SLAVE BY THE MAFIA

"Take care of our restaurant, Archie. I will just visit Arnold in his apartment to check on his condition." Carrying a small handbag in her left hand, Cassey headed out of the small room that served as her office in the small restaurant she owned. "Your boyfriend is just making excuses, Cassey. He just doesn't want to spend money for your third anniversary," replied Cassey's younger sibling. Despite being five years older than Archie, he only called her by her name as if they were the same age. But she was fine with it, so she just let him call her by her name. Cassey stopped walking and looked back at her sibling with a frown. "He is sick, that's why we can't celebrate our anniversary today with me, and it's not because he doesn't want to spend a penny, okay?" Archie just rolled his eyes in response to what she said. He never liked Arnold for her ever since he learned that she was dating him. Arnold was her boyfriend and they had been together for three years on this day. He is kind and handsome, but she couldn't understand why Archie disliked her boyfriend so much. With a sigh, Cassey continued to walk out of her office. She rides in her second-hand car and goes to Arnold's apartment to visit him. She didn't forget to buy some fruit and his favorite chocolate cake. If they couldn't celebrate their anniversary outside, then they would celebrate it in his apartment. What's important is that they were together on this day. When she arrived in front of Arnold's apartment, she couldn't help but furrow her brows when she saw Lucy's car parked on the side of the apartment. Lucy is her best friend and also Arnold's friend. Cassey thought that maybe Lucy found out that Arnold was sick so she visited her boyfriend. After all, the two of them are also close friends. She has a key to Arnold's apartment so she didn't bother to knock. Using her key, she opened the door and entered the apartment. Her eyes widened when she saw the scattered clothes on the floor of Arnold and Lucy. Her heart pounded harder due to sudden anger. Even without seeing it yet, she could guess what the two were doing inside the room right now. She placed the basket of fruits and cake she bought on the center table and quickly went to Archie's room and opened it without any warning. "C-Cassey!" Arnold reacted in surprise. He was on top of Lucy, enjoying the ride as if he were riding a horse without any clothes on. "Hi, beshy," Lucy shamelessly greeted Cassey with a smile, not even ashamed or worried because she caught her doing something miraculous with her boyfriend. "C-Cassey, I-I will explain," Arnold's voice stuttered. He quickly got off Lucy's body, grabbed the blanket, and wrapped it in his naked body while Lucy stayed in the bed and didn't care even if she saw her exposed body. "What else do you need to explain, Arnold? That my snake friend seduced you that's why I caught you in a very intimate scene?" Cassey asked her boyfriend in a firm voice. No, he is now her ex-boyfriend. Because from this day on, the two of them break up. "Cassey's right, Arnold. What do you need to explain to her? That we've been in a relationship for a long time while you two were in a relationship?" Lucy stood up and walked towards Cassey even though she had no clothes on. "Can you cover your body, Lucy?" Arnold angrily scolded the woman. He grabbed a pillow from the bed and used it to cover Lucy's naked body. Lucy just looked at the man with disdain. "What else should I be ashamed of in front of Cassey, Arnold? She has already seen what we're doing earlier, so why should I still feel embarrassed?" Lucy gave Cassey a mocking look. She wanted her to see crying and in pain. She wanted her to feel the same pain she felt when Arnold courted her instead of her. And she needed to seduce the man she loved to secretly have a relationship with her. Cassey laughed sarcastically upon hearing the words of the woman she considered her best friend but turned out to be a snake. "You've been shameless for a long time, so what else should you be ashamed of in front of me?" She faced Arnold with her head held high and spoke. "I never thought you would be interested in a cheap woman, Arnold. A woman who can't live without a man in a day. Well, in my opinion, the two of you are really meant for each other, so good luck to both of you." Lucy is known as an easy-to-get woman. As fast as she changes clothes, she also changes boyfriends quickly. Many people were against her being friends with Lucy because they said she was a bad influence, but she didn't listen to them. For her, Lucy doesn't do anything wrong to her, so there's no reason for her to stay away from her. "How dare you say that to me!" Lucy's eyes suddenly glared when she heard Cassey's insult. She was about to slap Cassey but Arnold quickly stopped her hand. "Are you defending her after hearing her insulting me?" she angrily shouted at the man. "Shut up, Lucy! We are the ones at fault so we have no right to hurt her," Arnold sternly scolded the woman. "I won't waste any more time here. I'm leaving so you can continue with your interrupted ceremony," Cassey said in a cold voice. Before the two could speak, she quickly turned her back on them. As she passed through the living room, she saw the cake she bought from the nearby cake shop. She approached the cake, took it out of the box, and walked back to Arnold's room. The two were still standing by the door and arguing. Without saying a word, she threw the cake in Arnold's face. "What a waste of the cake I bought if you won't taste it, Arnold. Happy third anniversary." "You're crazy!" Lucy angrily shouted at her and pushed her away. She just smirked at her ex-best friend before turning around and leaving Arnold's apartment. Upon entering her car, Cassey finally let out the tears that she had been trying to hold back earlier. She didn't want to show it to them, especially to Lucy, who she knew would be pleased to see her crying and hurting. She quickly wiped away her tears and then drove her car away from Arnold's apartment. She cried not because she loved Arnold so much and was deeply hurt by the betrayal of the two people she trusted. She cried because she felt foolish. They made her like a fool. It turns out