06

Lady Jennifer turned to leave her youngest daughter's room door and met Samantha in the corridor.

"Mom, what did Alicia say? Is she going to see Damian Tucker by tomorrow? What time did he request to meet with her?" Samantha asked, her curious gaze fixated on her mother's worried face.

"Samantha, I don't know. I will call the number by tomorrow morning to find out. Right now, I am so tired and need to rest. Goodnight," Lady Jennifer walked away from her first daughter and went back to her own room to rest. The room was the one she shared with her husband before he was taken away.

Samantha stood by the corridor and looked at Alicia's room door. "Why would Damian choose Alicia over me? Am I not the older sibling and good enough for him? Why must he choose this local girl?"

Samantha gritted her teeth and moved back to her own room, awaiting the following morning to arrive.

*****

Meanwhile, in Alicia's room, she found it difficult to sleep. She kept thinking about how she would escape Damian's offer. As she knew that it was not a joke.

A marriage contract with Damian, in exchange for her father's freedom and to clear off his debt.

"No, I cannot do this," Alicia said. She tightly shut her eyes closed on the bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, the sound of the alarm woke Alicia from her peaceful sleep as she had been so exhausted the previous night, having witnessed her father's kidnapping by the ruthless mafia boss that ruled the entire territory.

Alicia sat up on the bed and turned off the 7 a.m. alarm. She got out of her bed and went to the bathroom to bathe and brush her teeth. She looked so tired. Her long blonde hair was disheveled, and her big blue eyes were red and swollen from crying too much the previous night.

Alicia sighed and finished brushing her teeth. She stripped off her nightgown and went into the bathtub to have her bath. She couldn't forget the horror movie that had played the previous night in her home. Silent teardrops slipped from the corners of her eyes.

Alicia finished with her bath. She got out of the bathtub, picked up her white towel, and returned to her bedroom to dress up.

A knock on her room door interrupted her thoughts, and she heard her elder sister's voice.

"Alicia, open up," Samantha called from outside the door, and Alicia sighed.

"What do you want?" Alicia asked her sister coldly, as she moved over to the door and pulled it open.

"Alicia, I came to see you regarding what happened last night. What are you planning to do about it?" Samantha inquired, standing in front of the door.

Alicia moved away from the door and went back to the bed to pick up the brown dress that she had selected out of her closet to wear.

"Alicia, I am talking to you," Samantha spoke with gritted teeth. She wore a red top, black trousers, and black boots as she looked disapprovingly at her sister.

Alicia remained quiet as she picked up her brown dress and wore it. She turned to face Samantha and asked, "What do you want me to say to you? You heard everything Mom said, and you saw them too. So what can I say?" Alicia's blue eyes flashed red in anger, and Samantha sighed.

"Let's get straight to the point. Do you want to dump your police officer as your boyfriend to accept Damian Tucker's offer?" Samantha inquired, her big blue eyes fixated on her younger sister's face.

"No way. I am not going to accept Damian. Never! And ever!" Alicia replied, her blue eyes shone with disgust, and Samantha smiled.

"Well, that's good for you, but for me. I like Damian, and I want to be his woman."

"What?!" Alicia looked at her older sister's face  in disbelief as if she had grown horns on her head.

"Samantha, did you hear yourself speaking? You want Damian Tucker? The mafia boss? Do you know that you can be killed if you wrong him or do anything silly?" Alicia inquired, and Samantha smiled.

"I won't cheat on Damian, and I am not in any serious relationship. I have seen him before. Damian owns many businesses here and controls the T-Group, also known as the Tucker Group. And you think he is a poor guy? He is a billionaire, and he will take care of me. I do not think that I will have to work much, and my colleagues will respect me at work. Not to mention the top managers, they will fear me, and respect me too."

Alicia shook her head in disbelief, seeing her older sister's dreamy eyes. "Sama, you seem to forget that this mafia boss seems to keep a low profile of himself so as not to attract the police's knowledge about him. I am sure that's why he didn't choose you and settled for me, knowing that you are in the spotlight," Alicia explained, and Samantha frowned.

"Do you think that's why Damian didn't choose me?" Samantha inquired, looking sad, and Alicia cleared her throat and explained, "Look, big sis, I don't know. But I will advise you not to get entangled with a mafia boss if you value your life. He doesn't love us, and will kill you or his group."

"But you fell in love with a police officer. Didn't you fear that he could get killed one day by criminals too? Or he might become angry and pull his trigger over your head if you dump him or do something wrong?" Samantha asked, looking at her sister's face with a serious frowned expression, and Alicia swallowed hard.

"No way!" Alicia exclaimed. "Johnathan will never hurt me!" She defended her boyfriend, even though she doesn't know if he has a temper or not.

"Well, you are not so sure yourself. The fact is that Jonathan also uses a gun, and he can kill you if he gets annoyed. Anyway, I am off to work, and I only came here to tell you about it. You should let Damian know about my offer to be his woman. Or you can tell me when you are ready to go and see him, to take me along with you," Samantha said, as she turned around to leave the room.

Alicia sighed deeply and replied, "I am never going to see Damian. Jonathan promised to help us raise the money, and I will wait until Jonathan comes up with something."

"Alright. Take care," Samantha replied and pulled the room door to unlock. She left the room.

Meanwhile, Alicia sighed and went to the front of the mirror to comb her golden locks and apply a little touch of makeup on her face. Once she was through, she grabbed her black bag containing her white nurse uniform, phone and set off to leave for work.

Alicia exited her room and made her way downstairs, she was shocked to see three men in black, standing there in the living room and looking at her. Her mother, older sister, and brother were also standing there in the living room.

Alicia frowned and came downstairs. "Good morning, Mom. What's going on here?" She asked her mother, glaring at the three men in black.