Mafia Damian's Bride

3

Alicia stood speechless in the living room after her mother left. The house help was terrified, fearing the gunmen were robbers. No one was killed, except that Mr. Max had been kidnapped.

The head maid had called the police, who arrived a few minutes later.

"Is it true that Mr. Max was kidnapped by some unknown gunmen?" one of the two policemen asked. However, the second police officer's eyes fell on Alicia, and he rushed to her. "Babe, what's going on? Is this where you live with your family?"

Samantha and Caden's eyes widened in shock; they hadn't expected the police officer to know Alicia.

"Yes, Jonathan. This is where my family and I live," Alicia said, lowering her head in shame, knowing she had been keeping this a secret. She recalled the argument she overheard between her parents five years ago, which had changed their lives.

"Tell me, what happened to your father. You need to give us a report to help get him released from the gunmen," Jonathan Leonardo asked. He was a 32-year-old officer who loved Alicia deeply and wanted to marry her, but she had been avoiding the topic of marriage.

"No, you can't do anything to save my father. He owed Damian Tucker, the ruthless mafia boss," Alicia announced, moving away from Jonathan's embrace. She called him John for short.

"What?!" the two officers exclaimed. Of course, they knew who Damian Tucker was.

"How did your father get involved with Damian? Is your father part of the mafia?" Sergeant Brown asked. But Alicia and her siblings shook their heads.

"We don't know. Our father has owed Damian for a long time—about five years now. They came here and took him away, ordering us to pay the debt," Alicia cried, and the police officers sighed.

"Hmm. You know that Damian and his men wouldn't just show up if your father isn't involved with them. We need evidence to understand what the embezzled funds were for. Do you have any idea what the business money was used for?" Sergeant Brown queried.

Alicia quickly shook her head. "We don't know. All that doesn't matter now. If we try to get any evidence that could expose their group, it would endanger our lives and my father's. They only told us to pay up or else they would kill him."

Alicia moved back to sit on one of the black couches in the living room, and the two officers sighed.

"This is serious. How much are you told to pay?" Jonathan asked, a look of worry washing over him.

"10 million dollars," Caden said, and Jonathan gasped. "What?! That's a lot of money. You should help us get evidence to put Damian behind bars. That way, the government can apprehend him and take him into custody."

Caden shook his head. "I don't know about my father's business. It's a secret, and maybe that's why they took him away."

"How about your sisters? Can't they get closer to Damian to gather information on how to arrest their group? We need solid evidence. Or does your mother know what her husband does?" Brown queried.

"None that I am aware of. And I cannot allow my sisters to get involved with Damian. We will have to raise the money to pay them off," Caden said, shaking his head sadly.

"I agree with him, Brown. I can't expect you to offer my girlfriend to that son of a devil. I want to marry Alicia next month. Now all this is happening. Where is your mother, Alicia?" Jonathan asked, and Alicia sadly pointed towards the stairs.

"Come and show me to your mother's room. We should see if she knows how to help us get evidence," Jonathan said. Alicia rose from the couch and sadly followed him.

"Don't worry, baby. I will help you raise the money if it comes to that. Your father cannot get killed," Jonathan assured her, but Alicia shook her head and doubted him. "Where will you get 10 million dollars from? Do you want to get involved in illegal dealings just for my father's sake?"

"Don't worry, babe. I will go to any length for you." He kissed her forehead as they arrived at her mother's sitting room.

Alicia knocked and entered, before inviting Jonathan.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Jennifer was on a phone call with Mr. Max's older brother, asking for help. However, he refused, saying, "Max has never helped me when he was rich, so don't expect me to lend you a hand now."

The call ended, and Mrs. Jennifer sadly looked at Alicia and the police officer holding her hand.

At first, Mrs. Jennifer wondered if she was dreaming, but the officer spoke. "Good evening, Ma. I am Officer Jonathan Leonardo. Alicia's boyfriend."

"Oh!" Mrs. Jennifer gasped and looked from her daughter to Jonathan.

"I know this isn't the ideal way to introduce myself, but I have plans to marry Alicia. I love her very much, and I recently got promoted to Sergeant," Jonathan said.

"I see," Mrs. Jennifer replied, looking at the officer who was holding her daughter's hand. It reminded her of when she first fell in love with Mr. Max before his greed led him to dirty deals.

"So, back to why I am here. We received a call that your husband was kidnapped. From your children, we learned that your husband borrowed money from Damian Tucker and hasn't paid it back," Jonathan said, watching Mrs. Jennifer intensely.

Mrs. Jennifer stood in front of Jonathan and frowned. "Yes, I didn't know when my husband borrowed the money, but he claimed to be doing business with Damian's father before Damian took over the company."

"Do you have any evidence of what your husband does for them?" Jonathan asked.

"No. My husband never involves me. He never has, and I don't know what he does."

"Hmm. But we need evidence if we want to get your husband freed. Think of any evidence. How about your husband's briefcase or laptop, or anything he uses? We might find a lead there," Jonathan suggested.

"No," Mrs. Jennifer quickly refuted, as if protecting her husband from getting caught in any crime.

"I'm sorry, officer. My husband never lets me know what he does. We've been married for 29 years, and we dated for five years, but I still don't know his work. I just know he's a good man and provides for us," Mrs. Jennifer said, looking solemn as she recalled her past.

"Damian gave his word that if we try anything funny, he will deal with my husband, and I don't want to lose him. The police should find their own way to catch criminals and not use my family. Please, excuse me; I need to make a call to my older brother to see how we can raise the money," she added.

"Mom..." Alicia tried to speak, but her mother used her eyes to signal her to be quiet.

"It's fine, ma'am. I will see what I can do to help. I'll get going now to report to the station about the case. My senior can take it from there," Jonathan said, bowing slightly before leaving.

"Alright," Mrs. Jennifer replied, though she would have preferred not to report the matter to the station. But she knew it could get worse, especially when it involved her family and the threat to their lives.

Alicia followed Jonathan out of the house. He paused beside the police black car and said, "I have to go now, babe. Take care, and I'll see what I can do to help your family. Damian has been a threat to many lives here, and if we don't get him, we can't guarantee our service to saving people." Jonathan looked frustrated, and Alicia placed her right hand on his arm.

"It's fine. Take care, my love," she said.

"You too, babe. I wish this never happened. I already bought the engagement ring, and now this," Jonathan said, looking sad.

"It's fine. We will still get married," Alicia reassured him.

"I know. Take care, and don't go anywhere near Damian."

"Understood," Alicia replied, and Jonathan kissed her forehead goodbye before entering his car.

Alicia sighed and went back into the house.