𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐄𝐀 ✔︎ (ongoing)

|16| anger over pain

It's midday and the whole family --including Karim and Tariq-- are having a nap after eating a large fruit meal of watermelons, grapes, plums, peaches, bananas and apples.

Everyone is fast asleep in the living room whilst Sam, Sara, Marina and I are in our rooms upstairs, a peaceful silence lingering in the air.

But there's a sound coming from Marina and Sara's room.

"What's going on?" Sam whispers.

All we can hear is the sobbing and pleading of Marina and a very familiar voice telling her something.

"Let's go and check," I suggest.

We get up from our beds and leave the room, making sure we open it slowly to avoid the creak. Then we walk over to Sara and Marina's room.

"No! Dad, you can't do this." Marina's cries send the hairs on the back of my neck to stand.

It's Richard.

"I'm doing this for our own good. For your own good." His voice comes out of the speaker and fills the room.

"But Dad, please just listen to me! Don't do it! And I don't even know the address of this place."

"Ask Sara."

"She doesn't know either." More sobs fill the room as Sam and I exchange glances.

"Then I will find out for myself."

"You can't, there's no way-" Marina's voice cracks. "You can't even track my location. The British SIM doesn't work here, that's why I'm using the house phone to call you. Dad, I only called to check up on you and now you're telling me you want the address to find the spearmint herbs? The special spearmint herbs aren't even here... I don't know where you got the idea from-"

"Silence!"

Without thinking, I gasp. The sound of footsteps make their way towards the door and Sara opens it to let us in.

Quietly, Sam closes it behind him and then sits next to me on the rug.

"I heard Francisco's friend say something about finding it there," he says. His voice is low and ominous. "You can't fool me into thinking otherwise."

Marina's eyes fill with tears as she glances at Sam. For a second, I see some kind of hatred in her eyes but then it goes away. Maybe I was imagining.

"Dad, Sam was just messing about. They only came with us for a holiday. There's no way, Dad."

"That's it. If I can't get my own daughter on my side, I'll have to hire the spies from the Mafia of Liverpool. Remember my old friends, the ones I told you about? I'm still in contact with them."

"No, Dad!" Marina lets out a horrified gasp. "Don't do this! They're criminals! Remember when they ended up taking everything from your bank? Remember when they drugged you and made you kill Francisco's par-"

"Enough!" Richard pants and then hangs up.

My blood pounds in my head as I let this new information sink in.

The deathly silence fills the room as I allow myself to breathe out after holding it for so long.

My hands tremble with rage and disbelief as I look at Marina.

"Your...your dad was involved with the mafia?" I choke out the words, my voice barely a whisper in the suffocating silence of the room.

Marina's eyes flicker with guilt and shame. "He didn't have a choice, Francisco. They...they threatened him. They said they would hurt me if he didn't help them. I was only ten years old then. I would've been killed if my dad hadn't murdered your parents"