Liam stood soullessly by the window side in his study room, his heart writhing in pain as he recalled his argument with his fiancee, Isabelle, or now ex-fiancee. He knew his words were out of boundary, he knew he had called her names that were out of her character, but his pride was too stubborn to admit the fact that he had crossed the line.
After much consideration, he walked down to the living room to see the housing and engagement documents on the floor, the spot where he had left them.
“Where is she?” He asked himself. He was about to go back to his study room when his intuition told him to check her room.
“She left” he muttered to himself, pain evident in his voice as he gazed at the empty closet in her room. “It’s late, why would she leave now”
A great amount of worry clouded his heart as he pondered on where she had gone. He never meant for her to leave tonight. She must have taken his words deep at heart. He walked back to the living room and picked up the documents on the floor. He took a step towards the door but halted in his tracks. His ego would not let him go to search for her.
“She must have gone back to her mother’s house,” he thought to himself, walking straight to the refrigerator with a heavy heart. He hadn’t drunk any bit of alcohol for ages, except wine.. but now, he needed something to help him forget his sorrows.
He kept on drinking from the brandy bottle itself, gulping and belching endlessly, till he fell into a deep slumber, right there on the sofa.
****
“Where is she?… Why is she taking so long to use the restroom?” Rachael asked no one in particular, her voice impatient and slightly irritated. “It’s been almost an hour. I’d better go check her out”
Rachael walked briskly towards the restroom area and unlocked the one with the female sign engraved on it.
“Isabelle… Isabelle” she called out, searching each cubicle with worry etched on her face. “Where could she have gone to.. she can’t leave with me and besides her luggage is with him… I should go check out the table again”
She walked back to the cafe in haste, as a disturbing feeling rose in her heart. Her intuition told her something was wrong, but she needed to confirm it first before taking any step. But unfortunately, no one was there. Her worries instantly increased as her gaze darted round the cafe for any sign of her but it was hopeless, she was nowhere to be found.
She quickly ran out of the cafe, glancing frantically at every corner but couldn’t find anything, until she sighted the black car she had seen earlier. A platinum lady poked her head out of the car window, staring at her disdainfully with an evil smirk on her face. Before Rachael could do it, the car zoomed off at a high speed.
“Oh! No” she exclaimed in fear as she detected Isabelle’s silhouette through the back of the car. “What do I do?” She asked herself, pacing back and forth. She suddenly thought of Liam, but she didn’t have a way to contact him and there was a high chance that he wouldn’t believe her. The next name that came to her mind was Williams… Yes, he was the best and only option.
She dialed his number twice before the call was answered. A hoarse and sleepy voice was heard on the other end of the call. “Hello, Rachael.. why are you calling by this time of the night? Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
“I’m sorry” Rachael apologized immediately even though she wanted to lash out at him so badly for spoiling her mood further. “There’s a big problem that I need you to help me with”
“A big problem?.. right now?” William questioned, his voice more clear and sound to show that he had woken up fully.
“Yes, William. I need you to come to me right now” Rachael urged with seriousness in her voice. She pleaded with sincerity “Please, I need your help”
“What’s the problem, Racheal?” William asked with worry in his voice. “Talk to me”
“Isabelle has been kidnapped” Rachael dropped the bombshell. “I don’t know how but she’s been taken away”
“By who?” William blurted out the foolish question on his mind but it was too late to retract it. He could only wait for Rachael’s intense scolding.
“You asshole” Rachael cursed out loud, forgetting she was in a no-noise-tolerant estate. Nevertheless, she continued. “I said she was kidnapped and you dare ask me who?… Do I sound like the ally of a kidnapper?… You’d better get your ass down here right now… I’ll send you the location” she said and stopped to catch her breath.
“Yes ma’am, I’m on my way”William rapidly responded before hanging up on the call.
Rachael, after deliberating for a while, walked back into the cafe to meet the young male clerk at the table.
“Erm.. mister, I need your help” Rachael stuttered with a low and extremely polite voice.
The young male clerk looked her up from head to toe before sighing deeply, saying, “It’s past the closing hour. There’s no service I can render to you right now, come back tomorrow”
“No no no,” Rachael said repeatedly, stopping the man who was about to leave the counter, her gaze filled with severity that made the man’s gaze soften as he stood to listen to what she had to say. “What do you want?” He asked curtly.
Rachael hesitated for a moment before speaking. “I need you to help me gain access to the security camera footage of the cafe”
The man, baffled, stared at her with an amused expression on his face like she was insane and replied. “Are you crazy?… Who are you to order me around?.. my employer?… Or wait, are you the boss’s daughter I’ve been hearing about or…..”
“Stop” Rachael interjected abruptly. “I’m not your boss neither am I his daughter”
“Then, I see no reason why you should ask for something that important” the man retorted, slightly irritated. “I think it’s better you….”
“Name your price”