Chapter 3

I asked Bernie once more, "My coat had a stone in it. Did you happen to catch a glimpse of it?"

"Stone?" said Bernie.

A man entered and showed him a photograph. Bernie nodded after seeing that picture, which I believe is of the stone. Yes, I leaned in and saw the picture. It's a drawing of the stone. In the photograph, it appeared to be a vivid cherry red stone shining.

"Where is it?" they inquired of Bernie.

"It's a forgery of Ruby. Are you here for the phoney one?"

They gripped the back of his neck and said, "We're not talking about a forgery here. It is one million reais in value. What happened to it?"

"One million what?" I was taken aback.

"You slipped a million-dollar stone into my coat?" I asked Ace.

Ace ignored me and proceeded to question Bernie "What happened to the stone? What is its current location?"

Ace hit him again after he said something.

"What's the point of beating him? If he had known, he would have said it already. I had no idea until you mentioned it to me. What if it got lost somewhere? Wait! Why did you put anything like that in my coat to begin with? It is your fault..."

"I gave it to the club's host." While I was speaking with Ace, Bernie said.

Ace responded by asking, "Who's there? What happened to that person?"

"I'm not sure. She looked good, so I gave it to her as a gift."

Urgh! This guy!

"What's the name of the club? What happened to it?"

"The Rêve Club."

Another man stated, "Consolacao, Sir, it's in 329. It's only two blocks away."

Woah! That was quick!

"All right, let's go!"

Finally, they're leaving. I let out a sigh of relief.

"How should we manage them?" one of the guys in the suit said.

"Take them."

What!?

"Both? Because we just require this one. He is the only one who knows the identity of the host. The lady..."

"Did you ask for an opinion?"

"No, sir."

"Then take them." And he walked out of the apartment.

"Yes, Sir."

"What!? What are you taking us to? You already have the information you want... Why do you still require our assistance? Let us go..."

Ace exited the apartment, and the boys bound Bernie's hands behind his back and dragged him away.

Some approached me and took my hands off the chair and tied my hands together behind my back.

"Let us go! Where are you taking us? this is an offence! You can't take us like this! This is kidnapping…"

The person stuck a tape in my lips that said, "Let's not bother the neighbours." I fought him and made it difficult for him to move me, so he dragged me out of the room.

He handed the key to a person, told him to lock the door, and took me out.

In the hallway outside the apartment,

Bernie was strolling silently with those guys in front of me, while I was being dragged along. Why isn't he fighting back against them? I tried to break free, but I couldn't since the person holding me was strong and well-built.

We exited the building. I assumed I could seek assistance once I got out of the building, but there was no one outside. I could only locate an empty street. What happened to everyone?

The person who was holding me took me to the interior of the street where there were no street lights and it was dark because it was almost midnight.

As we moved deeper inside, I noticed a black SUV with a man leaning on it. He jumped into the driver's seat as soon as he saw us.

The guys walking in front of me got into the black car with Bernie. As I got near the automobile, the guy next to me poked me to get inside.

"I'm not getting into the car! What are you taking us to?"

"Get in the car," the person who had me in his clutches said.

"I won't!"

"Your friend outperformed you. Why are you so difficult to manage?"

The guy in front got down on one knee and asked, "Why are you taking so long?"

"She's not coming in."

"Why aren't you getting in?" he inquired.

"Can you tell us where you're going?"

"I'm going to the club."

"Why are we required to come? He's previously mentioned the location. Can't you get there on your own?"

"He's the one who knows who the host is."

I locked my gaze on Bernie, who was sitting in the car.

"Come on in."

"No! We will not accompany you!"

"Take her inside and tape her up." And he got inside the car where Bernie was sitting.

I climbed into the back of the automobile. Bernie arrived with a man on his left side. I sat next to Bernie, and the man who had been holding me got in the car and sat on my right side. Even with four people in the same seat, it was still more spacious. This is not the time to think about it.

"Finally, they found a method to shut you down," Bernie said quietly.

I murmured at him from behind the tape on my mouth. Bernie laughed at me when he saw that I was taped around the mouth.

I motioned to the person on my right side to remove the tape from my mouth.

"I really shouldn't." "Will you be silent?" he inquired after some time of staring at him.

I nodded quickly, and he removed the tape from my mouth. I took a deep breath and turned to Bernie and whispered, "Why aren't you fighting back?"

"What's the point?"

"They're snatching us, you moron!"

He laughed when I said it.

"I'm surprised you can laugh in this situation."

"Because I'm inebriated." And gave me a wink.

I exhaled a sigh.

The people in front of us were having a conversation about something.

"I'm very excited," the guy next to me said quietly as they were talking.

What the f*ck is this? I turned to face him and looked him in the eyes.

"This is our very first mission."

"What's your first mission?" I asked.

He answered with a nod, "My name is Edgar. I work as an associate. Diego is the guy standing next to your friend. We started as associates last week. They haven't summoned us back for a mission since..."

"Associate?" I stopped him off.

"Yes. You're not aware of this? It is the first step toward becoming a great Mafia."

"W-What exactly did you just say? M-Mafia?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

"So... are you guys all Mafia?"

"Yes, but I'm still an associate, so I'm not technically a mafia yet," he nodded again.

Mafia? Mafia!!!

I started yelling, "Let go! Let go of us!..."

"If you don't keep quiet, I'll get in trouble." Edgar begged beside me.

Bernie stated, "Hey! Why are you yelling? They have firearms. Did you already forget?"

"Yes! They have firearms! What if they murder us after they find what they're looking for? They are not burglars or kidnappers, they are Mafias!"

"Mafia?" After hearing it from me, he sat still.

I scrambled to my feet and yelled again, "Let us go! Help us! Someone help us! We're getting kidnapped! Someone please!.."

While I was shouting, The man in the front seat turned around and said, "Put a stop to it! Why haven't you taped her yet?"

"You got exactly what you wanted! What do you expect from us? Leave us alone!" I turned to Bernie and exclaimed, "Why are you being quiet? Don't you want to be free of this?"

He appeared stunned, as if he had not yet recovered from the truth I had already stated.

While I was struggling, the person in front of us stood up and slapped me.

"I'm not going to quit shouting."

The door next to us had been opened. Ace was standing in front of me. He directed the associate next me, Edgar, to get down, and he sat in the associate's place, telling the associate to sit with the driver.

"Do you believe you can silence me?" I asked Ace.

"He messed up by removing your tape." He stated.

Ace snatched the tape and attempted to stick it in my mouth. "Don't think you can get away from this," I warned as he pulled the tape. He taped my mouth before I could complete what I was about to say.

"Heloisa Alves Dos Santos," he said quietly against my ear.

I was taken aback when he said my name. He murmured once more, "That's your given name. Isn't that right? Don't do something stupid. We only require the stone. After that, I don't need you and your friend. That doesn't imply I'm going to murder you. After I obtain what I want, I'll release you for free. You two are trapped with us till then."