Chapter 175

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASHLEY’s POV “I will never do that to you, Ashley, my baby.” My eyes watered as I watched dad breaking. I’ve never seen my father so devastated. “And I assured you, I have no debts to anyone.” “Are you sure?” I asked and he nodded. “But...” “But what?” I asked. “But I was in a Mafia group before but I quit.” He confessed. “I was so desperate for money to get you and Lucas from Lily, so when they offered me to join them, I agreed immediately.” “You what?!” I exclaimed, not expecting to hear those words from him “I’m sorry…” “Why did you quit?” “They ordered me to kill an innocent girl.” he buried his eyes in his palm, shaking. “They asked me to kill Samuel’s daughter.” And I’ve never been so shocked my whole life. “Daddy…” I whispered brokenly. All this time, he’s done nothing but be the best father I could have ever asked for. He’s been taking care of me. After the incident in my life, he has been so attentive to me and has prioritized my healing above all else that I haven’t even realized how much tragedy has affected him too in the past. He stayed strong for me in spite of his own struggle. He finally turned to me, his eyes bloodshot red, and I gave him a hug. “Listen, baby. Your daddy didn’t kill anyone. But I will not hesitate to use my gun if someone hurts you.” ……….*****………. The thought of Dad purchasing a gun and what he just told me still bothered my mind the entire night, but I decided not to question him again about that. What if the Mafia leader wanted to get revenge on dad for quitting? What if they wanted to get even and kill my father? Oh please…don’t let that happen. This morning, Dad and Lucas left for work, as usual. While I was about to finish blow-drying my hair inside the bathroom, I heard footsteps from downstairs. That made my heart thump against my chest. It wasn’t from our maid’s footstep because they were heavy like it was coming from a man. Ever since dad told me about him quitting from a mafia group, the smallest and the slightest movement could make me become paranoid. I was sure that Lucas locked the door, and the bodyguards were staying outside, so if it weren’t my brother or Dad, who else would enter this house? Slowly, I stepped out of my room and headed downstairs, almost tiptoeing so that I won’t make too much sound. My pulse quickened as I finally reached ground level. When I saw the person entering the living room, I yelped in surprise. My eyes widened as I saw Uno standing before me. Although it definitely washed away my fear of thinking that some mafia member has broken into this house, it still doesn’t erase the shock that I was feeling at the moment. He was dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt and ripped black jeans, a backpack was slung across his shoulder. I didn’t need to explain again about how good he looked, because that was just common sense. And clearly, he looked so much healthier than he did yesterday. But the question was, what was he doing here? “Uno?” I was surprised that I could still find the ability to speak. “What are you doing here? How could you even get in?” “Your dad let me in,” he said nonchalantly, shrugging, leaving me dumbfounded. No way. Dad wouldn’t do that. Did they forget that they once said they would kill him first before he could even take one step inside the house? “That’s—“ I faltered, my voice barely a whisper. “Not possible.” He stared at me with amusement in his eyes and stepped closer to me, which only made me step back in retreat. “Well, maybe dad changed his mind.” “Dad?” my eyes went wider at him. “I mean, your dad...” he said smirking. I quickly looked away to avoid his gaze. “I’m going to call him.” I hated that my voice came out in a stutter. Being close to him was definitely not good for my heart and for my pus--…I sighed and clenched my thighs secretly before I turned on my heels and tottered upstairs. While I was walking down the hallway upstairs, my mind was filled with so many questions. When did dad talk to Uno? Were they on good terms now? How about Lucas? Did they suddenly apologize to each other? It’s not that I haven’t hoped for it, but this twist was too sudden for me that I almost had a heart attack, especially when Uno was now standing with me under the same roof. I knew that I’ll get an explanation once I grabbed my phone in my room and call dad. On the way there, I passed dad’s room and heard the sound from his television echoing distinctly. Right. He must have been in such a hurry that he forgot to turn it off. No wonder. He even forgot to tell me that Uno was coming! Groaning, I stepped into his room and grabbed the remote control from the bed to turn it off. But then, something caught my attention. Something even more shocking. The TV was airing the news, and I figured out that dad must have been watching it. “The most powerful and ruthless mafia in the country have been escaped from the jail yesterday afternoon, and the police have been looking for him since the minute he disappeared from his considered home for three years, but until now, they couldn’t find him…” My hand was shaking as I dropped the remote onto the ground. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------