Chapter 2

The courtyard where the wedding was to take place was now nearly empty. Only the household staff of the mansion were there – taking down flower arrangements and clearing the tables. The guests were told to leave an hour ago.

Inside Esteban's sprawling office within the mansion, Luis was trying to make sense of what happened.

"Who did this?! Who kidnapped my bride?! Who took my uncle?!" His voice sounding desperate as he faced the one man who could give him an answer.

"I don't know!" answered Manuel, Esteban's right-hand man. "It could be one of Esteban's enemies or it could be the police. I'm still trying to find out."

Luis looked distraught. He had no idea who took his bride, Sarah. He knew something was wrong when he entered Sarah's room that morning and saw that it was empty. He was alarmed when he found her engagement ring lying on the bed. Now it was confirmed. His bride was missing – and so was his uncle. He suspected Sarah's disappearance had to be related to his uncle. His uncle had many enemies.

Little did he know that his bride was actually an undercover spy who was part of a special operation to secretly extradite his uncle to the US.

"How could a well-guarded place like this still got infiltrated?!" asked Luis, pacing around the room.

He was still wearing his wedding suit, now slightly crumpled. Somehow, he wasn't too worried about his uncle. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone would go after him. That moment, he was more worried about Sarah and what could happen to her in the hands of her captors.

Manuel already sent out his troops to investigate the kidnapping. He instructed them to find out if any of Esteban's rivals was the one responsible for it. He went over to Esteban's desk and dialed on the phone again and asked for an update from one of Esteban's men. After a few minutes of listening, he put down the receiver.

"No updates yet. This could take a while."

Just then, four armed policemen barged through the door.

"Hands up! Don't move!" yelled one of the policemen. All four were pointing guns at Luis and Manuel.

Startled, Luis and Manuel held up their hands. Two cops quickly went over them and handcuffed their hands as the lead cop recited their rights. Outside, Luis could hear commotion and gunfire.

"What did I do?!" demanded Luis. "Why are you arresting me?!"

"We'll explain once we get to the police station," answered the lead cop.

Luis and Manuel were led towards the awaiting police car outside the mansion.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the police station and were taken to separate interrogation rooms. Uncuffed, Luis was made to wait an hour before two investigators interrogated him about his involvement in Esteban's drug dealings. He repeatedly denied his involvement, claiming that he only owned and managed a night club – a legitimate business not funded by his uncle's drug money. Halfway through the interrogation, his lawyer arrived who advised him not to say anything more. The two investigators left him in the room unconvinced of Luis' claims.

Two hours passed before another two investigators went inside the room.

"Here, we've brought you some water in case you're thirsty," said one of the two investigators – a tall, lanky man who looked about forty-ish. He handed Luis a glass of water as both investigators sat across him. Luis ignored it. The lanky man put the water aside on the table.

"Look, I already told your colleagues I have nothing to do with my uncle's drug transactions!" said Luis, getting more and more frustrated. His lawyer who was sitting beside him reminded Luis not to speak anything more.

"Oh, we're not from the National Police. We're from the Administrative Department of Security," answered the lanky man.

"You're from DAS?" asked Luis.

He felt a sudden foreboding in his stomach. Then he knew. The Administrative Department of Security or DAS (Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad) in Spanish, was Colombia's intelligence service unit which also conducts special operations against drug trafficking and organized crime. This meant that his uncle was most probably taken by them and somehow Sarah was accidentally thrown into the mess.

The other investigator cleared his throat. "Yes, we're from DAS. And we're here to offer you a deal." He laid a manila folder on the table.

"You took Sarah, didn't you? You took my fiancée so you can use her against me!" accused Luis, suddenly angry.

The two investigators exchanged glances.

"You don't get it, do you?" smirked the lanky man. He leaned towards Luis.

"Your fiancée – 'Sarah' – was a United States secret agent, part of a special operatives team working with us to capture Esteban Magdalena."

Luis stared at him in disbelief. "N- no! No! That's not true! I don't believe it!" He shook his head vehemently.

The other investigator chuckled. "Do you really think 'Sarah' was real? That she was in love with you?! They planted her there in the mansion to spy on your uncle."

"Yes, and 'Sarah' isn't even her real name," added the lanky man with a thin smile.

"Right now, she's back in the United States along with your uncle."

Luis felt gutted. A sharp pain shot through his body. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Yet, it all made sense somehow. He stared at the two investigators as each took turn to inform him that DAS had been conducting surveillance on him for the past month to verify his involvement in Esteban's illegal activities. The lanky investigator opened the manila folder and showed Luis pictures from their surveillance on him.

This is the worst day of my life! He thought.

"We did a thorough background check on you and it seemed to us that you have a love/hate relationship with your uncle. Witnesses have said that you are very vocal about your disapproval of your uncle's illegal activities. Is that true?" asked the other investigator.

"I…" Luis started to speak. His mouth was suddenly dry. The lanky man pushed the glass of water towards him. Luis took a gulp of the water and faced them.

He admitted numbly that he and his uncle don't agree on things related to his illegal activities.

"Look, let's cut to the chase, shall we?" said the lanky man. "Your uncle is now under the custody of the United States where he will be facing drug trafficking charges. We know you're not involved in his drug dealings or any other organized crime. But we can still hold you liable for being complacent about your uncle – for not reporting him and turning him in to the authorities."

"But we can overlook that and drop any charges against you by cooperating with us," added the other investigator. "All you have to do is assist us in our investigation about your uncle. Give us any valuable information that we and our American allies can use against him."

Luis has had enough. He couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't ̶ I can't right now. This is just too much," Luis said sounding completely crushed.

The lanky man leaned back in his chair and quietly observed Luis. Luis looked like he was ready to crumble.

"Very well then. We'll give you time to think about it. We'll let you go for now. But we'll call on you again so don't think about running away or hiding because we will find you." The lanky man stood up.

The other investigator collected the pictures scattered on the table and put them back inside the manila folder. Pushing his chair back from the table, he also stood up.

"And in the meantime, get some rest. Looks like you need it."

Luis didn't answer. The two men left him in the room. After a short discussion with his lawyer, Luis asked to be left alone for a few minutes. The lawyer stepped out and Luis was left alone in the room. He tried to process everything that the two DAS investigators told him about Sarah. He struggled to hold back his emotions but couldn't hold it any longer. Luis quietly broke into tears. He felt so betrayed, his heart completely broken.