CHAPTER 111: NEW ADVERSITY

Petrified, trepidation and disquietude were the exact feelings I am feeling right now. I couldn’t literally feel my limbs. My body suddenly shut down from functioning, it was numbing with extreme coldness. A massive block of freezing substance that completely made me dead to the world, which submissively caused my mind to panic for the safety of my daughter. 

The mention of Michelle’s name and the term Lewis used to describe her current condition made my entire being non-existent and floating in a space full of tremendous agitation and grave anxiety. My eyes were bloodshot with horrid tears that continually streamed down in endless succession as I disbelievingly shook my head and stared at him. 

I could loudly hear my heart’s restless beating. It was pounding in great disturbance that was deafening and ear-shattering. This ground-breaking news completely took the life out of me as I called out my daughter’s name underneath my laborious breaths. 

“Michelle… Michelle…”

Lewis immediately ran back towards me, caging my numbing and frozen still body in his embrace. He was saying something I couldn’t fully comprehend, because my mind was stuck at the thought of Michelle’s situation. 

“We will find her, Penelope. I will do everything to find her. You need to put yourself together and stay optimistic. We will have her back as soon as possible.”

“Why? Who did this to my baby? Who took her? WHY DID THEY HAVE TO TAKE HER? WHY DID THEY TAKE HER? FOR WHAT? WHAT DO THEY NEED? NOT MY MICHELLE! IF THEY HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST ME, THEN THEY SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ME AND HURT ME INSTEAD! WHY DID THEY HAVE TO INCLUDE AN INNOCENT AND HARMLESS CHILD? She is just a child, Lewis. Why did they have to take her away from me? Why not me instead of her? Why did they have to drag my daughter if it was me they were angry at?”

“Hey, Baby, you need to calm down so that we can think…”

My hands swiftly pushed him away, and I furiously looked at him. “CALM DOWN? HOW THE FUCK CAN I CALM DOWN, LEWIS? MICHELLE’S MISSING AND WE DON’T HAVE ANY CLUE OF HOW SHE IS RIGHT NOW! IF SHE WAS HURT, BLEEDING OR WHAT! HOW COULD YOU BE SO CALM AMIDST THIS, HUH? SHE WAS TAKEN BY GOD KNOWS WHO AND WHERE! AND YOU WANT ME TO CALM TO SHIT DOWN? I CAN’T CALM DOWN, NOT IN THIS SITUATION, LEWIS!” I could feel my very soul shaking with terror and indescribable fear. 

“I know how you feel, Penelope, believe me. I felt the same way as you do now. But we have to think properly of what actions we must adhere to, and we will not be able to do that if you are freaking out right now. You need to compose yourself, so that way we can think properly and accordingly.”

“I want her back, Lewis. I need her back in my arms. I want my baby back to me, whole and unhurt” I weakly cried at him as he wrapped his consoling arms around me again. 

“We will have her back, Baby. I promise you, we will have her back.”

“We have to. She is my everything. She is my world and I couldn’t live without her. I need her back in my arms and in my life. I don’t know what I would be without her.” 

“I promise, Baby, we will have her back.”

***

I couldn’t feel more sorry for Penelope as I gazed at her now in her slumbering state. She cried and overly fatigued herself to sleep. Hours of breaking down and endless tearing caused her body to totally shut down in unconsciousness, which I am slightly thankful for. 

As much as I wanted to join her in bed and let my body partially rest in solitude, this unforeseen and horrendous incident about Michelle’s disappearance made it impossible for me to do so. My head was in the utmost turmoil because my fiancé’s daughter was missing and this was gravely affecting her. I wanted to ease her sorrows and pains, to alleviate her worries and the disturbance she was currently feeling, but I was certain that I couldn’t aid her at the moment unless we had Michelle and brought her safely home. 

I had just finished conversing with the chief of police we were with and told him of the untimely situation Penelope was faced with now, which both of us came to a conclusion to head back to New York City as soon as Penelope woke up. But while waiting, my mind was thinking twice about what was the root cause of Michelle’s abduction. What were the abductors' motives for why they did what they did? 

For sure, they must have seen or heard about the latest news in regard to Penelope placing a bounty on Nicole’s head. That she was willing to give a huge sum of money in exchange for information about her father’s culprit. It was broadcast all across the globe.

‘Was this the sole reason why these inhumane people thought of taking Michelle? Was this why they planned to abduct her and ask for a ransom from Penelope in exchange for the child’s freedom? If that was the case, then these people were after the money alone. But what if it was because of something else? Something more deep and more personal. What if Michelle’s disappearance was caused by a more dubious purpose? That it was meant to send a message or something? What if the one behind all of this had an enormous grudge over Penelope and wanted to punish her, just like what Nicole had done in order to get even with her by killing her father? If it was the latter, who would do such a thing to risk a child’s life in order to inflict pain and harm on Penelope?’

I can only think of one person who could be extremely mad at Penelope right now, aside from Nicole. Someone she infuriated and shamed before in public. Someone she deliberately hurt and purposely inflicted great pain in the past. 

Michael Smith. 

He was extremely mad at Penelope for taking Michelle away from him and out of his life. He was enormously and devastatingly hurt when Penelope won over him in court with regard to the custody of their child, which made him lose the one he loved the most. He could have all the right motives for revenge, because of what Penelope did to him, which I certainly knew ruined his life now. 

‘But if so, could he be that furious enough towards Penelope to endanger his own daughter just to have his revenge on her? What kind of father would he be if he was willing to risk his very own daughter’s life in exchange for revenge on his former wife? Could he do such a thing? Could he be the mastermind behind Michelle’s abduction?’

I held my throbbing head helplessly as my mind continued to go in a spiral of thoughts. This new problem that arises for Penelope truly bothers me and affects me gravely. All along I thought that she could finally have the peace she deserved after everything she had been through these past few months. I thought she could finally have the solace she strongly craved after solving her father’s case. But this uncalled-for incident didn’t only steal her the peace she deserved, it buried her alive in a deep and hollow pit where no one could tell when it would end. 

“Dear God, please help us find Michelle. Keep her safe from harm wherever she may be right now. I know what was happening now was too much for Penelope to bear, but please give her all the strength to surpass all of this. Grant her your divine mercy in this new adversity she is dealing with now. Help us, Dear God. Help us bring Michelle back safe and sound in Penelope’s arms.”