CHAPTER 115: TWISTED AND UNFORGIVABLE TRUTH

“Have they called again, Lewis?” 

The words automatically came right out of my mouth as I immediately got up the minute I regained consciousness, right after feeling a light feathery kiss on my forehead. 

“No, they haven’t called again yet. I’m sorry I woke you up, Baby, I was just checking on you. You should go back to sleep.” 

“Why haven’t they called again? All they ever wanted was a ransom, right? So why on earth was it taking them so long to state their demands? They should have called back minutes after their first, right?” He didn’t respond and simply gazed at me with unpaintable concern plastered on his handsome face, which made me exhale laboriously before continuing. “I am utterly clueless of what I must do now, Lewis. I’m losing hope. Everything was all mixed up inside my head, my worries for Michelle’s safety, these heartless men, the stress I am feeling… God! It’s driving me crazy!” 

He swiftly held my hand and placed it near his heart. “I know all of these are hard on you, Penelope, but you need to be strong and put yourself together. You cannot lose faith, not at this point. Michelle needs us. She needs you more than anything else now. We have to believe that we will retrieve her and bring her back home.” 

“I know that, Lewis, but I can’t help but feel down everytime I think of Michelle’s condition, wherever she may be now. She must be too frightened at this very moment. Who knows where those bastards were keeping her. Oh my baby,” My eyes begin to leak with burdensome tears. I couldn’t control my emotions, they were taking the best of me as Lewis promptly caged me in his warm embrace. 

“Hush, Baby. God will not let anything bad happen to her. She is a good child. The Lord will protect her from harm, trust me. She will be fine, Penelope, she will.” 

Whatever encouragement Lewis was saying to me at this point in time, my mind couldn’t process all the details, and the same goes with my heart. It didn’t feel any ease whatsoever, but the opposite. I am certain that no words could make me feel settled, not unless I have my baby back to me. 

***

We entered a steel door and were instantly greeted by a deep hollow voice, whom I presumed was the group’s leader Ivar. 

“Welcome! Welcome to my fortress, people! Please, have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable.” The man, who was seated at the center of a steel desk with high-profiled equipment on top of it, cheerfully uttered. “Hello, Marcus! It’s been a while.” 

“Glad to see you again, Ivar.” Marcus swiftly responded before taking a seat at one of the cushions available. 

“And you must be Michael Smith,” Ivar immediately rose from his position and extended a hand in front of me, in which I promptly acknowledged. 

“Yes, I am. And this is my fiance Pamela Watsons.” 

Unlike with Dennis, who was obviously drooling at Pamela’s appearance, Ivar was passive at hers. He simply nodded and smiled at her without making an effort to shake her hand. 

“So! Let’s get down to business, shall we?” Ivar declared just in time Pamela and I sat at the two chairs facing his desk. “The sooner we finish this, the better it will be for all of us. You see, I valued my time very much. Now, let me brief you on the latest so far, I’ve already talked to Penelope…” 

But before he could even go further, I voiced out the only thing that

was inside my mind now. “Where’s my daughter? Where’s Michelle? I wish to see her before we proceed, Ivar.” 

Eerie silence filled the air as if I said something that was out of this world. Pamela stared back at me, completely stunned. She was castigating me with her eyes, perhaps telling me not to interrupt Ivar and just see Michelle afterward. But I cared less about what she thought of me right now. All I ever wanted at this minute was to see and cage my precious little daughter in my arms. She was about to say something when Ivar spoke first. 

“Alright! Let’s check on your daughter first, just a quick one that is, because I still need to attend to another client of mine in a short while.” 

“Why not you go ahead and check on Michelle, Michael, while I talk to Ivar,” Pamela’s sudden instruction made my eyes fall onto Ivar before returning to her. There’s a sudden jolt of uneasiness that swiftly filled my system that I wish to castigate Pamela for deciding abruptly without taking me into consideration. 

“That's a good idea, Pamela, so no time would get wasted” My eyes landed again towards Ivar, analyzing his words and at the same time his personality. This man is a total stranger to us and we are here inside his territory. Anything could happen that I couldn’t control, given the fact that these people are criminals by nature. “If you are thinking that I would do something bad to your fiance, Michael, you are terribly wrong. What we have here is purely business. Besides, I’m a happily married man and a one man woman to my lovely wife.” 

Both eyes were upon me, waiting for what my next course of action would be. After taking a deep breath, I came to a conclusion to leave Pamela here with Ivar and head to where Michelle was. 

“Alright. I’ll see my daughter now and leave you two to talk.” 

“Great! Marcus, could be so kind enough to take Michael to the guest room then get back here at once. There’s a lot of things that the three of us need to discuss.” 

Without much ado, Marcus complied to Ivar’s command and hastily took me to where the guest room was located. The minute the door of the guest room was opened, my heart sank at the sight of my daughter. Although she looked unharmed and well taken care of, sadness filled her little eyes as she raised her head. My feet moved in an instant and ran towards her. 

“Daddy!” 

“Michelle!” I burst into tears as I held her in my arms, tightly wrapping her in my embrace. “Are you alright, Princess? Did they hurt you? How are you feeling?” 

“No, Daddy. They didn’t hurt me. They were treating me well, but I was so scared. Did they kidnap you as well, Daddy? Did the bad guys take you forcefully like what they did to me?” 

Extreme guilt is eating me alive as I listened to Michelle’s queries. I could feel myself exploding in extreme regret for endangering her life just because of my need for revenge on her mother. I know in myself that I will never disclose to her the truth about her abduction, that I was involved in it, together with her Aunt. This twisted and unforgivable truth will be hidden inside of me for the rest of my life and will always haunt me down for as long as I live.