01~ Captured

A round of applause erupted from the crowd in the hall when the students on the platform took off their graduation caps and raised them up in the air. A sign it was finally over. 

“Can you believe it? We are graduates!” 

Nina squeaked sharply in Evelyn’s ear, making her cringe. She smiled at Nina, fighting the urge to dip her pinky into her ear and rub the itch off.

“Yes… I’m glad we both reached this far.” Evelyn beamed, grabbing Nina’s hand and leading her out of the hall.

“We did it! We did it!” Nina jumped in excitement and Evelyn couldn’t help but smile… her best friend’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“Congratulations Miss Nina… you worked hard!” She said dramatically, bowing slightly, making Nina giggle. 

They took off their hired gowns and dropped them off at the college administration.

Evelyn sighed, taking a look around the campus. This had been her favorite place for the past four years and even though she is very happy to graduate, she will miss it. 

“So, now that school is done, what’s your plan?” Nina asked as they walked out of the gate and Evelyn smiled. That was easy.

“You know my plan! I have always wanted to get into a law firm, and now with the offer from Harvard and my parents' insurance from the accident, I can finally make it!” 

Evelyn quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She promised herself not to cry, but the mentioning of her late parents suddenly soured her eyes.

“Hey, you know they are proud of you, right?” Nina cupped Evelyn’s face, asking in a soft tone. She knew about Evelyn’s parents’ car accident, and she knew how big a scar it left in Evelyn.

“Thanks…” Evelyn forced a smile, “I just wish they can be there to see it happening that’s all.”

Nina smiled, but she swallowed her comfort words, seeing Evelyn’s forced smile: “Of course, I know your dream, miss lawyer, but I meant what’s the plan for tonight! Drink all night and more!”

“Fine!” Evelyn rolled her eyes before she burst into laughter, seeing her best friend off, “See you in a few hours!”

Though she knew it was a standard consolation, Nina’s words about her parents being proud of her still cheered Evelyn up a lot. After all, her lawyer father had been her hero all those years, until that drunk driver took away their lives, putting her in the orphanage. 

She was skipping when she reached her uncle’s house, or, “home” for now. She lived here only for over a year when her aunt and uncle suddenly took her home.

Evelyn was excited to show them her certificate of achievement and claim the insurance money for her parents’ death that her aunt and uncle have been keeping for her.

Her dream is finally within her reach!

But her skipping turned into panic as her smile was replaced by a frown when she saw their yard wide open. It wasn’t exactly a safe community, and her aunt never leaves the fence open!

Dashing into the house, her heart sank at the mess in front of her eyes. The sofas were turned upside down, many of the property was destroyed and the sound of someone ransacking the place reached her ears. It was coming from the kitchen.

Her aunt and uncle were holding onto each other in the corner, trembling in fright.

“Aunt, what’s happening? Why are they doing this?” She asked them but they just shook their heads, not daring to speak out in case the thugs came out and turned their anger on them. 

They had been home minding their own business when suddenly someone barged in and began to smash and flip things in the house.

The sound of plates breaking and the smashing of the windows echoed around the house.

Anger flared through Evelyn. Her chest heaved while she clenched her hands into fists. How dare they? This was illegal! How could thugs break into someone’s home and cause so much damage? ‘Who’s going to pay for all of it?’ 

Before she could stop herself, she stomped over to the kitchen and glared at the thugs who were destroying the place.

“What the hell are you doing?” She shouted, and her aunt pulled her back immediately. 

Her aunt is a small lady who is scared by everything. She could never handle confrontations like this, not even when her uncle beats her after a lot of alcohol, unlike Evelyn.

Evelyn never backs down from right and wrong.

One of the thugs who looked like the boss turned to look at the archway leading to the kitchen, wondering who was brave enough to stop them. 

Seeing that it was a tiny girl, he scoffed. “Stay out of this kid.”

Evelyn scowled at the intruder. “I’m not a kid! How dare you come to someone’s house and destroy things? I’m calling the police.” 

She dipped her hand into her bag trying to get her phone but the thug swatted it away.

“Get lost bitch! I said stay away unless you want to get hurt.” He scolded, making Evelyn take a step back, wrinkling her nose. He stunk of alcohol and cigarettes.

“Do you know who we are?” He said dangerously, glaring at her.

“I don’t care who you are! You are trespassing on private property! Get lost before I call the police on you.” Evelyn hissed, pulling her phone out but the man already gripped her wrist and took away her phone.

“The cops work for us, missy.” The man snorted condescendingly, “Our boss is Damian!”

“Am I supposed to be intimidated by that name?” Evelyn frowned with a shrug, reaching for her phone “Give it back, this is robbery!”

“This is a down payment of your debt to the boss,” The man rose Evelyn’s phone over his head and Evelyn couldn't reach it, “and so are you.”

“What?” Evelyn blinked in confusion.

“Get the girl.” The thug shouted at his men before he turned to Evelyn's aunt with an evil smirk, “We are getting your daughter… you don’t mind, do you?”

The tiny lady shivered in fear without being able to utter a word, and Evelyn’s uncle blurted: “She’s not our daughter!”

Tears brimmed Evelyn’s eyes.

She didn’t expect them to be so cowardly. They could have called the police at least. 

She forced back her tears as she struggled on her own, only to be stuffed in the back of the thugs’ smelly van as her bright graduation day took a sudden turn to the nest of the infamous mafia boss.