They had sent a signal out.
Her husband was dead, and they were coming for her. She knew it, and she had just a little time left before they located her and killed her too. There was no time to grieve for her late husband. She had her whole life to do so if she survived this. Right now, her focus was getting herself and her little daughter out of here and to safety. They needed to go somewhere far away, where they would not find them until she got back up.She rushed to the study to pick up a pen and a paper. As quickly as possible, she scribbled down a note:Whomever you are that found her, this was my last wish before I die, that you ensure the safety of my daughter and that she lives. Do have a kind heart and grant the last wish of a dying and helpless mother. Take her to her aunt at the address below:6th Avenue, New Jersey.The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to grow up in a foster home. She carefully folded the paper and rushed out of the study. Her daughter was in a corner in the sitting room. She was on the floor, playing with her building blocks. She was innocent and little. She was oblivious to what was happening, what was likely to happen. She walked over to her daughter and knelt to meet her level."Baby, we have to go," she said, pushing aside the building blocks and reaching out to her daughter. She embraced her, hugging her tightly because she knew that this was probably the last time she would hold her daughter."Where, Mama?" The tiny and lovely voice of her three years old daughter was all it took to make her lose control. She had been holding back the tears, but now it came pouring down, her shoulders quaking uncontrollably."Mama, why are you crying?"Releasing her daughter, she wiped her tears with the back of her right palm. She should not let her see her this way. She did not want to scare her. Her daughter deserved the peace of mind gifted to every young child.Holding her two shoulders, she looked up at the eyes of her daughter. "You know mommy loves you, right?""I know, mama. I love you too, mama.""I would never leave you intentionally, baby. I would never do that. I need you to understand." She was a little child, and to her, the word intentionally must be ambiguous, but there was no time to explain. She just needed to say those words to her. She would grow up and understand.As if sensing the gravity of the situation, her usually inquisitive daughter did not bother asking her the meaning of the word intentionally. She was very grateful for that."Mama, where is daddy? Will he go with us?"Unshed tears were threatening to fall. There was no time to get emotional. Here was a mother who needed to be strong for her daughter."He will meet us there." She lied. Without waiting for her daughter to respond, she continued,"Take this, sweetheart." She put the folded note inside a small pocket on her gown. "Whenever I am not around, whenever you cannot see me, give this to someone. Anyone- except a cop, ok? Will you do that for me, baby?""Yes, mama." Her daughter replied, nodding her head."You know the uniform of a policeman, right?" She asked"Yes, mama.""Don't ever give it to someone in that uniform, ok baby?""Yes, mama.""You are a brave girl. Brave like your mama." She said, pecking her daughter on both cheeks. "Come on. We have to go."She stood up and picked up her daughter, carrying her to her side on the waist. Quickly, she ran to the front door and opened it. The sound of trails of cars parking in front of their house stopped her. She listened. Footsteps followed the sound, marching toward them, heavy and fast.Deep down, she knew it was too late, but she was not going to give up easily. She was going to fight till her last breath. She rushed to the kitchen to use the back door, grabbing a knife along the way. She opened a drawer close to the door and brought out a bunch of keys.Dropping her daughter, she tried locating where the key was, her hands fidgeting. A bang on the front door sent her leaping and her daughter wrapping her hands tightly around her legs. Two more banging noises and the front door came crashing down."Find them!" were the cruel and cold words that greeted her ears. Deep and fierce, the voice was. A hint of what was their faith if this person caught them. Without giving up, she kept trying the keys. It was not a frequently used door, so she hardly knew which one was the right key.Footsteps were getting closer, and her hands were becoming sweaty. She was on the verge of having a panic attack. If she did not survive this, her daughter had to."Once I open the door, baby. You run, run and do not look back". She whispered to her daughter, still trying the keys as she spoke.The door clicked.She had found the key. Smiling with tears streaming down her face, she looked down at her daughter, knowing it was the last time she was going to see her."Do not move!" It was the same deep and cold voice. Taking a deep breath, she swung the door open, fast as she could."Run, Baby! Run!" She screamed with all her might. Those were her last words before a bullet passed right through her head.Damien Culhane spends Saturday nights in a strip club with three of his friends, Lucas, Brian and Charles. It was the only way they spent their time together on their busy schedule. They were all wealthy businessmen, so they hardly had time for impromptu and unnecessary meet-ups. Saturday nights were for making up for it to avoid breaking up the circle. They were tight friends, as good as brothers.As they all chatted away, recounting their experience of the week, Damien found his focus on one of the strippers. From the VIP booth where they were, he had a clearer view. He watched her big ass vibrate along with the music, his eyes following every upward and downward movement in sync. She was twerking on the pole, and when she turned around, her boobs were bouncing along. She was not exactly beautiful, but she was sexier than all the other strippers. Damien licked his lips. He had found a girl for the night."Damien! Damien! Earth to Damien!" It was Lucas calling.
