Dark Romance: A Cruel Obsession

“We have to inform Shelley’s mother, Celinda! She can protect Shelley! Charles will give up Shelley!” Mare shouted back, “He won’t!”

“He will!” Festus was on the verge of collapse. He grabbed his own hair and roared angrily, “Charles doesn’t care about Shelley as much as you think. Like all mafia fathers, he’s selfish, cold-blooded, and ruthless. His son and daughter are tools for consolidating his power!”

“He never allowed Shelley to marry because he thought she would be Alajos’s wife, the next Capo’s lady. But Kamden died, he’s dead! Houston is in crisis. Alajos chose Bryson over him and married Vivian. Shelley married me to maintain the balance between Washington, Houston, and our three families. Compared to the immense value of Washington, Shelley can be sacrificed!”

“Calm down, Festus!” Mare grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer, controlling his voice, “Don’t lose your sanity. Shelley is still waiting for you to save her!”

Festus finally managed to pull himself back from the edge of remorse and collapse, but the adrenaline rushing through his body couldn’t ease the intense pain in his ribs.

Mare dragged Festus into the passenger seat, leaving the police to negotiate. He drove away from the scene of the accident with Festus.

Festus was covered in injuries, with footprints or bloodstains on his off-white T-shirt. More importantly, he was breathing heavily and occasionally coughing up blood.

Festus leaned back against the chair, holding his aching ribs, and struggled to speak with intermittent gasps, “Should we go find Shelley now?”

“No,” Mare’s concern was evident, “We’ll go to the hospital first. You need medical help right now.”

“No!” Festus adamantly refused, “I don’t want to go to the hospital. Please take me to find Shelley.”

“No way!” Mare firmly rejected him and evaded Festus’ attempt to grab the steering wheel, shouting angrily, “Do you want to die?”

After saying this, Festus coughed up another mouthful of blood. Mare cursed and stepped on the gas even harder, racing to the hospital. “We will do everything we can to save Shelley, but you need to ensure your own health first, Festus!”

Mare handed Festus over to the doctors in the emergency room, and at that moment, Alajos called.

“They are in the abandoned warehouse at the harbor, as you know.” Alajos’ heavy voice came through the phone. Based on the information from Festus’ call, they quickly pinpointed the direction in which the black Ford car was fleeing.

Upon hearing the address of the kidnappers, Mare’s eyes widened in surprise. John died in that abandoned warehouse at the harbor, and Richard, dragging his half-dead body, was seeking revenge against Charles!

“I’ll rush over there right away,” Mare exhaled heavily.

Alajos spoke in a deep voice, “You go back to protect Vivian, I’ll go to the warehouse.”

Mare was taken aback by Alajos’ decision, but he quickly reacted and said, “No, Alajos, for Vivian’s sake, and for your safety, you should stay in the hospital.”

Mare said, “I don’t understand.”

Alajos walked out of the ward and stood silently in the corridor.

Mare said, “Boss, you are more important than anyone else. The Houston Mafia members cannot afford to lose their Capo.”

Alajos understood all of this. Charles was their most loyal subordinate in Hargrave, and Shelley was Washington’s favorite granddaughter. Some matters required his personal intervention in order to give Washington an irresistible favor.

And Richard, consumed by hatred, was just struggling in his final moments.

Just as Alajos was about to speak, there came a clamor and the sound of whistling wind from the other end of the phone. Then Mare cursed and said loudly to him, “Festus escaped, he injured a doctor and jumped out the window.”

Mare ran out of the emergency room and happened to see Festus driving his car out of the hospital gate.

Mare reached into his empty pockets, when did Festus steal it?

“Damn it!”

…

Festus drove Mare’s car onto the highway and dialed Emmert’s phone number using the phone he had just snatched.

“Hello?” Emmert stood on a street in Los Angeles, looking up at the towering buildings, quickly calculating in his mind which floor of the building would provide a better angle for an ambush. “Who is this?”

The traffic light showed the green signal to cross. Emmert took long strides and followed the bustling crowd across the intersection, heading towards the building he favored.

“Brother, it’s me, Festus.”

“Festus?” Emmert, who was far away in Los Angeles, had no idea what was happening in Houston, but he keenly noticed something off in Festus’ breathing. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Shelley has been kidnapped, by Richard!” Festus’s chest heaved violently, and cold sweat dripped into his eyes. Unable to bear the pain in his eyes, Festus wiped them with his hand, making his eyes turn red. “I need your help. Please, brother, help me! I’m begging you.”

Festus’ vision was already blurred, but he dared not stop, driving recklessly on the highway.