The old woman frowned when she heard this, gritted her teeth, and said in a low, husky voice to Albina:
-How can you be so cruel?
-Grandmother! -Albina interrupted her with a loud voice, “The person who is cruel is not me, but your eldest son! Compared to them, I think I’ve been kind enough, at least I haven’t killed them with malicious tricks!
When the old woman heard this, she choked, not knowing how to refute for a long time.
-I really don’t understand how such a good person like my father could have such a vicious and disgusting group of relatives like you! -Albina turned to leave after she had uttered this sentence coldly.
The old woman remained alone in the same place for a long time, before walking slowly towards the outside of the neighborhood.
***
Alex and Ramon were taken to their own house by Agustin’s men. Both of them, very pitifully, were thrown on the ground as soon as they entered the door.
Looking at the ferocious men, Ramon, very frightened, asked trembling:
-Lords, what do you want to do with us? The grace period is one week and we still have three days left. Don’t worry, we will definitely return the money in three days.
The group leader sat on the sofa, looking at them with a smirk:
-Three days? I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to repay the debt even if you were given three years!
-Yes, I can pay it. I am now an employee of the Santangel Group….
Before he could finish the words, his cell phone rang indicating a new notification. Ramon wanted to take a look at it to see if anyone was willing to lend him money, but due to the presence of these people, he just held the phone tightly, not daring to look at it.
The leader of these people raised his chin towards him and said:
-You can look at it if you want.
They were aware that Ramon’s reputation had been ruined and no one was willing to lend them money, so they were not worried at all.
Ramon unlocked the screen of his phone expectantly, but the next moment he was stunned to read the new message.
It turned out to be a message sent by the Santangel Group staff, informing him that he had been fired for being absent from work for many days.
Ramon suddenly remembered that he had been busy borrowing money in the last few days without having asked for leave of absence from the company, because he thought that with Albina’s backing, he should be able to do whatever he wanted in the company.
But today he realized that Albina would not help him and that it was only a matter of time before he would be fired from the company. He knelt on the floor with a thud, desperate and helpless.
Augustine’s men glanced at the father and son and looked at the house they were in.
The house was quite spacious, with three bedrooms and a living room. Although it was cluttered, a house of such size in this location in the city was worth a lot. Besides, Agustin had told them that this house was the one Miss Espina wanted to get.
The group leader looked at the father and son on the floor and spoke:
-I know they don’t have enough money to pay off the debt, and we are not unreasonable either. Since you have no money, you can pay the debt with another property. This house looks pretty good…
Before he could finish his sentence, Ramon and Alex’s eyes lit up.
“Yes, we still have this house stolen from Juan. Anyway, it doesn’t belong to us originally, it doesn’t matter at all if we pay off the debt with this one.”
With this in mind, Ramon was quick to say:
-If we give this house to you, it will settle the debt between us, won’t it?
Alex nodded desperately to the side. As long as his arms and legs weren’t cut off, he could leave this house.
The man laughed, wagging his right index finger, and said:
-They owe Agustin six hundred thousand euros, but this house is so old it’s only worth two hundred thousand at most.
Ramon was wide-eyed with astonishment as he listened to his words.
It had cost Juan three hundred thousand euros at the time.
-No, no, when my younger brother… no, when I bought this house, it cost me three hundred thousand! The value of the houses in this neighborhood has been revaluing over the years, so now this house of mine must be worth at least four or five hundred thousand….
Ramon, who wanted to haggle, instantly shut up and didn’t dare say anything more when he saw the man look at him angrily.
Now, as debtors, Ramon and Alex had no choice but to accept their lender’s request without condition. Agustin had so much influence in the mafia, and he was the character they would never dare to mess with.
-Sir, we can give you this house, but we don’t have any other property, we couldn’t pay back so much money, even if you beat us to death,” Ramon begged in tears.
The man let out a cold laugh and said:
-You are not honest, eh? Apart from this house you stole from your brother, Juan, don’t you still have an old house that can be used to cover your debts? That house is the property that properly belongs to your family.
Both Ramon and Alex were stunned on the spot when they heard such words and then looked nervous.
Then, Ramon said with difficulty:
-Sir, that house is our last refuge and our last safety. If we gave it to Agustin, where would the whole family live? Would we have to sleep in the street like beggars?
However, the man impatiently waved his hand and refused:
-I would have nothing to do with me whether your whole family lived on the street or not. My task is to recover the money your son owes.
Ramon and Alex hesitantly spoke with their heads down.
Without getting a response from the two for quite a while, the man ran out of patience and winked at his companions.
The two men behind Alex immediately dragged him over and pulled his arm out and pressed him against the coffee table.
-What are you doing? Let go of me! -Alex shouted loudly as he saw another man approaching him with a kitchen knife in his hand. He was so frightened that he peed directly into his pants.
Hysterically and desperately, Alex shouted to Ramon for help:
-Dad, please give them what they want. I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die….
If they cut off his arm, who knows if they would call the ambulance for him, and he could possibly bleed to death before he got to the hospital.
Alex screamed, crying his head off.
If the house were not well soundproofed, the neighbors would have called the police when they heard his hysterical and desperate screams.
Ramon gritted his teeth, hesitating to make a decision.
Before the knife was about to fall into Alex’s arm, a hoarse old voice came from the door:
-Stop!
That man with the knife stopped, and Alex drew a sharp breath of relief, a layer of cold sweat on her forehead.
The old woman came in panting, and looked away in anguish as she saw her poor grandson pressed against the coffee table by two strong men.
-They can have that old house,” said Mrs. Espina.
-Mom! -shouted Ramon.
The old woman scolded him angrily:
-Shut up! Alex is your own son, are you going to see him die just for a house? You have no feelings for Juan, don’t you have feelings for your own son either?!
Ramon was speechless, looked away pitifully and reluctantly accepted the demand of Agustin’s men.
The leader of the group laughed out loud and spoke:
-That old house of yours is worth more or less one hundred thousand, and more this house worth two hundred thousand euros, in total, they can return three hundred thousand euros to Agustin with these two houses.
Ramon and Alex raised their heads abruptly to look at him and shouted in astonishment:
-How is it possible that two houses are only worth three hundred thousand euros?
This was already all they had, how were they going to pay back the remaining three hundred thousand?
-As for the rest of the debt,” the man pretended to think for a while and gave a sly smile. Agustin has a mine that is being exploited, they can work there to pay the rest of the debt.
The father and son froze in the same place upon hearing this.
“Work in a mine?! It can’t be an illegal mine, can it?”
As if he knew what they were thinking, the man said in a light voice:
-Don’t worry. It’s a normal mine and it’s very safe. I promise you won’t die in the mine. Or do you have some other way to pay off the rest of the debt? With the ruined reputation you have now, it is impossible for you to find another job in the city, so working in Augustine’s mine is the best option for you.