The Road to Defeat

TWELVE

Confessions

It was a long night for Chloe, as she couldn't stop contemplating her actions. She had made the decision to go to the mansion in which Emily lived to confront her about all of the suspicions she had. She didn't actually have a car of her own so she got a taxi to drive her to the street that the house was on. She got dropped off at the corner and walked up the street. She was thankful for her memory at this moment. She doesn't usually remember a lot of things but the journey to the mansion seemed to be burnt in her mind. After a few moments she approached the gate she let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding before approaching the intercom. "Hello. Who is this?" A voice asked from the speaker. Chloe could recognize the voice as one of the boys that she met last time she was here, however she couldn't put a name to it. "Umm hi, it's Emily's friend, Chloe." Her voice came out a lot weaker than she intended it too, and she silently cursed herself for it. If she was going to approach these people with such accusations she needed to find more confidence, and fast. Without a response from the intercom, the large gate opened abruptly causing Chloe to step back in shock.

The driveway was a lot longer when taken by foot. Only the sound of Chloe's steps could be heard, it was quite some would say even peaceful. However, the peace was easily overlooked by Chloe as her anxiety continued to rise. She hoped that her assumptions weren't true but she couldn't help thinking about what would happen if they were. If what she was thinking was all true then she would be approaching the largest group of criminals in Italy, unarmed and alone they would evidently kill her. However, stupid as this plan was Chloe had a sliver of hope that she was wrong. There was a small chance that she was just overthinking the entire situation and she would approach their house sounding like a complete idiot. That was a chance Chloe was willing to take.

Finally arriving at the front door, Chloe looked between the two guards who simply nodded in her direction. She couldn't help but notice the outline of bullet proof vests on the guards and undoubtedly they had weapons on them. This was the end, Chloe thought to herself, everything she had worked towards was now going to end.

Chloe approached the front entrance with as much confidence as she could muster in that moment. However, before her fist could collide with the door, it was quickly swung open. Looking up in shock, Chloe was met with an icy stare and she couldn't help but gasp out of shock. The man she has known as Namjoon stood tall in front of her, he was so beautiful yet looked so dangerous. It felt as if he was able to look directly through Chloe's facade, almost as if he could see all of her thoughts and worries.

Chloe quickly snapped out of her trance, looking down to avoid Namjoon's glance. She couldn't help but notice his bandaged hand, which she had not noticed before. As if watching her every move, Namjoon quickly moved his hand behind him and stepped to the side as he heard Emily approaching the two. Chloe had never seen Namjoon look so menacing and it scared her to the point of not being able to form words. "Hey Chloe, what are you doing here?" A joyful Emily asked, looking between the two. Chloe looked up at Emily, feeling ill with anxiety. She couldn't form a sentence and honestly felt like she was going to faint. "Come in, we were just playing games in the living room!" Emily invited the girl in without question. Chloe didn't know whether her anxiety was not noticeable or if Emily didn't care to question her presence. Emily led Chloe into the living room to hangout, but she couldn't help but stay zoned out the entire time.

~~~ <> ~~~

A few days had passed since the day Chloe had arrived at the mansion. Her memories from that day were stuck in her mind. Not long after Emily invited her in, merely an hour, Chloe had decided to leave claiming that she was feeling unwell. This of course wasn't all a lie, everything she had felt earlier that day had made her feel nauseous.

Now Chloe was standing behind the counter of the small book store, recording recent financial information. Usually her head was swarming with thoughts but lately her head felt hazy, almost like it was filled with fog. Her days felt slow but also seemed to pass quickly. Almost like her days were starting to blend together. The bell on the front door chimed as a customer walked in.

"Good afternoon" Chloe greeted softly, not bothering to look up from her work quite yet. Silence filled the room as there was no response. Heavy feet were heard walking across the hard wooden floors, but then stopped in front of the counter. Chloe's breath had caught in her throat as she looked towards the all too familiar Namjoon.

Namjoon wasn't one to beat around the bush, he was determined and always fast paced.

"You know something Chloe, and I would like you to tell me." Namjoon smirked at the women in front of her as he saw her anxious eyes grow wide. However intimidating Namjoon was, Chloe wasn't one to submit without putting up a fight.

"I don't know what you're talking about," She responded quickly, avoiding his hard glance. Namjoon's sadistic laugh filled Chloe's ears. Chloe couldn't stop herself from jumping once Namjoon's fist collided with the counter between the two.

"Look at me." Namjoon's voice was so irritably calm, and Chloe was too scared to disobey. His eyes were cold and dark, just as Chloe remembered them from the other day. "Tell me what you know," he commanded, leaning his weight into his hands that were resting on the counter causing the gap between them to shrink. Chloe glared into his eyes for only minutes, but those minutes felt like hours.

"You're in the mafia aren't you? And you're going to kill me now that I know."