The Mafia's Secret(Book 1)

Chapter 39 ✔️

SCARLETT

        Xavier was squirming as my father dug the blade deeper into his skin. He let out a small groan, cousin my father to smirk. My father was looking at me expectantly like he already knew what I was choosing. The truth was, I didn't know what I wanted. My life has been hell and my father was offering a way out free of charge but at the cost of someone who I've grown to love. So, by the time I finalized my decision, my father was digging the blade further into Xavier's neck. No words would leave my tongue as panic consumed me with the blood slowly trickling down Xavier's body.
        "Stop! I'll do it! Just let Xavier go!" I finally managed. "Please! I'm begging you! If you want us to be a happy family again, then let Xavier go! We can go off grid! Just please! Don't hurt him!" I begged as tears streamed down my cheeks.
        My father stopped slicing Xavier's neck, leaving an inch gash that thankfully didn't look too deep. He was smirking as he shoved Xavier to the ground, ignoring him as Xavier struggled against his binds. He was alive. That's all that mattered to me right now.
        My father Chuckled, patting Xavier on the shoulders. "You're lucky, Boy. I would have taken great pleasure in killing you. But I'm a man of my word. So, with that being said–" He walked behind Caleb, forcing him to his knees.
        Before I could even blink, my father dug the blade into Caleb's neck, creating a thin line of red. All I could do was stare in horror as Caleb started to choke on his own blood, spitting it up through his mouth. I was frozen. Unable to fully process what I just witnessed. It wasn't until Zayn started squirming and swearing, that I finally snapped out of whatever frozen state I was in. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I stared down at Caleb struggling to breathe. It was agonizing seconds of watching him squirm before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body went limp. There was so much blood pooling beneath him that his skin grew pale and colorless. He was dead. Murdered.
        "You son of a bitch!" Zayn screamed at our father as he continued to pull at his restraints.
        My father grinned, nodding towards Hector who was already coming at me with the syringe. But I hardly took notice of him as I stared at the lifeless Caleb and Xavier who was trying to sit up but unable to due to the knife that threatened his neck again.
        "Just in case you decide to try and fight." He stated with a smug smile.
        As much as I didn't want this, I had no choice. So saying nothing, I kept my head down. I was going to accept my fate. There was no winning. Not today. Before feeling the jab, I was ready to accept the loss. There was always a second chance. So the second that liquid was injected into me, I expected to start feeling something almost instantly. But there was nothing. Just a cold sensation that spread throughout my shoulder where the syringe had been plunged into.
        "Good. Now all there is left to do is wait. It'll be easy to tell once it starts working." Hector said as he walked towards my father and Xavier. "Don't you already know you're not meant to be a father, Xavier? I just did you a favor."
        "You're a dead man, Hector. I will kill you."
        Hector laughed. "Good luck with that. I'm not staying long enough for that to happen. Good luck to you. You'll need it." With that, Hector laughed, patting Xavier on the shoulder before he left the shop.

*   *   *   *

        I hadn't realized I had passed out until my father was yelling in the background at someone I couldn't hear. When I opened my eyes, Caleb was still laying lifelessly on the floor. Only Xavier wasn't. Panic set in as I worried my father had killed him and disposed of my body while I was passed out. Tears started to well in my eyes and a gut wrenching feeling swirled in my stomach. Bile was rising in my throat. Before I could even release the contents of my stomach, someone cleared their throat beside me. With a quick glance, Zayn was looking at me with a worried expression. But it was gone in seconds as he nodded his head towards me as if I was missing something. He was growing frustrated after a few seconds but then another clear of the throat on the other side of me, caught my attention. It was Xavier.
        He wasn't hung up like Zayn and I were. He was bound to a chair, a few meters from Zayn and I. But he was in worse shape than before. His face was swollen and his nose looked broken. A trail of dried blood trailed from his left nostril to the top of his lip. His clothes were burnt and torn. And the way he was wincing with each breath he took, told me he had a few broken or cracked ribs. It was clear he took a beating in my absence and it angered me that I wasn't awake to put a stop to it. Not that I could have anyways since I was still bound. I didn't even have any feeling in my fingers down to my shoulders. The only thing I felt was that faint buzzing after effect from the cattle prod. Part of me wondered if it was the drug working its way through my system, slowly harming my baby. Not that it mattered now. It was too late to stop anything now. Especially since I've been passed out.
        "It'll be alright, Scar. We'll get out of this. I promise you." Xavier said softly, wincing with each word he spoke.
        "How the hell can you say that?!" I barely managed without my voice cracking under all the emotion I was trying to contain.
        "Because it's true." The second I heard his voice, I wanted to tell him to go to Hell but I held my tongue until he came to stand in front of Zayn and I.
        "Go fuck yourself, Darren!" Zayn spat.
        "Easy now. I can't have you insulting the very person about to save your asses." He stated with a wink towards Xavier.
        "What game are you playing Darren?" I questioned with a glare.
        "You'll see. Now, shut up!" He swung the back of his hand into my face, causing me to wince back. Only there was no contact. Only air. And then Darren leaned in close. The urge to headbut him was high but I didn't move. "Your father is watching. He needs a good show, so I'm giving him one."
        As if on cue, Xavier somehow managed to break free from his binds, tackling Darren to the ground. Xavier was reaching for the gun in Darren's back pocket but before he could, Darren grabbed it. Closing my eyes tightly, I couldn't watch Xavier die in front of me like Caleb had. But even with closed eyes I could still see death, imagining every way things were about to go wrong.
        And then the sound I was dreading filled the room.

BANG!!!