by Clare Morgan
“Him?” I asked her.
“The creator of this universe – God. Just close your eyes and think of the Almighty. Don’t try to shape your energy into a figure. Just let it flow and now from the bottom of your heart, you need to ask him about Rosie. Pray for her well-being. Maybe, our prayers will keep her safe,” I followed everything that was told by her.
I prayed to keep Rosie safe. I wanted to see her soon and hoped to find a lead the next day.
“Please, make it work. I really need something to believe in God. Don’t let me down,” I whispered slowly as we both closed our eyes and kept praying for our baby girl’s safety. I knew that God would keep her safe and that I will see her again. We both closed our eyes and didn’t realize how we both fell asleep on her bed.
Chapter 15:
The next morning, I got up with a phone call. I couldn’t even remember what happened the night before. Both, Elaine and I were praying for Rosie’s well-being and were extremely tired. I believe it was after days when we both closed our eyes and stopped looking for Rosie. Our bodies were worn out and simply wanted some rest. The moment we closed our eyes in order to pray, we fell asleep so effortlessly.
My phone kept buzzing and I opened my eyes only to realize that the call was from Daniel. The moment I saw his name flashing on my phone’s screen, I stood up with a hope. I knew that Daniel had a lead and called me to inform about it. I could feel it and went to the other room in order to talk to him. Elaine was already asleep and I didn’t want to wake her up. She deserved to get some rest.
“Hi!” I said as I closed the door and stepped out of Rosie’s room.
“I have something!” the moment I heard Daniel’s voice on the other side, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, I heard something good after days and I was delighted that we had the first lead.
“Tell me about it!” I said.
“You have to come here to Houston. I will text you the address.”
“Okay! I will be there in no time,” I replied and thought of getting ready.
“Larry, come alone,” he said as he disconnected the call and made me realize that the shit just got real. It was not a child’s play anymore. I went to my room and got my pistol and car keys before leaving the place. I dropped by at Janet’s only to let her know that I was going and to take care of Elaine in my absence.
I received a message from Daniel regarding his current location. It was a café in Houston and I didn’t even waste a single second in that small town anymore. I knew that the new clue was in Houston and I couldn’t wait to meet Daniel in order to know what he had.
After driving for another two hours, I finally reached Houston. I followed my GPS and arrived at the café where Daniel was waiting for me.
“What is it? Tell me?” I asked him as I wanted to cut to the chase.
“Sit. Have some coffee,” Daniel said as he offered me a cup of cold coffee, but I didn’t really have time for that. I wanted to know where my daughter was and what piece of information Daniel was able to extract.
“I know you are tired, Larry. Have something to drink. Calm yourself a little. I know where Rosie is. I am going to tell you everything about it – you don’t have to worry. She is safe!” the moment I heard that Rosie was safe, almost half of my worries vanished.
“Where is she then? Tell me about it?” I said as I had no time to waste. Daniel gave me a look as he realized that I was inconsolable
“Okay! So this case was not really that hard to solve. You were right when you told me that James could be the one who did it. I hacked into his account to find that he had received a transaction of ten million dollars from a company. I knew that he was associated with the mafia, but we can’t ignore that amount of money. When I dig deep, I got to know that the company is actually a retail and fashion brand which is owned by Victoria Green,” the moment Daniel said Victoria’s name, everything started to make sense.
For a moment, I went back to my past and could recall all those days that I had spent with Victoria. I served as her personal bodyguard and saved her life various times from life-threatening attacks. I even investigated the case and solved it by discovering that it was her assistant who was trying to kill her. It was the time when Ila came back to me. I was given a choice between Victoria and Ila, and I was so glad that I took the right one. I left with Ila by saying a heartfelt goodbye to Victoria. I never did anything bad to her. In fact, we parted our ways on good terms. I had no idea why Victoria would do something like that.
“That’s not possible. Why would Victoria do something like that? She was my friend.”
“Well, as per my sources, she is the one who planned this whole thing. She gave money to James so that he could get in touch with you. She asked him to abduct Rosie. It turns out that James met Nancy only to come close to you. Her death was just collateral damage. He was never after her. He was after you.
This might be a guess, but I believe your daughter is in Houston. Victoria has a lavish property in the suburbs. I think she is in the city for a reason. She thought that you would be able to solve this mystery. I think she wants you to pay her a visit,” as Daniel filled me in with every piece of information, I knew what I had to do. If I had to get Rosie back, then I needed to face my past.
“Give me her address,” I said as I was prepared to pay Victoria a visit. Her mansion was located only a few miles away and I didn’t wait for a second at all to drive to her place. I was devasted and angry. I was fuming red with rage and knew that no one would be able to make me feel better.
I could remember the last time when I met Victoria. I asked her to let go of me when I met Ila since I wanted to save her. Ila was in deep trouble and I was her only hope. Both, Victoria and I parted ways on good terms. I knew how much she needed me in her life, but I made her realize that she was not the one for me. I didn’t want her. I wanted Ila. She was the one I loved. I kept driving towards her mansion, hoping to see Rosie soon. I couldn’t wait to hug her tightly. I couldn’t wait to bring her back home.
