into his system completely. Podrego laughed, quite amused at their reaction.“Get him the antidote, Credo”Credo brought some yellow powder in a crucible.“Sniff that and you'll be fine”, Podrego said, his hands on the lighter. Davidson was a bit unyielding but his whole body began to vibrate badly.“For real this time.You too, steward”Franrigo rubbed the yellow powder vigorously on his nose, almost throwing up from the smell of the powder. Davidson breathed heavily, his body temperature increasing by the second. His body vibrated frantically and his neck twitched. Franrigo watched him in horror on his feet as he had been alarmed to find Davidson in such a state.“Wh…wh…what's wrong … wh… what's wrong wi…wi…with him?”“He'll be fine amico. Sit down”His body jerked uncontrollably, and he tumbled of
Chapter 68Andrea sat behind his room table. The lights were put off and the only source of illumination was the blue light from the screen. An open Samsung laptop lay on his tabletop, records of bank statements lined up on the screen, arranged chronologically. He relaxed back on his office chair, hands behind his head. A rock glass stood beside the personal computer, its content a colourless liquid, quite as clear as pure water. The expensive wine bottle was on the ground, leaning on a table leg. Andrea took the glass, sipping its content. A phone call came through his iPhone.Not bothering to look at the device, he picked it from his airpods. “Hello?”“Hey babe”, Sasha's voice came from over the phone.Andrea's expression changed.“What do you want?”“Come on babe”, Sasha said, a little taken aback by his cold reply. “What's up? I have missed you . You've been gone for weeks and you aren't even picking my calls.”“I've been busy”. Andrea let out a low huff and rolled his eyes.“Bu
Chapter 69The air in the car smelt the same. It was the same choking odour of marijuana that seemed to be mixed with vapourised whisky. Franrigo put his hand over his mouth, too disgusted to even speak.Davidson on the other hand, was as still as quiet as a mouse. Who could blame him? He recounted several situations in his head, where he had had near death experiences. He was aware that in car rides like this, you had three likely situations- you could either be killed as the dealers may change their mind along the line and break the contract. You could survive attack but survival was a 1% chance. 0.01% of the time, the contract remained. One too many times, Davidson had almost been killed. So he was observant, his eyes moving from bodyguard to driver. Credo sat next to the driver, both with black clothes and shades. Davidson looked at them, noting their every body language, their glances and their mutters. Usually if they either received word to terminate their unsuspecting victims
Chapter 70Luna looked all over for it. She'd never lost it before. She searched frantically, her room fast becoming a mess. Pillows went from one end of the room to the other. Clothes flew out of hangers and wardrobes. Her walk in closet was a mess.Luna's desperation grew as she scoured every nook and cranny of her room, her usually tidy haven now transformed into chaos. More pillows scattered like fallen leaves, and clothes cascaded from hangers, painting a vivid picture of her frantic search. The once-organized walk-in closet mirrored the chaos, its shelves now a jumble of misplaced belongings. Amidst the disorder, a kaleidoscope of items lay strewn across her bed, a beautiful disarray.“I can't find it”, Luna said, hands on her waist.“Any progress?”, her mother asked, as she walked through the open room.“No”, Luna said disappointedly. She tried to recall where she last saw it.“I don't understand. It's always in my bag.”Luna looked into her empty minibag. “I could have sworn i
Chapter 71(Flashback cont'd)Luna got to The Garden.Marco sat at their special place, legs crossed, one atop the other. He smiled on seeing her but Luna kept her face straight. Seated at their cherished spot, Marco crossed his legs, a smile playing on his lips as he beheld Luna. However, her demeanor remained stoic, her face devoid of any reciprocation. The contrast of his warmth against her impassivity hung in the air, casting a subtle tension over their once-shared haven.“What's this about? It better be good”Marco pulled her towards him. “I told you. I missed you”He leaned closer for a kiss but Luna turned her face. She put his hands down gently from her waist, showing him expressly that she wasn't interested. She crossed her hands, taking a pose that added to her serious outlook.“Thought you had something important to say”“I do. Come sit”, he said, taking his former position. He patted the bench in demonstration but Luna remained standing.“Stubborn as always”“Is this all
Chapter 72Luna stared into the atmosphere, her expression turning quickly from anxious to pale. Isabella looked at her, finding it quite strange.“What's wrong, dear? Are you okay?”Luna didn't seem to have heard. She just stared into thin air. The realisation had caught her off guard. Raising her hands to head, she ran her hands through her hair, like someone in a trance.“He couldn't have”, she said, lost in her thoughts as her mind raced. “What? What are you talking about?”But Luna stared on.“No. I… I need to go. I need to get somewhere”She walked out the room, not minding her outfit. “Where are you going?”, Isabella said, getting to her feet. She looked alarmed. What was going on with Luna?She took the car keys off where it hung and walked out into the compound. Benny sat on a stool in the garage, peeling what looked like an orange. He stripped the skin of the orange off slowly, the sharp pocket knife cutting cleanly through the acidic skin of the orange. Curled orange peel