Captive

chapter 46

Tragic past

The words hung in the air between them like a heavy fog, and Jeff’s heart raced as he took a step back. His chest tightened, the frustration and hurt clawing at him, mixing with the remnants of love he still felt for Bible.

"Prove it to me," Jeff said, his voice rough with emotion, barely a whisper but heavy with demand. "What happened to you and my family? What’s the real reason behind all of this? You said we knew each other when we were kids, but now... now everything’s falling apart. You’re telling me you didn’t do this, but why? What’s the real reason, Bible?"

Bible’s gaze flickered, his jaw tightening as the weight of the past seemed to crash down upon him. For a long moment, he was silent, as if weighing whether he could finally tell Jeff everything he had kept hidden.

Jeff took another step forward, his eyes searching Bible’s face, desperate for answers. "Tell me, Bible. Why is everything so messed up? Why does it feel like you’ve been lying to me this whole time? If we really knew each other, if we were friends before all of this, then... why? Why would you do this to me? To us?"

Bible’s eyes softened, but there was a flicker of pain in them as he let out a shaky breath. He looked away for a moment, his fingers curling into fists at his sides. "You don’t understand, Jeff. You don’t know everything," he said quietly, his voice cracking.

Jeff’s frustration grew, and the doubt in his heart flared. "Then tell me! Tell me what I’m missing! Because right now, I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t know the truth. Why are you here now? Why show up after everything you’ve done, after everything you’ve let happen?"

They sat in Bible's apartment, the silence between them heavy, broken only by the occasional creak of the floorboards beneath them. Bible’s gaze was distant, his fingers nervously tapping the edge of the table as he began to speak, his voice low, weighed down with years of painful memories.

"My dad was a partner to your dad," Bible started, his words careful, almost as if he were testing the waters. "They were successful businessmen, both of them. Great friends, at least that’s what it looked like on the outside. Everything was calm, peaceful, full of respect between them. But it wasn’t like that beneath the surface. You were young at the time. Only eight years old, I think? I was fifteen when I met you. You don’t remember it, but we slowly became friends after that. I got to know you, Jeff. And you got to know me."

Bible paused for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts before he continued, his gaze never leaving Jeff.

"My father... he wanted to take control of the north territory, the business side. Your family controlled the south, right? And that’s where things started to get ugly. The north... the north wasn’t just business. It was illegal. Drug money, red streets, human trafficking—things I didn’t understand at the time. My father wasn’t like that. But there was always a tension. A game of power between the two families."

Jeff’s heart pounded as Bible’s words sunk in. He had never heard this side of the story before. His father... had he really been involved in something like that? Bible’s eyes darkened, and his voice grew quieter, heavier.

"Your father... he cheated my dad, Jeff. He did it through gambling—illegal deals, crooked games, things I didn’t know until much later. And when it all came to light, your father accused my dad of fraud, saying he was the one who had been messing with the partnership. But it wasn’t him. It was your father. My dad didn’t do anything wrong, Jeff. And that’s when everything started to fall apart. It was the beginning of the end for us."

Bible's fists clenched at his sides as he took a deep breath, the memory too painful.

"And you know what? It hurt, but what hurt more was that, in the middle of all this... I confessed my feelings to you." Bible’s voice trembled slightly as he looked up at Jeff, the vulnerability clear in his eyes. "I thought we could fight through all of this, that we could be something more, despite the mess our families were in. But your brother... Mile, he found out. He told your father, and that’s when everything changed. Your father, your men... they beat me. They threatened me, told me to stay away from you, to never come near you again. They said it was for my own good, but I knew it was to protect the family's reputation."