Devin
The water was filthy; my mouth tasted of sweat and dirt.
Locked up in chains, sleeping on the cold floor in a room with no windows.
Days had passed studying the routine of the masked man who held me captive.
I regret warning my security not to tail me from the office to the casino.
"Get your fucking hands off me." I gasped, my throat raw, water streamed down my face.
He cackled. With amusement, enjoying every bit of this.
"Beg me." He grabbed my neck, pushing it back into the tub of water. Water entered my nose, causing me to struggle for air.
I tried holding my breath, but I panicked. Water shot up my nose, down my throat and burned my lungs.
In defense, I tried to cough and tried to breathe.
My arms and legs trembled; my heart pounded beneath my rib cage.
He pulled me up. Water rushed out of my mouth.
" Bastard."
He crouched down at eye level, his fingers twisted in my hair. He didn't flinch; I noticed a scar above his eyelid. Nothing could break him.
"Say that again." He whispered, almost baiting.
The door slammed open behind me; " Let him go." A man's voice, authoritative. "We received payment in cash."
I felt the grip on my hair loose and replaced with something dark drop over my head; the fabric rough and smelt of dead rats.
An excruciating pain at the back of my skull sent a flash of white light.
Afterwards darkness.
*************
I can't breathe.
I fell into the water; my lungs couldn't expand; my chest felt too tight, and my throat closed up. I was going to die.
My legs were pulled deep into the water; I tried to shout, but I failed; I kicked my legs against the force, harder and harder-
" Mr. Moore- Mr. Moore, wake up- wake up."
I jerked up; the light stung through my eyes. I heaved deep, harsh and gasping breaths. My whole body shook. My skin went from hot to cold in seconds.
" Easy." His voice was calm, with firm hands on my shoulder. " You're safe now."
My head still throbbed.
My vision cleared. I looked up to find a man beside me in his 50s, wearing framed glasses.
" Dr. Justin," he said, flashing the penlight in my eyes. " It's good you're awake."
Dr. Justin was my mother's doctor; I've heard her say his name occasionally.
" Where am i?"
"You are home, Mr. Moore." He clicked off the penlight. I could see the room clearly. My navy blue walls, plush curtains and subtle lightings. A tablet of aspirin with a glass of water rests on my wooden bedside.
" Who's behind this?"
" I'm afraid that should be the least of your worries. You need rest." He was packing his medical bag.
" I need to know."
" Your mother requested you two met at her restaurant." Hanging his bag over his shoulder.
" Which of the restaurants?"
" The driver will take you." Dr. Justin headed to the door and paused. " Take it easy on yourself."
Two hours later....
She was halfway through a meal when I arrived.
Not surprised. She doesn't wait for anyone, not even her recently tortured son. She sat at her usual table- corner booth, against the wall, perfect view of the entire restaurant.
The Sunrise restaurant was my childhood spot, but she bought it and changed everything.
I slid into the seat across from her, not a look .
She ate with perfect table manners, cutlery in hand.
" Do you plan to sit and watch me?" Her eyes were fixed on the salad.
" Mind explaining the last forty-eight hours?" My jaw clenched.
She took another bite, chewed and swallowed.
" You look alright." Her eyes met with mine."They didn't break any bones, did they?"
They- she was involved.
" It's you." My voice was low. "You had me locked up in a goddamn basement."
" Don't cause a scene in my restaurant." She sets her fork down with care. "I'll lose clients."
" Then speak."
The crowd murmured on. A couple celebrated their engagement- a woman that just got proposed to, hands clapped around cheering them on.
" I did not." She said," But at least you were reminded of your value." She tapped her lips with a napkin.
With a soft gesture- a lift of a finger, and he appeared to clear the plates.
My feet tapped against the floor, " I have no words."
" Even better."
She reached into her Louis Vuitton bag- pulled out a manila folder and placed it between us.
"Open it."
Her gaze fixed on me. Not a blink — the look she gave before someone's life fell apart.
The first photo of me at the casino, chips stacked in front of me. Drunk and stupid gambling.
Then, there are photos of me with two women draped over me. I didn't remember them.
I flipped faster, the security footage of me being searched and dragged out of the casino. The beating. Being thrown into the trunk of a car.
"That's not all."
She slid the phone across the table. And pressed play.
The video was clear. Me in the tub, drowning. The man's fingers were in my hair. My body jerked, the sound of a weak man.
It can't be. I stopped the video before I lost my temper.
" Do you want to know how I got those photos?" Her voice sharp. "And what scandal this can cause to our name?Our family business? What will your investors think? Your consumers?" Her freshly painted nails tapped on the video, replaying it.
" Who did this?" My hands curled into a fist.
" Marcel Fabian walked into my office during my tea break two days ago." She said, picking up her phone. "He tossed them on my desk; Coincidentally, he's been in town for three months. Recognized you at the casino and decided you were worth stalking. He waited for you do something stupid - which in fact didn't take long. Once he got all he needed, he came over to cut the deal."
The memory came rushing in. The moment I stepped my foot in the casino. Those girls who flirted with me. One of them must have slipped it into my jacket- the diamond watch they'd found during the search. The gunshots sent everyone scattering. The random search that led to my beating.
"Someone framed me."
" Obviously, you made it easy for him. Drunk, reckless, surrounded by strangers in a place you had no business in."
" What does he want?"
" You marry his daughter." She laughed hysterically. " With fifty million for your release. And a deposit of three-billion-dollar investment into his business, and he keeps all the media to himself. Or he'll leak it, and you'll remain hostage."
I knew this was bad. But didn't know how bad.
" Don't tell me- "
"She's on my jet as we speak." She checked her watch. "Should touch down in an hour."
" What?" Fury churned in my guts.
" I am restoring your image and aligning our family's name with a man desperate to cooperate; I have bought his silence."
"They should lock him up in jail."
"For what? Exposing the truth about my unruly son." She leaned forward. "You have shown yourself to be weak, Devin. This is me cleaning up your mess."
" And if I refuse?"
"Then someone leaks it to the media," she leaned back. "And your brother takes your place as CEO."
" Is this your punishment? For making a mistake?" My rage boiled.
Silence hung between us, thick and suffocating.
" Do not say another word." She gave me a death stare. "You are meeting with your fiancée tomorrow for dinner at six. From now on, you will live on my estate with her until after the wedding.
"I don't need babysitting."
"You must convince the world of your love match."
"You want us to play house?"
" I want you to grow up." Her lips came to a thin line. " And Devin? If you investigate this- if you go after Fabian, and try to put an end to this arrangement- you'll crumble by my bare hands."
" You can't be serious." My stomach hardened.
" I'd urge you to trust family," she stood, taking her bag. "But even I, don't trust family".
She walked away without looking back, leaving me with the folder full of evidence.
My life wasn't mine anymore.