CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

'He thought you were cheating on him?" Jared asked. Astra had even forgotten that it was not just her and Sarah at the table.
Astra turned to him and sat down.
'It was one of Ray's tricks. He had this video and pictures. I saw them. I thought they were me. I was naked, with five men, five different locations. He also did something on fraud to make people leave Nicholas' company. Ray can be very ruthless," Astra said and Jared looked shocked.
'Why would he go that far? I cannot even imagine how much hurt he caused just by that. That man would hurt you Astra. He already did, and he would hurt you even more," Jared said and Astra felt even more scared.
'He won't hurt me, he believes he loves me," Astra said even if she wasn't convinced by her own words.
'You surely don't believe that Astra. Talk to her Sarah," Jared said. Astra shrugged.
'We will be very careful, the fact that he is dangerous makes it more obvious that we cannot leave a child and a pregnant woman with him. I will not be able to bear it if something happens to either of them because of me," Astra said. Jared stared at her as though he was lost for words and that he knew anything he said would be useless.
'I want to start going home. Just to freshen up and all," Jared said and Astra nodded.
'I should get home too, it has been a while," Astra said. She needed to make some calls before she did anything. Astra already made up her mind that she would act as a bait to catch Ray, it was the least she could do to redeem herself.
When she thought about, she could understand a bit that she might have led him on as a child. He was intelligent and she wanted him to keep doing her assignments so that she could get better grades. Even after high school she kept him close a bit because she knew that he was really talented and so he would have a lot of money. Money was not something she had in bulk in those days. When Astra realized that things were getting out of hand, she tried to cut him off, it seemed too late then, he refused to leave. A little part of Astra told her that she was basically helpless in the situation. They never dated, he never asked her out, they never had any form of amorous relationship. There was no way she would have deduced that things would go so far. It was scary even.
She needed to do her part oh. She needed at least do something. She could not just sit back just because it was not her fault.
'Astra!" Jared shouted breaking her from her thoughts.
'I am sorry," she mumbled. She was thinking too much about this. Even her dreams were plagued by it. The previous night, she dreamt that Ray had kidnapped her and she was stuck with him forever. It was scary.
'We should go together," Jared said and Astra nodded.
'I will let Nicholas know that you both have left. Try and be safe," Sarah said.
'Thank you," Jared replied Sarah with a smile. Astra looked between the two of them. She could see something there. It was nice. Astra knew that she probably would not suddenly have amorous feelings for Jared. If he could move on, they he should. That would be better for him.
'Alright, Bye," Sarah said, waving her hand at the both of them.
'Don't come out of your house while you are there. Just pick a few clothes and I will come and pick you up by 4pm. Is that okay?" Jared asked as they drove to her house. Astra knew that she was not totally safe. The last thing that she wanted was to be kidnapped and not still able to save Theo and Stephanie. That would be a waste.
'Of course," Astra said. They got to her apartment fairly quickly. Astra smiled at the doorman leading to her house knowing fully well that there was a possibility that she might never have the chance to smile at him again.
On getting to her house, she sighed and picked up the phone. She needed to make some calls.
When one had these kind of life changing decisions to make, the person usually called family. Astra would not know what to say to her sister and her parents. They cut her off, but knowing everything that happened with Ray and all, she wondered if that was truly the case. Maybe there was something else involved. Even if Astra did not want to call her parents and sister, she had other family she needed to talk to. She would have visited her baby's grave if she was sure it was safe. She hoped that her daughter was comfortable in heaven, that would give her joy.
It occurred to Astra that she had never told Nicholas about his daughter, or even about his son. Astra shook her head at that. It was on the list of things that she would do if she came back in one piece.
She picked up the phone and called the number she only used for emergencies.
'Hello, Yvonne, how are you?" Astra asked her cousin. The both of them bonded so well since Yvonne was the black sheep of the family. She got closer to her after the divorce. Astra stayed with her for the five years. Yvonne was with her to hold her hand throughout labor, to help her when taking care of children became tasking. Yvonne cried with Astra when she lost her daughter.
