Mafia Damian's Bride

CHAPTER 3

Alicia stood speechless in the living room after her mother left them. The housekeepers were terrified, fearing the gunmen were robbers. But no one had been killed—except that Mr. Max had been kidnapped.

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

"We heard that Mr. Max was kidnapped by some unknown gunmen. Is that true?" one of the two officers asked. However, the second 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 officer to know Alicia.

"Yes, Jonathan. This is where my family and I live," Alicia said, lowering her head in shame. She knew she had been keeping it a secret from him about where her family now lived. She recalled five years ago when she had overheard her parents arguing. Since then, their lives hadn't remained the same.

"Tell me what happened to your father. You need to give us a report so we can help get him released from the unknown gunmen," Jonathan Leonardo asked Alicia. He was a 32-year-old light-skinned man who loved Alicia deeply and wanted to marry her, but she kept delaying the discussion of him meeting her father to ask for her hand in marriage.

"No, John. You cannot do anything to save my father. He owes Damian Tucker—the ruthless mafia boss," Alicia announced, moving away from John'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 in business with Damian? Is your father in the mafia world?" the second officer, Sergeant Brown, asked. But Alicia and her siblings shook their heads.

"We don't know. Our father has been owing Damian for a long time—going on five years now—so they came here and took him away. Their order is for us to pay his debt," Alicia cried, and the officers sighed.

"Hmm. You know that Damian and his men wouldn't just come here if your father wasn't involved with their group. We'll need evidence to know what the embezzled funds were all about. Do you have any idea what the business money was for?" Jonathan queried.

Alicia quickly shook her head and replied, "We don't know. All that doesn't matter now. If we get anything incriminating that could expose their group, that would be a threat to our lives and to my father in their grip. They only told us to pay—or else they would deal with him."

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

"This is serious. So, how much were you told to pay?" Jonathan asked, a wave of worry washing over his features.

"Ten million dollars," Caden said, and Jonathan gasped. "What?! That's a whole lot of money. Anyway, you should assist us in getting evidence to put Damian behind bars. That way, the police would apprehend him and take him into custody."

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

"How about your two sisters? Can't you use one of them to get closer to Damian to see if she can gather any information on how to arrest their group?" Brown chimed in. "We need solid evidence—or would your mother know what her husband does?"

"None that I'm aware of. And I cannot allow them to have Samantha or Alicia. We will have to raise the money to pay them off," Caden said, shaking his head sadly.

"I agree with him, Brown. You don't expect me 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 toward 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, to which Alicia rose from the couch and sadly followed him.

"Don't worry, baby. I will help you raise the money if the need arises. Your father cannot get killed." Jonathan assured her, but Alicia shook her head and doubted him. "Where do you want to 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." Jonathan kissed Alicia's forehead as they arrived at the front of her mother's room door.

Alicia knocked and entered the sitting room with Jonathan.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Jennifer was on a phone call with Mr. Max's older brother, asking if he could help. But the man refused, saying that "Max has never helped me when he was rich, and you don't expect me to lend you a helping hand now."

The call ended, and Mrs. Jennifer sadly looked back at Alicia and the policeman in black who were holding hands together.

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

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

"I know we didn't mean for the introduction to be this way, but I have plans to come and marry Alicia. I love her very much, and especially now that my rank has been promoted to sergeant," Jonathan said.

"I see," Mrs. Jennifer replied, as she looked at the officer gazing at her daughter lovingly. It reminded her of when she had recently married and fallen in love with Mr. Max—before his greed led him to dirty deals.

"So, back to why I'm here, Madam. We got a phone call that your husband was kidnapped, and we made inquiries from your children, receiving reports that your husband borrowed money from Damian Tucker and hasn't paid it back yet," Jonathan said, watching Mrs. Jennifer intently.

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," Mrs. Jennifer disclosed, and Jonathan asked her, "Do you have any evidence of what your husband does for them?"

"No. My husband doesn't get me involved. He never does, and I don't know what he does."

"Hmm. But we need evidence if we're going to get your husband freed. Think of any evidence. How about your husband's briefcase or laptop or whatever he uses? We can find a lead from there."

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

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

"Damian gave his word that if we tried anything funny, he would deal with my husband, and I don't want to lose him. The police should look for their own way to catch criminals and not use my family. Please, excuse me as I would like to make a call to my older brother to see how we can raise the money."

"Mom..." Alicia tried to speak, but her mother used her eyes to signal her to shut up.

"It's fine, ma'am. I will see how I can be of help too. I will get going now to report to the police station about the case so that my senior can take it from there," Jonathan said as he bowed to leave.

"Alright," Mrs. Jennifer replied. Although she would have preferred if they didn't report the matter to the police station, it could get worse—especially when it involved her family and threats to their lives.

Alicia followed Jonathan out of the house, and he paused beside the black car he had come with his partner.

"I have to go now, babe. Take care, and I will 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 cannot guarantee our service to saving our people." Jonathan looked frustrated, and Alicia placed her hand on him and told him, "It's fine. Take care, my love."

"You too, babe. I wish this never happened. I already bought the engagement ring, and now this." Jonathan looked so sad, and Alicia told him, "It's fine. We will still get married."

"I know. Take care and don't go anywhere close to Damian."

"Understood." Alicia replied, and Jonathan kissed her goodbye, before he entered his car.

Alicia sighed and went back into the house.