Chapter 16:
As I stood in Victoria’s mansion and looked at her, I realized that karma is definitely a bitch. There is definitely no respite from any of the things of our past. The past always comes back to haunt.
When I had been with Victoria, I had no idea that she would impact my life in such a disastrous manner. I hated every moment I had spent with her. I could easily remember the time when I had bid her an almost goodbye and she had looked so grief-struck and sad.
Never in my wildest of dreams had I imagined that I would be stuck so badly in such a mess.
“Why did you do this Victoria? What made you do this?” I asked as there was a part of me that still didn’t believe that she was the same woman I had worked with.
“Darling, you say you love that shitty drug addict, the monster woman who is supposedly your wife. Heck, what should I call her – Elaine or Ila? If you really love her, don’t you know how addicting love is! How many times did I ask you to wait for me, to let that woman go? What does she has that I don’t? I gave you the best shot at the perfect life, but what did I get back in return? You betrayed me, Larry.”
“Andrew. Larry is dead. I am not Larry anymore. I am Andrew. I have let my past behind me and I have nothing to do with that life.”
Victoria looked at me and I had no clue what she would do next. I could see that she both loved and hated me together and there was a part of me that was scared of the woman she had become. I knew that I was the one responsible for the whole of it. I had been so wild and reckless with my life that I probably had no clue of the number of women I had slept with; Victoria being one of the many.
“Victoria, don’t do this. You are not this woman. I remember being with you and you were unlike the monster you have become. You were considerate and had a heart of gold. What made you such a bitch?” I asked as fury engulfed all parts of me.
“You have the audacity to ask me this? Don’t you know what made me this way? After being such a gr
eat woman and pleasing you in bed, what did I get? You fled at the first sign of your wife! What had I done to get the fate? How easy it was for you to walk out on me?” as Victoria told me every thought that had been on her mind, I realized what a mistake I had made.
I had never intended to hurt her, but it had happened. This is why people are scared of love. They often take the wrong lesson out of it. There was a possibility that Victoria would have understood me, my feelings, emotions and my love. But, she chose to take the wrong lesson of love and here, I was, facing the consequences of one little mistake that was all set to burn my life!
Victoria could see how helpless I really felt and I knew that she was enjoying a vain sense of pleasure because of it. Victoria didn’t love me anymore. All she wanted was to feed her ego by feeling that I still had the same feelings for her. But, I felt nothing, absolutely nothing for this extremely sexy woman standing in front of me.
As I closed my eyes, I saw Elaine and I saw her perfect face and the glint in her eyes. I could see the way she loved me and I almost hugged her, almost kissed her, but Victoria’s mean laugh broke my reverie.
Isn't it strange as to how life changes so quickly? Some five years ago, I would have never imagined my life to take such a drastic turn. I knew there was so much I needed to take care of. The thought of my daughter being stuck with this devil of a woman made my heart somersault in danger.
I hated the very thought of having Rosie anywhere near Victoria. I knew that Victoria had become one of those badass bitches who could even harm a little kid as long as it served her own evil interests. Surely, this wasn’t something I had planned on, but I couldn’t help but feel the guilt.
“I am a married man, Victoria. What is it that you seek from me? Moreover, you know this. Whatever happened; happened for the good. Even if I would have stayed with you, I would still love Elaine. Would you be happy staying with someone who wouldn’t belong to you? Why are you doing this? You need to give yourself a closure. You need to move on and close this chapter for once and for all.”
I prayed and hoped against hope that my words would have some kind of an impact on her, but she stayed the way she was. When she didn’t speak a word, for the briefest second I thought that maybe, she is mulling over my words, but then again, I couldn’t be too sure.
I had never in the wildest of my dreams thought that my life would take such a drastic turn. I knew that when I would go back to our little home and Elaine would ask me what happened, how I would ever tell her that all happened because of an old fling that I had.
At that moment, I felt too small, too little and I wanted to erase myself or maybe parts of my life at least. I was done with all the bullshit and I wanted nothing more than to go back to my little happy life that we had made for ourselves.
“Oh, Andrew! Don’t be sad. You are my lover. I want to see you happy. Sure, babe you broke my heart, but you know how darling Victoria rules with her heart of gold. Did you forget how I bailed you of that mountain of your loan just because I had the eyes for you?
What made you think that if I could spend such a shitload of money on you and bail you in the blink of an eye, I would let go of you so easily? Of course, not! I had been keeping an eye on you all this while. Yes, there have been a few moments when you had disappeared from my watch and my guards told me that you were nowhere to be found, but honey if you had gone to some other world, I would have still invaded your privacy.”
As Victoria told me about what a stalker she was, I was shit scared. She wasn’t the regular psycho woman who became crazy for guys they thought they were in love with. Victoria had the money, wealth, and fame. I knew that she had a whole lot of resources which she could use to wreak havoc and I was scared, not for myself, but for the little family that I so dearly loved.