His bloodshot eyes were what scared her the most. As ghastly and bloody looking as they were, it did not shut out his other grotesque features. He looked like he had not shaved for years now. His beards scattered all over his face like it was a battlefield. His nails did not receive any attention either. They were long and sharp and looked more like claws. The unusual dark colour of lips was scary. It made Celine wonder if those were the same lips she once kissed. They were so unnaturally dark. John looked unhealthy. Painfully slim, yet she knew not to judge by appearance. From the recent news that Celine gathered, he was more than you can handle. How did John change so much and within a short time, she wondered? "What a pleasant surprise." The smile he gave her was disturbing, and it revealed yet another disconcerting feature of his. His teeth were a dark shade of yellow, with one of the front teeth broken at the tip and some of his teeth gone.She could feel
There was a mad gleam in his bloodshot eyes. She got pressed instantly and was in desperate need to pee. She knew what he was asking, but she decided to act like she did not."What are you talking about?" she managed to ask without stammering."You know what I'm talking about! Don't play games with me!" he yelled, using his whole hand to grab her jaw and squeezing it tightly. She winced in pain. With gritted teeth, he said, "I will only ask one more time." He released her jaw and took in a breath. "Do you know?""Yes, I do." she whispered, her head returning immediately to face the floor."Oh, my bad. I told you so many things I shouldn't have." He spat. "First of all, this place. I should never have brought you here."The location of the tunnel was the outskirts of the city. It was a hidden area. A place John discovered when he was a little boy. John brought her here whenever he wanted alone time with her. She had always viewed John's choice of
It was late noon by the time Céline got back home. She was so grateful that she had come out of the den that John now called home alive. That psychopath scared the shit out of her, but she refused to show it, refused to give him that satisfaction.She felt good to be home. She was in her living room with the TV on, though she was not giving it any of her attention. The last thing on her mind was whatever was showing on the TV. She was too distracted to know the station it was on. Her thoughts were on her encounter with John and their conversation. She had no idea where to get such a sum of money John demanded. Even if she saved up her salary for a whole year, she still would not be able to realize such an amount. The truth was Céline did not have any idea how to get it. She had just made a deal with John so she would be able to come out in one piece. If Céline had not made that deal, John would not have hesitated to kill her. She could not accep
"Can I see that?" Céline asked, stretching out her hand. Her aunt closed the newspaper and handed it over to her. Céline took it from her aunt and flipped the pages looking for the news on Damien. It was not hard to find. On the top of the page where it was, boldly written. "DAMIEN CULHANE, IN SEARCH OF A WIFE!"She chuckled, amused by such a title. She quickly read through, getting more interested with every word she read. Céline finished scanning the page and handed the magazine to her aunt with newfound excitement."Well, basically, I think his mom that put that in the news," Céline spoke up."Why would she do that?" Her aunt asked, confused by the conclusion she made."She is probably anxious to get her son a wife, seeing that she is not getting any younger. So she is going to whatever extent she can, including using the media.""Hmm, you have a point, but I doubt it." Her aunt said with a frown staring straight at Céli
Damien wondered the kind of energy God gave women as he listened to his mother rant on and on without so much as pausing to take a breath. "This is the sixth woman, Damien, the sixth! ""You are not getting younger, Damien, so you need to get married and settle down. I have been trying so hard to find you a model wife, one that calm take care of you and tame you somehow""Are you even aware that you have to pass your business empire to someone? And if you don't, you are just going to let it die with you, young man!"His mother never ceased to amaze him. Did she not just say he was not getting any younger, and then she called him a young man?"Mom, would you let me breathe? I am just thirty and not that old yet." He replied and sighed. "Some men marry at forty, and I'm not even close to forty".It was obvious mom was not pleased with what he just said. She looked ever ready to lash out her anger. Here we go again, another round of unending rant."F
