Chapter 5

“Where are you taking me? Le..let me go!!” Aiden was moving like a cockroach in the capture. His eyes were blindfolded and his hands were tied to the back. 

"Shut his goddamn mouth!!!" Howard shouted which ended up echoing in the room! Suddenly it was pin-drop silence. Nobody spoke or moved. 

"Who..who are you?!" Fear could be sensed in Aiden's voice as if he could guess a little bit that he was standing before his death. But he shouted again while crying, " I asked...who are you? Do you know who I am? Let me…"

Before Aiden could even finish his whole line, Leo put a sock in his mouth. Aiden kept struggling as he couldn't breathe! He gulped his words and tears fell down his eyes. 

"Take him to our old place." Howard signed the back door to Tany and Leo to take Aiden away from his sight.

By lugging Aiden, Leo and Tany took him outside the room where loud sounds were coming from. There was a casino beneath the room and it was where Aiden used to gamble! The sound hit Aiden's eardrums. He instantly realised where he was and who was the man inside, the owner of the hoarse and manly voice.

A shiver ran down Aiden's spine. He was thinking about how to get out of this mess. He didn't even have his phone to call Eleanor. But he somehow knew that sooner or later she would come to look for him. Till then what they were gonna do to him was his only concern!

"There was a debt surety on the paper, right?" Howard asked Quell who was standing for his orders.

"Yeh, boss!"

"Grab the girl!! And bring her here."

"On it!"

Quell got out of the room in a hurry! Neo took a deep sigh watching his way. He took the file on the table and ran his eyes through it. "Eleanor Anderson! Isn't she the granddaughter of Miranda Anderson?"

"You keep useless infos, boy!!"

"Oh come on, bro!! You ain't get anything from this girl! She's like the cola can of them..hehe! Use it, drink it and then throw it…" Neo chuckled as he threw the file down on Howard's table.

Staring at the file intensely, Howard asked, " I thought the Andersons cared for their own. What happened to that?"

"Ain't ya know? Long dark past!! That bitch is just swallowing the shit!"

Howard was speechless. He couldn't think of what to say. He hated womanhood because of a certain someone! But somehow pity was covering his heart and mind as Eleanor's name came up! But he buckled up in no time. 

"She might be useful in some way or another…. Or else we'll just sell her. Whaddya say?"

"Whatever you say…"

"NEO!!"

"K! K! Sell her."

"Don't be a softie! You'll fall otherwise.."

"YEAH! YEAH, MAN!! I got it! Don't be weak… I gotchya!!" Neo dashed out of Howard's room and slammed the door which made a huge sound. The people in the casino were looking up to know what was happening. But Neo went back to normal as soon as he got down. He joined the tables to enjoy himself with a calm and smiling face, his natural posture. 

Howard laid his back on the sofa and hid his eyes from the shimmering lights. "Boy! There's no place for guys like ya…" He let out a sigh that echoed in that soundproof room. 

But then Howard realised he was left all alone, again! Maybe people like him were meant to be left behind even though they were standing at the peak of power. Howard took the wine glass from the table and took a sip. He kept rolling it in his hands. Cold it was, but also empty. And no one was there to pour wine for him…..