I knew that being reckless would cause me a lot of harm and I only had myself to blame for it. I wanted to see my daughter and hold her in my arms and kiss her and let her know that she was safe, but I dreaded meeting her in front of this crazy lady.
I had tried so much to lock away my past and never to bother about it again but this is the thing about life – you cannot choose what to run away from and what to run into. Destiny is a very twisted thing. I often wondered what was in my fate and staring in the bloody eyes of Victoria Green, there was a part of me that hated my creator for the fate he gave me.
Yes, I know we all pay for the deeds we had done, but then why Rosie? I didn’t care what Victoria did to me, she could kill me and I would deal with it, but my little daughter was all of four years of age. I could see my own tormenting childhood flashback in front of my eyes.
I was scared as hell and I had never been so scared before. I could feel Elaine breaking down and we both would know that the past had come back to haunt us. Yes, Elaine may not blame me for everything that had happened because she perhaps had a lot more troubled past than what I had. Regardless, it was not the time to play the blame game.
All I knew was that Victoria had crazy and I had to do something to save my little daughter. In that instant, I knew that I had to do anything, absolutely anything for the sake of having my little daughter back. Victoria clearly had an upper hand and I could do nothing but be a slave to her needs.
Chapter 17:
Victoria knew full well that she was the dominating one in this situation. She had the upper hand. Spending all these years without Andrew had hardened her heart. She was no longer the person she used to be. At one point in time, she had been in love with Andrew. He was the one guy who had claimed every inch of her heart and now when things had changed so much, she didn’t really know what she was looking for and what she wanted.
Victoria had her heart full of vengeance. She could vividly remember that day when she was left all alone. Her world had come to a standstill that day and there was absolutely nothing that felt like it could keep her sane. She remembered how she had spent the rest of the month in a state of shock.
She didn’t even know what her business offered and the sales decreased. She was no longer interested in marketing or even coming up with new designs. She had experienced a major slump in form and had to hire a fresh marketer to get hold of her business and to find some form of solace in her life.
It took her a long time before she could résumé her life to normal. However, the days she had spent in a limbo made her a lot weird. When she had to come back to her normal state, she had a lot of anger inside her. She wanted her revenge and she was willing to wait as long as needed but she wanted Larry to suffer in the worst possible way.
She had patiently waited for as long as five years until she could have her revenge and now when she was close to clinching it, she reveled in the moment and she wanted to make the most out of it. She saw the desperation in Andrew’s eyes and she knew that she had wanted to see this. There was nothing in her that regretted any moment of it. She was happy to make Andrew feel the same pain which she had undergone a long time back.
She wanted Andrew to feel every moment of the same pain and she had no intention of helping him out. She was done thinking with her heart. She had a plan and she wanted all of it to work. Yes, there was a part of her that loved Andrew but in the end, she knew that things had gone a bit too far and it would never go back to the way it was. She knew that she was right on track on her plan and she wanted to keep going with it.
Chapter 18:
I kept looking at Victoria and I knew that I needed to return the stare. I had a hundred plans in my mind and not one of them looked convincing. Whatever I did, I had to take into account the fact that my little daughter was still with her.
“Victoria, I want to see Rosie once. Please, do this for me. You know I have been with you and I am an honest guy. I want to see my daughter once.”
Even though I was pleading, I had no clue whether or not, Victoria will agree to my request. I wanted to see what she had to tell and I had to give myself one more chance. If my request had even the tiniest of effect on her and I could see
Rosie, it would give me a new incentive to carry ahead with my plan of action.
I had worked as an investigator for a large part of my career, but I felt helpless, clueless and trapped in that situation. I had no idea what to do and I absolutely didn’t know the best way to deal with the mess.
When Victoria called James, I knew that there was a chance that she would help me see Rosie. I was definitely infuriated at Victoria, but my fury was unmatched when it came to James.
I was really angry at him. I had always thought that James was one of my best friends with whom I could be in touch. But looking back, I realized that there wasn’t one good thing about James that should have given me the incentive to stay in touch with him.
James was responsible for exposing me to the world of drugs and betting. I had known him since childhood and to be honest, I knew that he could go to any length for the sake of serving his own interests.
However, I had managed to stay in touch with him even when I had changed my identity. At that point, I had no idea that he would turn out to be such a criminal. He was a bastard through and through.
I knew that Victoria had a shitload of money and she had given James a whopping amount of money to stage the whole thing. There was a lot of methodical planning that had gone into the whole idea and I didn’t want to be a scapegoat. But, here I was one. I was stuck in this mess and I had absolutely nothing to do.
As I kept staring at James, I wanted to strangulate him and kill him completely. I wanted to make sure that he would be no more. How he could ever put my little daughter in danger! Both I and Elaine had also planned if we could make James Rosie’s godfather. It sickened me to realize what an asshole he was.
My conscience somersaulted when I realized that there was a time when I may have done the exact thing that James did. I could still remember some of the private investigation cases I had worked on. I let myself be fooled and I even fooled people.