” Let me out dammit!”, I yelled as I banged the door, ” I gotta go save Janet”, I said now leaning my back against the door as I slowly slid down into a crouched sitting position. ” Knock! knock!”, someone knocked on the door.
” Who is it?”, I asked as I hurriedly got up on my feet, ” please let me out of here”, I pleaded.
” It’s me Justin. I’m coming in”, he said as I heard the door unlock. As soon as he opened the door, I tried to make a run for it. Expectedly, I got caught easily.
” Calm down Izzy, you don’t know what you’re doing”, he said with his hands around my waist.
” Unhand me, you perv!”, I yelled as I tried to break free from his grip. He let go off me and I took a few steps backward. ” Don’t you dare lay a finger on me or I’m telling my husband”, I said with my index finger pointed at him.
” Humph!”, he sighed, ” well I can’t really blame you, can I?”, he said with a smile as he stared into the distance. I could see the emotions in his eyes. ” Anyway”, he said as he snapped back to reality, ” your sister is here to see you”, he said. Then someone in a wheelchair was rolled in by some guy in a black suit. They stood in the doorway as Justin stepped aside. My eyes locked with the lady in the wheelchair and I was shocked at how similar we look.
” Isabelle”, she said as her lips etched into a crescent smile. I was at a loss for words because even if I could deny this weird Justin guy claiming to be my husband, how was I to deny the stark naked truth of my being related to this lady in front of me?
” Are you really my sister?”, I asked her.
” Of course I am. It’s me, Madison, Mneso, don’t you remember?”, she asked.
” Madison?”, I asked and immediately felt a sharp pain in my head. I immediately put my hand on my head and walked backwards feeling behind me with my other hand for the bed.
” Are you okay?”, Justin asked as he rushed to help me.
” Don’t!”, I said as I pointed at him, ” everyone stay back!”, I said, swinging my hand at everyone. ” Stay back”, I said as I sat on the bed gently.
” Should I get you a doctor?”, Justin asked.
” Leave! All of you, get out now!!!”, I yelled at them as I fell backwards on the bed. I felt really drowsy and thoughts flashed through my head.
” Stop it!!! Get out of my head!!!”, I screamed and kicked. Justin ran towards me and tried to calm me down. ” Let go off me!”, I yelled and screamed really loudly, before blacking out.
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*** At Tristan’s Villa***
” Finally”, I said as I shut the door of Tristan’s study. ” Now to get some valuable info”, I muttered as I walked up to his desk. I opened the drawers and shuffled through the papers in it.
” Urrghh!”, I exclaimed in anger as I slammed the drawer shut. ” There’s nothing in here”, I muttered. ” Where would I keep valuable information if I were Tristan?”, I asked myself, with my fingers on my chin. ” Aha!”, I exclaimed as my eyes lit up, ” The bedroom. That’s it!”, I said and sneakily walked out of the study, looking left and right before tiptoeing across the corridor.
” Now which one of them was it?”, I pondered as I stared at the myriad of rooms in the corridor. ” Have to search every one then. Urrghh! So stressful”, I grumbled as I began to open quietly, taking a sneak peek and shutting them again. I did this for forty-eight doors before finally finding his room.
” Geez, about time”, I grumbled and as I walked in, shutting the door behind me. ” Now it’s search time”, I said crackling the joints of my fingers. I began to search the room as fast as I could. The drawers, the wardrobes, the files, everything! ” Urrghh! Still nothing?”, I yelled in a low whispery voice. ” What a waste of time”, I complained as I walked towards the door. ” Ouch!”, I yelled as I tripped and fell. ” Dammit!”, I cussed as I looked for the object that tripped me. I saw a little brown box, under the bed, a little part of which protruded out slightly from underneath. ” What’s that?”, I thought as I crawled towards it, drawing it out from under the bed. I tried to open it.
” It’s unlocked”, I muttered as I opened the box. There were a couple of papers and candid photos of multiple women and one of them was Isabelle.
” What the hell are these?”, I thought as I picked up the photos, searching through them. ” Who are these girls?”, I wondered. There were so many of them. Then I kept the pictures aside and began to read some of the papers.
” Baby factory? Designer babies? Genetic engineering?”, I read out from the papers. ” What exactly has Tristan been doing?”, I asked. ” I gotta show these to Jared”, I said as I took out my phone from my pocket. I took a couple of pictures of the papers and pictures. Then I put everything back into the box and closed it, sliding it back into the exact position I met it. Then I walked towards the door, creaking it open a little bit. I took a peek around to see if any of the maids or guards were there. ” Alright, coast is clear”, I muttered as I snuck out of the room, and hurried back to my room.
