“Hey Rookie, what’s up?” a black-haired man walked up to him and slaps his shoulder playfully before handing him a can of soda and sitting beside him.
“Hey son,” he answered and took a sip from his soda after opening it “I am good as always, how about you? How’s thing rolling for you?” he asked and the man chuckled.
“Okay, Daniella almost gave me a heart attack, like she nearly made my eardrums bleed with how loud she screamed” the man answered he scrunched his nose up in disgust.
“Woah there brother, I really don’t need to know how you and your girlfriend’s business goes up” he made a disgusted sound and drank more of his soda.
“Oh no, I… no Cade, I didn’t mean… I would never tell anyone what… well, never mind, just so you know, its not that” he said and shook his head.
“What is it then Dimitri?” he asked.
“I told her not to put too much pepper in her food because I know how disturbed and pained, she gets when she had so much pepper in her food… I wasn’t ready or even, I never planned on seeing that sight again because if she isn’t okay, no matter how much I try to avoid it, I can never be okay, ever till she is fine” Dimitri explained and Cade nods for him to continue.
“I warned her but you she been herself, she didn’t listen and even told me to suck it up and stop acting like her daddy then she added them, when she ate the food, nothing at all. It was going fine till the end of the meal… I was thinking about finishing up with my food so that I can you know, leave but I couldn’t do that to her” he sighed. “She’ll need me when it gets hot”
“Women” Cade muttered “I hear some women refer to we men as the babies and the stubborn ones” he shrugged then placed his soda on the floor next to his feet “I guess we know who the real babies and stubborn ones are” he said.
“I thought that I would be deaf from how loud she screamed when the spice started to kick in, it was hilarious to watch but I felt bad for her, you know how much I love her?” he said then grinned.
“You’re sick” he punched his shoulder lightly
“Love sick you mean”
He relaxed his back on the chair and closed his eyes for a second then he felt an uncomfortable pinch in his lower abdomen so he tried to feel what was that but couldn’t because it felt like his hands were tied so his opened and he took in a sharp intake of breath as he tried to even his breathing.
He looked around the dimly lighted room and wondered where he was, just as he thought, he was tied to a chair when he looked down and he wondered who tied him in this manner, then it occurred to him.
“Mr. Devanto?” he called out but his voice bounced around the room and he called out to the rest of the family but still same.
He looked around himself and saw no trace of window in the room, no furniture aside from the one he is tied to, and the bulb just above his head was what gave the room a bit of lighting.
‘Did they do this to me? Why am I here? They have a room like this in their house? How am I not aware of it?’ he asked himself these questions as he wondered there in confusion.
“Hello? Anyone there?” he called out but only the echo from his voice could be heard in the room. “What is going on?” he whispered to himself then tried to get out the grip the ropes had on his arms and legs.
As he persisted in untying himself, he felt the ropes bite deeper into his skin and was sure that there would be a deep injury if he was able to free himself or someone came to untie him. After some minutes of trying, he stopped and let out a deep breath then took in some before letting it out.
He bent so that he could try to use his teeth to loosen the ropes on his right wrist and slowly it was loosening then when he felt that it was loose enough, he moved his hand some more and bite his lips from the pain he was feeling as the rope tore into his skin. Soon, his right hand was free and he smiled then thanked GOD in his heart.
He untied the rope on his left wrist and flexed it to relive it from the pain a bit. Small flesh wound could be seen on both wrist and just a bit of blood but nothing serious. Next, were his legs and he was now free of the ropes then he stood up abruptly and immediately fell down back on the chair due to how light-headed and wobbly he felt.
He didn’t know how long he was out or how long he was put in that position but he knew it was long enough to make him feel that way. Shaking his head to wipe out that dizzy feeling and trying to give his legs time to be able to stand strong and not give up on him, he let out a sigh again and shook his head yet again.
He stood up and when he didn’t feel dizzy or his legs weren’t wobbly, he took steps away from the chair and walked around the chair then went to the wall to check for any door that might be here, he was able to find a handle so he held it and turned but it wasn’t bulging.
