Tears gathered in Isabella's eyes as reality dawned on her. He had fallen, never to rise again. He was one of her most trusted men. Never to be seen by her anymore.
He had been with her for years and she also had high dreams for him but none of those could happen anymore and it was all because of that scheming fool before her.
"How dare you? How dare you do that to him? It's I you need and not him?" She snapped, clenching her hands into fists. Her anger ran wild through her and she was panting as well.
"And did you think I was bluffing ? Anyways.. I'll be back an hour from now and I expect you to have made a decision before then."
Williams had an evil smirk on his lips as he uttered those words. He sauntered off, his footsteps making a weird noise as he went.
There was silence in the dungeon where Isabella and her men were locked in for a while. They were lost in their thoughts, and perhaps, they were all grieving the loss of the men.
They were real Men - tough men who would have stood tall to anyone in the face of a battle, but not anymore.
Isabella sighed. "Should I just give it up to him? It doesn't matter anyway, does it?"
She couldn't bear to look her men in the eyes. Her guilt ate deep into her and left her as a shadow of herself.
"No! I cannot allow you to do that." Isabella froze. She turned her head towards him, slowly. "What are you talking about? We would continue to lose our men if I don't give in to him. I don't want that to happen."
"But if you give in to him, it would only portray our gang as a weak one. His death would also be in vain."
The words rang aloud and were heavy in the air. Her eyes flickered continuously as she glared about.
Isabella swallowed the saliva in her throat as she was plunged into a dilemma. She had never been as confused as she was at that moment.
"When we get to the bridge, we'll cross it, but for now, I cannot promise anything."
Those words - she meant every bit of it. Though she had become a mafia boss, she still had her sense of empathy, especially for her comrades.
***
Williams sat against his mahogany desk, his hands supporting his chin. He was lost in his thoughts and thinking straight seemed impossible.
He couldn't get her out of his head- that scheming but dead gorgeous bitch who was his biggest rival.
Her confidence and bravery endeared her to him more than anything, and then her beautiful face? It left him without breath.
"This is crazy, Williams!" You should get rid of the feeling brewing in you already. Remember, she's your rival."
He shook his head in disagreement. The clock ticked on and on until an hour had passed. He grinned, rising to his feet with grace and elegance.
His gun was right in his hand, ready for action. This time, he was going to take what belonged to Caesar by force. He cocked his gun, preparing for another assault if Isabella was still hesitant.
He trudged on, humming some dead beat tune until he was in the dungeon again. His hostages must have heard the sound of his feet and had their gaze fixed in the direction he was coming from.
Shocked, he remained transfixed to a spot. "Oh my! Are you alright? Why do you stare at me that way?"
He was being sarcastic and had an evil laugh accompanying his words.
Isabella glared hard, her rage doubling up. She stared at him in disdain as she parted her lips to speak.
"You fool. You are here again, right? Let me save you the stress of speaking again. My decision is the same as before and it's not going to change."
Williams was filled with rage. He cocked his gun and pointed it into the cell. "You think I'm here to joke, right?"
"Ha! Ha! Ha. You don't know how satisfying it is to see you this way. You look like your entire dream has been shattered.
"Shut it already!" Williams thundered and fired into the cell, three times. Cries rang as three bodies fell. Isabella wasn't a part of them.
Her eyes bulged and she was filled with pain and rage. Tears cascaded down her face as she immediately lost her composure.
"How dare you! How dare you do this to my men?" Her voice resounded in the air as she spoke to Williams who remained unperturbed.
"And what are you going to do about it? Nothing! Give me what I want and I'll let you go freely."
Isabella scoffed, "Not after all you've done. You know what? You can go on to kill the rest of us now because I'm not going to tell you what you so desperately want to know.." She laughed, a shrill laughter that infuriated Williams a great deal.
"I'll give you a few more hours to think over it. I'll be back.." he darted off, his head held high.
Tears trickled down Isabella's face as her gaze rested on her men who were alive until a few minutes ago. Her pain ate deeper into her.
"Damn it! I'm going to make him pay for this.." She clenched her hands into fists as anger coursed through her veins.
*****
Williams stared into oblivion. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind as he tapped gently at the table before him.
"Why wouldn't she just give in to me? This is driving me crazy.." his hands supported his chin as he thought to himself. Strange enough, he couldn't bring himself to hate her even though he knew she was his enemy.
She carried herself with such grace, elegance and didn't seem like one who was going to break no matter what he did.
Her soft, yet firm voice replayed in his Head. He didn't like the feeling it gave him, but then there was nothing he could do about it.
Williams exhaled, running his hands through his head. He sprung to his feet, his gaze resting on the wall clock above him. "Wow! It's almost evening…" He had been so intrigued and carried away with his tasks that he didn't realize the day was far spent.
He was heading towards his bathroom when a knock rang on his door. It was hasty and quite intense. "What is It? Didn't I say I wasn't to be disturbed?" He yelled, his face clouded by his rage.
"I'm sorry sir, but it's an emergency.." Williams remained still, wondering what could be so important that he had to defy his orders.
He sprung to his feet, locking his gaze on him. "Go on! Speak!"
"Miss Isabella… miss.. she.." he stuttered, unable to get the words out of his mouth. Williams glared hard at him, his anger coursing through his veins.
He swallowed hard while trying to restrain himself. "What Happened? Speak up already and stop wasting my time.." he yelled again, sending chills down his spine.
"She.. she escaped with… with her men.." he managed to say, his body shaking with fear.
Williams was flabbergasted. He froze, the weight of his words hanging against mine. Bile gathered in his throat, his eyes bulging as well.
"How is that possible?" He slammed his arm against the table while clenched into fists. His chest fell and rose sporadically with every breath he took.
Williams had never felt so mad in his entire life. The words echoed in his ears and the reality of the situation dawned on him.
Without thinking twice, he raced out of the room. He cared about nothing else than getting to the dungeon where he held Isabella and her men hostage.
A part of him still felt it was false. He moved with great alacrity until he was in the dungeon.
Empty- not a single soul was to be seen. A cruel and menacing laugh trickled out of his lips and vanished almost immediately.
"How did this happen? How could you allow this to happen?" His voice was thunderous, instilling pain and fear in the hearts of his men.
"We have no idea how it happened sir. I'm extremely shocked as well.." Williams was no fool. He knew for sure Isabella and her men didn't escape on their own. Someone from his men must have aided her on…
"I need you to summon everyone at once! I'm not going to spare each of you for this treacherous act. "
He raced off, his feet swishing against the tiled floor as he went. I remained in a spot until they began to assemble, one after the other.
They all looked smitten and filled with fear. There were forty of them in total. Broad chest, fierce looks.. befitting of a member of the Albert gang.
One of them was to lose his membership soon, and maybe his life. "Which of you helped Isabella and her men escape?"
His clamorous voice blasted through the air, his cold eyes sending ripples down their spine. They remained mute, staring at each other and then at him again.
Williams reached for his gun in his cloak and cocked it. He held it straight at them, ready to blow their brains off.
His gaze was still on them when his phone rang. With one strike, he retrieved it from his Pocket. "A strange number?"