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*** At Tristan’s Office***
” Geez man, she’s not some sort of property”, Tristan said , ” but you can have her back, if you want”, he added.
” Of course I want her back. I certainly can’t leave her with the likes of you”, I said in a slightly annoyed tone. ” And besides, she told me that she MYSTERIOUSLY wound up at your house yesterday. And when I asked her which house it was, she said she couldn’t recognize it. You’ve been acquiring real estate with dad’s wealth, haven’t you?”, I asked. Then he laughed and shook his head.
” You’re so naive, you know?”, he said to me, ” you think I just sit here making millions of dollars for this company and use none of it for myself?”, he asked.
” You call buying a mansion, using some money for yourself? You’re lavishing dad’s wealth!”, I yelled at him.
” Don’t judge me Jared. You’ve been out there, spending money in every country of the world and you haven’t made a single dime for the company in all these years, and you call, me buying a house, lavishing? Pffft! Don’t make me laugh”, he said.
” You know what, Tris? I didn’t come here for company matters today. I’ll save that for when I’m ready to take my position back. In the meantime, I ain’t leaving here till you give Janet back”, I said as I crossed my legs and reclined in my chair.
” Like I said, she doesn’t belong to you. But still she’s probably on her way to the Royal Resorts already. I sent a driver to take her there. So you better go back now, so she won’t have to stand outside waiting for your sorry ass”, he said.
” And what makes you feel like I’d believe you, knowing how much you lie?”, I asked with my brow raised in doubt.
” Well suit yourself. You’re welcome to sit here all day if you want. I couldn’t care less. But you’ll be getting a call from her in no time, railing at you, because of how dumb you are”, he said as he continued his paperwork.
” Say that again”, I said as I stood up from my chair and walked over to him. ” It seems like it’s been way too long since I gave you a proper beating”, I said pulling out of his chair by the collar of his shirt.
” Let go of me now!”, he yelled.
” Oh yeah? or else what?”, I asked him tauntingly.
” I’m warning you Jared. Let go of my shirt”, he said.
” Pffft!”, I scoffed with a smug smirk on my face, ” Go sit down kid”, I said as I tossed him back into his chair. He used his hand to adjust his collar as he glared at me.
” Yeah glare all you want, you’re still a wimp behind all that cheating and lying”, I said as I walked towards the door. I twisted the door knob and opened the door then paused and turned to look at him still glaring. ” Oh yes, one more thing. If I don’t see Janet before nightfall, I’ll come here tomorrow and I’m gonna beat the crap out of you, just like the old days, Kapish?”, I said to him and then walked out the door, banging it behind me.
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*** Inside the Sheriff’s office***
” Hmmm, that’s quite the case you’ve got there”, the Sheriff said to us in his heavy Texan accent, ” but it’s nothing a good ole’ investigation can’t solve”, he said. I sat there, watching as my dad and the Sheriff discussed. The Sheriff’s office was quite cozy, more so than I expected. There was the typical reindeer head on the wall, and the walls were made of some sort of shiny dark wood. It literally screamed “country” in here.
” I’ll be really glad if you can help us find them, Sheriff”, my dad said.
” Don’t worry sir, as long as they’re in this here county, I’ll find ’em. So you good citizens can rest assured”, he assured us.
” Thank you very much Sheriff”, Dad said as he stood up. I followed suit and thanked the Sheriff too, before we left the office.
*** Outside the Sheriff’s Office building***
” Geez, today’s really sunny. Ain’t that right boy?”, Dad asked as he squinted to look up, putting his hand on his forehead over his eyes to create a shade for them.
” Yeah I guess so, yeah”, I said with a shrug.
” Anyway, you head home, I’m off to the bar”, he said.
” Alright, though I don’t think I’ll head home”, I said.
” Really? Why?”, he asked.
” Janet’s brother is gonna be really worried already and might even have already reported his sister missing to the cops and who do you think is gonna be the primary suspect for whatever speculations they might have cooked up ?”, I asked.
” Oh I get it”, he said, ” It’s okay son, you can go back to the city. But make sure to keep in touch, okay?”, he said.
” Will do, dad”, I said with a smile.
” Alright, see ya later”, he said as he got into his car, starting the rickety engine and zooming off. I smiled and wave as I watched him drive off. He really was a great guy.
” I better head to the train station”, I muttered as I began to walk towards the bus station, as the shimmering sunlight sizzled the air.