that Cassey had been deceived by Arnold and Lucy for a long time without even realizing it. Perhaps they are now secretly laughing at her because she remained faithful to him while he was enjoying himself with other women. Cassey returned to the restaurant after calming herself down. She will not cry excessively for people who are not worthy of her tears. It's a good thing she discovered their deception because she found out that Arnold is not deserving of her love. She is grateful that she hasn't given herself to him no matter how much he pressured her. If he had taken her body, she would deeply regret it. Because she promised herself that the man she would face at the altar would be the only one she would give her body to. Maybe because she can't give herself to him until they are not yet married, Arnold finds another woman to fulfill his needs as a man. But what can she do if she's not really ready to give herself to her boyfriend? Maybe she never truly loved him. Because if he loves him, he will agree to what he wants to happen. Anyway, he has never truly loved any other man except—. Cassey immediately cut off the train of her thoughts when she realized where it was heading. It was heading towards the past that she didn't want to think about. She took a deep breath and strongly shook her head to completely erase the memories that wanted to stick in her mind. When Cassey arrived at their restaurant, she was surprised to see that it was closed. It was still early and she had only been gone for a few minutes, yet the restaurant was already closed. She was about to go home when her cellphone, which was inside her handbag, suddenly vibrated. She quickly took it out and read the chat message she received from her sibling. He was asking her to come home because there was an emergency. Upon reading Archie's chat, she quickly drove her car towards their house. She felt a strong sense of worry for her sibling. Something must have happened to him because he wouldn't send her a message like that if it wasn't serious. "Archie! Archie!" As soon as her car parked in front of their house, Cassey practically flew inside due to the intense worry she was feeling. "Archie! What—" Cassey's words were cut off when she saw Archie sitting in the living room, looking unharmed. In front of him was a handsome man holding a black attaché case. "Sit down, Cassey. We have a big problem to deal with right now," Archie said to her with a serious expression. He is just eighteen years old, but because he thinks maturely, he seems older in both speech and actions than her. She still sat beside Archie, even though he was confused about what was happening. "What's happening, Archie? And who is she? What does she want from us?" She couldn't help but ask her sister after sitting down. "Let me answer your question, Miss Aguilar. By the way, let me first introduce my name. I am Attorney Migz Sandoval," Migz introduced himself to her before informing them without hesitation about his purpose. "I am the lawyer of Mister Philip Olivarez, the new owner of the land where your restaurant stands. Mister Olivarez will be building a commercial building, so you need to relocate your restaurant as soon as possible." Cassey blinked several times because Attorney Sandoval's words didn't immediately sink into her mind. Finally, when she understood what the lawyer meant, she suddenly stood up from her seat with eyes wide open. "You want to demolish my restaurant? But I have already talked to Mr. Ocampo. He said he will sell me the land where my restaurant stands." It seems like it was an unlucky day for her. Just earlier, she discovered that her boyfriend was cheating on her, and the woman she considered her best friend is now threatening to take away their source of livelihood with Archie. Cassey needs a large amount of money if she decides to move her restaurant to another location. And where will she get the large sum of money needed to buy the land for her restaurant and to actually build the restaurant itself? The money she used as capital to establish the restaurant was the small amount left to her by her deceased mother. His greedy uncle took over his company and even their other properties. She didn't know how his uncle did it, but they woke up one day only to find out that the only thing they owned was the house and land they were currently living in. They didn't bother to fight for their properties anymore because even their father's lawyer was involved in the scheme with their uncle to seize their wealth. "As far as I know, my client has bought the land and his shares to Mr. Ocampo, so my client is now the owner. And as she mentioned, Philip Olivarez will be building a commercial building, so you need to relocate your restaurant," Attorney Sandoval explained again to Cassey. "How about that, Cassey? We will lose our livelihood. Does this mean I will have to stop studying?" Archie's eyes filled with sadness as he looked at his older sibling. Cassey shook her head firmly and tightly held both of her brother's shoulders. "No, Archie. You won't have to stop studying, okay? I will find a way. If I need to talk to Mr. Philip Olivarez to request that he doesn't demolish my restaurant, I will do it. So don't worry, okay?" "If you plan on talking to my client, you can visit him at his house right now," suggested Attorney Sandoval. "He's often not at home, so you're lucky that he was there now, waiting for an update from me. If you really want to talk to Mr. Olivarez go see him now. He might leave suddenly, and it will be difficult for you to talk to him later." Cassey quickly asked Philip Olivarez's address. Then she hurriedly left her house and went to her car. "I will accompany you to that person's house, Cassey," Archie said before Cassey could start her car. Cassey just nodded at her brother. In their haste to talk to Philip Olivarez, Cassey, and Archie forgot that the attorney was still inside their house. Meanwhile, Migz voluntarily walks out of Cassey's house when he is left alone inside. He took out his cellphone from his pocket and called the person who had been waiting to hear news from him. "She was on her way to your house. I have done my part, so it's up to you what your next move will be against her."