'I am good Astra. What is up?" Yvonne asked, going straight to the point
They both agreed not to have any contact with each other unless it was very important, and so Yvonne would know that something was wrong.
'I want to do something, Yvonne. It is a big dangerous, I am not sure I will come back. Please take care of my baby. I have you listed as my next of kin and you would not have to worry about money. Please come out to Nicholas if something happened to me, I will write a letter. If I am fine, I will do it myself," Astra said.
'What!" Yvonne shouted immediately. Astra had not kept her in the loop of everything so her reaction was expected.
'What the hell do you want to do that might endanger your life? And why do you suddenly want to tell Nicholas? You have kept this from him for the past five years, why now?" Yvonne asked.
'I cannot explain in details, but the situation has changed. Nicholas deserves to know. How is my baby?" Astra asked, changing the topic immediately
'Oh, he is fine. The doctor says he is out of the woods now, and he is home with me. He is tired of the hospital smells, and he misses his mommy. He hasn't seen her in so long," Yvonne said and Astra felt down. She wondered again if leaving the small town where her cousin resided to go back to the city, was really a good idea.
'I will come back home, after all of this, I will come back," Astra said.
'Promise me, Astra, promise me that you will be safe. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," Yvonne said and Astra knew that she had to reassure her.
'I will be fine, just pray for me. I will come back in one piece and I will show my baby to his daddy," Astra said. She needed the reassurance too. She needed to hope that she would be fine.
'That's okay, it will be fine too, everything will be okay," Yvonne said.
'I have to get going now. There are some things I need to do," Astra said.
'Alright then, I wish you luck. Your baby is sleeping right now, if not you would have been able to talk to him," Yvonne said.
'Yeah. I will call again, I will come to see him even," Astra said before she disconnected the call. She settled on her bed with a sigh. She felt drained from the call. She took a deep breath and then sighed before she started to pack a small bag.
She already knew what she wanted to do, she would get to Nicholas' house and then she would call Ray. She would fix a meeting and then she would go to see Ray, the GPS and recording intact. She had another plan though, she managed to get a recorder of her own, she would hide it even more that the ones they would get her. The GPS was only to get her location, and once she gets to the spot, her location would be sure. So even if they catch her with the GPS everything would be fine.
Astra was still planning in her head when her phone rang. She figured it was Jared calling her and started arranging her things faster, he was probably waiting for her downstairs. The phone kept ringing though and Astra immediately picked it, not glancing well at the person who called her.
'I am on my way. I just need a few minutes," Astra said.
'I know where you are, and I know where you are going," the voice at the other end of the phone said, it was Ray. Astra's heart beat increased massively as she struggled to breathe. Ray called her, Ray that tried to destroy her life and was currently holding a one year old and a pregnant woman in hostage because of her called her. Ray was on to what they wanted to do.
'Are you scared?" Ray asked when she did not reply. Astra could not say a word but she knew that her erratic breathing could be heard from the phone.
'You should not be scared. I will not hurt you, I would not mind hurting the baby with me though," Ray said and Astra heard a scream that clearly belonged to a child. A scream came out of her own mouth before she could contain herself. Tears rushed down her eyes before she could stop them, she didn't even want to stop them.
'Are you crying? Oh you shouldn't. What you should be doing is trying to save the baby, and your friend," Ray said. Astra's hand was shaking as she held the phone. She could barely stand, and so she sat on the bed. Her pulse rate had not decreased and it seemed like she was getting dizzy from the fear.
'I don't have much patience for children you see, nor for pregnant women," Ray continued.
'So, when should I be expecting you?" Ray asked and she heard Stephanie's scream from the background. Astra tightened her eyes in pain and more tears flowed down her eyes. It was because of her, it was all because of her. All that was happening was her fault.
'Will you let them go if I come?" Astra asked, she knew that her voice was shaky and it was give Ray a chance to exploit her, but at that point, she simply didn't care.
'Would I let them go?" Ray said slowly, with the same energy as one choosing to buy a green or a red apple.
'Oh, I don't know, depends on how much of yourself you are willing to give," Ray said and dread creeped down Astra's spine. What the hell had she gotten herself into?