Celine paced around her room, anxiously waiting for her aunt to return. It's been a while since she left. Céline was beginning to wonder what was taking her so long to return. She had texted her aunt to check her email inbox if there was a reply to her inquiry and application/request to the court and marry Damien Culhane.It sounded crazy enough in her head, and Céline could never bring herself to say it out. She had stopped too low.Had she been rejected? Was she not pretty enough? She tried so hard to look beautiful in that picture. She was tense, thinking about the outcome. She needed an answer now.If her aunt doesn't return soon enough, she might lose it."Oh God, help me. Help your poor daughter." Céline clasped her hands together and shut her eyes tightly. She desperately needed this.The sound of the front door closing brought her out of her thoughts. That must be her aunt. Without second thoughts, she ran down to meet her.
Friday was usually a hectic day for Damien. Damien has been sitting at his desk all day long, paperwork piling higher and higher. His butt started to hurt from sitting down for long, and his hand was stiff from writing and typing.Looking at the paperwork still left, he wondered what he had been doing all this while. The pile, a piece of mocking evidence that he has done nothing much. Well, what did he expect? He was the owner of nearly half the restaurants, boutiques, clubs and hotels in the state, so there would be lots of paperwork. Of course, he could afford a personal assistant, but he was carefully avoiding being a victim to the stuff usually depicted in cliché movies. Call it absurd, but he was not taking any chances.Pulling his chair backwards, he stood up and stretched, relieving the tension in his muscles.He glanced at his watch. It was 9:45 pm. He packed his things and headed out of his office. The deafening silence of
Céline's phone dinged, notifying her of a message. She checked it and heart stopped."Céline, what is it?" Her aunt asked.Céline was unable to talk, she passed her phone over to her aunt to check for herself. Elizabeth took the phone and squinted over the device to check. She read the name but it didn't ring any bells."Abel? Do you know this person?" Elizabeth could not figure out what had gotten Céline so worked up over a simple name."Check again, aunt." Céline whispered as tears spilled from her eyes. She couldn't believe what was happening.Elizabeth furrowed her brows and checked the message again. "Is this message from John?"Céline only nodded, using her hands to muffle her cries. It seemed to her that her problems where never ending.Elizabeth checked the message again and gasped. Like a difficult puzzle, she had been able to put the pieces together in her head."Oh my God!""Abel
"His name is John Sherman. He dated Céline back in high school and they broke up when she had to leave for college." Lucas read from the file in his hands.They were in Damien's office going through reports they were able to get their hands on about Céline's caller."It says here, he was admitted for psychiatric care but vanished with no trace months ago." Damien said pacing the office.They were dealing with a psychopath here and it made the hairs at the back of Damien's neck stand erect. Céline must have been so scared, that was why she accepted to do it."Don't worry bro, we'll catch him. Brian has contacted the best hands in the police department. The best private investigators are searching
Céline was in deep thoughts. She would be a mother soon. She wouldn't want her child to think of her as the thief she was going to be after taking the money Damien had giving to her.Yes. He gifted it to her and that meant she could use it. Yet, her mind rejected the option. Where else could she find legit money to pay off John and within the hour; because John wasn't happy at all, making him wait would only get him riled up.She would just have to call that bank officer and make use of that money. But she would work hard and pay it back, somehow.Elizabeth returned shortly after Mrs Culhane and Damien had left the room. She brought a plate of baked rice and chicken for Céline with a fresh jug of water.
