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We made our way out of the bathroom and to the bedroom, and then my heart almost leapt out of my throat in shock. Alfonze was standing there, shivering, with his arms folded, a look of horror written all over his face.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!” he roared.

“Alfonze?!” Donte cried out.

“DONTE?!” Alfonze screamed in shock. “How did you get in here?!”

Donte’s heart hammered against his chest. Alfonze walked towards us steadily, looking relieved with a massive burden and weight lifted off of his shoulders that we weren’t here to hurt him, and he’d seen a familiar face.

“I'm so glad you're okay, man…” Donte murmured.

“We're here to save you,” I explained timidly.

“But Philip will kill me!” Alfonze yelled.

“Philip is dead,” I breathed.

Alfonze jolted back, startled. Not expecting to hear this news.

“It's a long story,” Donte interjected.

Alfonze nodded feebly, letting out a sigh.

“It's so good to see you, man…” he breathed to Donte. “I thought I was going to die in here…”

“I know, brother…” Donte murmured. “I know. I've missed you so much. I went out of my mind thinking that you were dead.”

Alfonze took his head into his hands, rocking himself backwards and forwards.

“Well, you're here now,” Alfonze shrugged. “That's all that matters.”

Donte nodded, an uneasy expression written on his face.

“So, what happens now?” Alfonze mumbled.

“We're going to drive you back to Manhattan,” I explained. “And I'm going to take you back to your sister Felicia.”

Alfonze’s eyes lit up, because he could finally see light at the end of the tunnel. He wouldn’t be trapped in these four walls anymore, driving himself mad with the thought that he would never see daylight again. That he would never see his family or loved ones again. I knew how he felt. I knew what it was like to feel trapped and helpless, with no way out. I was just glad that we could help him.

“But in the car, I'm going to need to ask you a few questions,” I said. “And I want you to answer them as best as you can.”

“Okay,” Alfonze agreed. “Thank you so much for this… You don’t know how much this means to me. I thought I was going to die in here.”

I nodded to him in reassurance. We made our way out of the house and to the car, our bodies pounding with anticipation and nerves.

When we made it to the car, Donte drove, and me and Alfonze sat together in the backseats whilst I interrogated him.

“I need you to tell me who it is behind the murders,” I shrugged. “Whoever was threatening you, apart from Philip. You don't have to fear for any repercussions. Donte and I will take care of any threats to your wellbeing… But I need you to tell me as much information as you can. If you don't know his name, then just give us a description of his appearance. The notes on Philip's file said that the hitman was the kingpin of the Sinaloa cartel.”

I broke off my sentence, feeling heat roar to my ears as I prepared myself for what Alfonze was about to tell me.

“I got in over my head into some deep shit,” Alfonze breathed, a tear rolling down his cheek. “Owed a lot of motherfucker's debts. But I didn't have enough money to pay them off…

“So I approached the Sinaloa cartel. I borrowed some money from them, to pay off the other people I owed money. And I tried and tried to gather money to then pay the Sinaloa cartel back, but they demanded it back too fast.”

Alfonze trailed off his sentence, his breathing becoming laboured. Donte gave him a reassuring nod to keep on going, and Alfonze nodded back sheepishly, regathering his strength.

“And because I didn't have it ready, they beat the shit out of me,” Alfonze mumbled exhaustedly, torturing himself with the memories. “Left me for dead in an alleyway. I could barely breathe…

“And I thought I was going to bleed out and die, right there and then. But that's when that Philip guy approached me. He found me in the alleyway, and took me under his wing, without anybody knowing or being informed. It was a secret agreement. I went with him, or else I would die. It was a life or death situation.