Chapter Fifteen
ANTONIO'S POV
I stood trembling, "Lots of money," echoed in my head.
Walking towards Perlah's room, I twisted the lock and let myself in.
"Hey Perlah, I'm sorry, but I will do anything to own you, I will fight for us. You are safe with me, I promise." I stated, watching her hug herself in a corner of the room.
"I need to go see Rodrigo, so he won't suspect us," I added. Still studying her quietness.
"Rodrigo, my husband? I need to talk to him. He needs to know I'm here, so he can get me out of here, he will skin you alive," Perlah yelled out, anger and hatred dauntlessly plastered on her face.
"You have to accept this, Perlah, accept us. You would have been mine in the first place if he hadn't snatched you first, and now it's my turn. I will leave the door open, make something for yourself to eat, and feel at home. Don't waste your time, there's no way out of this house unless I let you out," I announced, watching life drain from her face.
Picking up my phone, I redialed the unknown number that had called to threaten me.
"How much do you want?" I asked the other person at the other end of the call.
"Empty your bank accounts, all of them. I want hundreds of millions" he replied selfishly.
"I don't have hundreds of millions, name a fucking price you bastard," I harshly responded to his tone.
"Alright then, 100 million dollars to my bank account before dusk," he announced.
"I don't have that kind of money, even the lady I kidnapped isn't worth half that damn amount," I replied and scoffed.
"But getting caught by your boss is worth twice that amount. Look. I am not negotiating the price with you, I need that money before dusk. If you don't comply, your boss will know who you truly are before dusk," he responded and hung up.
I slammed my fist on the wall in anger,
"Fuck! I need to find a way to get that money before dusk. Son of a bitch," I murmured.
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RODRIGO'S POV
"Antonio should be here by now," I thought to myself, looking outside the window.
A few minutes later, I heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," I responded.
The doorknob twisted to reveal who was at the door.
"Antonio, what took you so long?" I asked, puzzled.
"I'm sorry sir," he replied, emotionless.
"What happened, you don't look good," I asked, concerned.
"Don't worry about it sir, let's just focus on getting your family back," Antonio responded, looking away.
"No, I insist. Tell me what is going on. You have been helping me all my life, I also want to help you," I announced, insisting.
"Family issues. All my family are on my shoulders, and it's getting so very hard to focus on my job. I'm getting frustrated and I feel like dying. I need a lot of money to settle all these issues and I don't know how to get them. Even my salary is like 2% of the amount needed." he replied, his eyes teary.
"Oh, I'm sorry Antonio. How much are we talking about?" I asked, intruded.
"100million dollars sir," Antonio replied, his head down.
"Wow, that's really huge. Okay, I will give that money to you, settle your issues, and let's go back to finding my family," I stated, smiling.
"You don't have to sir, I will just find a way to clean my messes," Antonio replied, protesting.
"No, it's fine. You are my most loyal security. I owe you; you have helped me a lot. Now that your issue is settled, let's get back to finding my wife," I replied, breaking his defense.
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ANTONIO'S POV
Getting the full amount I needed, I waited for my boss to be out of sight. So I turned around, went to a corner, and made the call.
"I send the full amount to the details you sent. I have settled you, so get rid of those pictures you took," I announced and hung up, walking faster to catch up with my boss.
"Sir, any news about your wife yet?" I asked, scared.
"No, not at all," Rodrigo responded coldly.
"Do you suspect anyone?" I asked again, studying his expression.
"No, not yet. I forgot to tell you this, someone reached out to me saying he has a piece of information to share and might know who kidnapped my wife. He also claims to have proof," Rodrigo stated with a serious face.
"NO! You can't believe that this might be a trap. Your brothers might be trying to kill you," I responded, hot sweat dripping down my head.
"Which is why I won't be the one to go," he replied, assured.
"Okay, it's good that I will be the one to go," I answered, relieved.
"No you won't, I have appointed secret agents to do the job. If this unknown guy knows the kidnapper and I catch who's responsible, I will snap his head off his neck," Antonio threatened.
I stood there stunned and lost, my brain bouncing inside my head.
"You are sweating," Rodrigo's voice suddenly rang out again.
"It's hot," I responded, trembling.
"Sir, please excuse me for a moment, I need to pee," I murmured, dashing away.
Getting to the restroom, I locked the door behind me to avoid someone breaking in, then fearfully picked up my phone to make a call.
"Why did you send a message to my boss? I already sent your money; you should get rid of those pictures. This is ridiculous," I whispered into the phone, to avoid anyone's ears dropping.
"I changed my mind. I realized I needed more than that, send me double what you sent today, or all hell will break loose. And hey; don't joke with me- I make the damn rules," he replied and scoffed, hanging up.
"I don't have any more money, oh God! What do I do? This isn't happening," I murmured, collapsing to the ground.
" I have to kill him."