POV: Raphael
First, she was in the hospital the day Victoria went missing, then again, she had gone to the hospital on the day that family had that unfortunate accident. Same hospital, same motive, and the same method always. It’s so easy to draw the connection and see that she is not just a criminal mind; she is a murderer, too.
“Why are you staring at that file as if it has answers to all the questions we have in front of us? Why can’t you do something useful to get back my sister, what are you doing with these damn papers?” Miguel asked in anger, snatching the paper I was holding from me.
I was so close to punching him 9n the face once more, but I just recalled my last words to him a few minutes ago, asking him to work with me so we could solve these mysteries together. I swear if it wasn’t for the guilt that I’m feeling in my heart, I wouldn’t have backed down or agreed to work with him on his case.
He’s a proud asshole, he thinks he has every right to boss me around because he is related to Victoria. To think that he found out about the DNA test I did and he never thought it wise to ask me about it. He ignored me and went straight to Victoria as if I didn’t matter.
I’m sure he is trying to force me to back down so he can find her alone and claim that I didn’t try my best to find her. He wants to make me look bad so he would have every opportunity to move her out of here and take her away from me. I wonder what he said to her when she came over to his place this morning.
“What did you say to her this morning, Miguel? Why was she not taking my calls after she left your place? Why did she not call me to inform me that she was changing her plans that morning?” I asked him sternly, learning a scoff as he shook his head at me looking at me as if I were a clown or something.
“Really, Raphael Hawkins?
Is that all you could come up with after staring at these papers for a good few minutes?
We have a lot to deal with, Raphael, you really want to do this now?” He asked me, groaning at the end as if this was a kind of a bother.
“She didn’t call me before going to your place this morning or after leaving your house. That is unlike Victoria, she never keeps anything from me. So I wonder why she didn’t tell me about her change of plans and why she didn’t call or take my calls after she left your place. What did you say to her Miguel, what did you tell her!” I yelled at him, trying to control my anger but failing miserably.
“Why do you think I said something to her?
Why do you think that it was me, what if it was all her idea, huh?
What if she finally discovered that you are an asshole and she decided to leave you?” he smirked.
“Or what if you planned all this to distract everyone while you safely take your sister out of this city and away from everyone she knows? What if you framed Austin Kendall and forced Vera Kendall to turn on her husband and lie to cover up your ass,” I told him, smirking back when he frowned deeply.
“You are right about one thing Raphael. I will take my sister away from you and everyone around her because you all do not deserve someone as special as she is.” He told me firmly.
“Then we are going to have a huge problem, Miguel Myers. I love your sister, and I will fight you and your entire family to keep her. This is not going to be like the business deals we had that you cheated me on. I let you have your way because of your family background. But that is the only chance you’ll get to take something that I want. This time, I’ll take what is mine, even if it means hurting you in the process!” I told him firmly, meaning every word.
He squinted his eyes and stared at me strangely, refusing to say a word to me. I left him staring after me and went over to hear what the cops had to say about the abduction. I spent a few minutes speaking with the cops before calling Carl once more to see what was happening at the airport.
Turns out it is exactly what I expected; Eloise did not leave a clue on the cars parked at the airport; she didn’t even let her name appear on the flight manifest. To buy herself more time, she planted bombs on the card and even in the control room of the airport.
I was on the phone with Carl, and he was telling me how the boys were still waiting to get permission from airport security to get the cars searched. We were still on the call when suddenly, the bombs went off when my boys approached the cars, and the detonation triggered the other bombs she planted at the airport, causing them to go off and killing a lot of people.
It was a very traffic event; the whole thing went off so suddenly, and it took the cops out of my house as they went running to help save the injured. The incident may be tragic, but it helped our case. Luckily for us, the thugs she used are part of a criminal organization that is wanted for terrorism and other violent Acts.
The cops could not find any information on the thugs she used; their names did not pop up in any of the databases. But the bombs they used at the airport led us to their organization and that was a breakthrough in our case. We did not just find out their names and addresses, we discovered that Eloise has been using this organization to launder money for a while now.
We have been trying to find out how all the money disappeared before she even left the city. Now we know how she did it, all that is left is to find her location immediately. The cops were all too busy at the airport to help out in a missing person’s case, so we had no choice but to do it ourselves.
There is one particular guy that we have been trying to locate because we believe that he will lead us to the others. His name is Jason Allen and he is a known terrorist in this country. His name always comes up in connection to terrorist attacks and human trafficking.
It’s funny how the cops do not know his name until after the explosions went off and it was discovered that the bombs used in the airport are the exact type of bombs that is always used by his terrorist organization. His face did not come up in the database at first because he is a high-profile terrorist who is under strict watch by the NDLA and NSA.
They claim he is under investigation and he is also under surveillance. I wonder how he was able to slip past their surveillance team without being caught. Now he is out there with Eloise and the girls and we have no idea how to find him. Luckily, the cops have agreed to let us into his last known apartment, the same place they have been watching.
There was silence in the car as we both drove to the apartment in my car with some of my boys coming behind us. Miguel has been so quiet since we got the call about the explosions. He couldn’t take his eyes away from the news channel that was talking about the explosions. He kept reviewing the news even as we drove to Allen’s apartment.
“What?!” I asked him furiously when the silence became too unbearable. He heard me but refused to answer. He just kept gazing at his phone as if it had all the answers he was looking for.
“Do you think she would hurt them?” he asked me after a few minutes, his voice sounding broken. I turned to him, and I saw the fear in his eyes; it’s the way I feel, too. We have no idea what to expect, we don’t even know what she is capable of until today. I’ve always known that she had allies that helped her cover up her tracks, but I never thought that she would be using terrorists as her cover-up.
I mean, who would ever think that she would ever be associated with these guy’s?
She always looks so innocent, I wish I’d taken all sentiment out of the way and dealt with her the way I’d always dealt with people who try to cross me. But I’ve always thought I could preserve the bond that exists between her and the girls. I could tell you that Victoria loves her and I never wanted that bond to be broken.
That’s the reason why I tried so hard to make her confess to the girls and apologize. Who would ever have thought that she had other plans for the girls? Who would have thought that she would attempt such a crazy plot to elope with the girls? Does she think this case will be closed the same way it happened twenty-four years ago?
She must be delusional if she thinks that Miguel and I would give up so easily. I will not stop searching for Victoria, and I won’t give up until she is locked behind bars. This time, she will face my wrath. I’m determined to make things right and tell Victoria how I feel about her. I hope she forgives me for lying to her all this while. What if she doesn’t forgive me? Can I move on with my life? How do I live without her? How do I go on?
She brings me peace of mind, making me forget my problems with my family. She is the only one I have trusted in a very long time, she is the only one that has won my love without even trying. I want her back home, I really do. I can’t go on without her, I can’t even think straight.