Chapter 9 - Where is Romeo?

"A day to our wedding, Charlotte realized her wedding gown was shredded to pieces. She called to inform me that she was on her way to pick a new gown. I told her to wait for me to join her because it was strange for someone to do that. Besides, her house was well secured because she was from a wealthy home. Since the wedding was just the next day, we didn't have time to investigate. I smelled foul play so I didn't want her to go alone but she insisted she had to go alone since I wasn't supposed to see her gown.."

Romeo paused as if recalling something then he continued.

"I insisted that she waits for me to send the guards but she set off on her own and…"

Romeo could not hold back the tears as he recounted that awful day. With his back against the wall, he cried like a baby. Maria felt sorry and pulled him into a tight hug. He had never spoken about that incident the way he spoke about it today. All this pain had been kept hidden for a long time kept pouring out with each tear he shared. Pluto was overwhelmed because Romeo never cried. Even during Charlotte's funeral, no one saw his tears. It's the first time he saw her crying and he was crying in front of Maria, Acid and this assassin Ken. He felt sorry for him but couldn't do anything to help with the pain he felt.

"And when I called," he continued as he pulled out of Maria's embrace as allowed his butt to hit the cold floor. It was so unlike Romeo. Romeo Chuks Lord, sitting on the bare floor. Pluto couldn't do much, knowing that he was going through at tbs moment, he bent and sat beside him, and so did Maria. Acid kept his stand at the entrance of the door as Romeo continued his story.

"she wasn't answering her phone. On the third ring, a stranger picked up and told me the owner of the phone just had an accident and was being transported to the hospital in an ambulance. He gave me the name of the hospital. When we got to the hospital, she was pronounced dead on arrival. The doctor said she sustained serious injuries on the head and there was no way she could survive it." He stopped talking and looked blankly into space. It was as if he was in a different world.

"Since then, he spoke without blinking. I have determined never to give my heart away. The pain of losing someone is worse than heartbreak and after experiencing both, this is the life I chose." He said sadly, wiping the tears that escaped his tear ducts.

"The life you chose?" Maria murmured. She wanted to ask more questions but she knew it wasn't the right time. The guy was broken and she had to give him time to recover from this hurt and loss. This while, Acid, and Pluto showed mixed emotions but what captured their attention was the relentless way Ken kept crying. The sound of his tears created panic in the atmosphere. How could he be affected so much by what Romeo said? For Pluto, it's understandable because they are best friends but for him? It sparks something fishy.

"Hey man, can you shut up?" Pluto snarled, tapping him on his shoulder but he continued crying and kept saying he was sorry.

"Sorry for what? This was no fault of yours," Acid said annoyingly after being quiet all this while. It was obvious the sound of Ken's tear-filled voice was getting on his nerves.

Maria felt that this guy knew more than he was telling them. Why are you crying? You didn't cry when you were being tortured. So what's your beef? She asked with both concern and instability evident in her voice.

"Please tell him not to kill me, he pleaded to look at Romeo.

Of course, idiot, he would have done that a long time ago if he wanted to. He even offered to rescue your daughter so don't make him regret his decision.

"I am not talking about what happened today." He said shaking with fear.

So what are you talking about? Romeo implored, getting on his feet.

"It wasn't an accident. It was planned. His voice was filled with regret. Romeo looked at him as if he had seen his biggest enemy. He had an expression of shock, anger, and a burning desire for revenge. Maria was frozen to the spot by his confession. But Pluto was just trying to understand what Ken just said.

No one noticed when Romeo yanked Ken and lifted him with the chair, throwing him against the wall. He let out a wailing scream as fresh blood began oozing from his bullet wounds. He could not move since he was still tied to the chair. He only had his voice and therefore decided to use it.

"She told me you killed her sister. He spoke with pain and sorrow. I didn't know much about you then so I believed her. That's why I didn't want to carry out her second plot. I never wanted to kill Maria but when she kidnapped my child, I didn't have a choice. Please believe me, He screamed.

"Believe you? You killed my fucking fiancee," Romeo growled and proceeded to lift him off the ground but was quickly held by Acid and Pluto before he could throw him again.

"Rome, cool off. He clearly stated he was acting on Monalisa's orders. If you kill him, you won't find her." Pluto said. Romeo instantly dropped Ken on the floor.

"Call the Doctor, he barked at Acid. He has to get on his feet by tomorrow. He has to help us locate Monalisa. He said with a growl and walked out dragging Maria behind him.

An acid called the doctor and he arrived in less than an hour. He already understood the injury so he came with all the necessary medications. Pluto left him to do his job and instructed Acid to keep watch.

The doctor came out after a few hours and instructed Acid to let the patient rest to speed up the healing. He again explained the medications and promised to come the next day.

Acid assigned one of the bodyguards to watch over him while he went to search for Romeo to let him know what the doctor said.

He searched the usual places but could not find him. From his bedroom to the dining, garden, library, and even the basement. He was alarmed and called Pluto.

" Where is Romeo"?