Chapter 4

On the silent yet cold night, two men were swaying and drunk singing loudly. It was obvious they had more than enough to drink.

" I remember…when I…was a…hiccups…a bandit…hiccups…"

"Not…like that…Greg! The song…is not.. like…that… Let me…"

"I am not Greg! You moron! I am George!"

"Are…hiccups…you from…the jungle…hiccups…"

They burst out laughing as they strolled along an alley In the suburbs of City Gotham, the road was flooded due to the incessant rain for the past three days.

The people living in that area were mostly gamblers, drunkards and the likes. It was one of the poorest downtown areas.

They didn't mind the splashing of the muddy water on their body. They were swaying from one angle to another.

But on a closer look, one of the men wasn't that drunk. He was holding the other one while he guided him along the lonely lane.

He took a boycott as he said goodbye to his companion who kept swaying along the muddy water.

"You sneaky bastard! Where are you heading off to? Are you trying to trick me, Greg?" The other man cursed as he continued swaying into the night alone.

George watched his companion moving further away from him. Of course, he was tricking him. Why would he allow anyone to know about his business tonight?

"I just have to wait for a little for Mr Santiago. I know he will be here soon. Luckily, that sneaky Donald had left already" he said, taking out a cigarette but putting it back in. He looked nervous.

"I have a feeling I am going to be rich tonight. Santiago doesn't come without money. Hopefully, he will give me something tonight. I still need to go back and gamble. Something tells me I might be lucky today"

George continued to murmur silently. A few minutes later, he saw a bright light from the darkness. It was a hidden black car. Has it been there all the while?

He adjusted his expression and grinned widely. He waved at the hidden car parked beside the quiet lane and walked briskly towards it.

"Mr Santiago, to what do I owe this auspicious visit?" The man said with a wide grin. It was obvious he wasn't that drunk.

"Your daughter. I heard she is still a virgin. I want her. I am ready to clear all your gambling debts and also give you two million dollars", Mr Santiago said as he smiled showing his tobacco stained teeth.

Mr Santiago, an old man in his fifties, was the local drug lord around Gotham. He was especially interested in ruining young girls. He has over a hundred girls in his harem and he keeps getting more.

Rumor has it that after he gets a new girl, he either takes her or sends her to one of his brothels.

Many families dreaded his visit but the one thing he never did was force the parents against their will. He will rather buy them off with the money.

Due to the poor living conditions of the people of Gotham, most greedy parents do sell their daughters to him.

That was the case with Mr George Anderson. He was so into debt that he was ready to sell off his daughter.

"Mr Santiago, don't worry about that. I promise you that she is untouched. I will deliver her to you three days from today", Mr Anderson assured.

"Bring her alongside the test results. I don't want to be tricked. If I find out you are lying to me, remember…" Mr Banton threatened as he made a gesture around his neck.

George Anderson shivered in fear and quickly bowed his head." I can never deceive you. I will come with every"

The man in the car threw a wad of cash on the dirty ground and drove off leaving the half drunk man to pick the cash up.

Mr Anderson was so happy to have hit the jackpot. His mood lightened up and his mind was thinking of various ways to deliver his daughter to Mr Santiago in three days' time.

He had secretly contacted Mr Santiago three days back when the creditors threatened to kill him if he didn't pay back his debt in a week's time. He knew his daughter could not afford to pay the debtors but she can be used to pay the debts.

So he contacted the only person who could help him, Mr Santiago, at the cost of his daughter's purity.

The idea of giving his daughter to Mr Santiago had come to him when she suddenly fainted and was rushed to the hospital. He had asked the doctor to check if she was pregnant.

"Your daughter only has a fever. It became worse due to lack of care" the doctor had told him.

As he was already in the hospital, an idea had crossed his mind. He changed his expression towards the doctor, raising his voice. He began to roar and cause a ruckus.

"How can you say she only had a fever? You need to conduct a test to show she is not pregnant or just tell me if she is still untouched! She has all the signs of pregnancy. Or are you hiding something from me?"

The doctor who was confused at the sudden outburst had no choice but to conduct both tests for his daughter, Mona.

"No need to cause a ruckus, Mr George. I will conduct the test right away"

After the test results were out, the doctor told him his daughter was still untouched and that it was just a mild fever that wasn't well treated.

"It's just as I told you. It's just a minor fever that escalated due to negligence"

The answer from the doctor prompted him to make the decision. How lucky, he thought.

"I never knew you would be this useful," George said to himself.

Mr Anderson happily whistled as he turned back to where he was gambling again. Maybe today might be his lucky day, he thought.

Unknown to him, a slender figure was watching his interaction with Mr Santiago all along. The figure was well hidden due to the dark weather.

It was obviously there for a long time silently hiding in the covers of the darkness of the night. But the heaviness surrounding the air could not be masked by even the dark knight.

As soon as Mr Anderson left, the figure ran away from the place without looking back.

How could he do that to her?