The Black Dahlia (Cartel Series #1) ✔️

32. Too late to regret

Gabriella

I thought on learning about my betrayal, Alejandro would shout on me or slap me, but I was not prepared for his silent treatment. He walked past me without a single word.

Mirana saw this and said “Gabriella, Karma is a bitch and you will soon pay for your deed” I finally realised my feelings for Alejandro were genuine.

I had tried to ignore those feelings, now that he has completely left my life I am starting to realise what he meant to me. As they say “you only realise it value once it’s gone”

I had badly hurt the two most important people in my life and I just couldn’t bear the pain of losing them forever, I was an emotional mess as I lay against the couch in foetal position bawling my throat out.

I heard the door open and I looked up to see Carlos walk in. He grabbed me by the arm and forcefully made me stand up “where are you taking me?” I asked.

He shushed me and said “ no questions just come with me” I tried to free myself from his grip and he pulled and clawed with even more force and ferocity.

“Is this how you treat women?” I screamed at him. He smiled and sarcastically said “no miss, this is how we treat our enemies”.

He took me to an interior part of the house which I had never been to, he pressed a few buttons and entered some codes and a secret elevator to the basement propped up. The basement had different chambers made of stainless steel with levers and pass code 'devices sealing it from the outside.

He pressed a few combinations and pulled the lever, one of the many chambers opened up. The chamber was dark and dingy. The only light source of light was a solitary light bulb hanging from the ceiling, which right below a wooden chair, the only piece of furniture in the room.

Carlos shoved me inside, I fell down hard and scraped my knees, my right ankle twisted and my heel also broke.
“Wait here, Alejandro will deal with you when he gets here” Carlos barked and walked away, shutting the door behind him, cutting me off from the world above me.

Minutes felt like hours as I waited for Alejandro, contemplating how I will convince him of my innocence in the entire affair. After a long wait the door of the chamber opened with a rumbling sound and a dark figure walked inside. Initially I couldn’t make out who it was, but as he got closer I realised it was Alejandro.

His face was expressionless and his eyes had the fury that made my spine tingle in fear. The temperature in the room dropped a few notches and it became eerie. He came close to me and motioned me to sit on the chair, I struggled to get up with my sprain, and he forcefully lifted me and placed me on the chair.

“I will ask you questions and you will answer in only yes and no. Understood?, I do not have time for your bullshit reasons and tall tales.” He roared at me. I nodded my head in acceptance towards his conditions.

“First question: is your name Gabriella-Maria-Sanchez” he asked.
“Please let me explain this situation, I promise I am not the bad guy here” I begged him

He cut me short in the middle and said “yes or no, I only expect the answers to my questions in yes or no”
“Yes” I said guiltily.

“Second question: did you plan this attack” he asked
“Yes. But I had called of the attack last minute, you can tell Carlos to check my phone, I messaged them to abort the mission. Please believe me!” I pleaded with him.

“Ohh shut up! You expect me to believe this bullshit excuse of yours how fucking convenient. Listen Gabriella-Maria-Sanchez, if you had attacked my business, hell! If you would have even attacked me I would have thought of forgiving you or letting you go. But you chose to attack the thing dearest to me in the entire world, my family! I will give you hell, you just wait and watch. I warned you before do not ever double-cross, don’t even think about it. You know how Sinaloa cartel deals with its enemies and yet you chose to take that route. Play stupid games, be prepared to win stupid prizes” Saying so he walked outside the room and locked it from the outside, leaving me alone to lament my folly.

After sometime Carlos entered the room and he had a bag with him. He did not lock the door this time around; few men followed him, two of them carried a barrel full of some kind of liquid and another carried a plate with many candles and a lighter.

I was confused by this strange combination but decided not to jump to any conclusions.

Carlos asked his entourage to wait behind him as he moved closer to me.
“I want answers, honest answers and I want them fast” he barked at me.
“Tell me about the location of your men” he asked
“I don’t know” I replied.
“Ohh come on, tell me the truth” he said
“I seriously don’t know, I gave them orders to abort mission” I pladed with him

“I know all about it, I checked you phone. Nice try to fool us, give instructions digitally to abort mission so that you can use that as a fall back to evade the consequences” he said with a smirk.
“ I guess you are not going to co-operate with us the straight way, time to use my way then” he said and signalled the men with the barrel.

They opened the barrel and splashed a mugful on my face; it was ice cold water that shook me to the core. This was just the beginning of the ordeal I was to go through in the duration of the day.
He kept on repeating the same question and I didn’t change my statement, because that was the truth.

I repeatedly tried to explain it to him that I wasn’t lying, but he was adamant.
He kept on splashing me with water repeatedly and then he mixed it up.

He heated the wax and started putting hot wax on my arms, my back and my thighs, any part with soft and sensitive areas. I bit my tongues and lips trying to hold in the pain but couldn’t take it anymore, I let out a soul- shrieking scream. He kept on repeating the question like clockwork and it was dizzying. I felt like I was lost in a time-warp and endless loop of the same insane sequence. I really had to dig deep to maintain a calm demeanour and not breakdown.

Carlos looked exhausted and turned to his final option before giving up, his toolkit; he got a precision instrument which looked like it belonged more with a surgeon than a gangster. He pointed it at my neck and said “last chance tell me the truth and I wont hurt you”

I stuck to my  statement after all it was the truth, I tried to reason with him and explain that I wasn’t lying but it was too late for that and he made  a slight incision on my neck region.

It didn’t hurt initially but then soon blood started splattering in little spurts and was forming a small pool next to my chair. The neck is rich in many veins that carry oxygen rich blood to the brain. Surgeon like precision can go a long way in killing someone delicately.

My vision went blurry and I started feeling a little disoriented but I tried my best to stay awake. Soon I hear the door open and heard the click-clack sound of heels on the granite floor and looked up to find a middle-aged lady dressed in all black, it was Rosa Martinez.