POV: Eloise
“No more questions, Vee, I’m suddenly feeling very weak and sleepy. Could you walk me to my room so I can take a nap?” I asked her, smiling warmly as I caressed the back of her palm. She looked back at me and helped me up the stairs to my room. I think she believes me, at least she pretends to. She doesn’t look too furious, so I’m guessing that she hasn’t been told the truth yet. So if I can just keep her by my side, keep her away from him, and keep a close eye on her, she will not find out the truth.
I made her believe it was all a lie, I told her father was just trying to cheat them off their inheritance and that is why he made up lies about their background to make them look like gold diggers. It’s not all a lie actually, he is trying to take everything I worked so hard for, he wants to disown the girls and keep everything for himself and his jealous, hateful wife and daughter.
“We will make him pay, mom. When I turn twenty-five next week, we will seize back everything he took from us, I’ll make sure of that.” She told me, smiling warmly at me.
“I’m sure you will, my daughter.” I told her, smiling warmly at her. She dropped a kiss on my forehead, turning to leave me alone. But I held her hand and pulled her back, pouting like a baby with a smile on my face.
“Mama wants to cuddle,” I told her, smiling and pleading with my eyes. She understands me so well, this is how I always get her to give in to my requests. And it always works, always. I turned my back to her and I tapped the space behind me for her, indicating that she should lie down and cuddle me from behind.
She chuckled softly and climbed in after me, pulling me to herself and throwing her hand around me from behind, holding me and gently caressing my back. I smiled to myself and I sighed inwardly as she just proved to me that her love for me was still intact. I let her hold me for a few minutes as I enjoyed the warmth of my daughter’s embrace. Then after a while, I pretended to be asleep, I laid still and forced myself to snore softly, faking it.
I knew the moment she thought I was sleeping and she gently stood up from the bed and tucked me in carefully before tiptoeing out of my room. I opened my eyes the moment I heard the clinking sound of the doorknob as she left and shut the door. I still feel a little pain from the injury of my last operation, but that will not stop me from putting my plans into motion
Oh, wait!
You think I never thought that this would happen to me?
Of course I did, I thought of everything goddammit!
I knew this day would come, it is inevitable. I just didn’t think it would be so soon, I thought it would be something in the distant future after I might have held my grandchildren and watched as my little girls become good mothers, just like me. I never thought it would so soon, I just can’t let them go so easily!
I got up from the bed immediately after she left and I went straight to my box, I opened it so quickly that everything inside spilled out and scattered on the floor. But not an issue, I can always have the maids clean it up when I’m done. I need to focus on my mission because it is very important. I opened the secret compartment in my box that nobody else knows about and I brought out my secret burner phone that is not registered to me. I have two numbers on this phone, and I dialed the first number on my speed dial,
“It’s time to initiate my contingency plans. Sell off the company and make it look like Austin did it. Release all my secret funds and send them to a foreign account. I need everything moved within the next forty-two hours. Don’t get caught, Matt, I can’t afford to lose you.” I told him firmly, earning a soft chuckle from him.
Matt has been my lawyer since I took over the company and other assets from my parents. His father worked for my father and after the death of my parents, I decided to retain him and he’s been the best ally in my trying times. He was the one in charge of my finances when Austin thought he could swindle me. I knew this day would come, and I made him hide some of my assets and keep them safe until it was time to escape with my daughters.
I made Austin take charge of the company because I wanted to do everything in my power to keep the girls out of the limelight. I would have taken back my company if I wanted to, but I had to lay low so I wouldn’t attract unnecessary attention to my family. He thought he was being mean to me and cheating me out of my inheritance. But the truth is that I didn’t put up a fight because I wanted the truth to remain hidden. And when he pushed us to the streets, he made it easier for my girls to be forgotten by society. So we just stayed in the shadows and lived our lives happily… until now.
“Activate my plans, Luke. Get the boys ready and keep them close. If you notice anything strange that is not a part of my plan B, I need you to move in and attack. Show no mercy in your attacks because the people you are going to be facing this time are tougher than the people we faced together after we got the girls away from their families.
The girls are mine, you must make sure I get out of this city with my daughters, dead or alive. They must not be taken away from me, make sure of that. If I can’t have them, no one else will. They are my girls, my daughters, mine!” I instructed the second guy. He was there too when it all went down twenty-five years ago. Matt, Luke, and Austin had fellows me steal my daughters and take them away from their families.
Just that, Matt and Like stayed on course and remained faithful and committed to me. Whereas, Austin failed. He betrayed my trust when he used my secret as a weapon to betray and antagonize me. When the company is sold and my funds are released and transferred to me, I will settle both guys and compensate them for their commitment and Loyalty. As for Austin, I think it’s time for him to see what it is like to be thrown to the streets.
I smiled to myself as I thought of all my plans. I don’t care if the girls feel sad after being forced to leave, I’ll find a way to deal with their tantrums after we have successfully left this place. I’ve done worse things in my life, so kidnapping them for the second time in their lives is not a big deal.
Yeah, you guessed right. I’d stolen both girls from the hospital, and I did it myself with little help from Like, Matt and a doctor friend of mine. The first time I did it was in Victoria, it was a beautiful coincidence that turned out to be the answer to my prayers. I’d actually gone to see my doctor friend for another attempt to adopt a child from the hospital.
She had told me stories of a child that was abandoned in the hospital and I was hoping to get her, but social services claimed I don’t fit the criteria to get her. It hurt me so bad that they kept turning down my request for adoption and making life so difficult for me. I lost count of the number of times I sat in the hospital, waiting for another opportunity. And every damn time my hopes were dashed to the wind because I never fit their damn criteria, I’m just not good enough to own a child.