Hayley’s heart swelled with intense satisfaction on hearing his promise. He had changed his mind after all! He would marry her! She smiled radiantly at him as he drove her home.
“So, will I see you on Monday next?” asked Hayley with a sigh.
“I can come down tomorrow evening before heading to Silver Spring.” Ashton smiled at her, loving the way her eyes lit up with hope.
“Yes, please. We don’t need to go to an expensive place. We can take a stroll in the park nearby.”
“Done. Be ready by 6:30. I’ll message you.”
“Are you going to uncle Daniel’s house tomorrow morning?”
“No, tonight, after dropping you home.”
He frowned as he glanced at the rear-view mirror. Did he just see Salvatore Gambino’s right-hand man, Romano’s Maserati, tailing him? Fear gripped at his heart and he rechecked, but it was gone. Surely it was there a minute ago! Ashton had been so absorbed with Hayley; he had completely forgotten about Gambino and his payment in the last two weeks. He would immediately pay them the half a million he had in his savings account. The next installment he could pay up after saving his six months’ salary.
He picked up speed, not wanting Hayley to be involved in any trouble. “Why are we speeding, Ashton?” She looked around as Ashton maneuvered the car expertly, as if chased by the devil himself.
“I have some important work to wrap up before I go home.” Hayley frowned, but the grim look on his face made her hold back the questions she was dying to ask. She searched his eyes and felt taken aback to see fear reflected in them. Was he in some sort of danger?
Before she could ask anything, he drove into her street as if in a hurry to drop her off. “Is anything wrong, Ashton?” she asked worriedly.
“No, but I think someone’s following me.” Hayley’s eyes widened, and she looked behind them but saw no one around.
“Who? Madison?” Ashton shook his head and stopped in front of her gates.
“Don’t worry. I’ll deal with this. Bye, see you on Monday, but only if you study tomorrow.”
“Yes, dad.” She rolled her eyes at his tone and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his cheek. This time he didn’t reciprocate, but sat rigidly without even moving a muscle. His behavior made her even more worried. She opened the car door and climbed out gingerly.
“Call me if you’re in any trouble. My dad has lots of cop friends.” Ashton nodded, worried to see the reflection of the black Maserati against the glass door of the ATM center at the crossing of the street. There was no way he could escape without confronting Romano. What could he want this time? If it would have been a reminder of money, Romano would have called him like he always did. A strange fear gripped his heart, and he hardly noticed Hayley going into her house.
He inched towards the main road, but the Maserati didn’t budge even once. He stopped his car, wondering what to do. The other side was a dead end, and he knew they had trapped him this time. Should he call for help? It was past dinnertime, and the residential stretch that led to Hayley’s mansion was always deserted. With only a few sprawling mansions, traffic on this elite street was the least.
He picked up his phone to call the cops for help when the Maserati entered the lane and stopped right in front of him. Romano and three of Gambino’s men in dark suits emerged, rushing towards him. It happened so fast that Ashton didn’t have time to call the cops. Panicking, he opened his door to run past them, but they grabbed him instead, clamping his mouth shut with a gag immediately. His phone dropped onto the car seat as they pulled him away with them towards their car.
Ashton struggled against their hold, kicking them with all his might. An instant fear of death clutched his mind. He couldn’t die! He wanted to live for Hayley.
“Tie the son of a bi*ch!” growled Romano at his men. The men tied him up mercilessly. He was no match against the three! The car sped away out of the darkness towards Gambino’s mansion while Ashton watched helplessly, unable to do a thing.
“Be ready to die a slow death like your fu*king father! This happens when you don’t pay the Don.” Ashton’s eyes widened at Romano’s explanation. What did he mean? Was his father alive or dead? Did they give him a slow death?
“Can you believe he’s fu*ing a girl instead of paying up?” laughed Romano. The others joined in to make fun of him, while Ashton seethed with fury.
“Let’s pick her up as well, boss!” said one of them.
“We will if Don wants her!” said Romano, watching him, challenging him to react. Ashton struggled against the tightly entwined ropes that restricted his movement.
“Francesca wanted us to capture both of them, didn’t she?” said another. Ashton’s attention was immediately piqued. Now, who the f*ck was Francesca? Why would she want to capture both of them?
“Yes, but we will follow Don at the moment.”
“Yes, boss!” Ashton struggled the entire way, but the bindings didn’t give way even an inch. The car sped inside Gambino’s mansion and parked straight into the underground parking space. This was the first time Ashton saw the eerily inhospitable place. It looked more like a dungeon or a torture chamber than a parking lot. The car door opened, and they carried him towards a closed door. Ashton panicked, refusing to be thrown into some dungeon for life. He groaned hoarsely, but they had no mercy on him.
They opened the door that led to a colder corridor with many stone cells on either side. Maybe they kept all their prisoners here to torture them and kill them later. An intense fear gripped his heart. No one would know if they kept him here forever. No one will know if they killed him. He had to find a way to escape!
A shrill cry of a man sliced through the air, followed by the sound of a gunshot. The eerie silence that ensued made a tremor go down his body. What if he met with the same end? What would happen to his Hayley? Suddenly, the wish to live made him so rebellious that he put in all his strength to loosen the ropes around his legs. It worked, and the knot loosened.
They dumped him in a cold marble room. Under the dim light, he saw a rug on the floor and a bottle of water near it.
“It’s no use, boy! You can’t escape Don. He will release you if you can convince him,” said Romano, opening the gag at last. They untied the ropes that bound him and Ashton grabbed the bottle and drank to his heart’s content.
“Why have you brought me here? I was saving up money to pay you. I’ve taken up a good job to pay off everything.”
“Explain that to Don. You’re here because Francesca wanted to see you and your girl suffer.” With that, they locked him up and left before he could ask about the mysterious Francesca. What grudge could she have on him and Hayley when they hardly ever saw her?
The entire night, Ashton waited for Gambino to arrive and talk to him, but he didn’t. All night, the spine-chilling sounds of people being tortured in the nearby torture chamber kept him awake. Was his dad too imprisoned in one of these chambers? Could he check them out before leaving? Thankfully, there was a tiny washroom attached to his chamber and he could relieve himself there instead of in the room itself.
The next morning, a man came inside to give him some toast and water. “When will Don meet me? I have to rejoin work tomorrow to pay off the debt.”
“Don left last night. He will see you when he returns. Only Francesca is here.” Ashton looked at the man, who didn’t seem as dangerous as the others. Maybe he could extract some information about what was going on.
“Oh, I could talk to her instead! I’m sure she can help me.”
“She won’t meet you. Don will be furious.”
“Oh! Why? Is she his wife?” The man gave him a shocked look.
“No, she’s his only daughter.” The information made his jaws drop with surprise. He did not know Gambino had a daughter. The man was about to leave when Ashton stopped him.
“Wait, can you please tell me if my dad, Big Steve, is alive? I won’t tell a soul. Please? You, too, are someone’s son. What would you do if you didn’t see your dad for eleven years?” The man looked around and then hesitated a little. Ashton glanced at the camera in the corner and knew someone was watching them. It was useless getting any information on his dad. They wouldn’t tell him.
“I can’t tell you anything. Whatever you want to know, ask Don.” With that, he locked the door and left. Ashton waited the whole day and night, but there was no sign of Gambino or Romano. Wouldn’t they free him ever?