The Mafia's Debt Bride

"Phoenix please.." Noah's eyes softened as he watched his sister. "You have to do whatever they say. They'll come after everything you care about if you don't."

"You're badly wounded.." Phoenix hushed. Her eyes kept raking the sight beneath her in. Her brother's brown hair was stuck on his face with sweat, his eyelids were shutting softly, hiding his honey brown eyes. His breath was raspy and filled with utterances that Phoenix paid no heed to.

"Who did this? Why would someone do this?" Phoenix worried under her breath.

Noah could have spoken but when he made eye contact with his sister, all he could do was shift glances between his sister's eyes and the ruffled paper she threw.

Upon hearing the siren's wail of the ambulance, Phoenix lifted her head up, her eyes softened as she yelled. "In here!!".

The paramedics pushed through the doorway, quickly setting down the carrier. Some drew Noah away from his sister, lifting him up with a -ho!- and carefully leaving his body on the stretcher. As they pushed Noah out of the house and into the back of their ambulance, Phoenix grabbed the ruffled paper she once threw away, threw her father's black tee that was lying on the couch on and hurriedly joined them inside the ambulance, her gaze never leaving Noah.

***

After receiving news that her brother would recover for a few months, Phoenix knew that she could finally breathe. Her once shaky hands now softly smoothened out the crumpled paper that was folded messily in the back pocket of her jeans.

Her eyes scanned through the paper. The thing about words is that they are easily misunderstood. The reader reads through their own filtered life experiences, jumbled with insecurities and judgement.

The paper read...

SALVADOR MANOR.

Phoenix grimaced at it. She studied the paper. Old like it's been soaked in warm coffee and left to dry. And the ink was exquisite, rare and insanely thin like hardened thread. Some parts of the paper had tiny stains, like crimson freckles.

"Miss Saur..."

Phoenix lifted her head and turned to find an older man, his hands tightly entwined with each other, dangling below his torso.

"Yes?" She answered.

"You can see your brother now. He's awake."

Phoenix smiled warmly at the man. "Thank you." She replied and she made her way down the white eerie hall and stopped in front of a sky blue door with the numbers; 26.

Phoenix huffed, shook her arms and flexed her fingers, releasing whatever negative energy had consumed her seven hours ago. Phoenix pushed the door open and winced at the scratching sound it made. She walked in to find her brother looking better than seven hours ago.

There wasn't sweat, there wasn't blood, there wasn't heavy medical equipment surrounding him any longer like he was in the ambulance. He was just there, smiling at his sister. A bruise on the corner of his lips and his arm still wrapped around his torso.

"Well..." Noah sucked in his breath "Don't you look amazing."

He meant it jokingly, she knew. Because her brown hair was up in a messy bun, the greasy strands slipped off. She was in a big black tee and silk pyjamas pants. She wore an oversized Ugg since she left the house hurriedly.

But her brother; always the jokester.

She frowned. "You scared me."

Noah knew the talk had to come about anyway. It was long and horrible but he would keep his sister safe. No matter what it took.

Phoenix drew nearer to him, sitting down on the edge of the bed, studying him. Her eyes were full of concern, worry and tiredness.

"What happened Noah?" she inquired. "We can talk about it."

Noah gave Phoenix a long look, contemplating whether to tell his twin sister or not. "You.." he started, suddenly hushing himself and watching his sister. It was a secret. A secret that if exposed, could cost her life and his as well.

"You cannot tell anyone about this."

Phoenix chuckled lightly. Her brother was never the type to be awfully serious.

"I'm serious Nix." Noah said quite firmly casting a dark shadow on Phoenix's once lightened face. "I work for the Salvadors."

Noah expected his sister to shudder in fear but he remembered that she hadn't a clue about who the Salvadors were or about their influence in the world. She was always stuck in books and real crime series.

With a sigh Noah continued. "They are dangerous people and I let some money slip."

"Why do you work for them when you know they're dangerous?"

Noah didn't respond to her question. "I am in their debt. I owe them some money and they punished me for it...."

Not allowing her brother to continue, Phoenix sighed. Rocking her head back and forth unseriously. "How much money?" She asked casually.