Shaking the handle, he tried to turn it again then pulled but it wasn’t opening so he banged the door then placed his ear on the door to listen to any footsteps that might be coming.
If it wasn’t the Devanto’s that kept him in this room then he was kidnapped by someone and he is so sure that they would be worried sick about him and his whereabouts. Him not remembering anything about his past was already a worrisome topic for them and now this.
When he tried several times and the door wasn’t opening, he leaned his back against the wall and slid down till he was sitting on the floor. He tried to remember what happened before now and how he was taken. There weren’t much people in the area that they stayed and their neighbors were really far from them so it’s not possible that they wouldn’t know when people are around.
He tried to recall the last thing he was doing or where he was before he blacked out then slowly it starts coming back to him.
… Lucas was telling him one of his many jokes and he was laughing his butt out and asked how he was able to come up with those jokes when he heard Myra scream for a short time, he was going to go after her but Lucas said that it was probably the fake spider, he put on the clothe line to scare her and he would go check up on them.
He didn’t bother because he knew how Lucas liked to scare his sister a lot so he sat there in the living room, waiting for him to get back as he watched one of their favorite shows. He felt a presence behind him and thought it was Lucas.
“She saw the fake spider? Lucas, you need to stop sc-” his words were muffled by the towel that was placed over his mouth and he tried to get the hand that held the towel over his face but his head was put in a headlock and the towel had [search for what makes people sleep when inhaled] put in it which made his limbs to weaken as darkness slowly overtook him …
He was kidnapped, what happened to the Devanto’s then? Were they kidnapped also? He asked himself and jolts up to his feet as he tried again but still to no avail. He wanted to kick or maybe punch the wall but didn’t know if it might anger the abductors and make them do something bad to them so he groaned loudly and tried again.
When it didn’t seem to be budging, he punched the door and kicked then punched and screamed at the pain that jolt up his hand from the second blow he gave the door.
“A strong door this is” he whispered then he was going to try to pull at the handle again when he heard faint footsteps coming from outside, he felt a bit scared and thankful that he can see who did this, so quickly, he rushed to the chair and sat there then tried to put the ropes on his hand like he never untied himself as the footsteps grew nearer.
It stopped and he thought they weren’t coming in so he loosened his hold on the rope and then the door opened and there were three silhouettes standing outside before they came inside one after the other and stood in front of him. Though the lights were dim but he didn’t miss the smirk the slightly older man in the middle had on his lips.
He tried to squint his eyes to look at the man’s face properly and his eyes met with the cold ones of the man, then he looked to the two men by his side before looking back at the man. Somehow, the man looked familiar but he couldn’t place where he met him. Like they bumped into each other but he wasn’t sure.
“I knew you would find a way to get yourself out of these ropes” the man chuckled then walked around him “A true son of your father you are Massimo” he said and Cade frowned.
“Massimo?” he asked “I think you got the wrong man here, my name is Cadet” he said to the man and the my roared in laughter then stood behind him.
“That’s what you were told your name is, you are Massimo Salazar the son to Hank Salazar and Lexi Hernández” he said to him then clicked his tongue “Too bad they both died in a fire”
Cade felt chills run down his spine as memories of a fire incident that he always gets as dreams came rushing to him. ‘My parents died in that fire?’ he asked himself and thought maybe those are the memories he was trying to get back, the memories he was trying to use to define who he was and what his life was before he lost his memory.
“There was a… there… a fire” he whispered and felt the man’s hand on his shoulder which made him tensed and he shrugged his hold off.
He could remember the fire but couldn’t see any face or memory of his mum or dad so he wondered if that was the fire incident that claimed his life or not.
“Sorry, I know its hard getting back these memories of what happened to your family this harsh but just know that I am here for you, okay? As family” he said to him and it crossed Cade’s mind again.
He was going to turn his head to look at him but the man was already coming to stand in front of him. He frowned and tried to remember where he saw this face from but that wasn’t his concern presently.
“Where is Mr. Dean, Myra, Lucas and Mrs. Benita?” he asked “I lived with them, they were the family that took me in even when they didn’t know about my past” he explained “Are they okay? Are they okay? Are they fine?” he asked.
