George stirred in bed, the rays of sunlight brightening the room. He squinted and looked around, trying to adjust his sleepy eyes to his surroundings.
What was the time? He looked at the clock and saw 7:20am.
After a stormy day yesterday, the sun seemed to be rising too early today.
He sat up in bed, plopping a soft pillow behind him to support his back. He still felt a bit down but better than how he felt yesterday.
Tony would be standing in for him to take care of his mother until he arrived at the hospital. He really hoped there would be positive news today about his mother regaining her consciousness.
The sweet aroma of baked potatoes and fried chicken caught his attention and he looked at the direction where the smell was coming from. The sight before him made George blink and rub his eyes…
About twenty steps away from the bed was Rachel sitting on their small dining table for two, with a large plate of the delicious smelling food but not just that, she was glaring at him and patting a big wooden stick on her palm.
“R-rachel…” George blinked again. What was up with her attitude? Did something happen yesterday? He gasped inwardly when he remembered the previous night….
He was supposed to tell her where he was coming from since morning and why he had blood stains all over his body. That was the reasonable thing to do. But what did he do? He took a shower and crashed down in a long nap, leaving her confused and worried.
He didn’t even know when he slept off. That was how tired he was yesterday.
“Good morning…” George muttered, giving her his widest smile.
Rachel chuckled, still patting the big wooden stick. ‘where did she even get that from?’ George wondered.
She picked the plate of potatoes and fried chicken and walked towards his side of the bed.
Thank goodness! He was starving.
Rachel sat by his side, beside his thigh area and stretched out her hand with the plate of food. Just when he was about to take it, she moved her hand, pulling the plate back to herself and glared at him…
George smiled teeth wide again. He knew where this was heading to.
“I’m sure you slept after me. How come you’re up so early?” He asked, changing the ‘obvious’ topic.
Rachel eyed him. “Were you expecting me to sleep peacefully when you suddenly came back past midnight with human blood stains around you plus the fact that your mother wasn’t back and you said absolutely nothing about it…”
She grabbed the big stick and placed the other end under his chin and glared at him playfully “Huh? Tell me. If you were me, would you sleep comfortably in that position?”
George sighed. He got her point, she was making sense. He grabbed the stick from her hand and threw it on the floor gently. “I’m really sorry. Didn’t even know when I dozed off, I was really tired”
Rachel pouted and looked away.
“Forgive me, huh? I’ll explain everything you want to know right now”
At the sound of that, she turned and gave him a wide grin. Apology accepted!
George eyed her. “But first, you have to give me the plate of food”
Rachel glared at him playfully before giving it to him.
George dug into the food quickly. He munched every bite and every bone, how was he able to sleep off so fast when he was so hungry?
Right now, he felt like a starving bear.
Rachel sat by his side, waiting for him to finish his meal. When he was done, she looked at him, her toned laced with worry
“Did your mother stay over at a hotel? Or did something else happen? Why did you come back so late yesterday? Where did you get blood stains from when you didn’t have any open wound? Where d-”
“My goodness….” George chuckled “…. Take it easy. Are you trying to destroy my ears with so many questions at once?”
“Oh.” Rachel laughed. “Alright. Alright, I am done now. Answer these questions first”
George adjusted on the bed and cleared his throat. “No, my mother didn’t stay over at any hotel. She’s in the hospital right now.”
Rachel frowned. “How is that possible? She was completely healthy when she stepped out yesterday. Wait…. did she have an accident? Is that why you had blood stains?”
“You’re doing it again…” George remarked, eyeing her playfully.
“Oh…not again. Sorry, keep talking”
“I was coming back from a private meeting with a top investor when the rain started. I didn’t even know that my mom went out to meet with someone. It was when she called that I noticed something strange in the way she talked. She sounded out of breath and very uneasy, she also said something about if she didn’t come back today or tomorrow….” George paused for a moment.
Then he continued “I just found it strange but I didn’t think too much about it. I drove further and just when I was about to take the final road that leads to this place, I noticed an elderly woman running for her on the other lane. I looked closely only to discover the woman was my mother. I n-”
“What? I don’t understand” Rachel frowned, obviously confused. “Why would she be running for her life?”
“She was being chased by a man with a gun. I didn’t realize it until he pulled the trigger….”
Rachel’s eyes widened instantly. She placed a hand over her mouth, her expression filled with disbelief “H-he pulled what?”
“He pulled the trigger. He shot her, I saw her fall to the ground and the blood stains on my body yesterday was her blood. I was too exhausted to explain anything at all. I just wanted to sleep and wake up to see that all this was just a nightmare not reality”
“Oh my goodness….” Rachel’s frown deepened “…. But it doesn’t make sense. Why would a random man with a gun be chasing her all of a sudden?”
“He was not a random man. He was sent by someone to kill her”
“Explain further. What exactly are you trying to say?”
“The person she went out to meet yesterday was her personal lawyer and suddenly she got shot. What does that tell you?”
“She went ahead with trying to get her company back after everything we said?” Rachel asked. Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock and she stared at George, holding her breath “Don’t tell me what I am thinking is true? Morris sent someone to kill her?”
“”Yes”
Rachel gasped and shuddered a bit. A murderer!!
“I can’t believe this. How did this happen?”
George sighed. “You have to believe it. She’s lying down in a private hospital receiving treatment right now. She is still unconscious even after having surgery to remove the bullet.”.
Rachel placed a hand over her mouth. “I feel like I am dreaming. She was really hit by a bullet? She must be in a critical position right now”
“Yes. I also wish all of this could turn out to be a nightmare, not reality. I will never forgive myself if my mother dies.”
“How did Morris know she was heading out to see a lawyer?” Rachel asked “Before that, how did he even know she was planning to get her company back? She never said anything about that to him”
“I thought about it and the only reasonable explanation is that her phone call was being tracked and recorded. And obviously, she didn’t discover it on time. Anyway, I took her to a hospital that’s quite far from here, somewhere Morris would not easily find her”
“He is still searching for her?”
“I believe so, he wants her dead and the only way to make sure of it is to see her lifeless body as proof. Especially Judith, since she wants my mother’s position, she won’t rest until the news of her death reaches her”
“How long are we going to remain silent and continue taking all this? Is it until he tries to kill us too?” Rachel muttered “… nanny Juliet came over here yesterday around 10pm and gave me some recorded files. She said your mother told her to do so if she didn’t come yesterday.”
“Really? Oh yea…. I remember she said something like that when she called. About nanny Juliet giving me some evidence and also her lawyer reaching out to me in a few days”
“I hid it somewhere just in case. The recordings contained voice clips of Morris and Judith talking about your accident, my father’s fabricated case and some other things. I haven’t been able to listen to all of them yet.”
“That’s great. Exactly what we’ve been looking for.”
“Yes. Let us not hold back anymore. It’s no longer safe to live here.”
“I am working on that. But first, I need to go over to the hospital soon. Tony is standing in for me but only for a moment.”
“I am coming with you”
George glanced at her “Alright. But we have to be discreet about it because we are being watched. Also, I won’t be using my car”
“Are they tracking your car too?”
“I believe they would have installed a tracker on my car last night, thinking I won’t know about it. We are taking the long way today for my mother’s safety. Eyes are going to be on us so we need to find a way to get to her hospital without being followed by anybody.”
“Alright. That’s fine”