Shadows of Enigma

The Pizza Union

The car ride felt like eternity, and my heart was on a roller coaster of emotions. The woman who kidn*pped me, surprisingly friendly now, chatted about her favorite pizza toppings and how she secretly liked cheesy romance novels. It was surreal, like being abducted by a quirky friend. She was……weird, but the good type of weird.

The rest of her gang took another route, for God “knows-what-reason”. Her driver also stopped and handed over the keys to her leaving the both of us together. At this point I didn’t even think of running away, since I had a kind of safe feeling with her.

Finally, we arrived at a place that looked like an ordinary warehouse from the outside. The woman smirked at my puzzled expression. "Looks can be deceiving, sweetie."

She led me inside, amd down the warehouse. We then reached a corner with a dead end. She then looked at me then smiled. I was feeling cautious of this “psychiatric patient”. She then said “Pizza”.

Immediately, where we were standing on, began going down in at an alarming speed, like an elevator. I began to scream, holding into this lady who was suprisingly calm. After some seconds we descended down to some form of “basement”, like Batman’s.

The warehouse transformed into a high-tech marvel. It was like stepping into a secret agent movie set. There were computers buzzing, maps with pins scattered everywhere, and a bunch of people in techy-looking outfits.

"Welcome to our humble abode," she said, sweeping her arm dramatically.

"Humble? This is like James Bond's secret lair!" I exclaimed.

She chuckled. "Well, we like to keep things interesting. By the way, I'm Carla. You can call me Carrot if you want. It's my nickname."

I blinked. "Carrot? Why Carrot?"

"Why not? Carrots are cool. And I like orange," she shrugged.

As I was absorbing the absurdity of nicknames, a familiar face emerged from the crowd. Jace. The guy who, until a few hours ago, was on the Salvatores' side.

Jace? The loyal housekeeper? “Who the hell are you?”, I said out of nowhere. I was puzzled. This is literally Alexander’s right hand man. So he also had a bone to pick with Alexander.

He approached me with an apologetic smile. "Hey, Isabella. Sorry about the whole k********g thing. We had to get you here without arousing suspicion."

I raised an eyebrow. "Suspicion? My suspicion was in overdrive the moment you kidn*pped me."

Jace chuckled nervously. "Fair point. Let me explain."

He took me on a tour of their "secret lair," which, honestly, looked more like a tech geek's playground. Computers blinked with multicolored lights, and there were whiteboards with scribbles that looked like a mix of doodles and complex algorithms.

"Okay, this is cool, but why am I here?" I asked, finally getting to the point.

Jace hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "My girlfriend used to work for the Salvatores.”, “Oh, I’m sorry”, I said sympathizing with him. “What happened?”.

“She was r*ped. She then committed suicide.”. “s**t, I’m so sorry”, I replied. “The perpetrators?”. “The Salvatores can’t be judged”, Jace replied quickly.

“Wait, are you saying Alexander had a say in this matter?”, I asked with obvious anger in my voice. “Not him, but his right-hand man, Victor”, he said with grief in his eyes. “They ruined my life, Isabella. They destroyed everything. Veronica gave my life meaning right before she left me." He said with beads of tears rolling down his cheek.

Carrot slapped him playfully on the back, “Cheer up Jace boy, very soon we’ll meet them for retribution”, she said comforting him.

I was genuinely surprised. Jace, the Salvatores' loyal servant, had a bone to pick with them. I pitied him and as the pity rose, the anger I felt towards the Salvatores increased simultaneously.

He finally regained control and smiled. “I don’t know why I get like this everytime”. “It’s okay to feel like this, Jace”, I said with a comforting smile. “Okay, let me tell the story in full”.

He began his story, and it was like a soap opera. Love, betrayal, drama – it had it all. Apparently, he had a promising career, a loving girlfriend, and a pet turtle named Speedy.

"I loved that turtle," he added, almost in tears.

The Salvatores, in their infinite wisdom, decided to ruin everything. They r***d his girlfriend, because she stood up against them. She was also a fashion designer, like me. Veronica refused to sign some paperwork that would give Victor access to smuggle some weapons through their fabric materials which would be shipped from Europe.

She refused to allow them to do so and they relayed her by….. you know, when Jace wasn’t around. And even flushed Speedy down the toilet.

Okay, the turtle part might be an exaggeration, but it fit the dramatic narrative.

"That's why I joined this group. We're like the anti-Salvatores. We expose their dirty secrets, fight against their injustice, and eat pizza on Fridays. It's a wholesome operation."

Carla chimed in, "And we really like pizza. It's like our thing."

I was caught between laughter and disbelief. "So, you're like the superhero team of Valeshire? And pizza is your superpower?"

Jace nodded seriously. "Exactly. You've got it."

"But why did you need me?" I asked, trying to make sense of the chaos.

Jace looked serious for a moment. "We needed to show you the truth. The Salvatores aren't the golden family everyone thinks. They're manipulative, cunning, and downright evil."

Carla added, "And you, my friend, are married to the crown prince of this drama."

Suddenly, the mood shifted, and they led me to a hidden door. It opened, revealing a secret passage. My eyes widened. "This is like a cheesy spy movie!"

Carla winked. "You have no idea."

We descended into the depths of the basement. It wasn't what I expected. Instead of a dark, damp cellar, it was a high-tech chamber with screens displaying information on the Salvatores.

Jace pointed at the screens. "This is where we gather evidence against them. Everything they've done, their schemes, their shady deals – it's all here."

Carla grinned. "Welcome to the heart of our operation. The truth zone."

As I absorbed the shocking reality on the screens, Carla patted my shoulder. "You see, Isabella, we're fighting for justice. We needed you to see the truth. And now, you have a choice."

I blinked. "A choice?"

Carla nodded. "You can either stay in the dark, living the glamorous life with the Salvatores, or join us and expose the corruption. Plus, we have pizza Fridays."

Jace added, "Your life is like a telenovela now. Make it count."

The absurdity of the situation hit me. I had stumbled into a world of “pizza-loving” justice warriors, and they were asking me to be a part of it.

I took a deep breath and said, "Well, if pizza is involved….