Chapter 10
1663 Words
Chapter 10
Once they got in, Elena led her to the living room where they sat, while Setenta followed closely behind them.
"It's really bittersweet, Mama. I have been away from you for all these years, and the second I come back, I get married off." Ana Sophia said with a sad look, loud enough for Setenta, who sat at the far corner of the living room, to hear.
"Setenta," Ana Sophia called out.
“Yes, madam."
“Mama and I have a need to do some catching up; I would really appreciate it if you gave us some privacy," she said with a smile. There was no way she could achieve her purpose if Sententa kept on trolling her every move.
“But your health, madam."
"Don't worry about that; Mama will take care of me." She let out a few coughs.
“Yes, madam." Sententa answered, causing Sophia’s eyes to widen; she did not expect it to be that easy. With no second thought, she dragged Elena up; they both walked upstairs and entered Sophia’s room.
Once they were in, every sense of courtesy, love, and familiarity was dropped. The smile on Sophia’s face was gone and replaced with a serious look; she tried to look intimidating, but it was useless, as her red nose and constant coughing were in the way of that. Elena, on the other hand, looked annoyed by Sophia’s presence.
“What do you want from me now? I have given you all the help I can." Elena yawned without care as she walked towards the couch and elegantly took a seat, her legs crossed to the side.
“You helped me, by what? getting married into a place I can barely survive in," Sophia retorted.
“Oh shut up, I have not time to engage in such back-and-forths with you; tell me what you came here for," Elena replied lazily.
“You are the one who started this back and forth, you…” Sophia shouted and then quickly took a deep breath.
"Don't lose focus, don't lose focus," she muttered to herself, then looked up with a calm look.
“I know you are not happy to help the police, but we are not the ones at your mercy; you are at our mercy, because if you don't help us, not only will your husband and daughter be executed for the numerous crimes they committed, but you will also die in the hands of Roberto for deceiving him. Well, he would kill me as well, but you get the point."
“I also do not want to be here; once I am done with my investigations and put this criminal organization to an end, we can all be free from this rubbish." Sophia took a deep breath once she was done, expecting Elena’s attitude to change; instead, she was met with mocking laughter.
“What is so funny to you, Elena?" Sophia raged.
“The fact that you are so delusional. Let me tell you what your delusional police force did not tell you before they shipped you here, this is your graveyard, there is no surviving; we are both going to die." Elena laughed even harder.
“I mean, so you think that all you need to do is to find a few pieces of incriminating evidence, and the whole cartel, in all of Venezuela and Valencia, will be arrested and prosecuted… That is where you are wrong, my dear Sophia; even if you find all the incriminating evidence in the world, nothing will happen. The cartel can topple the whole army, and you think your little police force cannot bring us down…," she said mockingly but was interrupted.
"That's not true, the police must have a plan." Sophia's initially loud voice became small as she sat down on the couch opposite Elena and held her head.
“So their plan was to send a young girl who is not even a detective to spy on big mafia families?” Elena retorted, and Sophia was quick to object.
“No, I volunteered for this, so you got that part wrong," she scoffed.
“You got that part wrong, honey; you never volunteered, you were only given the illusion of choice." Elena scoffed.
“You are just a sacrificial lamb, we all are, to appease some people. You are not going to do s**t or achieve anything; you are going to die a hero but save zero lives. Get ready to kill people as well, because that is what you have signed up to do, and I don't want to hear your good-girl bullshit; if you want to survive for even one month, you better get ready." Elena said with a nonchalant look.
“Why are you talking in riddles? Go straight to the point. What do you know?” Sophia stood up and was in front of Elena in an instant; she grabbed her throat and squeezed tight with a threatening gaze.
“I don't know anything, Sophia, but you can still choose to kill me. I am curious how you will walk out of here alive." Hearing this, Sophia immediately let go.
"That's what I thought," Elena coughed repeatedly.
“Call Mikolos over," she instructed as she sat down, regaining her composure.
Elena made the call, and in a few minutes there was a knock on the door. Sophia stood up and walked towards the door to open it.
"Sophia." Mikolos nodded at her as soon as he was in the room and the door was shut.
"Don't call me that," Sophia replied immediately.
“Okay, hello, Mariana," he greeted with a small smirk, but she was not in the mood for jokes. She sat down still on the seat opposite Elena; Mikolos took his seat as well.
“Tell me, what will happen if I say I want out of this whole mission?” She asked, with her pinky finger in her mouth, biting down nervously. She started getting dizzy, and her body started protesting, but she suppressed it all.
“Sophia, you either complete the mission or die," he answered, looking at her dead in the eyes.
“Do you know I almost died yesterday? Just because I left the wedding reception, he almost tortured me; he locked me in the dungeon to teach me how to be a good wife, and that is how I fell sick, and you are telling me that I will die if I seek a way out. This is basically a suicide mission," she protested angrily, her gaze becoming colder by the minute.
“What are you guys hiding from me?” She asked, her sharp gaze on Mikolos.
“I know only what you know, Sophia. Do not be manipulated, and do not lose track of what you came here for. Whatever Elena told you, I want you to disregard it. Don't forget, she has been in the mafia for years; she is a professional at manipulation," Mikolos stated gently.
“I know this seems like a suicide mission, but the force would not have sent you here if there was no room for survival; you just have to be very smart. Look at me; I have been undercover for four months now, and I am alive," he continued.
Hearing this, it was like a spell was lifted. He was right; she still had to find out who murdered her family. Even if she could not end the mafia, she would still be fulfilled if she could kill her father’s murderer. She felt so stupid for almost falling into Elena’s trap.
"Whatevs," Elena scoffed nonchalantly, while suddenly finding her nails interesting.
“Back to business, Mariana, what have you found out so far?” Mikolos asked her and Sophia sighed tiredly .
“Practically nothing. I walked in on my husband killing somebody, and when he saw me, he made me sleep in his dungeon for the night, and that is why I am sick. I have said that before I know , I am just pissed at that fact " she said grudgingly after remembering what Jose did to her and Mikolo let out a small laugh.
“Be ready, because you will see scenes much worse than what you saw yesterday ," he warned her with a concerned gaze.
“I know," she muttered with a sigh.
“I don't know where to go from here, honestly; that family is a den of wolves," she sighed.
“Welcome to the cartel," Elena laughed mockingly.
“Remember Mariana, you are a woman, a beautiful one. Nations have crumbled because of femme fatales; I believe you can do this," he said.
“Are you saying I should seduce him?” she whispered, looking like she just heard a terrible scandal.
“Of course," Mikolos shrugged.
“You don't know that man, Miko; he is so terrifying I can't even look him in the eyes," she protested.
“Believe me, there will be chances, and when that chance presents itself to you, you have to take it, understand?” he said, and she nodded reluctantly.
“I have to go; I have been gone for too long." He stood up and walked out without looking back. With Miko gone, she leaned back on the couch with a tired look.
“What have I walked myself into?" she muttered. But she reminded herself of her dead father once again, and her resolve grew stronger.
“I might not be able to come back here in a while, but if anybody asks, Gustav is tying up some loose ends to throw the police off its course; we were almost arrested, and we escaped…." She said but was interrupted by the knock on the door.
She thought it was Miko, but once she opened the door, she saw Setenta.
“I am sorry, madam, but El Jafe Roberto wants you back," she said, not daring to meet Sophia’s gaze.
- Writer
