Four

Luiz Diane was sitting in the living room of the small one room apartment she shared with her father, Luiz Sanchez on the outskirts of Centro. She had returned from her aunt's place that evening to find the house empty. Her dad wasn't one to move around at night so she was worried. Being a part of the mob, Luiz was mostly never around but it was unlike him to be gone so late at night. With the death of her mum a few years ago, Diane had grown accustomed to her dad and she was content with her life.

She had no friends but that didn't stop her from living her life happily, Luiz Sanchez always reminded her how she didn't need anything to make her feel better and come to think of it, she really didn't.

Diane's life was quite peaceful, everything that she needed to know, she was learning or had learnt from the internet. Her father had gone through so much trouble to get her the things she needed and she was satisfied. Diane was aware of the illegal businesses her father was involved in as a member of Ricardo Alvarez's mob but she felt he knew what was best and as long as he was careful, she was okay.

From knitting to sewing to cooking, Diane was skilled in almost every aspect of basic living. At a young age, she had sat next to her mother and watched her every move and almost 20 years later, she had honed those skills and made a name for herself in her little town. Luiz Sanchez was a very proud father, it wasn't everyday you got to see a daughter that was both diligent and hardworking.

Born with asthma, Diane had a rough childhood, she had way too many faint spells and she never went anywhere without her inhaler. The doctors had said she would outgrow it, she didn't but at least it wasn't as bad as it used to be. She could afford to go out without her inhaler, she couldnt run or engage in tasking activities but Diane was happy she didn't have to rely on the inhaler completely.

Luiz Sanchez stood at the base of the entrance and watched Eric drove off, he looked at the bag in his hand and said a silent prayer for Eric. Ricardo Alvarez had given him three days to pay back the money he had lost from the delivery and Luiz was losing his mind. How was he going to get such an amount? He had family in upstate Madrid but he haven't been in touch for years after the death of his wife.

Christina had been diagnosed with Leukemia few months after he had the accident in the factory. She was never in support of the section in the factory that Luiz had worked with, he was in charge of operating the big machines used in cutting up the steel and Christina was always scared something would happen to him in the process. Luiz had always comforted her with how he would be careful and do things at a slow pace, that didn't calm the fear Christina had and as the factory called for her to come identify a body, she felt like she was living a nightmare.

The dead body ended up not being Luiz's but he didn't leave the accident unscathed. The power had gone off right in the middle of the steel cutting and the machine had gone into overdrive, as it jerked and flung the steel around the warehouse, one flew right into Luiz and another coworker. It was the coworker that ended up dead but as paramedics tried to remove Luiz from under the debris, he lost his left leg.

Christina was too busy with running the household, settling hospital bills and taking care of their teenage daughter. When the trip to the hospital finally happened with much pressure from Luiz and Diane, it was discovered that the cancer had spread all over her blood and it was at it's critical stage.

Luiz said a quick prayer in his heart for Christina, he hoped she was at peace wherever she was. She was a good woman and a good mother, Diane turned out so well cause her mother was amazing.

"Where have you been, Dad?" Diane asked as soon as her father walked through the door. Luiz was surprised to see Diane in the house, he had left her at his sister's house but Diane wasn't just hardworking like her mum, she definitely was stubborn.

"I thought I told you to stay at your Aunt Lupe's place?" He answered her with a question of his own and she flinched.

"Dad, I have things to do at home. I can't sit idle at Aunt Lupe's" she said with a little protest in her voice.

Luiz wasn't really in the mood to argue with Diane, "Alright" he sighed and walked straight to his room. Luiz Sanchez never went to bed without eating dinner and Diane had spent the last two hours preparing a meal for the both of them but he didn't look interested in eating.

Diane felt something was bothering him but she didn't want to disturb him and she decided to let him be. As she sat at the table to eat alone for the first time in awhile, her mind went to Ricardo Alvarez, her dad had been working for Ricardo ever since they met in the weird way they did. Diane wasn't in support of the whole mob business with Ricardo Alvarez but her father was her father which meant he was a grown up man and he was capable of making his own decisions. Even if the decision wasnt, according to Diane a smart one but it was his decision anyways.

Luiz Sanchez woke up from an exhausted sleep with his mind on the debt he had to pay. The money he was returning to Ricardo would take care of him and Diane for almost 10 years and to make matters worse, he had no idea on how he was going to get the money. It was day one of the three days which meant he had two days left to come up with the sum.

Diane glanced at the clock as her father hurried out of the house, it was 7:10 in the morning and he didn't even bother to have breakfast. Luiz Sanchez never skipped breakfast just like he never skipped dinner but in the space of 24 hours, he had skipped both meals and he had left the house without even giving her a kiss on the cheek. It was tradition to give Diane a kiss and she wondered what must be running through her father's mind for him to have not done that.

Luiz drew a deep breath as he stood in front of his elder brother's house in Salamanca. It had been over six years since they both had any form of contact and he didn't know what to say or how to go about saying it. The least he could do was try, his life was at stake. Ricardo Alvarez wasn't one to forget so easily and he most definitely never forgave.