"Twenty three million dollars." Phoenix came to a halt. Her eyes widened at Noah.

"Are you crazy?" Phoenix dumbfoundedly asked. "Twenty..." she gasped. "Are you crazy!?"

"During my duty, one of their safe vaults was hacked. I wasn't able to stop it on time so they took it out on me."

"Aren't safe vaults illegal?" Phoenix tossed here and there. Her palms began to cry for help, rubbing against one another. An urge to choke her brother and an urge to fall on a rock and die suddenly heightened her overwhelming feeling.

"Noah, what the heck have you gotten yourself into?" She whispered but it cut Noah like a knife. "How do we pay this off?. I haven't even been given an official licence yet to work and working for twenty years won't fetch me that kind of money!"

"That's the thing.." Noah winced in pain. "We can't."

Phoenix at this point was losing it. And so was her messy bun. "What do you mean we can't?"

This was the tough pill. Noah lowered his head, staring at the floral patterned bed cover. "I already pleaded to pay them back and they don't want money."

"Well..." Phoenix's lungs ached. "What do they want?" Her intrusive thoughts dominated her. Was it gold they wanted?Diamonds?Was it some weird fetish thing?

Phoenix pressed her head forward, as if getting her ears closer to Noah would make her hear him better. But Noah wasn't saying anything. His head was still lowered, as if avoiding her gaze. It made her thoughts even more so deadly.

"Noah.." she whined.

"They want you to marry one of their own." Noah said speedily. He lifted his head, his eyes meeting with his sister's damning gaze. "You are to become a Salvador before the end of Spring."

Phoenix's gaze spoke an - unless? - and Noah answered.

"Unless, we both die."

***

Warm showers in Phoenix's opinion, were a go-to. Warm showers enhanced her skin and made her feel ever feminine. With her scented candles and citrus body wash, she always felt divine. Matter of fact, her bathroom was her favourite place in the world.

However, the catastrophic situation that engulfed her and her brother Noah, took the joy out of bathing. Her shower head sprung out rushes of cold water and the bathtub on the far end of the bathroom begged her to relax herself.

She ignored it of course.

With her African sponge in hand, lathering with an antibacterial body bar, Phoenix scrubbed skin off her body. When she was done, the cold waters rinsed her off but yet, the ugly feeling brooding in her chest refused to go. Phoenix sighed getting out of the shower.

Pairing her floral gown with her floral sandals, she picked up the ripe scent of her citrus perfume and sprayed it all over.

It was hot in Santa Barbara, California so as Phoenix got down from her fairly grey painted Toyota Prius C Hatchback, her hands flew to her forehead, casting a shadow over her eyes. She could have sworn she put her sunglasses in her bag.

Phoenix stared at the black gate before her. It was tall and thick. She walked towards it, her fist raised at the protector but it made a buzzing sound even before she could knock. At once, she walked in and it seemed as if the weather forecast changed.

Santa Barbara was a sunny place or at least a mushy place if it rained. But this place, Phoenix thought, this place couldn't be on the maps of Santa Barbara.

-Get to Sherwood Forest. Where the end of the road stops, walk further into the forest, it's safe. You'll see a black gate. Just walk in. Don't look around.- Her brother's words echoed in her head.

The walk was long and scary. Past staircases surrounded by shrubs and grass that didn't have the audacity of green. The sun seemed to hide in the clouds and the odd noises of leaves rustling shook Phoenix. She wasn't a "land" girl or a ''jungle' kind of girl. She loved to swim in the ocean where it was clear and beautiful.

Finally she got to the front of the house. The house; a giant three storey painted in black. There were no lights, no torches, nothing. It seemed empty and eerie. But there were windows here and there, small sculptures of symbolic nuisance lay on the wall. She studied the manor for a while before climbing the steps and walking to the front door.

As the sole of her sandals touched the black painting on the floor, the door opened and Phoenix jumped back in fear. She tilted her head to the right, wanting to see what was inside the house before she took a step in.

The door shut behind her with a loud thud and through a small light, she saw a man standing a few steps away from her.

"I've been expecting you, Phoenix Saur."