Arranged Marriage to the Mafia Boss

Chapter 3

    Raj closes the door and talks with the guard at the door. "Miss Alexis would like some water and I would also like for her to eat something so arrange for food as well." The guard nods and relays the information through his walkie-talkie, remaining at his post. Raj leaves and heads off to find Damian, the man who sent him to exam her.

    "So Raj, how is she?" Damian comes around the corner as Raj was walking.

    "Ah Damian. I was just coming to speak with you." Raj says with a smile. He looks around, "Maybe we should speak in your office?"

    "Yes, come. I want to know how she is doing." They walk down the hallway and open a mahogany door at the end. Damian sits behind the desk while Raj takes a seat in a chair on the other side. "So?"

    "Yes, well first off it seems she doesn't know who she is. Unless you have the wrong person?"

    "No that is Alexis Finley. Her father kept her hidden even better than anyone could have imagined. He gave her to a family who couldn't have kids of their own. The father is an employee at his company. He asked them to care for her as their own in order to hide her identity. While this makes things more complicated she will soon come to realize who she is. I am having her father Albert come to see her. Hopefully she can get the answers she will be looking for."

    "Right. Well aside from that matter there are a couple of concerning things that relate to the exam I conducted." Damian raises his eyebrows urging him to continue. "Aside from the fact that she is scared and confused it seems as if she has underlying issues. I noticed that she looked rather thin and when I took her blood pressure is was on the high end. Her heart rate was increased but that could be due to the anxiety she is currently experiencing."

    "Couldn't the blood pressure also be related to the anxiety?" Damian questioned.

    "Yes...and no. You see as previously mentioned one of the things I also noticed was her weight. Or lack there of I should say. It looks as if she is malnourished whether by her own hand or by someone else I do not know. The blood work should show more information. If she does suffer from malnutrition then we need to make sure she is eating enough and giving her the necessary supplements until she is back within normal ranges. I arranged for food to be brought into her room before leaving. If she eats it then we can lean in the direction that the malnutrition was not by her hand. I would suggest talking to her however to get a clear picture. Right now we can only work off of assumptions." Damian looks off to the side and sighs.   

    "I don't think her parents, for the lack of a better word, would have starved her. I mean she was given to them by the father's boss, why would he risk his job by mistreating the CEO's daughter? Also, Albert must have given them a stipend for her living expenses and most likely even extra as a thank you. While I don't want to assume anorexia or bulimia that is where my head is at right now." He looks at Raj.

    "Alright, but like I said go talk to her we don't know the full story. There is something else and this may sway your opinions once more." Raj looked directly at Damion.   

    "What do you mean?" Damian said confused.

    "I don't think she has ever been to a doctor before." Raj stated coldly.

    "What do you mean? How could that be possible?" Damian asked incredulously.

    "When I was performing my examination she was very confused. She did not know what a blood pressure cuff, a stethoscope or a pulse oximeter was. I had to explain everything as if I was in a pediatric ward explaining it to a 5 year old. I'm not saying she is unintelligent I'm just saying I think she was sheltered...but not in a good way." The men stare at each other for a few minutes just thinking about what was just said.

    "I don't.." Damian pauses unable to formulate a response. "I really need to speak with Alexis." Damian says with gusto as he gets up from his chair. Raj follows suit.

    "You go talk with her, but be gentle she is in a new environment and the last thing she remembers is being kidnapped. I need to take this to the lab." He states waving a green top tube in the air filled with the blood to be tested. Damian nods and walks out of the office towards Alexis' room.

    As Damian approaches the door the guard steps to the side allowing him access. He opens the door and looks at a wide eyed Alexis mid bite into her food. He pauses for a second relieved that she is eating and then lightly chuckles at her expression. He continues into the room closing the door behind him. Alexis starts to slowly chew on the food in her mouth while staring at Damian. He makes his way to a wing back chair set in the corner of the room. He takes a seat and sits, waiting until he sees her swallow the bite she just took. 

    "Hi. I'm Damian Adler. I know you are confused about everything that has happened but I hope soon everything will make sense. I have your father coming in to talk to you." Alexis' eyes bulge. She drops the food in her hands and backs up on the bed to the headboard covering her body with the comforter. She is visibly shaking and starts staring at the wall ahead of her. Seeing her upset he changes the subject trying not to upset her so he can get the answers he is looking for. "So I have a few questions for you. You can ask me questions too alright?" She looks at him for a minute and nods her head, still holding the comforter up to her mouth.

    In order to get her comfortable he starts with questions that he already knows. "What's your name and how old are you?"

    Alexis sits up a bit trying to seem less intimidated by the man. "My name is Alexis Miller. I am 17." He nods in response.   

    "So where do you live?"

    "I live on Elm Street about two and a half miles from Harding High School."

    "Is that where you attend?" She nods her head. "Do you have a cell phone?"

    She shakes her head. "No."

    "A high schooler without a phone. I never thought I would see the day." Damian laughs but stops when he sees Alexis not joining in. "Why no phone?"

    "My family is poor they cannot afford such items."

    Damian hides his shock. Doesn't her family get a stipend from Albert? "Yea phones can be considered a luxury but it can also be considered a lifeline. Why don't I get you one so that I can contact you easier?"

    Alexis shakes her head confused. "Wait I don't understand why would you get me a phone? Aren't I being held captive? Aren't you just trying to collect my families debts and using me as leverage? Isn't that why my father is coming?" After a few moments of Damian thinking of what to say next after the conversation took an unexpected turn Alexis speaks again. "Though I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you I am the worst bargaining chip you could have come up with. After you took me my parents are probably out throwing a party, happy for my disappearance."

    "Why would you say that?" He somehow managed to avoid that line of questioning and now he's back on track with what he was originally going for.

    "They never wanted me. Always saying they didn't have a choice and that they couldn't afford to have me. Whatever that meant. I never understood why they didn't just put me up for adoption. Living in an orphanage would have been better than living with them." At this point Alexis put her arms down lowering the comforter to her legs looking deep in thought.

    Reeling at this new information Damian asked another question pertaining to her examination. Although happy that the conversation looped back to where he wanted it to go in the beginning the path it was taking was a lot different than he imagined. "Alexis, knowing that your family is poor and how they treated you, were you fed? Your examination by Dr. Hamal came back with concerning results."

    Alexis shrugged her shoulders, "I ate when I could. I was able to get free lunches at school as stipend from the government. During the weekends and at night I just ate what I could. It mostly consists of ramen noodles since they are inexpensive." Alexis shakes her head, "Why does this even matter? Why the questions and fake concern?"

    Damian looked at Alexis leaning back into the chair. "The doctor was concerned about malnutrition. So I came in here to ask some follow up questions." He looks at the half eaten sandwich and gives a slight smile. "Just make sure you finish eating. If you are still hungry ask the guard at the door he will get someone to bring up a snack." Standing up he says, "Someone will be in with dinner around six. If you want you can come to the dinning room and we can eat together. Just talk to the guard if thats what you decide. If you say nothing we will assume you would rather eat in your room." He makes his way to the door and as he opens it he turns saying, "I will see you tomorrow if I do not see you tonight at dinner. After the day you have had I will have your father come tomorrow. He will answer all of your questions." Damian leaves.

    Alexis sits there just staring at the door in shock. What is going on? She just realized he didn't answer any of her questions, "Ugh!" She lets her torso fall back onto the headboard and looks up at the ceiling after this realization.