24

Michael

David had a straight face while surrendering his hands as I pointed my gun at his head.

"All these years, I have treated you well, and you betrayed me!" I yelled.

"Sir, it was for Victoria's sake! I couldn't stand by while you abused her any longer!" David's voice held authority.

The audacity of this man.

"Was it for her sake that you tell the world everything that was done to me?"

"It was so your family wouldn't do the same to Antonio!"

"You should've kept your mouth shut!"

"I won't apologize for speaking up!"

"No need to."

I pulled the trigger; the bullet hit David between the eyes before his body fell to the floor. Part of me felt some grief over the man who practically raised me, but I quickly recovered and went back to my car, so I could get my family.

As I started my car, my phone went off. There were several notifications about articles announcing my escape. What caught my attention was a text message from an unknown number. I clicked on the message, and my eyes grew wide in shock. It was a picture of Victoria tied to a chair with duct tape over her mouth and a knife to her throat. The second picture was of a little boy in a cage.

No. No, no, no, no...

This wasn't supposed to happen. Victoria and Antonio were supposed to be safe in their apartment, ready for me to pick them up. My heart started pounding as my blood boiled.

A third message finally came through:

Want them back? Let's hope they don't end up like your first victim.

"SHIT!"

The first person I ever killed, I tortured to death. Once they were dead, I chopped their body into pieces and sent them to their family. I felt I shouldn't have done that; I should've buried or burned the parts. This person wanted revenge. This was a trap to either make me watch them kill Victoria and Antonio or kill me slowly. I couldn't let either one happen. I had to get my family back.

Victoria

For Antonio's sake, I did my best to stay calm. I didn't let my fear show as I was tied to a chair in front of a wall filled with torture devices. Antonio was on the opposite side of the room, sitting in a dog cage, surprisingly calm.

"Mommy, when can we go home?"

"I don't know, sweetie. I have to figure out how to get out of here."

I looked around the room for any cameras; if I managed to break out of my restraints, I needed to know if the assholes would know. Sure enough, a camera was up in the room's corner. Antonio and I would have little time to escape. I slowly turned back around and stuck both middle fingers up.

I spotted a vent as I scoped out the room; we could escape there. The ceiling was high but low enough that I could get Antonio in by standing on the chair. I looked at the torture device wall and saw multiple knives I could use to pry the vent open.

My planning was interrupted by the door opening. In walked the man Michael warned me about.

We were at a gala, a usual meeting for gang leaders.

"See that man?" Michael asked.

I casually looked in the direction Michael was staring and saw a tall man with a menacing look.

"Yes."

"He's in the mafia. Stay as far away from him as possible. He wants it the most out of all the people who want me dead."

"Why does he want you dead so bad?"

"I killed his brother."

My eyes grew wide as Michael pulled me closer. I wondered how many people I had to avoid.

The man approached the wall and grabbed the machete. He slowly walked up to me and rubbed the blade along my cheek.

"I can't wait to use this on you," he chuckled.

"Leave my mommy alone!" Antonio yelled.

The man held the machete to my throat and looked at Antonio.

"What's your name?"

"Antonio."

"Well, Antonio, I can't leave your mommy alone."

"Why?"

"Because of your daddy."

"What did my daddy do?"

"Your daddy is bad; he hurts people for a living."

The man started walking to Antonio.

"Stay away from him!" I yelled.

The man crouched down a few feet away from Antonio.

"Your daddy hurt someone important to me, so I need to do the same to him."

I continued to squirm in the restraints to get to my son.

"What are you going to do?" Antonio asked.

"Well, I will chop you up in tiny pieces and spread them all over the floor. When your daddy gets here, I will kill your mommy in front of him."

Despite how hard I was trying, I couldn't break free.

"Get away from him!" I screamed as the man walked closer to Antonio.

I finally managed to wiggle my right arm free, and I scooted forward to reach for a knife on the wall.

"Hey!" I heard the man yell.

Before I could grab the knife, I was pushed to the ground.

"Mommy!" Antonio shouted.

Gunshots could be heard from outside the door. I tried to wiggle free from the man's hold until he held the machete blade up to my throat.

"If you don't want your son chopped into pieces, start behaving!"

There was then a crashing sound. I looked up and saw Michael standing in the doorway. I never thought I'd be so relieved to see him.

"Daddy!" Antonio cried out.

Before the man holding me down could react, Michael shot him dead, his blood splattering on my face. I cringed in disgust.

Michael quickly ran over to me and pushed the now-dead man off me. I grabbed the machete and used it to cut my left arm free. I shouted in pain as Michael pulled me up to my feet by my hair. His eyes were cold as he said, "You are in so much trouble."