(Lorenzo) I sat in my office handling some paperworks, signing off documents that I had been putting off for a while now. I picked up my cup of coffee and sipped it slowly reading through the company's financial record. It was a monthly ritual, just to make sure no one was stealing from me. It had been two weeks since Mariana. I had been with countless women after that but I still couldn't get her out of my system. Giovanni walked in with a serious look on his face. "Boss, our recent gun shipment got sabotaged." "What?" I yelled, enraged. "Who was stupid enough to do something like that?" "I've already put my men on it, and we managed to catch one of the men who was responsible." Giovanni said. "He's a member of the Blood Crust gang." "Blood Crust?" I replied, confused. The Blood Crust gang was one of the biggest gangs in South LA. Why would they do something so reckless? Were they trying to trigger a war, or were they just trying to piss me off? "Have you gotten anything out
(Mariana) The guard moved to the side letting me go into the room. I turned the knob and pushed the door open. I looked around the room and my eyes landed on Janet. I rushed over to her side.She was on a little bed by the corner,her neck was bandaged and she looked pale, almost like she was dead. I sat on the vacant seat by the bed and lightly squeezed her hand, tears welled up in my eyes. I never thought Janet would try something like this, she didn't show any signs. She was always smiling, always trying to cheer me up when I was down. It was because of this place, this toxic hellhole. The club, the hostel, Lorenzo. Yes, it was all Lorenzo's fault. He had kidnapped us and kept us here against our will, he forced us to work for him like slaves and then when he didn't find anymore use for us, he disposed of us. Lorenzo Mclaren, I hated him. I looked around the room and I spotted him at the corner staring at me. All the anger and the pain welled up inside of me. I hated him, he was
Cont'd (Marianna) Samantha laughed "Thank you very much, I cooked it myself" She takes another spoonful of soup and holds it up to my mouth. " Here, have some more."I opened my mouth and let her feed me again. "Thank you Samantha" I said, after swallowing the second spoon. " I really mean it, you've done a lot for me today."" Oh it's okay. You were going through a lot, you needed support even if it was just a little," She shrugged. "When it was me, no one cared. Everyone was going through one thing or another so no one had time for anyone but themselves. I had to deal with my shit all alone." "I'm sorry to hear that" I say to her." It's fine," she says, shaking off the thought."Enough of the sad stories, let's eat more.""Let's?" I ask, raising an eyebrow in question."Yeah, did you really think I'd make something this delicious and not eat out of it?" She said with a smirk and brought out another spoon from the tray which caused me to giggle.We continued like that, eating
(Lorenzo)I gazed out of the window of my office, the bustling streets of the city laid out before me. The sidewalks were crowded with people, like ants scurried about their business. The sun was setting, and the sky was aflame with orange and pink hues. I heard the door open behind me, and I turned to see Giovanni standing there."Boss, everything's ready," he said, his voice steady and confident. I nodded and followed him out of the office.We walked down the corridor and headed towards the elevator. My thoughts were clouded as we rode down to the parking lot.The elevator door opened with a ding, and we stepped out into the empty parking lot. The silence was deafening,and the only sound was the echo of our footsteps on the concrete floor. We made our way towards the car and I got in the backseat while Giovanni had taken the driver's seat."Let's go." I said and he started the engine taking me to the warehouse.By the time we reached the warehouse,It was dark. Giovanni pulled the car
(Mariana)It had been days since I had last seen Janet, and I couldn't help but feel worried. I had visited the basement at different times, but each time I went, I was told that I wasn't allowed inside."What's on your mind?" Theo asked, a kind smile on his face."I could use a drink," I replied, trying to keep my voice light. Theo was the bartender here. He was a friendly guy who worked part time. Theo nodded in understanding, his hands busy as he wiped the glass cups. "I wish I could serve you a drink," he said, "but you know how Margot is, she'd kill us if she found us drinking on the job""I know, I know," I said, a hint of disappointment in my voice.Theo gave me a sympathetic look. "Maybe if you'd tell me what's troubling you I could help" He said and bent forward on the counter. "A problem shared is a problem half solved." "I can't." I said with a sigh and placed my head on the counter."Poor Mariana." He said and patted my head before he went back to clean the glasses.My t
(Lorenzo)My mind flashbacked to my visit at the club the other day. I went to talk to Margot if she must have heard anything."Wait,what. You think someone's derailing you." She asked surprised by my suspicions."Yes Margot. There's something more to this. Another one of my shipments got sabotaged again, my gun shipments. It's hard to ignore now""Why don't you want to believe it is as the blood crust boys? They could be lying you know""I know but they aren't. The last man we captured at the scene of the last sabotage, he looked himself Marge, Cyanide.""Cyanide!" She exclaimed"Yup. Why would he kill himself if he wasn't trying to hide something important""You're right. It's getting really fishy. Don't worry I'll keep my ears out for anything suspicious I hear at the club""Yeah. Thanks Marge."She was just as clueless as I was. I roughened my hair in frustration, this wild goose chase was getting the better of me. I stood up and headed for the coffee machine and poured myself wha
(Mariana)The club was its usual busy self tonight. There were people everywhere. The music was really loud, the bass line thrummed through the floor, reverberating through my chest. The air was thick with the scent of perfume and smoke, and the heat of the bodies packed in the room was suffocating. I had been running up and down serving drinks. I didn't even have space to breathe. As I made my way through the crowded room, I weaved between tables and people, balancing a tray of drinks on my arm. I was used to the hustle and bustle of the club, but tonight it felt especially hectic. I kept my head down, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, just focused on getting the drinks to their tables.But as I made my way to the other side of the room, I heard a voice calling my name."Mariana! VIP lounge 5. They need margaritas and whiskey" A girl yelled through the crowd"Coming right up!" I yelled back. The music was really loud so we could hardly hear ourselves. I ran over to the bar si
(Lorenzo)The sound of glass shattering filled the room. I looked up and saw Mariana, her eyes were wide in surprise, her mouth opened but nothing came out. She stared at Montez then back at me, her eyes darted to the knife in my hand. I didn't like the way she looked at me. Her expression changed from shock to fear, her eyes fixated on the knife. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Giovanni headed towards her and shoved her out of the room. He locked the door and returned back to where he was, and unbothered look on his face"I thought you locked the doors!" I yelled at Giovanni"I did" Giovanni replied " I thought I did""How could you be so reckless Giovanni. What if someone else entered hmm" I said to him, anger very clear in voice. Giovanni looked at me ,confused by my outburst. I wouldn't have cared if it was anyone who entered but this was Mariana. I didn't