Chapter 7 We Meet Again

I heard a low voice call out to me before a hand reached out and shook my right shoulder. I woke up with a small jump. When did I fall asleep? I must have dozed off during the multi-hour ride to the city. I guess I was tired, I didn't realize when I had fallen asleep at all.

Where am I?

The car had come to a complete stop and looking out of the window I could see that we have arrived at a gigantic mansion decorated in the baroque European style. This building is massive! Are we at a luxury hotel?

I could see the beautifully decorated garden outside with its cupid water fountain and flowers of various types and colors. If the circumstances of my arrival here had been any different, then I'm sure that I would have enjoyed the view and would have felt super excited to be in such a nice place. However, the only thing I felt right now was anxiety, fear, and stress.

The men wordlessly unbounded my hands and feet before carefully peeling off the tape from my mouth. I cleared my throat nervously before trying to make a sound. I didn't know how I would sound after being unable to speak for such a long time.

"Umm...where are we?" I asked the moment I got my voice to function.

"This is the boss's mansion. I warn you; the boss is...a very serious man. Watch what you do and say if you want to live to see the light of dawn," the man said as he offered me a hand and pulled me out of the limousine.

The boss is a very serious man...

Suddenly, the reality that my life could be at risk was starting to sink in. I bet the man wasn't joking. If I said or did the wrong thing, I could get myself killed. If this was a nightmare, now's the time to wake up, Malissa!

I wondered for a brief moment what type of man the boss of a mafia gang was like. Then, I realized that it was better if I didn't have to find out...

I was lost in thought and fear as the man dragged me by the arm after him. The other men flanked both my sides, preventing my escape. To be honest, the thought of escape never crossed my mind. There was no way I could outrun these men no matter how hard I tried. If I wanted to escape, I had to come up with a cleverer plan than just plain running away...

I was right, the mansion was huge. I've been walking through the mansion's numerous hallways for a while now and the boss's room, wherever that was, wasn't in sight. I was shocked at how luxurious the mansion was. The decoration of rich velvety red color mixed with gold was everywhere. Marble sculptures, large paintings that looked extremely expensive, baroque style furniture and finely patterned marble floor were sights that I was not used to seeing.

I knew from the movies that mafias were supposed to be filthy rich; however, I never thought I would get to see what filthy rich really meant. Despite the luxurious decoration, the mansion was freezing cold inside, and I shivered all the way during the long walk.

"Wait here," the man said as he came to an abrupt stop. I almost walked right into his broad back when he suddenly stopped walking. Have we finally arrived?

I nodded my head slowly in acknowledgement. The man disappeared behind a pair of very tall and large dark wooden door, leaving me behind along with the other two men who stood close by my side. I swallowed nervously as I waited for what was to come.

After a short while, the man reappeared from behind the wooden doors and beckoned me inside. Unlike the darker hallways, the golden light inside the room I had just entered was blinding. The crystal chandelier hanging from the room's ceiling was too big to be real and blindingly bright. The room was large, so large that I couldn't see that there was a person inside the room at first.

"The boss is this way," the man murmured under his breath at me. Was he nervous?

Following the man's gaze, I could finally see a man standing at the end of the room behind a large wooden table. He wasn't looking our way as he stared outside through the glass that spanned the entire height of the wall from floor to ceiling. His aura was intimidating, and he must be the mafia boss.

The man behind me nudged me forward towards his boss. I felt my body froze in panic, and I didn't know what to do or how to react. He didn't think I should just waltz in to see the boss now, right?

"Come in,"

A booming voice commanded from the other end of the room. The voice held so much authority that I found myself obeying without a second thought. I had no doubt in that moment that I would be killed if I didn't do exactly as that voice commanded.

I walked forward on shaky legs until I reached a large set of burgundy sofas, organized around a marble coffee table.

"Have a seat, Malissa," the older man said as he turned towards me for the first time. His large hand gestured towards the sofa where he wanted me to sit.

I quickly approached that sofa and sat down without uttering a sound. I watched as the older man, dressed in a grey suit approach me, and sat down on the sofa opposite where I was seated.

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet you again," the old man said smiling brightly at me.

I had a strange feeling like I had seen him before but for the life of me I couldn't figure out where and when. I mean, you don't just bump into the mafia boss randomly on the street, especially if you lived in a poor old town like I did...

Wait...a second...

"You are..." I gasped in shock as I realized that I have indeed met this man before.

It's him. There's no doubt about it now. He's the uncle I met while I was running to the supermarket on my shopping errand. He told me that he was looking for his friend and...

He's the mafia boss?!

--To be continued...