The revenge of the mafia son-in-law.

Chapter 4. "Unhinged Alliance: Curtis and Araña's Reckoning"

A limousine stopped at the entrance of the Imperial Casino.

A man in all-white attire, including his hat, descended from it.

"Mr. Tony," said the police chief, bowing respectfully.

"I want five minutes inside the casino," Tony ordered.

"But sir..."

"I said," Tony continued walking into the casino, knowing no one could stop him.

All the police officers and detectives collecting evidence at the crime scene immediately left upon seeing Chief Tony's arrival accompanied by his henchmen.

"Who did it?" Tony asked his henchman.

"It was the Araña, sir."

"Are you sure?" Tony asked calmly.

"Yes, Chief Tony. It was her, accompanied by an unknown man. Everything was recorded on the security cameras."

Tony remained silent, as if deep in thought.

"What do you want us to do, sir?" the henchman asked.

"Burn the bodies. Nothing happened here. I won't let the reputation of my casino be tarnished."

"And with the Araña, what do we do?"

"I think it's time to have a talk with her father," Chief Tony said as he watched his men collect the bodies to make them disappear.

Kim Ballmer arrived home completely pale.

She had never felt so much fear in her life, and it made her cry, smudging her makeup.

Her father, Charles Ballmer, watched her arrive with cheeks stained with black tears.

Kim threw herself into her father's arms, breaking into tears.

"It was horrible, Dad, it was horrible."

"I don't understand, what happened?" Charles asked, bewildered.

"It was Curtis, Dad, it was Curtis. He entered the Imperial Casino and started shooting at three innocent men who were just having a couple of drinks there."

"Curtis? Your Curtis? That idiot who used to live here?"

"Yes, him," Kim replied, crying, "I'm terrified.”

Charles pondered for a while until he grew tired of his daughter's incessant crying.

"Shut up!" he shouted angrily, "you deserve it for behaving like a whore in those night places."

"But... Dad," Kim said, sighing.

"I've had enough of you; go to your room and let the idiot you have in there as a toy console you. I can't stand you," ordered Charles, his nerves shattered.

Kim left crying while Charles remained there in deep thought.

The dealer took control of the car, steering Curtis away from the driver's seat. The adrenaline had diminished, and now silence prevailed between them.

"By the way, what's your name?" Curtis asked suddenly.

But the dealer remained silent and continued driving, as if she hadn't heard Curtis.

"Oh... come on!" Curtis exclaimed, "we just killed three guys; I think I can at least know your name."

But the dealer stayed silent, smiling slightly with a hint of malice.

"You know my name, and you also know I was part of the Ballmer family."

"You were the Ballmer family's bitch," the dealer said with a malicious smile.

"Yes..." Curtis said, recalling the horror he saw on Kim's face, and that's when he smiled in relief.

A second silence filled the car.

"Call me 'Araña,' if you want," said the dealer.

"Araña?!"

"If you dare to mock my nickname, I'll cut off your balls," she threatened, pulling out a knife unexpectedly.

"No, no, no," Curtis exclaimed, very scared, "it's just that 'Araña' isn't a person's name, let alone a woman's."

Curtis raised his hands as she threatened his scrotum.

Araña frowned and lowered the knife, taking it away from Curtis's balls.

"My name is Evangeline... And woe betide you if you make fun of my name."

Araña suddenly put the knife to Curtis's neck.

Curtis swallowed with difficulty, that thick knot in his throat, and with effort, he said,

"The way... The way..." Curtis remembered his companion, that she was the one driving.

Araña resumed driving as if nothing happened. It was quite clear that she wasn't right in the head, and for some strange reason, Curtis liked that even more.

"I'm hungry," Araña said expressionlessly.

"Don't look at me," Curtis, still traumatized, said, "I'm the beggar, remember?"

"We need money... We must rob a bank," Araña said as coldly as possible.

"A bank? Have you completely lost your mind?"

"Look who's talking, the guy who just killed three mafia members," Araña said.

"Wait... what did you say? You didn't tell me they were mafia," Curtis exclaimed.

"You never gave me the chance. You just came in like Rambo, shooting like crazy, and I had no chance for anything," she exclaimed.

"Damn... I'm screwed," Curtis lamented, covering his face with his hands.

"You should be happy... Today, you moved up in rank.”

"Rank?" 

"Yes... Rank... You went from being the Ballmers' bitch to being a full-fledged killer. For me, that's a positive change," Araña said, taking her hands off the wheel to light a cigarette.

The car began to swerve, and Curtis had to take control to prevent a crash.

"For heaven's sake, Curtis. If you make me burn with the cigarette, I'll cut you into pieces," she threatened.

"I can't believe it, I can't believe it," Curtis said, regretting what he had done.

"Don't be so dramatic, Curtis. We're in this together... We'll be fine. We just need money."

Curtis thought for a moment in silence, and the answer came directly to his mind.

"I know where there's a lot of money," he said, smiling evilly.

Minutes later, Kim Ballmer cried on her knees in her room while Curtis shoved the revolver's barrel into the mouth of the wealthy girl.

Araña removed the painting Curtis indicated to reveal the safe, of which she obviously knew.

"Damn it, Curtis, this thing has a secret combination," Araña exclaimed.

"33... 23... 13... 03..." Curtis indicated, savoring the terror on Kim's face.

Araña opened the safe, finding thousands of dollars in cash.

"This is what I was talking about." Araña said eagerly, upon seeing all that money.

"Take it all, and let's go," Curtis said.

Everything was set to esc

ape, but not without pulling that trigger, even though the gun had no bullets.

Nevertheless, Curtis gave Kim Ballmer the biggest scare of her life.