Tuesday Morning.
After sorting out Nichole’s wears the previous night, they went to bed full of hope for the next day. They woke up at their usual waking time and prepared for their great day. After their breakfast, they walked out of the house to board their vehicle. To their surprise, Nichole’s car was not in the parking lot.
Then, the bewildered Arthur turned to the security guard who was standing beside them and waiting to lock the mini gate and asked him, “Didn’t Zoey return the vehicle yesterday?”
“No, Boss.”
“Why didn’t you inform us?” he asked him angrily.
“I apologize, Boss. I thought she informed you.”
Now, Arthur looked at Nichole, who was standing by the passenger’s door, before he walked to her, opened the doorr, r, and remarked, “Maybe she drove to her house when she got back from work.”
“It is possible. But she should have kindly let me know,” Nichole pointed out before she got into the car.
Arthur walked to the driver’s side and got into the car, too, before he said, “She may have her reasons. Let us go.”
Subsequently, they drove to the registry. Arthur’s joy knew no bounds when he successfully got to the registry unrestrained. Likewise, they were glad to meet their children with their spouses.
“Good morning, Father. Good morning Mom,” the children and their spouses greeted them one after the other.
“Good morning Denise.”
“Olivia, how are you?”
“I’m fine, Mom. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, for the compliment, Olivia.”
Nichole turned to Freya and her husband and asked her, “How is Daniel?”
“He is fine. We just sent him to school before coming.”
“It is all right. Thank you for coming.”
Thereafter, they got into the registry, sat at the reception, and waited for 9 AM. While they were chatting happily, the registrar invited them to the chamber.
Then, Arthur looked at his time and announced, “Let’s go. It is time.”
“It is all right, Father,” they answered and followed him.
At Stephen’s Residence.
Against Stephen’s speculations that the effect of the spray would wane after five hours, Zoey Bailey, whom he mistook for Nichole, became conscious at 7:00 PM on Monday.
The effect lingered because of her underlying medical condition. She had been an asthmatic patient right from childhood. Now, she woke up with an acute headache and dizziness. The pains in her chest became unbearable, and she began to cough. Her purse, which contained her inhaler and phone, was in the car. The last thing she could remember was that someone greeted her at the car park when she tried to get out of her car and she inhaled a poisonous substance.
‘I must have been abducted.’ She thought to herself.
With that understanding, she lay still on the bed while fighting hard to suppress her cough to avoid attracting the attention of her abductors. When the cough persisted, she got out of bed to hide where she would not be heard.
Now, the only alternative was the wardrobe. When she opened it and walked in, she withdrew instantly because the breeze that oozed out of it was as strong as a chemical, and that triggered her cough. Then, she sat upright on the ground and coughed hysterically while she unzipped her clothes to be as free as possible.
That act helped her a bit because it opened her airways.
“Where am I? I’m uncertain whether I’m still in Dover,” she reasoned in despair.
With her experience in the medical field, she was able to suppress any act that could trigger an attack. Now, she was starving and badly in need of food. At that moment, she could eat anything. Meanwhile, the room was dark, and she was unable to trace the switch. Even if she does, she would not dare to put on the light to avoid attracting anyone. In her helplessness, she drifted off.
She woke up the next day to see that the room was bright. She was unable to tell the time because she had no wristwatch, nor was there any clock in the room. Likewise, she was scared to her bone marrow when she heard voices and movement.
She began to sweat and lamented, “I’m dead. My husband and children will lose me.”
At that point, she began to weep profusely at the thought of her family losing her.
“How do I get help?” She thought.
At The Underground.
As far as Stephen was concerned, Nichole was in safe hands because his janitor would give her food when she needed it, and her phone was with her. He was so certain that she was in bondage under Arthur’s subjugation, and that he would give her the freedom that she required. It had never occurred to him that she could escape or give his janitor a call.
He spent the night and slept on the couch in the underground, with many gamblers around. Some of them spend their nights there and leave for their work the next day. Nevertheless, he had sent a message to her expressing how much he loved her and that he would be away for a few days.
“Good morning, Boss,” Jude greeted him.
“Good morning. How are you?”
“I’m fine. Is there any news from the wolves?”
“Not yet. I know they will not implicate us because they know that we will come for them. Let’s listen more to the news.”
“It is all right.”
“The restaurant will serve your breakfast.”
“I got it. Thank you, Boss.”
At Seven Oaks – The Bailey International Conglomerates
The client from the United States of America arrived the previous day. When he informed Eric that he had arrived, they scheduled to meet at the office by 8 AM. So, Eric called his boss and informed him, and he promised to be in the office by 7:30 AM. Just as they planned, they were punctual.
“Good morning, Boss. Mr. Rex Edmonton, the client from the United States of America, is here,” Eric announced enthusiastically when he got to his office.
Louis smiled cheerfully and responded, “Kindly usher him in.”
“It is okay, Boss,” Eric said and walked back to the reception.
Shortly after, he walked in with the forty-six-year-old man with a pot belly.
He did not hide his surprise when he saw a twenty-four-year Chief Executive Officer sitting confidently on his swivel chair. Now, Louis stood up from his seat with the aura of a successful businessman to receive him.