POV: Miguel
As if on cue, she sobbed even harder this time and I couldn’t help it anymore. I forgot everything I wanted to say, and I started consoling her, begging her to stop crying. I stopped hearing her voice, and I thought she had finally stopped. But the next voice I heard was not hers and I was startled by his firm and stern tone,
“Where is our daughter, and what problem are you talking about?” Dad asks in a very angry tone, making me feel guilty for calling Mom and not him. I could hear Mom’s voice in the background, and I knew that she must be struggling with Dad to get back her phone.
“Let me speak with my son; I want to meet my daughter; I want to know where she is.” She yelled at him.
“Speak, son, we can both hear you now,” Dad told her as he put the phone on speaker so they could both hear what I had to say.
“Mom, you need to calm down; she is missing again; she was taken away by the same woman who stole her from the hospital. But we are going to find her. Tomorrow, we are invading her hideout to get her home. I need you here when she comes back home. She needs you mom, she needs to be with her family now.” I told them sadly.
This is not what Mom wanted to hear; she couldn’t stop crying as I told her that Marisol was taken away because she asked questions about her real family. I could hear my dad trying to comfort her, and I felt so sad that I didn’t tell her about Marisol the first time I found out that she was Victoria.
“I’m sorry mom, I should have told her about her earlier. Maybe you would have convinced her to just walk away without confronting the impostor who claimed to be her mother for twenty-four years. But I let go back home to confront her and now she is in danger because of me.” I confessed.
“How did that happen? Who took my daughter?” Mom yelled in frustration, sobbing so hard.
“You can’t let this happen again, you can’t let them take her from us again.” Mom sobbed.
“Its my fault mom, I’m sorry I let Eloise get her. I will find her and bring her back home, I promise. We know where she is hiding her, and we are going to get her back,” I told her.
“It’s not your fault, son; you did what we have been trying to do for the past twenty-four years. We will get on the next flight and we will support you in any way we can. Keep your head down and keep your phone close. We will call you as soon as we land. Don’t get into trouble; we’ll be there soon, and everything will be okay.” Dad assured me.
“Stay away from that woman, what’s her name again?” he asked me.
“Her name is Eloise, Dad, it’s Eloise Kendall. She is a lunatic; she stole Marisol and another girl, too. It’s still unclear whether the girls family are alive or not. But from our reports, I think she killed the other girl’s family, too.” I told them sadly.
“Wait!
Don’t hang up!” Mom called out to me when Dad tried to hand it up.
“Did you say that her name is Eloise Kendall?” Mom asked me sternly.
“Is she, by chance, the former owner of Kendall Group of Companies?” she asked again, not even waiting for me to answer her first question.
“Mom, what are you even asking me, what are you saying right now?” I asked her suspiciously.
“You said Eloise took Marisol away, and I was wondering, son, are you, by chance, referring to Eloise Kendall, wife of Austin Kendall?” Mom asked me, her tone filled with curiosity.
“Mom?
How do you know Eloise Kendall, how do you know that evil woman?” I asked her in anger, raising my voice.
“No son, you don’t understand. I think there is a terrible mistake somewhere. I know Eloise Kendall; I’ve been friends with Eloise for twenty-four years now. She helped me get over my grief after your sister was stolen. She was so kind and understanding; she knew the right words to say every time.
This must be some kind of mistake, I don’t think we are talking about the same person. Just wait right there, I’m coming!” She told me.
“We are switching to a video call, son.” My dad told me. I waited for the switch, and after a few seconds, I saw Dad’s face on the screen as Mom walked towards her work table and picked up her laptop, bringing it closer to the screen.
“This is the Eloise Kendall that I am talking about; this is my friend I told you about; I call her Lois, remember?
Her full name is Eloise Kendall and this is her picture. I always talk about her and how she is so caring and supportive. I’ve never met her in person because we are in two different cities and she is an introvert, always shying away from outings.
I’ve only spoken to her on the phone, we are best friends even if we haven’t seen each other. This is my friend, Eloise Kendall. Is she the same Eloise that you are talking about?” she asked me, her eyes filled with tears because she could see the answers in my eyes, and deep down in her heart, she already knew that we were talking about the same crazy person.
I could see it in her eyes, and it hurt to think that Eloise had been chatting with my mom for the past twenty-four years, and that was after she kidnapped Marisol. It scares me to think of what might be going through her mind as she made contact with the woman she just kidnapped her daughter. Was she trying to get to know more about her, or was she planning to kill her like she killed Claire’s family?
“That’s the same woman that took Marisol from the hospital, it’s the same woman that is holding her hostage right now. What does she want with you, how did you even meet someone so crazy and evil?
How, Mom, how did you meet that woman?” I asked her in confusion, trying not to sound too angry with her for even knowing Eloise and being friends with her.
“Stop joking around, Miguel!
Tell me the truth, please son. Take a look at the pictures again and tell me the truth. Is she the same woman who stole my daughter? Did she take my Marisol away from me?” Mom asked again, her voice breaking as she cried her eyes out.