175 WHERE ARE THEY? ARIEL’S POV The rain began to fall, I quickly made my way to my car, bursting inside. I didn’t know what was going to happen after this, but I knew I needed to brace myself. 1 got a text from Mason, it said, ‘Nice Job. Hope you’re ready.‘ With this, I could tell that he had a knowledge of what just happened at Luke’s house. But who told me? That meant that there must be a goddamn spy there. I called Mason several times, but he declined all of my calls. I had to drive straight to Andre’s house. Getting out of my car, I hurried to the door, making my way inside the mansion. I saw Lisa using her phone. She caught a sight of me. “Ariel, what are you doing here, and why did you come like a thief?” “Where’s Lukel and Janice?” I asked, walking to her. “Uhmm, I have no idea. But I did see Mason taking them out.” “Mason took them out?” “Yes,” Lisa answered, giving me a confused face. “Any problem with that?” “Did you perhaps know where he was taking them?” “I literally have no idea,” she answered, shaking her head slowly. “This doesn’t sound good,” I whispered to myself. “Why do I feel like you’re not comfortable with Mason taking your children out?” I sighed, driving my hand through my hair. I left the house right away, got into my car and drove off. The rain continued to fall, the waters dropping down, the rumbles of thunder materializing. And my worry worsened, I panicked, but I needed to stay strong for my children. I drove to Mason’s house, left my car, and went to knock on his door. No one came out, so I had to ring the doorbell. Still no one came out. “Where could they be? Where’s could they be?” I panicked, stepping on the ground vigorously. I called Mason again, but he refused to answer. In fact, he declined my calls. “Shit!” I shrieked and threw my phone to the ground. “Fuck Mason!” I punched the door and it opened that very moment. “Who the hell is that?” The person who came out vocalized, and to my surprise, it was Harriet. I couldn’t stop staring at her, kind of been a long time since we saw each other. What in the world was she doing here at Mason’s house? “Ariel? You?” Harriet spoke, looking shocked to see me. Mutual feeling right here. 175 WHERE ARE THEY? 2/4 “What are you doing here?” I queried. “I should be the one asking you that. What are you doing here, you bitch ?” Harriet quizzed me, her tone was really rude. But it wasn’t something so surprising. Her rude manners must have amplified from prison. “Are you working with Mason?” Harriet laughed, “Get the hell out of here. Oh right, I think I know why you’ve come, it’s because of your little childreh. You don’t have to worry about them, sweetheart.” She gave me a threatening smile. “You Know about Lukel and Janice?” “Those are their names?” She chuckled. “And by the way, what the hell is Lukel? What kind of name is that?” She continued to make fun of me, while I just glared at her. “I mean come on, you should have found something else. Hold on, I think I know why his name’s Lukel. Luke and Ariel, it all makes sense now. Still stupid anyway.” “You can insult me all you want. But where are my children? Where did Mason take them to?” “You think I have an idea about that?” Harriet laughed. “Oh boy. I wished I knew, but it’s so sad that I don’t. I hope Mason kills those children of yours” “And I hope you are sent back to prison. When I’m done with this, I’m going to make sure I call the cops on you.” “Go ahead, do what you want. I’m not scared you. But if I were you, I’ll start searching for my babies now.” Glaring at her her, I walked away, confused as hell, I didn’t care if I was being washed by the rain. The only thing important right now, was the safety of my children. Just as I was about to enter the car, Mason began to video call me. I answered quickly. “Hey, Ari. What’s up?” Mason smirked from the screen. “You’ve been having a great night?” “Where are my children?” He faked a shocking face, opening his mouth wide and looking around. “Oh my. I genuinely have no idea where your kids are.” “Stop playing with me. I know you do.” “You were the one who was playing with me. You couldn’t get the job done you imbecile. Now you’re going to face the consequences. “I don’t have time for your silly talk,‘ I retorted. So, do you want to talk to your children one last time before they, you “You don’t have to do this, Mason.” know….end up in the grave.” 175 WHERE ARE THEY? 3/4 “Why? We had an agreement, didn’t we? You fail to make Luke sign those papers, and I’ll kill your kids. That’s exactly what’s going on now, you’ve done your part, now it’s time for me to end the whole story.” “Mason please, we can talk about this.” “There’s nothing to talk about, Ariel.” “You have to understand the meaning of love,” I tried changing his mind. “I understand the meaning of love perfectly. I understand every bit of it. And that’s why I decided to avenge Sofie’s death. Because I loved her with the whole of my heart. She was my angel, my beautiful angel. But your good–for–nothing husband took her away from me. And now I’m going to take your children from you.” “Please, Mason. I’m begging you. Let them go, they’re just children. They’re still little, and they have a long way to go.” “Of course, I’ll be putting them six feet deep. A long way indeed.” “Can I please see their faces?” Mason laughed. “Aren’t you just so caring?” “Please let me talk to them.” “You will talk to them, alright? But not now.” “When then?” “When they’re already dead. You can pay them a visit at their graves.” He laughed again. “This isn’t funny, you know,” I told him. “It’s hilarious. Look at how sad you are. I can see the fear right in your eyes.” “Please let them go. I’ll do anything,” I pleaded. “Sorry, it’s too late now. But I’m not that heartless, hold on for a minute.” He ended the phone call. “Oh gosh, what am I going to do now?” I enunciated in hushed tones, hitting my face. Mason began to video call me, and I didn’t hesitate in answering. I could see Lukel and Janice in the screen. I smiled, also bursting into tears. “Mommy, why are you crying?” Lukel asked. “Yes, why are you crying mommy?” Janice chimed in. “What’s the problem?” “Lukel, Janice,” I uttered, not even able to form the words as I continued crying. My face all red, I cleaned my tears. “Is everything okay, mommy?” Lukel inquired. 175 WHERE ARE THEY? 4/4 “Yes, son. Everything’s okay. These are tears of joy.” “Tears of joy? Tell us the good news then.” “Okay, okay, that’s enough. Uncle Mason wants to use his phone now,” Mason showed up in the screen and smirked before ending the video call. I didn’t even know what to do, or who to inform about this. Who was going to help me out in this one?
