“Irene,” Leonica had called out after answering the phone. “Why are you calling me?”
“You wound me Leonica!” Irene exclaimed, being unnecessary dramatic. “Are siblings not allowed to call one another?”
Not us, Leonica thought as she tried thinking of a reason why Irene had called, it certainly wasn’t so that they can bond over boy talk.
After a few seconds of thinking, she came up with nothing and Irene, showed no sign of revealing the reason why she had called, so Leonica took this as an opportunity to confirm the thought that had slipped into her mind after Florence informed her of Irene’s appearance at Jamil’s office.
“Since you don’t want to talk, I’ll ask you this. Do you happen to know anything about Jamil Vanadas’s death.”
“That Asshole?” She scoffed, not sounding the least bit surprised to hear about his death. Although Leonica knew his death was all over the news, she couldn’t help but feel that Irene was sounding a bit too relaxed. “So he actually didn’t make it.” She laughed, the sound causing Leonica’s brows to dip.
Now she was just sounding as if she had already known Jamil’s fate.
“Then,” Leonica started. “Are you the reason he didn’t make it.”
The line was silent for a while and that’s when Irene said the words that put Leonica on complete edge. “You’re worrying about that dead fool, what about mommy dearest?”
Leonica’s expression became puzzled. “What?”
Irene didn’t respond immediately and the next sound that she heard had shivers running down her spine. Somewhere in the background, Leonica could hear her mother screams as she struggled against wherever she was tied to.
Leonica felt her blood run cold, while Irene who had already predicted this reaction, laughter maniacally. “Didn’t see this coming, did you? But don’t worry, I’m a very generous person, so I’ll give you an hour to process the situation. Ciao, sister.” And with that, the call ended.
She immediately tried calling back, but was met with a dial tone.
She didn’t bother calling again, knowing full well that it wouldn’t get her anywhere. She could only but hope that Irene wasn’t crazy enough to harm her mother, if she did have her.
The ride to the manor was a quick one, and in a matter of seconds, after pulling into the parking lot, Leonica had barged through the doors of her house, stopping short when she saw all sorts of men dressed in black suits, pacing her house with equipment set up in her living room.
“Leonica?” The sound of Melvin’s voice had her turning to the direction it had come from, and sure enough, there he was. He had been speaking to some of the men in suits when he had noticed her standing by the door, staring.
“What’s going on?” She asked as she walked up to him, even though she already knew the answer to her question.
Melvin dismissed the men in black he had been speaking to. “Leonica, there’s something I have to tell you,” He started, looking more hesitant than he sounded.
“What’s happening going? Why are all these people in our house and where is mother?” Leonica had so many questions, but all she wanted was answers.
Melvin looked like he was having a hard time, trying to gather the right words. After a few minutes of silence, he sighed. “I don’t know how to say this, but, mother’s been…kidnapped.”
Leonica didn’t speak and he could see the rage burning in her eyes.
“How long?”
Melvin lowered his head. “Two days.”
“And you kept this from me?” Leonica hissed. “She’s been missing for two days and you kept this from me?”
“I’m sorry.” Melvin said but he truly wasn’t. He had chosen to keep this away from Leonica, knowing all the troubles she currently had on her own plate. He didn’t want to stress her, but clearly, that was a mistake. A mistake he didn’t regret. But while he didn’t regret keeping it from Leonica, he knew she was going to tear him apart at any given time. Thankfully, the appearance of their father saved him before that could happen?
“Leonica?”
The blonde turned around to see her father and she felt her heart aches at his sight. He looked sleep deprived, his eyes bloodshot and the usual suit he had worn, had been replaced with a pair of casual clothing. “Dad?” She muttered as she walked up to him, pulling him into a much needed hug. He hugged back, tighter. “Why did you keep this from me?”
“You already had enough on your plate, Leonica, we couldn’t keep troubling you.”
“You still should have told me,” She said as they pulled apart. “Mother is more important than anything else.”
Benjamin flashed his daughter a weak smile. He truly appreciated her devotion towards the family. Ever since she had been a child, she always put the needs of their family first, before hers.
Benjamin felt, no, he knew he couldn’t have wished for a better daughter.
“Thank you, Leonica.”
