Blood Money

As I ran away from the mafia leader and his crew, I knew my time on earth was coming to an end. Everything at that moment started to move in slow motion. I could hear the sound of my heart pounding loudly in my ear like a drum. I could feel the tears rushing to my eyes, and running down my face, as the money that laid in my arms fell to the ground leaving a trail with each step I took. I tried to move my feet as fast as I could until I heard-"BANG". Would you die for the ones you love? Or let them suffer due to your mistakes? Welcome to my not so happily ever after.

My name is Destiny, and my life has been anything but happy. Around the time I was born, the light that shined within my father’s eyes faded to darkness, he was soon laid to rest a few weeks after my birth. I was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, and life was Rough. I had seen friends I grew up with fall due to gang violence, and drug abuse. I luckily was one of the few that made it to the age of 18 and graduated High School. After I graduated, I had to help out at the family business after we found out that my mother had been diagnosed with cancer. My family owned this small corner store for about 10 years now, but once my mother fell ill, the business started to go under, and money was becoming scares.

One day As I was working the corner store, a tall man walked inside the store filling the room with his cologne. His face was covered by the shadow of his hat, and the smell was so overpowering yet so good I couldn't help but to glance at this man. As I glanced up at him, I saw that the tall, handsome man had a body filled with tattoos. He was wearing a black button up shirt, a pair of black slacks. I couldn't help the strong attraction that this man had over me. As he walked to the counter my heart started to race. I noticed that he had the most beautiful hazel eyes that I've ever seen. His skin was golden, and he offered a smile so perfect that it made me melt on the inside and a face covered with a nicely cut beard. He was carrying a little black book that looked like an old diary, with a band wrapped around it to keep it shut.

The mysterious man walked up to me, laid the little black book on the counter and asked, "Are you the owner of this somewhat fine establishment?" Usually, I would be offended of what he had just asked, but for some reason I wasn't. I simply nodded my head yes as I stared into his beautiful eyes. The mystery man then gave me a proposition. He told me that he was an investor, and his job was to fix run down businesses that were going out of business and make them prosper, only if we would pay for his services. I tried to explain to the mysterious man that the store doesn't receive enough money to pay him for his services, but he insisted that he wouldn't charge us until the business was up and running, again. He told me to think it over and handed me his business card with his name and number on it and walked out of the store leaving nothing but the lingering scent of his cologne. I looked back at the business card only to see that the handsome man’s name was Tony.

Once I closed the store, I rushed home to tell my mom the good news. When I arrived home my mother was laying on the couch watching her favorite soap opera on the T.V. I quickly ran to her and told her about the mystery man that came into the store. My mother thought it would be a good idea financially, but she told me to be careful since we don't really know anything about this man. I quickly picked up the phone and told him that we agree to the partnership. He told me that he would stop by the store tomorrow so that we could sign the contract.

The next day came, and we were more than happy to sign the contract papers. As soon as we signed the papers a group of men started moving boxes, new cash registers, cameras, and shelves in and out of the store. I could see that Tony had the little black book again, in the pocket inside of his suit. Once Tony reached the door he turned around and said, "Please don't come into the basement this will be my office area and I like to keep my things private." I told him "ok" however I grew a bit curious about what he had said. By the time the men finished moving everything in the store, it looked brand new. I couldn't even recognize the store. By the end of the week our little run-down store was now new, and flowing with customers, and money. By the end of the week, we had broke-even and things were starting to look up.

Even though the store was filling with money, my mother’s medical bills were still unreachable. I had decided to go to the store and ask Tony to help pay for my mother’s medical bills. When I arrived at the store, the door had a closed sign on it and the lights were off. I quickly pulled out my keys to see why the store was closed during the busiest time of the day. When I walked into the store, I could hear men talking from the basement. I slowly creeped down into the basement only to see it filled with crates, and guns. I tried to lean in a bit more so that I could hear exactly what they were saying. I overheard Tony say that they were the biggest mafia in the city and soon they would take over this town. I was so shocked of what I just heard, I knocked over a box while trying to sneak out, and all the men including Tony turned towards me and quickly pulled out their guns. I ran upstairs scared out of my mind before they could catch me and ran all the way home without looking back.

The next day at the store I decided to find out what was in that black book that Tony was always carrying around. I asked Tony to watch the register so that I could use the bathroom. I calmly walked towards the bathroom and ducked off into the basement. I quickly stole the black book, took a picture of what was inside, and finished the day at the store. When I got home, I looked through the pictures of the black book and saw that inside the book was a list of locations that stashed thousands of dollars at each location. I knew what I had to do. I had to steal the Mafia's money.

After my shift I went home, grabbed a duffel bag and went to the first location. The location was in a old scrap yard, where I found $20,000. Eventually I had went to almost every location throughout the course of 3 months. At the end of 3 months I had stole 2.6 million dollars without even blinking an eye. The first thing I did was paid off my mothers medical bills, paid off the house, and my mothers car. I didn't realize how much I took, but I knew trouble would soon come my way.

The next day at the store I knew that Tony realized that the money was gone, and he was furious. I had already decided to move the money to an abandoned warehouse just in case Tony decided to raid my house. I had left my family a secret message just in case something were to happen to me, that only they could solve.

I soon got a text message from Tony telling me that he knew everything, and to meet him at the warehouse with his money. I knew what I had to do. I quickly called the police and gave them a tip on what was happening. When I got to the warehouse, I saw that Tony and the other Mafia members were all standing in front of me. I told Tony that I needed the money, and he shouted "Give me back what's mine or your family will pay the price." I knew I had to protect my family, so I turned around and started to run away with the bag of money.

As I ran away from the mafia leader and his crew, I knew my time on earth was coming to an end. Everything at that moment started to move in slow motion. I could hear the sound of my heart pounding loudly in my ear like a drum. I could feel the tears rushing to my eyes, and running down my face, as the money that laid in my arms fell to the ground leaving a trail with each step I took. I tried to move my feet as fast as I could until I heard-"BANG". Darkness grew in my eyes and my breath grew shorter and shorter until there was none left.

As I laid there lifeless, Tony and the crew members realized that the money in my hands was fake, and that I had tipped off the police, once they saw the wire that was hidden underneath my jacket. Soon after the police arrived, Toni and the rest of the Mafia were arrested, leaving my family safe and wealthy, but also saddened by my sudden death. I knew that I had to protect my family and sacrifice myself for them.

Not every story has a happy ending, some are just bittersweet.