"What have you done!" Mrs Culhane's screeched."Mom, it is not as bad as you think... We just wanted to spend sometime at home-" Damien tried to explain to his mother but she was not having it."Do not give me that Damien Culhane! Do not even try it! Why would you call off your honeymoon! Didn't you think of your innocent wife?""Look at her! She is sick and pale because of you!" She barked pacing the room."Poor girl would be worried sick!"Somehow, Mrs Culhane had found out about Damien calling off his honeymoon and she got to the house when Céline had gone unconscious."Mom, she is sick b
The day after the conversation she had with Damien and even the weeks that followed, Céline remained in her room. She couldn't go to see her aunt as he had suggested. She had finally understood why he was acting coldly towards her. She had gotten the answers to all her questions.He knew.Damien somehow found out about her deal with John and just like she feared, he misunderstood her. He thought she was a gold-digger. A woman who only came after him for his money. A woman who had pretended to love him so she could get her hands on his wealth— and he was right.Whatever he was feeling or thinking about her was true. She was a gold-digger. A cheat, who deceived him. She was a woman without morals. She had seduced him to get his money.&nb
Céline was worried to the bones as she paced around the room that had somehow become her prison. What she had feared had finally happened.She knew the moment Damien brought in Sarah that whatever plans he had would go down the drain. Someone had to notice Sarah's movement in and out of the house and somebody eventually did! Lucas noticed.He came into the house unannounced and he had met her at a very vulnerable position.She had been thinking about her life and how she hadn't been able to see her own husband in almost two weeks, that was when he walked in on her. The shock and fear of seeing him in the house when Damien had wanted to stay hidden from all of them made her unable to control her panic.
"What do you mean by that?" Lucas asked, slowly moving to sit with Damien on the bed."I- I don't have any prove yet but I think she only married me for my money." Damien explained.Lucas stared up at Damien like he had grown a new pair of eyes. "You think?" He asked, laying emphasis on the last word with his eyes almost falling out of their sockets."All these..." Lucas said referring to Damien's marital situation."...you are doing is based on a fucking thought you have? Come on Damien, you are way smarter than this. Give me something concrete.""Well, I over heard her talking to her boyfriend on the phone about it!" Damien said kissing his teeth.
Torturing Céline proved to be even harder for Damien than he had initially thought.He had underestimated his love for her. His body couldn't watch her cry. His heart broke whenever he caught a glimpse of the sadness in her eyes. He couldn't do it.He had called Sarah in so she could handle his meals and maybe a few other things because he feared Céline might poison him. He had to be careful her character was questionable even if he loved her, he didn't trust her.His love for her made it impossible for him to do the things he planned to do to her. He couldn't handle seeing her break down again. Even if he knew she was only faking it, his own heart couldn't take her pain. If he kept seeing her, it wouldn't be long before he ran to her begging for forgiven
Damien helped her make a decision.He walked right pass her like she was a real statue. A monument and nothing more.Swallowing her pain, she went after him. At some point they would have to settle their differences. They couldn't continue like this. They were two adults and they had to come into some sort of arrangement at least.Damien headed to the room. Céline followed but stayed by the door watching him as he took out a bag from the closet. He started picking out his clothes from the neat pile of clothes folded in the cupboards and threw them into the bag.Maybe he was also packing for the honeymoon, Céline thought. Maybe there was a way of solving this problem of theirs all she had to do was star