Chapter 8: Ask for help

"WHAT the hell? You're really old and you've become forgetful!" Gardo scorned.

"Why don't you just shut your mouth and help me find it?" Soledad glared at him and looked around for the cell phone. She can't remember where she placed it because she was panicking earlier.

"Look for it later, use this!" Gardo handed his cellphone to his companion.

Nicole kept her eyes closed, but she knew that Soledad was taking a video of her. "Please, take good care of my children. I know I won't last longer…"

Soledad quickly cut off the video recording before Nicole could say everything she wanted.

"But I hope you let my three children live." Nicole continued to plead with the two while crying. But she got no response from them.

"I'll take the child, you don't know how to drive anyway. Find your phone and call Ma'am Danica to let her know that the child is not well." Gardo hurriedly took the baby from Soledad.

After Gardo left, Soledad left Nicole without a care. She felt a tingling sensation in her stomach. She could not leave her for hours and now she feels the need to urinate.

Nicole's body felt heavy as she lifted herself up. She quickly grabbed Soledad's cell phone, which she hid and turned it on.

Kanor could not sleep that night. To this day, he still thinks about Nicole's disappearance, he has considered her as his daughter. He secretly watched around the house where she used to live with her parents, but he did not see even her shadow. His worries for her prevailed over his resentment because she had not even said goodbye to him before she left.

Nicole quickly dialed the number she still remembered and prayed that he was still awake and that her call would be answered immediately.

"Hello?" Kanor answered the call, it was ringing nonstop.

"Father, help me!"

He instantly jumped up from lying on the bed when he recognized the voice from the other line. "Nicole? Where are you and why do you sound sick?" he asked worriedly.

"Dad, I don't have enough strength. They won't let me live."

Kanor shuddered as he listened to Nicole's weak and trembling voice. He quickly took his car key and ran out of the house.

Nicole quickly sent her location to Kanor, who she has considered as her second father. She didn't have time to speak anymore because she was getting weaker. She crawled to reach where her two sleeping children were. She was still bleeding, but she didn't mind it. She kissed the child on the forehead before taking the other one and exhausted her remaining strength to get out of the house.

It was dark all around because it was late at night at that time. With the help of the flashlight from the cell phone, she could see the road. She was grateful because the child in her arms remained asleep as she walked away from the house with her weak body. She didn't look back because Soledad might catch up to her.

"Bitch, where are you? If you don't come back, I will kill this one of your children!" Soledad shouted from the door of the house. She knew she hadn't gone far yet because she was still weak.

Nicole forced herself to not cry when she heard the cry of the child she left behind. But she had to do this. She turned off the flashlight of the cell phone, fearing that the person looking for her would find out where she is hiding. She was sure Soledad was just scaring her and using her baby. They will not let her live, so she had to temporarily escape and leave her two children. She knew the woman would not be able to kill the child, otherwise she will suffer from Danica's rage.

"I'll get the two of you back, that's a promise!" Nicole whispered to herself and continued in slow stride because she was still very weak.

Nicole quickly hid in a large tree when she saw Soledad use a huge flashlight and light up the surroundings. She was holding a gun, so she absolutely can't let herself be seen. The crying of the child who was left behind grew louder, as if she felt what she was feeling now. The child she was holding, on the other hand, seemed to be sensible and remained silent even though he has woken up.

"What the heck! Shut up, you kid!" Soledad angrily returned to the crying child and brought a bottle of milk to her mouth. She needs to go out and find Nicole. But there is no one else to take care of the child, she will be in danger in Danica's hands if something happens to the baby.

Nicole took the chance to escape. She secretly thanked her children, she had the chance to escape because of their help. She walked away faster. She no longer knew where she was because she was not using a flashlight.

Soledad could not leave because the child was crying too much. She was panicking, she could not even find her cell phone, she could not call Gardo to ask for help to find Nicole. She also can't tell Danica what's happening now.

Kanor drove the car very fast, but Nicole's location was still far away. As far as he could see, she was in Quezon Province and he came from Quezon City. He called the number Nicole used, again. He called for the tenth time and no one answered, thus he was very worried about her.

When Nicole made sure she was far enough, she sat behind a tree and leaned there. When she saw the cell phone she was carrying flashed again and there was a number registered on the screen, she immediately answered.

"Nicole, I'm on my way. Tell me, how is your condition now."

Nicole's tears flowed again when she heard Kanor's voice. "Dad, just… in case you can't make it in time. Please, don't leave my children in Danica's hands." She weakly pleaded. Her eyesight has become blurred and she had no strength to stand up.

"What is that you're saying? Don't give up for your children! I'll think of a way to get there right away!"

