Chapter 1 A WARNING

The Big Bucks Casino!!!

I am utterly rustled by an overwhelming sense of dread as we go in, but my desire to learn the menacing secrets encoded here propels me on.

"So, what exactly are we doing here, Irma?" Mary quizzes in a hushed tone as we enter the club.

My eyes get restless as we search for a table. My sister's voice is fervently echoing in my thoughts, beseeching me not to give up on this mission. My eyes fail to pick up anything strange, as always, and we finally settle down in the middle of this God-cursed casino.

She was last spotted here in this casino on the ill-fated night she vanished two weeks ago. She was the last of the thirty females to be victimized by the unidentified creature - the evil that has been roaming in this city for months now.

Nobody knows this monster, and if there is, then they are too scared to the core to even whisper the monster's name even in their sleep. But I am daring to unmask every single secret just to find my sister.

"You know why we are here, Mary," I say, still restlessly cruising my eyes around the place.

"Yes. But I don't get it, Irma. Why do you keep coming here even when you know that no single soul is willing to say anything to you?" Mary speaks again.

Yeah. No one is willing to talk. Underline that. Because I believe she put it just right...they don't want to talk. But there is surely something dubious about this place.

"That is the point, Mary. The workers here are scared to hell the minute you bring up this issue. One thing is clear - something is fishy." I respond.

"How long, though, do you intend to continue doing this, Irma? I mean, coming here every day and getting nothing at the end of it. Why don't you reroute your search somewhere else?" Mary again, and she is beginning to aggravate my demons.

I lean on the table, ready to send this friend of mine back home if she does not want to help me, but I restrain myself when two glasses of wine are brought down in front of us.

We have not ordered anything, as far as I can recall.

I raise my head, and I don't have to struggle so much as a male figure perches on the third seat around our table.

"I would listen to your friend if I were you." My ears are tickled by Don Emilio's irritating hush grumble.

Him? Here at our table?

He is the owner of this damn casino as far as I know, and he is supposedly busier than a bee. None of my exertions to speak to him have bore any fruits. I was only allowed to speak to some futile security fools who were just but a total waste of time. And now, the mountain just moved itself to Mohamed? Just like that, and with some trash of alcohol as what? A token of sympathy, or a peace offering?

And what's that he said again?

I am aware that there is no link whatsoever between any of the other girls' abductions and that of my sister. The sole connection among these disappearances is that none of the victims come from prominent families. They come from middle-class and poor backgrounds and are all girls of various ages. They all vanished from different locations.

My sister, however, disappeared from here. This was her last spot before she went missing. From this dreadful club, she placed her last call informing me that she was being hunted. Her line was cut before she could finish what she was saying, and that was the last time I heard from her. So, if not here, where else should I focus my search?

"I heard they call you the Don, so, pleasure to meet you, Don Emilio!" I remark bluntly because his facial idioms suggest that he is not here for anything good.

"Unfortunately, I can't say the same about you." He responds in a harsh tone full of loathing.

More than his unnerving tone, I detest the iciness in his ugly eyes and his cold countenance. It's like he is trying to scare me out of here or something.

"In our very first encounter, Mr. Don, why so much detest?" I query, fixing my eyes in his cold ones.

He leans across the table, our faces coming so close as he bleeds his unnerving aura on me. "Your frequent visit to my club is beginning to piss me off, young woman. I came to offer you your first and last drink in my club. Don't come back if you know what's good for you!" His baritone is despotic, the tremor in it adding more fear, but I ain't just giving up.

Is that a threat or what? Am I supposed to be scared? "I have not caused any trouble, Don. The club is open to all, right? So, why forbid only me from coming here? Are you scared that I might uncover something?" I speak, refusing to submit to his dominant gaze.

"It is already trouble enough having you here. Since this is my casino, I have the authority to determine who is and is not permitted entry. And I say that you are not allowed in here anymore." He says, his ears and eyes starting to flush with redness.

Why is he getting so worked up by me being here if there is nothing they are hiding? There sure is something I can get in here to fuel my search. My hunch cannot be wrong. It probably is no coincidence that my sister was right here when she made that call and disappeared. This place holds a secret that can help me find my sister and I am not backing down from knowing what it is.

"When I was begging for even just a minute of your time, you refused to spare me even a second. But today you didn't even let me ask for you. That speaks volumes to me, Don." I state.

"I had, and still have absolutely nothing to say to you, Miss Irma. I offered you the best help that I could, though. If it wasn't enough, then that is not my problem. Stop obsessing over my casino!"

Obsession? It is the life of my sister at stake here and he calls this an obsession?

"Maybe I am obsessing over this because there indeed is some clue here, and your actions prove me right, Mr. Don Emilio. I don't see why my presence would bother you if you are not hiding something." I affirm, and I can feel my rage rising up. I am shaking with range.