She could only but smile back.
“Mr. Romero,” One of the men wearing a black suits spoke as he approached them. He acknowledged Leonica with a nod of his head. “The chief wishes to see you, he seems to have discovered something else.” Benjamin nodded. “I’ll be there with you shortly.”
The man nodded and disappeared, leaving the father daughter duo alone, who were later joined by Melvin.
“Leonica,” He hesitated, not sure if she’d rip off his head at any second.
She glared at him. “You and I, we’re going to seat down and talk about this action of yours once this is over.”
Melvin gulped, silently nodding his head as Leonica turned her attention back to their father.
“Did the police discover something?” She asked, now realizing the identity of the men roaming her family’s house.
“It seems so.” Benjamin sighed. “Do you want to come along?” She nodded her head. “Melvin?”
The male shook his head, looking remorseful as he spoke. “Beijing sector needs me,” He said, telling them all they needed to know. “I-“
“Go ahead,” Benjamin interrupted him, waving his hand. “I’ll make sure these punks work their ass off to find Cassandra.”
Melvin still looked hesitant, but nodded. “Alright. I’ll see you soon, Father, Leonica.”
And with that, he was gone. Benjamin turned around, beckoning for his daughter for follow along. She did just that, following her father from behind when he started leading her to the living room where most of the police’s equipment were set up.
“Do they…do they know anything about the person who kidnapped mother?” Leonica asked, watching as her father shook his head in disappointment. “Unfortunately, they’ve not been able to identify that yet.”
Leonica narrowed her eyes. So why did Irene call me, she thought as they walked into the living area.
When they entered, the Chief was seated on one of the chairs, a cup of coffee in his hand as he watched the screen on the wall, a video playing.
“Chief Robert,” Benjamin greeted, gaining the man’s attention. “What did you discover?”
“We’ve been looking through the security cameras for a while and we were finally able to determine where the car that took your wife drove off to.”
Hope shone in both Leonica and Benjamin’s eyes. “Where?” The latter eagerly questioned and the chief pointed towards the screen on the wall, a map instantly popping up.
“They were headed this way, and
judging by the route they took, I can
safely say they have taken her here,” He tapped the map twice, and a red dot popped up, a picture of an old
abandoned building coming to view.
Benjamin’s brows creased as he looked at the picture. “That…that’s one of my abandoned properties, the one that I couldn’t sell.” “You’re certain this belongs to you?” Benjamin nodded. “Could you get us the exact location and map out of the surroundings?”
Benjamin didn’t need to be told twice, he quickly rushed out of the room, eager to find out anything about his wife.
When he returned, be had with him, the location of the property he had failed to sell, along with a rough map out of the perimeter.
Robert took it from him and scanned it before saying, “This is good. Thank you Mr. Romero, I’ll prepare a team and we’ll head out immediately.”- Saying this, he turned around and called out to a few other officers, instructing them to get ready to move out.
Benjamin seemed relieved and Leonica felt happy for him. At least now, they had a lead.
But that relief quickly withered when Leonica recalled Irene. Why did she call in the first place to taunt her? Was she trying to lead her into a trap?
Leonica frowned. She didn’t like how crazy Irene had become, it made her seem like she was threat.
Sighing, she decided to discard all thoughts of Irene, seeing as Chief Robert had already discovered her hide out. She just hoped that they get there fast enough.
“Do you need a glass of water, dad?” Leonica asked.
“Yes please.”
Nodding, she promised to be right back and made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water and began making her way back to the living room when she felt her phone vibrate three times.
Her eyes caught the time across the grandfather clock and she chuckled as she realized that it must be Owen texting her, seeing as she had stayed an hour past lunch time.
“He’s going to eat me raw,” She smiled as she pulled out her phone and checked her messages, but instead of finding a series of angry texts from Owen, she saw the picture of her mother, a tape over her mouth. The picture caused her blood to turn cold.
Ding!
A message entered.
[Times up. Come to this location within one hour, or mommy dearest will be served on a silver platter]
Immediately after that text messages, another message entered, containing the supposed location of her mother.
Leonica’s eyes narrowed when she realized that the location written in the text was different from the location of her father’s abandoned property!
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