FROM RICHES TO RUIN

The Night They Came for My Sister

Chapter 5: Welcome to Hell

There are places in the world where people fear the police.

There are places where people fear criminals.

And then there are places where people fear certain names.

In the slums, two names carried more fear than anyone else.

Marcus.

Blade.

I didn't know much about them when the old man first mentioned them.

But within a few days, I realized something strange.

Every time those names came up in conversations, voices became quieter.

People looked over their shoulders.

Some even changed the subject entirely.

It was as if speaking about them invited trouble.

And perhaps it did.

---

The following morning, I woke up before sunrise.

Life in the slums had forced me to become responsible far earlier than most teenagers.

If I didn't work, Emily and I wouldn't eat.

Dad certainly wasn't helping.

In fact, he was becoming worse.

Every evening he returned smelling like alcohol.

Every morning he woke up asking for money.

Sometimes he even forgot what day it was.

I had stopped expecting anything from him.

The father I once knew was gone.

Only the bottle remained.

---

After buying bread from a nearby stall, I headed home.

As I approached our street, I noticed a crowd gathered around a small shop.

People stood silently watching something.

Curiosity pulled me closer.

Then I saw them.

Two boys.

No.

Two monsters.

One was tall and heavily built.

His arms looked like tree trunks.

A thick scar ran across his cheek.

The other was slightly shorter but far more intimidating.

His head was completely shaved.

His eyes were cold.

Emotionless.

Like a predator studying prey.

The shop owner stood trembling before them.

I immediately knew.

Marcus and Blade.

The feared kings of the slums.

---

"Please," the shop owner begged.

"I already paid last week."

Marcus laughed.

A deep, cruel laugh.

"And?"

"I don't have any money left."

Blade stepped forward.

Without warning, he grabbed the man by his shirt.

The crowd immediately stepped back.

Nobody intervened.

Nobody dared.

"Did we ask whether you had money?" Blade asked quietly.

The shop owner's face turned pale.

Then Marcus punched him.

The man crashed into a table.

Food scattered everywhere.

Several women screamed.

The crowd remained frozen.

Watching.

Waiting.

Fear ruled this place.

And Marcus and Blade were its kings.

---

I returned home disturbed.

Emily noticed immediately.

"What happened?"

I sat beside her.

"Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes.

"You always say that when something happened."

I smiled despite myself.

Sometimes I forgot how observant she...