Thomas Loretto was sitting in his sitting room watching the news when the doorbell rang and he averted his gaze from the TV.
" Honey, get the door" he shouted but got no response, he did the same again but got no response again so he decided to go see who it was. Getting to the door, he opened it and met a delivery guy standing with a letter inside a brown envelope.
" Are you Mr. Thomas Loretto?" The delivery guy asked and Mr Thomas nodded slowly arching his brows. " This is for you" The delivery guy stretched his hand and gave the letter to Mr. Thomas before bringing out a pen and book for him to sign, which he did and the delivery guy left.
He stood there for some seconds before walking back to the sitting room, he sat down and crossed his legs before opening the letter slowly. He was curious about the letter but took things slowly, trying to get a clue about who sent it to him. There was no name or anything that leads to the sender so he slowly opened the letter and the first thing his eyes caught was his daughter's name. His heart skipped a beat and fear engulfed him immediately.
Mr Thomas began to read further and beads of sweat clouded his forehead and his hand which was holding the letter began to shake vigorously. His heart was running a marathon in his ribcage and his lips were trembling slightly.
" Honey, I heard you calling my name. I was taking a bath then" Mrs Thomas said but got no response from her husband. She walked closer to the sofa he was sitting on and sat beside him. She saw fear and terror written all over his face so she took the letter from him and began to read it.
" Oh, my God! Cosa Nostra has finally remembered. I thought he has forgotten about the money but why is he mentioning Ava's name here?" She asked moving her eyes from the letter to her husband who was lost in thought.
" Thomas!" She tapped him and he snapped out of his daze, " what did you say?" He asked.
" I said what is Ava's name doing in the letter?" She asked again but he couldn't answer as he bent his head in guilt.
He remembered vividly well how it all happened and why his daughter's name was mentioned in the letter which was sent to him by the number one Italian mafia in all of Italy, the COSA NOSTRA.
FLASHBACK
" Boss, there's someone here to see you," one of the men guarding the Venomous Alliance Clan said to Cosa Nostra who was seated on his throne.
" Bring him in" he spoke huskily and the guard bowed before leaving the room. Soon he came back with a man who was at the verge of crying. Immediately they got into the room where the Cosa Nostra was, the man fell on his knees with his head on the ground.
" What brings you here, Thomas?" Cosa Nostra asked and Thomas began to sniff. It seems the Italian mafia knew the man before.
" My business is crumbling right now and all the ships containing my goods sank into the ocean. Please Cosa Nostra lend me some money, I promise to return it with interest when my business begins to flourish well again" the man said his head still on the ground. No one dared look at the number one Mafia in all of Italy if he loves his head.
" And how much are we talking about?"
  " Ten million Euro" the man answered and the mafia Lord laughed. His laughter echoed around the room making the man on his knees tremble in fear.
" What makes you think I will lend you such an amount of money?" He asked after laughing to his heart's content before taking a day cigarette and lighted it, the smoke leaving his nostrils and mouth.
" What would you give me if you aren't able to return the money because I know you won't be able to refund such an amount of money in six months"
" I......I will give my daughter to you once she's grown enough" the man said and the mafia Lord stood up from his throne and walked to where the man was still kneeling.
" Stand up," he said huskily puffing out the smoke from his nostrils and mouth. The man was reluctant to stand up but did as he was told if he wanted to get out of the Venomous Alliance Clan alive.
" You've made a good decision. I will come for your daughter when she's twenty years of age and you dare not hide her away from my eagle eyes if you want to live" he whispered and the man nodded frantically, his breath hitching. He was trying to hold back the cough in his throat because of the smoke the mafia Lord puffed into his face.
" Marcello" he called and Marcello stepped forward and answered, "Yes boss".
" Get him the money," the mafia Lord said and strolled back to his throne while the man left with Marcello.
" Vincenzo now has a wife" he smirked dangerously......
     END OF FLASHBACK
" What!!!!" Mrs. Thomas shouted she couldn't believe what her husband just told her. " You did what? You trade the life and future of our daughter for money?"
 " I had no option. I couldn't think straight at that time, all I wanted to do then was to save my business I didn't even know if he would remember" Mr. Thomas sighed loudly and Mrs. Thomas began to cry.
" Do something, Thomas. I can't give my daughter to the Cosa Nostra, go find the money and give him back" Mrs Thomas said holding her husband's hand with pleading eyes.
For Christ's sake, her daughter was just twenty years of age and a college student, she won't want to ruin her daughter's future just like that even though she has another daughter. Both were precious to her because they are her future.
" Where do you want me to get such an amount of money, Sarah!!" Mr Thomas yelled at his wife for the very first time since they got married. He wasn't thinking straight and as such yelled at his wife. " Do you think I am also happy to give Ava to the Cosa Nostra? Huh? She's my only daughter and I am not a wicked father to do such a thing, but we are left with just two options here Sarah, just two!!" He said and Mrs Thomas couldn't hold back her tears as she allowed it to flow freely from her cheeks.
" It is either we give Ava to him or get killed. Do you want to die??" He asked and Mrs Thomas shook her head still sobbing. " Then we have no option than to give her to the Cosa Nostra," Mr. Thomas said and stormed out of the living room.
All this while Ava was eavesdropping on their conversation. She was on her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water after reading for two hours none stop when she heard her father yelling at her mother.
" I would be getting married to the Cosa Nostra? That old Italian mafia? I am doomed!!!"