"D-Don't take me to the hospital." Nicole's last words to the gentleman before losing her consciousness.

Kanor slammed the steering wheel when the person from the other line did not speak anymore. He quickly scrolled down his contact list and thought he might know someone near the young lady's location. A few minutes later, he saw there was one and he immediately called the number.

"I'm on my way, Sir." Tony replied to the boss as he sped up the car. It is only right when he came from Lucena because someone hired him from the airport. The location is in the Tayabas part and he is only a few minutes away from there.

Kanor prayed hard and did not drop the call to be updated. There is no traffic on the road because it was already so late, so he can travel fast.

When Tony parked the car on the side of the road, he immediately got out. He followed the location given to him by Kanor. He walked, then, ran into the woods. He ignored how dark it is because life was what he had to save. He prayed that he would not encounter any wild animal.

The cell phone that had fallen to the ground remained on. The child inside the cloth slung over Nicole's shoulder began to cry.

Tony turned to the right when he heard a crying of a baby. If his boss had not said that there was a child with whom he would rescue, he would have been scared. Who would have thought there was a child in the middle of the forest if it was just an ordinary night for someone? He quickly dismissed the fear of thinking that it might be a little monster. He walked with large steps toward the direction of the crying baby.

"Thanks God!" Kanor burst into tears when he heard a child crying. He quickly ordered the staff to take Nicole to a secret place. He already called a doctor to examine her.

It was as if Soledad's baby patient was doing it on purpose because after an hour, she fell silent on her own. She doesn't seem to feel any pain now that she has fallen asleep. She slowly laid the child down on her bed and hurried out of the house. She hoped Nicole hasn’t been able to get away. But before she could get away from the house, she already felt scared. The surroundings were dark and only the chirping of insects could be heard.

Soledad went back inside the house again when she did not see Nicole around. She did nothing but wait for Gardo's return.

Danica cursed at Gardo when she found out he was in the hospital. She had called Soledad earlier, but she did not answer.

"Ma'am, the child's condition is critical, so I brought her here." Gardo explained the reason.

"Leave the child there with a nurse for now and go back to Soledad. Find out why her phone can't be contacted!" she angrily commands the man.

Gardo did not say more. He was also annoyed with Soledad, she neglected her job of contacting their boss. The baby was placed in the ICU and he understood nothing about what the doctor had said earlier about the baby's condition. He simply begged the nurse to watch over the child he claimed to be his grandson before leaving.

Soledad has no sleep due Nicole's disappearance with one child. The surroundings were about to light up when Gardo arrived. She immediately met him and ordered to look for Nicole.

"Bullsh*t! How did that woman escape you?" Gardo scolded the woman. He was also tired and had no sleep, yet he had to deal with this.

"Can you badmouth me later! Hurry up and maybe she's just around. I'm sure she hasn't got away from here. She's carrying one of the children, and it's definitely crying by now." She talked back to Gardo.

Without a word, Gardo turned around and walked down the road with traces of Nicole's blood. Soledad was right, it would be a miracle if that woman survived because it looked like she bled continuously. But he had almost wandered around the forest, yet he could not see the woman. He could not even heard a baby's cry.

"What are we going to do now?" Soleda asked the man nervously.

"What else? Lie if you still want to live!" Gardo was annoyed with the lady.

Soledad looked at Gardo, unconvinced.

"Let's just say that there were only two babies. Help me make a humanlike thing to put in a sack to show we buried it."

"But what if she's alive and shows up?" Soledad still asked nervously.

"It's your problem to hide so Danica can't find you. About me, I'll go far away when I receive the money!"

Gardo has a point, and fortunately, she did not tell Danica that Nicole actually had triplets. She simply agreed to the plan.

Gardo immediately answered the call from their boss. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but one of your plans failed. Nicole tried to run away when I was gone, Soledad shot her."

"Useless ones!" Danica angrily cursed them.

Her plan was to wait for Nicole to gradually die of exhaustion before informing her family. She would have pretended to let them know that she was the first to discover where she was and show the corpse to everyone. She would fake the cause of her death, tell them that she died shortly after giving birth. But since she died from being shot, she had to think of a different plan.

"Bury her there right now! Make sure no one else sees what you're doing. Make a deep hole so that no animal can smell her corpse!"

Gardo smirked after hearing his boss's decision. Soledad breathed a sigh of relief as their first problem was resolved. In Nicole's case, it will take a long time for her to recover even if she survives. On the other hand, they don't want to make a problem about the children. What matters is that Danica believed that she had killed Nicole and that she did not ask for the body. When they receive the money, she would go to a place where no one knows her. She will also change her identity.