The man sighed and signaled to one of his men to get him a chair which was just outside the room, he sat on it when it was placed behind him.
“I will tell you about that Massimo, first you need to know who you are” he said to him “I already told you your name, Massimo and you are my half-brother’s son… I am Darius Massimo, your half-uncle” he said to him “Your dad and I were pretty close to each other, everything about you speaks of your dad and when he died, I was looking for you to bring you home, where you belong” Darius said to him.
“It’s not really sinking” he states and Darius nods his head.
“It wouldn’t sink that easy but you will know the whole truth soon”
“Truth? What truth?” he asked and Darius sighed then leaned back on the chair and crossed his leg over his other leg with his fingers entwined.
“When the time comes, you will know about all of them soon”
“How do I believe that you are my uncle? I think I have seen you somewhere but I can’t really place a name where, how am I sure that you are really family?” he asked.
Darius grinned then nod his head. “I get you, really, I do and I understand. It might be confusing now but it will be clearer soon enough.”
“Was I kidnapped? How about the Devanto’s? I want to know where they are and how they are faring… the last memory I had was when Lucas went to check his sister and a towel placed over my mouth before I passed out” he said.
“I had been watching over you in that house and had one of my trusted men go meet you once in a while, his name is Julius but he betrayed me…” Darius’s mood suddenly changed as a frown replaced the excitement in his face. “I thought I could trust him but it was his plan all along” he shook his head then leaned closer and rest his elbows on each knee.
“I am just glad that I have you back home, your dad will be so happy and your mum too, welcome home Massimo” he said but Cade didn’t look to be buying all these. “I don’t know what they did to you but you have to believe me” he said when he noticed the look on his face.
“I still can’t believe it… all of these, it’s confusing and doesn’t seem true” he said “Were they kidnapped too” he asked and looked at Darius whose countenance changed when he looked at him.
He thought he saw annoyance on his face before it was replaced with worry.
“They are dead. Julius planned with a family you once knew to eliminate them all so that they can get the rest of your father’s property… they almost had me killed too but I was able to escape with a minor injury” he said and showed him a scar that lines up from his wrist to his shoulder.
Cade felt sad and overwhelmed to react to the news. His worry about their welfare had taken over him and now hearing of their demise was so heartbreaking for him. He remembered Julius and somehow didn’t have any good feeling about him but had to tolerate him because of his connections with the Devanto’s.
“Why do they want us dead?” he asked after a while.
“Your rights to the wealth your dad left you, they want you so that you can get all these wealth for them and kill you at last… that’s what they want”
“That’s sick?” he said.
“I know but don’t think too much about it, just be calm. You need to be okay and well protected by us against them… they took you in before and your parents were able to get you back, that’s when they arranged the fire incident that took both lives, I am sorry you are learning of all these in this manner but I hope that you can move on and we can plan our moves”
Darius stood up and Cade followed his every move, he turned to look at him and noticed that Cade had something to say but he wasn’t in the mood to stay here anymore or answer any of his questions so he beats him to it.
“Everything will be clear, just as I told you earlier. You need to rest properly and enjoy some goodies before work starts, okay? I will have some food and change of clothing be brough to you”
“Why do I have to stay here?”
“This is a self-reflection room where you get to be by yourself and reflect on everything about you, I will get you out of here soon so… later son” he said then signaled to the men and they left him in his confused thinking state.
He wondered if he could trust this man and believe what he said to him, it seems true but he didn’t want to base his judgement on just one part he heard. The late family he lived with never knew of him except Julius who had the evil plan all along, he needed a confirmation from another mouth before he believes anything.
“Whoever did this to you Myra, Lucas, Mr. Dean and Mrs. Benita, will surely pay for it… I’ll make sure of that” he whispered and rest his head on his palm as he sobbed.
…
“What’s next boss?” one of his men asked when they made their way out of the building that Cade was put in.
“What we planned already. Brainwash him into hating the wrong people, poison his mind, torture and turn him into our tool for use then eliminate him” he said and smirked as they kept walking away from the building.