The girl watched Kieran and Ethan leave the place before she put a call through to Aurora. Aurora did not pick up so she kept calling, she knew she would give in and pick up if she was persistent. She had to report to her and demand the money she was promised so she could be out of the situation as quickly as possible. It was becoming messy and she did not want to be a part of it anymore. "Didn't I say I would be the one to contact you?" Aurora barked at the phone as she picked up the call."You did but I felt like this was too important to wait for you to call," the girl said slowly and silently. The restaurant was empty but she had to be careful in case someone heard."What is it? Let's hear it" Aurora said with an eye roll. She had been discussing with the men when her persistent calls came through."A man came here" "Just as I said" "Well two men but only one did the talking" "Two men?" "Yes, one older one and a younger one but not too young" the girl continued."And?" Auror
Kieran did not mind the request of the girl as he ran out of the police station into his car leaving his dad behind. He would do anything to make sure that Arabella was okay and with him at that very moment."You are here already?" the girl asked as she watched him burst through the door to meet the still-empty restaurant."Where is it?" Kieran asked ignoring any words she was about to say."How much would you be willing to offer?" she asked pushing herself from the counter she had been resting and then going through the small door to be in the same space with him."How much do you want?" he asked.She was taken aback by his reply. She knew that she sounded shallow and did not want him to think that way of her so she felt the need to explain properly."It's not because I am selfish or greedy" she murmured."What?" Kieran asked. His eyebrow furrowed as he felt pressed for time. He had no time for chitchat with her. She should be showing him the footage and not telling tales. He was onl
Kieran presented the number plate to the police and they searched the car, the car of course was a stolen one so there was no way of tracking Aurora. The officer who took up the case tried to assure Kieran."We will track them down soon. We know who is responsible for the kidnapping and we also know what car had been used" the officer said to Kieran."Do we have to wait for any of them to show up? Can't we do something else? Maybe track them by phone?" "We can but we don't want to go by that route yet" "What if something happens to her while we wait?" Kieran was worried. "She has a great grudge against the victim" "I would put a request to my superiors to see if they would let us track her down that way. But I need you to be sure that she is the kidnapper" "I am sure, when you get a warrant we can check the CCTV at the site of the kidnapping" Kieran responded.He wished the officers would stop moving at a snail's pace. They were being awfully comfortable. He was worried, who knew
"Ara help me set up the table" Ava screamed from down the stairs. She moves back to the kitchen and pushes towards her boiling pot of soup. She stirs vigorously hoping it doesn't cuddle to the sides of the pot. She sighed when she noticed her daughter had not paid attention to her at all. She puts off the stove in front of her and wipes her hand on her apron. She can't believe that she was left to do all the work by herself. Her husband would soon be back from work and it was their turn to host dinner with their neighbors. Once a week they had dinner together and rotated who hosted it. This week was her turn. She glanced at the wall clock on the kitchen wall. Her husband should be back in ten minutes and in thirty minutes her neighbors should be coming in for dinner. Her elder daughter was nowhere to be found. She was probably surging through the mall with full passion unable to buy anything. Her daughter needed to return before the Sterlings came over. She heard the front door squ
Arabella pushed her glasses back up and blinked multiple times at her sister. "What do you want?" she asked looking down at the money. She was aware that her mom was probably cooking up a storm downstairs and would probably need her attention but the book she got from the library had too many important hooking points that she could not help but get lost in it. "Mom said you should get a block of cheese," Seraphina said gesturing to the money on the book. "Do I have to?" Arabella asked annoyance lacing her voice. Arabella hated every other Friday night because their mom made it a nightmare for them. She had to run around trying to help her mother prepare an award-winning dinner and sit through the adult boring conversation while the blank and aloof Kieran Sterling who was ten years older than give her a blank stare. "You know the answer," Seraphina said in a sing-song voice as she turned to leave. Arabella put a bookmark between the pages of where she was just reading. She stood u
As they all sat down for dinner at the Bishop's residence everyone was complimenting how wonderful Ava's cooking was. In fact, the smile on her face was enough for her to be filled without eating anything more on her plate. "We have great news," Ethan Sterling said. Ethan was the father of the Sterling family and he was quite reserved and spoke only when necessary. "Must be great news" Seraphina murmured. Like her younger sister, she was also uninterested in the going on at the table. She always wondered why she had to eat with the old people and that included Kieran who was five years older than her. "Drop the book, Ara," Ava said with a stern voice. Arabella had been indifferent to the happenings at the table and had her nose buried in the book she brought from the library. She slowly put her bookmark into the pages and dropped the book on the floor beside her. She would rather read those books than listen to the boring adult conversation. If the Sterlings had a child their ag
After dinner, the adults stayed back to celebrate while the kids left. Seraphina went back to watch her late-night shows on the television in her parent's room. Arabella went back to read her book in her room and Kieran went to pack his bags for school because since he got in through early admissions he was going for an early quick start program and was leaving in two days. As Arabella opened up her book to read her mind wandered to the blue-eyed boy who always sat opposite her at dinner and she thought of how she would not see him again. It was not like she was going to miss him or anything but the fact that she was probably not going to see him again. The adults had some wine before they all retired to bed. Ava made her daughters escort her with Everly to see off Kieran at the airport. The girls uninterested watched as the lanky blue-eyed boy went into the departure hall. The girls were taken for ice cream by Everly while Ava had to rush to get groceries for her household. School
Everly's journey to the hospital was shorter than usual as she prayed that everything was all good with her friend. Everly and Ava had been friends since high school. When they both went to college they lost touch and contact. One day Ava moves in next door and met her high school friend. They rekindled the friendship and their family join in too. Everly had Kieran while she was in her first year of college which was what made the age gap in their children pronounced. They entered the emergency room with urgency. They saw Ava sitting in one of the chairs. Arabella rushed to her mom book still in hand. Both girls had disposed of their ice cream after hearing the distressing news from their mom. "Mom," Arabella said holding her hands. Ava's head was bowed and tears rolled down her cheeks. She did not know the best way to tell the girls that she was now a widow and that they were now fatherless. A young man who looked like he was just in his twenties staggered towards them and went