Betrayal

Eleni's Pov

I was confused. Dead? How? He had left to go job hunting that morning because the Makris brothers had fired him after he had retuned the money. I had urged him to find something that won’t involve working with criminals.

The cop told me dad had taken his own life by jumping off a bridge. His motorcycle had been found near the bridge with his suicide note on the seat.

I burst into tears. Nick heard the commotion and came into the living room. He too began crying when he heard the news. I couldn’t believe it. Why would dad do something so selfish? Mom may have been mad at him, but Nick and I loved him. Despite his gambling he was a good father. Days ago I had told him of my plans to open a bakery and make enough to make our lives easier, so why couldn’t he have waited?

I found out the answer days later. I came home after a long day of baking pastries for a wedding, to see mom and Nick trembling with fear in the living room. A stocky dark haired man, with mean grey eyes sat across them. Some men I guessed were bodyguards stood in a corner. The man looked at me as I came in and leered as his eyes rested on my hips. I knew immediately this was going to be bad.

“Leni this is Alexios Makris.” Mom said. I could hear the fear her voice. “Sit down he has something to tell us.”

Cold with fear I sat down beside her.

“Hello Leni, I am here to recover the money your dumb dead son of a bitch dad owed us.” He said.

I wasn’t happy to hear him insult my dad but I was too scared to show it.

“What? But he paid you back the $3000, didn’t he?” I asked confused.

“It wasn’t $3000! The bastard lied to us.” Mom fumed. “It was $100,000 he stole and lost gambling.”

I was glad I had taken her advice to sit down, if not I would have collapse from shock. $100,000! What the hell Dad!

"After he stole the money, he asked us to give him time to pay it back. We gave him two days. Then the next day he somehow managed to get $3000 which he used to gamble, and lost again. The next we heard the bastard had killed himself. We want our money back and we want it now! Or you guys are going to recive all the delicious torture we had planned to give the asshole.” He warned.

We all swallowed fearfully. We had heard how brutal the Makris brothers could be.

“You will get half of it on Saturday. Two months time you will get the rest.” I said quickly.

He looked suspicious. “Your loser dad said the same thing, why should I believe you?”

“Because I’m not my dad. On Saturday I will bring the money to your office.” I promised.

"You better, or else we will take our payment in kind!" He licked his lips and grinned evilly.

"You will get your money!" I said firmly.

Mom looked at me as if I was insane. As soon as they left she exploded.

“Are you crazy? How can you make such a reckless promise! Where are you going to get $50,000?”

“From the money I saved for my bakery.”

“If you have saved so much then we should use it to flee town.”

“No mom. Running away isn’t the answer. If we leave they will consider it an insult. They will do everything to find us and teach us a lesson. We will stay and pay them back, then we’ll be free.”

“Stop talking like an idiot!” She snapped. “If we go far away the will never find us.”

“The Makris are rich and powerful. They will, and it will be worse. My way is better.” I said gently.

Nick who was watching us, spoke up. “Leni is right Mom. We can’t make Dad’s mistake. We should stay.”

I saw my mom’s eyes darken then she shrugged.

“Fine. Let’s go and count it to make sure it’s correct I don’t want any nasty surprises.” She said.

We went to my room and I brought out the money for under my mattrass. We counted it together.

“$50,000 exactly. When I give it to them on Saturday it will buy us time.” I said.

“Sure. On Saturday evening when you get back from work, we will go and see the Makris brothers together.”

“Things may get a little difficult for us, but don’t worry Mom. Once we pay off the debt we will start afresh. We will be okay.”

She forced a smile and I had the uneasy feeling she was up to something, and she was.

On Saturday evening I came back disappointed. The anniversary party I was supposed to make cakes for had been cancelled so they hadn’t needed my services. But my disappointment turned to shock when I entered the living room and found it empty.

What had happened? Had the Makris brothers been here and kidnapped my family and our furniture? I looked at my watch. I wasn't late, I still had an hour before I went to see them so that couldn't be it. I called out for mom and Nick but everywhere was quiet. I rushed into Nick's room. It was empty, so was my mom’s. Then something hit me. Trembling, I went to my bedroom and raised the mattress, then gasped in horror.

My $50,000 was gone.