Chapter four: You are The Ransom

Don Diego had taken interest in Ravenna and did not want her to be forced into liking him back. He had this soft spot for her he could not deny.

Paying off his debt himself will mean that she gets to make her decision to love him for herself, not out of cohesion. 

The chaperone dropped her at home. Carlos waited for her outside. 

"Hey! Where are you coming from? You, good for nothing lay about." He shouted at the top of his voice.

"I am not a lay about Carlos." She walked past him, heading into the sitting room.

Carlos had seen the luxurious car that dropped her. Only 2 people had kind in the city. And he wondered how Ravenna could know someone of such influence.

"What's that box on your hand?" He asked.

"Non of your business Carlos, can you leave me alone, please?" She snapped. 

"I knew you had no respect. Will you answer him right now? What do you have in that box, or have you started doing drugs?" Her papa yelled at her.

"No, Papa, I am not doing drugs. I have the money to pay Don Diego." She replied with a beam of light on her face."

"Look at this silly girl. Do you think Don Diego's money is $20,000?" He scoofed.

Revanna handed the money to her Papa. He snatched it from her hands before she could completely let go. 

"Give me that!"

Nicolas Duvan kept the box on the table as he carefully opened it, Carlos waited impatiently.

"Where the hell did you get this money, Ravenna?"

"Papa, I told you that she steals now you can see for yourself."

Carlos and Nicolas sat down on the dining and started counting the money from the box to the dining table. It was bundles of $100 notes while Ravenna went into her room.

After about two hours, Nicolas and Carlos were done counting the money. It was the exact $200,000,000 that was needed to pay the debt he owed to Don Diego. Nickolas' eyes widened as he looked at the money spread across the table.

"Ravenna!!" He echoed her name from the dining. Ravenna walked sluggishly to the table and leaned lazily against the fridge that stood close to the dining behind her papa Nickolas.

Ravenna, you are only working as an errand girl in all those places. How were you able to come up with this kind of money?"

He questioned for the very first time in a tone that did not seem harsh.

"Papa, a friend of mine, gave me because I cancelled my plans to have dinner with him." With raised brows of unbelief," Pa Nickolas said.

"What sort of friend will give you $200,000,000 for just cancelling schedules for him? Or are you now a traqueto?"

Ravenna responded in a snap.

"No, Papa...I will never do that. You know me."

"No Ravenna I do not know you...so on that note and since I don't know where you got this money from, and since I suspect that you're now a traqueto, I will give you the honour to pick either of this options." 

" I hand you over to the police or I quitely hand you over to Don Diego with whom you will have more freedom?"

"Papa! You're joking, right?" Ravenna spoke with not enough strength to hold her voice, as she could not help the tears this time from flowing.

Papa, I thought you would be happy to send this to Don? 

"Wait I think the police will be too good for you, and if I send you there, then I have to give this money to Don Diego...and that will not be good because I deserve the good things of life. Like travelling with my kids and doing the things I love most."

He mocked her. Ravenna, who stood silently sobbing, moved quitely to her room. Ravenna cried for so long that her face was purple and her temperature over the roof. She thought of what next to do to salvage her situation. Then, a light bulb went off in her head.

She was going to run away. That would be the easiest thing to do. That way, her Papa would have no option but to bail Mariana out with the money she had given him.

She waited till about midnight before quitely leaving her room with all she needed to escape. The steel door to the entrance was firmly closed, and as she was about to unbolt the jamlock, a firm hit on her head was the next thing she heard before she passed out.

"Who told you you are smarter than me, your father?" Carlos went into the room to take a tape and a rope as if they knew that one day it would serve this purpose.

Ravenna opened her eyes to see herself tied up to one of the dining chairs.

"You can't run away from me, Ravenna." Pa Nickolas said as he held onto the left side of the chair. Ravenna squeezed her eyes as the pain in her head became unbearable. She stayed awake all night, unable to sleep while Pa Nickolas and Carlos slept on the couch.

The night was long for Ravenna, though it looked really short for Pa Nickolas and Carlos as they grumbled when it was time to wake up. They had a change of clothes and asked Ravenna to do the same. Carlos followed her every move while Pa Nickolas stuffed her bag with random clothes that she might need as Don Diego's new wife.

When everyone was ready to go, it was Carlos who drove. Pa Nickolas had taken her phone the night before so that she would be unable to contact anyone.

"Hey you! I won't be returning this phone to you. You won't be needing it. You're starting a new life with a billionaire, and I am sure he will take care of you."

Pa Nickolas mocked as they drove with very loud music playing in the background. Her Papa knew that Ravenna's life was just about to be turned up side down. And that was what he wanted; to see her suffer and beg for her freedom.

Upon reaching Don Diego's gigantic mansion,  the house was lavishly decorated and had all the exotic decorations anyone could think about. It had over 50 rooms, and  no one has successfully gone around the entire  building.

Don Diego was not home as he went out for his early morning runs, a ritual he never missed. Ravenna looked around the most massive waiting area she had ever seen in her entire life.

"Please, can you help me call Don Diego and let him know that I brought the parcel in exchange for my daughter." He spoke to one of the Don's men that had offered him a seat.

He dialled the Don's number in a split second, and Don Diego was on the line shortly.

"Don, Nickolas is here with the parcel."

Ohh that was fast. Leave it in my room, I didn't expect it would be this fast. Release his daughter."

"Hey, this way." One of Don Diego's boys led her to the Don's bedroom. "Can I at least see my sister for the very last time." She pleaded, hoping to see Mariana, who was looking thin and pale.

"Permission not granted... Do you even know where you are? No one has the freedom to do anything except the Don says otherwise.

Mariana wondered why Ravenna was taken  to Don's room, and she was not

"Papa, why was Ravenna taken to Don Diego's room, and I was kept in one of the less looked after rooms with over seven girls?"

"I don't know, maybe Don Diego just wants to inspect his new fugitive."

But Papa, I longed for months to see what his room looked like, to be in his good books, but he didn't even remember I existed."

What does it even matter? I thought you'd be glad to be out of here?"

Carlos voice came.

While on his private lawn, Don Diego was overjoyed and tried calling Ravenna.

"Why am I so excited about starting a relationship with this girl. Why do I  get goosebumps just at the thought of her? At least I will get to, for the first time, start a relationship with someone who has my heart racing. And why is her number not connecting. Let me get home and have Santiago bring her to me."

Ravenna paced around his room with tears in her eyes, unsure what Don Diego would do to her when he finally meets her. Ravenna's eyes roamed around the room before falling on the picture of Don Diego Ortega. 

"No no no tell me, I am dreaming. How greedy could Papa really be? I thought  it was about  the money, but it seems he wanted me out of the picture completely."