Ruby
"Put it on speaker," Vexon told me, motioning towards my cell phone while trying to keep his calm. I could see his fist curled in a ball as if he was trying his best not to yell out at the caller, which would only make the situation worse.
I nodded my head and received the burner call with my fingers, almost shivering in fear. "H-hello?" My voice came out weaker than I expected it to. It was almost inaudible.
"Hello, Ruby," Liam greeted cheerfully.
Of course, he would sound cheerful, after all, he kidnapped my daughter.
I looked at Vexon sideways to find his jaw clenched.
"That bastard," Vexon cursed under his breath. Every passing second was getting on our nerves. I wished I could stab that Liam innumerable times.
"Where is Everley, Liam?" I asked, trying to control my anger.
"She's with me, safe and sound," he answered in the most innocent voice; as if he just took her out for a stroll.
I gritted my teeth. How dare that bastard act cheeky with me like this after kidnapping my daughter?
"Can you hand her the phone? I want to listen to her voice," I said and held Vexon's arm to support my weak body.
"Umm...sure thing," Liam chirped.
I heard some shuffling on the other side. My heart was beating loudly in panic, and I was sure Vexon was in the same condition. My knees were shaking in fear. I was also probably hyperventilating.
"M-mom��" came Everley's weak voice from the other side. As much as it eased my heart to hear her sweet voice, my heart dropped at her broken voice. I was sure that she was crying. Tears started streaming down my face as well. Had she been beaten? Was my baby girl hurt? Was she alright?
"Liam, you��" before I could say anything more, my phone was snatched out of my hand.
"What have you done to my daughter, you motherfucker?" Vexon yelled at the phone, losing all his calms.
"Oh, greetings, Ruby's husband, or should I say the King of Mafia Gladiolus?" replied Liam sarcastically.
Vexon paused abruptly and let out a sharp breath. He ran a hand through his hair before saying, "I'm not sure what you are saying right now. Mafia Gladiolus? As far as I know, Gladiolus is the name of a flower."
I was shocked at how Vexon still managed to lie through this situation. How could he even think rationally when my brain had stopped working already?
Liam chuckled and said, "Are you acting innocent right now, the King of Gladiolus?"
"I still don't know what you are talking about. I'm no king, I'm only a businessman," Vexon answered. I could see the frustrated look on his face. He was trying his best not to say anything wrong because if Liam was recording this call then Vexon would be in huge trouble for a single slip of the tongue. Our whole family would be ruined and we might never see each other again from the jail.
"Okay, fine. Since you insist on being a businessman, let's make a deal. I only have one simple demand in return for returning Everley safely back to you," Liam started. I and Vexon held our breaths, eagerly waiting for him to say the words. We would give him anything in exchange for our daughter's life. "I want you to confess over being the leader of Mafia Gladiolus. Turn yourself in."
I gasped. My knees finally gave up and fell on the couch with a thump. I lowered my head, feeling completely defeated. The security of our family and husband in exchange for our daughter's life? Why did it have to be such a cruel offer? Out of all the things he could have demanded, why this? Vexon would have thrown all the money he had if only Liam wanted. Yet, knowing Vexon, there was a fear in my heart that he would have conflicting feelings about it. On the other hand, saving her life took the most priority for me, over everything. I just couldn��t think straight.
"You're spitting nonsense now. Why should I confess when I'm not even who you think I am?" Vexon replied, trying to stay calm now as he ran a hand through his hair.
"I'll give you half an hour to think over it. Tick tock, tick tock. You don't have much time in your hand. Choose who you want to save; your gang or your very own daughter," Liam repeated the same words of mine from that day's dinner. With that, he hung up the call.
I heard Vexon drop the phone on the table with a thud and started taking deep breaths.
After a while, I felt the couch dip beside me. I didn't have the courage to look at him. I was a crying mess myself. I stayed quiet, waiting for him to say that he had an alternative plan. But more than five minutes went by, he still had said nothing.
I finally looked up at Vexon to find his face buried in his hands. His shoulder was slouched, and his legs were shaking. I removed his cold and sweaty hands from his face, letting me get a glimpse of his pale, broken expression. It reminded me of the Vexon who had just lost his mom and brothers. It also screamed that he had no other plans in his head. He was completely helpless.
"Vexon��" I called out, making him meet his teary blue eyes with mine. I gave a squeeze to his hands, knowing what I was going to say would hurt him badly, but I had no other choice. "Please confess."
"What?" he breathed out as if he couldn't believe what I just said.
I sucked in a sharp breath and said, "You need to confess in order to bring Everley back safely." Maybe what I told wasn't right from the perspective of a wife, but it was what my motherly instincts told me to do.
Vexon gave me a shocked look and told me, "Ruby, do you even know what you are saying?" He tried to make me understand desperately, "If I confess, there would be nothing left. Everything would be destroyed��everything that I worked so hard to build. Everyone in the Gladiolus, along with me and you, would be arrested. We would never get to see our kids again. They will live one hell of a life," he paused and ran a hand through his hair. "Screw that. Do you think they will survive after we are arrested? They will be killed right away. We are screwed if��" I cut him off because I wasn't willing to understand.
"So are you saying that I should let my daughter die without even trying? I don't care what happens later. First, we need to save Everley, at any cost."
"Everley's life would cost everyone else's life!" he shouted, and I flinched back. "So many families would be destroyed. Everything would be destroyed, Ruby!"
"Don't you care about Everley, then? That little kid who calls you dad? Just because she isn't your own daughter, you are willing to put your gang above her? Can you even call yourself a father?" I questioned, raising my voice as well. I won't sit still if he makes no effort to save her. I would do anything it takes to protect her.
"I was taught to put my gang over everything else. It's one of the first things that I learned in the training, and unlike you, I can't forget that I'm their king," he retorted harshly.
"Fine, just sit here and fulfill your duty as the king of the Gladiolus. I'm going to offer my life to trade for my daughter's life." I angrily got up from the couch and was walking towards the door to leave. My eyes were burning with tears. My head was spinning so much, yet I managed to stand still. Maybe a mother really could do anything to protect her child.
"Don��t you think I want to do it as well?" His soft, broken voice made me halt on my steps. I looked over my shoulder to see a tear slip down his eye. "I...care about Ev just as much as you do. I don't want anything to happen to her, either. But my hands are tied. I can't put so many lives in danger for her. I would never be able to live with that guilt."
"So can you live with the guilt of letting Eve die?" I spoke up.
A few more tears slipped past his cheeks. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch, letting his head rest back, letting out, "I can't."
It pained me to watch him this helpless. My heart was aching in pain. Even so, my motherly affection exceeded all the other worries.
"Still you would choose your gang over her?" I asked again. I knew what his answer was going to be. Yet, I hoped for him to not let me down because I trusted him in that.
"Yes."
His reply made me angrier than ever. I could feel steam coming out of my ears.
His tongue didn't even tremble while saying that. Truly, the Mafia was cold-blooded. I had never hated him more than this moment. How could a father choose something else over his daughter? Ugh, this was all so infuriating. I guess, in the end, he only loved Everley as his niece, not his daughter. Or maybe, his love changed over the course of time.
Out of the spite I felt for him at that instant, I ended up saying something really hurtful which I would regret some other day, "Of course, you wouldn't even sacrifice your gang even if I was in Everley's position."
