Earlier this morning, Ashley's phone rang as she was still asleep.
" Hello", she took the call with a sleepy voice.
" Hi ! Are you Ms. Ashley Conrad ?", a male voice replied behind the phone.
" Yes... Ashley speaking", Ashley said still with a sleepy voice.
" Well, I'm officer Marshall. We need you to come to the police station right away. Your father, Paul Conrad, had been arrested last night and he has very serious injuries", replied the male voice.
" What ?! ", Ashley said, surprised and almost jumped from her bed.
" Yes, Ms. Conrad, he had been arrested and asked to see you here at the police station and that it was very urgent", the officer told her.
Ashley sighed and replied : " Alright, I'll come right away officer" and the call ended.
Ashley hurried to change into a proper outfit as she was still in her pajamas and then immediately left her apartment.
It wasn't the first time that Ashley's father was arrested and that Ashley had to get him out of jail. Although, it was the first time that she heard that he was injured.
She rushed to the police station but was very surprised to see Rafael at the front door. His dark black hair was a little bit messier and his shirt slightly unbuttoned revealing his chest made him even more attractive to Ashley.
"Ashley?!" Rafael said in surprise.
"Rafael?! What... What are you doing here ?" Ashley said while stroking her neck, also surprised to see Rafael at the police station.
"I...I was coming to see a friend. What are you doing here?" Rafael stammered.
"I came to see someone too," Ashley said and looked down as she felt ashamed to say to Rafael that her dad had been arrested. Many people had mocked her before because of her dad who was always drunk and embarrassed himself in front of everyone.
"Well, I still have a lot of things to do Ashley and I really need to go," replied coldly before leaving the police station.
"Okay...I...have to go too anyway," Ashley replied but Rafael was already gone and she sighed sadly.
She then headed to the reception desk and said with unease :" uh... Hi, I'm Ashley Conrad, I've been called earlier by officer Marshall. I'm here to see Paul Conrad"
" Sure, I'll call him right away", the officer behind the desk replied.
A few minutes later, a brown haired officer in his forties arrived. He greeted Ashley and then he explained to her quickly what happened with her father. He is wanted for several serious crimes related to the mafia but especially for violence against several officers, possession of illicit substances.
Even if she hated this man she called father, her heart bled when she saw him in this state. Paul was laying in the ground weak and exhausted, his eyes barely opened.
" Dad ?!", Ashley called him with a teary voice.
" Ashley ?! Is ... that you ?", her father managed to say with an exhausted voice.
" Yes it's me, dad. What ... happened ? Why are you in this state ? Who did that to you ?", Ashley said still with a teary voice.
" You ... are ... still alive ? Did ... he ... hurt you ?", he stuttered and tried to get up to take a closer look at his daughter
" How ? Didn't he take you ? ", her father said again, his swollen eyes widened in surprise.
" What are you talking about dad ? Of course I'm still alive. Who would hurt me ?", Ashley replied, confused.
" Beware of him Ashley. You need to get away from here, Ashley before he comes for you. Leave and never come back to this town, change your name if necessary", her father warned her with fear in his voice.
" Beware of who ? Dad, I don't understand anything you're saying", Ashley replied still confused.
Her father then grabbed her hands and whispered : " he is the devil himself Ashley. His outward appearance is deceptive, he may seem handsome and nice to you at first sight, but it is only a facade. He is ruthless, cold hearted and very dangerous."
" Oh Ashley ! I'm so sorry I know that I have not been the best father for you. But what I did to you there is unforgivable", her father said with a defeated voice.
" I still don't understand who is this man you are so afraid of", Ashley told him with a confused look.
" I ... I sold you Ashley. I owe him a lot of money Ashley because of my gambling addiction. He was going to kill me if I didn't give him his money back so I bargained with him whether it was my life or yours. I didn't know I made a deal with the devil, Ashley. We made the deal and he didn't kill but instead torture me for days. He's going to claim his due, it's you Ashley. He wants you. I don't know what he's planning to do to you but whatever it is is definitely not a good thing. That's why you have to run away as soon as possible", her father explained, unable to look her daughter in the eyes.
" Oh dad ! What have you done ?", Ashley said with a sad voice.
" I hope you can one day forgive my child even if I don't deserve it", her father told her and released her hands.
" Dad, tell me who is this man you are so afraid ", Ashley asked.
" He has many names but the ones that come up often are ' The red horn' and ' El Toro rojo'. But his true name is Rafael Herrera", her father told her with fear.
Ashley immediately froze, her heart began to beat faster in her chest just like her breathing and fear began to spread throughout her whole body. Her father's description was quite different from the Rafael she had met.
" There must be something we can do. We can talk to the police about him dad ", Ashley managed to stutter despite her fear.
" Denouncing him would be in vain as the chief of the police of this city is already at his feet", Paul explained with a defeated voice.
Suddenly the fear Ashley was feeling slowly turned to anger and an idea that didn't seem so crazy to her at the time began to sprout in her head.
" Don't worry dad. I will take care of the devil himself", she said with anger and determination
" Ashley, don't. Don't confront him. He will kill you immediately", her father tried to stop her.
But she couldn't hear anything her father was saying as she got up and move away from her father's cell.
Ashley headed immediately to Herrera residence, Pedro, one of Rafael's men remembered her at the front door and let her in. She opened the door furiously, and shouted " WHERE IS HE ?"
Carlos tried to calm her down and stop her but she continued shouting and yelling of all her strength.
" Ms. Conrad, it's really not the time for you to be here. I'm going to ask you to leave immediately", Carlos said, trying to be polite.
" I don't f*cking care. Where is your f*cking Capo or boss or whatever you call him ? Where is Rafael f*cking Herrera ?", Ashley shouted angrily.
" I'm here ", Rafael exclaimed standing at the top of the stairs as his voice echoed in the room.