Isla's POV
I stood by the counter, yawning tiredly. I had come here so early but still had to work late because I had to pay the rent which was almost due. My eyes were heavy, but I listened carefully to the customer who had just walked up to the counter to make an order. I kept smiling as though everything was alright.
"It'll be ready in let's say 10 minutes…" I passed them another smile before walking into the kitchen area to perfect the order. Working this extra shift was what I needed to complete the money I needed for rent.
As I readied the order, handing it over to another colleague who helped me serve it to the customer, my attention was dragged to the buzzing sound that came from my pocket.
At first, I wanted to ignore, and focus on work, but when the buzzing continued after a few pauses, I realized it might have been important.
I puked my phone from my pocket, and upon seeing who was on the line, my eyes widened. "Celeste?" I called the moment I took the call, and placed the phone close to my ears, but what I heard next caused me to turn pale.
"Isla… Isla…" she called, breathing hard. I also started to panic, wanting to know what the matter was.
"Celeste? Yes I can hear you. What's the matter, are you alright, why is your breath coming out in pants?" I asked, my heart already drumming.
At this point, I paced around the kitchen, trying so hard to get myself. Celeste was my sister, and the only family member I actually have. Our parents died when we were younger through a house invasion, and I was left to care for her even up till this moment.
"Yes I'm alright, but I'm in huge trouble," she finally responded, but her response tensed me up.
"Where the hell are you, I'm coming…" I didn't even want to know what the problem was, but I was ready to do anything for my sister.
"At the casino…" She whispered, still breathing hard. "I wanted to have a little fun, but ended up having way too much fun, and I lost $5million. Now these scary men are after me…"
The moment her words reached my ears, everything around me spun, and I held on to one of the tables.
"Fiv–five million?!" I stammered, but quickly snapped out of it.
"Okay, so where are you now?" I said, taking off the apron I had been wearing, turning to my colleague who gave me a surprising gaze, but lucky for me, my shift was about to end.
"At the restroom in the casino, that was the only place I could hide in time to call you. It's gonna take a while for them to find me, hurry…"
My face formed in a frown, but what was important now was for me to find a way to actually save her.
"I'm on my way…" I concluded, rushing off work to the roadside where I got a taxi.
"Where ma'am?" He questioned, and I exhaled, trying to calm my fears.
"Darkcube casino…" I said, and immediately rested my head. So many thoughts went on in my mind, and I immediately turned on the tracking app, and connected to my sister's number just to be sure.
I continued exhaling, trying to calm myself. I couldn't help but feel responsible for her.
Finally getting there, I walked around the place, trying to locate what bathroom she was in, and when I finally got it, the red dot on the screen kept blinking to show she was there.
"Celeste…." I whispered, and she gasped, opening the bathroom door to pull me inside. She closed the door, giving me a tight hug to calm herself down.
"Oh Isla, I'm so glad you–"
"You and I are going to have a chat by the time we come out of this…" I responded, and she immediately kept shut, feeling sad.
I looked around, and noticed that the window was the only available means of escape.
"We have to go through the window. We don't have any portable means of escape, and that's the only."
Celeste, not having any order choice nodded, but my heart dropped when we heard footsteps, and noises.
"She owes me 5 million. Search everywhere, she mustn't escape!" I heard the voice of the one she had scammed.
"Go go go!" I whispered, and she quickly used the toilet seat to climb up the window. Thankfully it was the lower window, and it wasn't a hard landing, so I followed afterwards.
Once we landed outside the casino, we rushed towards the taxi man who was already waiting. I pleaded with him to stay, promising to pay double.
"Drive…. Drive… 5th avenue" I urged once we got in, and even when it was obvious in his expression that he was suspicious, he stepped on the accelerator pedal.
The drive took about a long time alongside complete silence that was until the driver came to a stop right at our house.
"We're here ma'am…" he explained, and alighted with her following. I pulled out the cash, handing it to the driver who sped off a few minutes later.
As soon as we got into the house, Celeste crashed into the hair, and started laughing, but I frowned, shaking my head.
"What? That was fun, wasn't it?"
"Fun? You could have gotten killed!" I screamed, and she rolled her eyes.
"Only because you came later than I expected. What were you even doing?" she asked, standing up to remove the coat she was wearing on her gown.
"What was I doing?" I questioned, running my hands through my hair as I paced around. "I was working to pay the damn rent. Yet, you went around to a casino to bet? Come on! What if they come after you, huh? We'll all be in danger. I swore to actually protect you, but you're making it hard for–"
She cut right through my statement. "Relax… there's no need for you to act this way. No one is actually going to find me because I didn't use my main ID. I used a fake one. See?" She pulled out the Id showing it to me and only then did I manage to calm down.
"Fine, but don't pull such a stunt again. Do you understand?" I asked, but she hugged me.
"Yes, yes I do."
A week later, and I was convinced everything was going to be alright. I had finally gone to give the crazy landlord the rent and was returning back to the house to happily tell Celeste the news, but when I opened the door, my eyes widened.
I turned my head to the left, and right, taking hold of everything that had happened. The table was broken, the chairs turned upside down, the glass vase was broken, and the picture of our parents was cracked.
"W-what?" I rushed in, but that was when my sight captured Celeste. She was tied to one of the dinning chairs, and her lips were covered with duct tape.
"Mmm! Mmm!" She screamed, and her eyes widened as soon as she saw me, and she started to wiggle frantically, trying to break free.
"Celeste?" I called, rushing to help her when all of a sudden three men came out of nowhere. Both grabbed my arm, while the other used something to cover my face while I struggled, screaming so much my throat hurt.
"Celeste! Celeste!" I screamed, but the more I did, the more I felt myself being pulled away.