Reyona’s blood chilled when she saw that it was Thomas.He was unconscious and sprawled out like someone who had been knocked out by a malevolent force.The surrounding stench was even more than any other around the house.An unfinished bottle of beer was lying close to his hand with some of its contents already drying up close to his soggy pants.Even as Reyona’s eyes narrowed, she quickly leaned forward to put her finger beneath his nose.It was there!Coming in spurts, but the bastard was breathing.For a moment there, he had made her think that… bastard!She automatically picked a bowl off the counter as she turned towards the sink.She filled it mechanically.As she turned this time, she could see the lifting and falling of his chest.How had she missed that at first?She dumped the water on his face.“Reyona”She barely heard Maxwell as she reached down and pulled up the soggy mess who was stirring from the soaking.Methodically, she dealt him two sharp slaps that echoed through
Lance Pratchett's temper was still as short as ever.The moment he heard that Reyona's call had anything to do with Thomas, he sparked like a lighted fuse.“I already told him I don't want anything to do with him again! And now he is asking his wife to call me?! Hey, hey Davies! Switch off the TV now! It is long past your bedtime! This is not your Mama's place!” He said to someone for a while before he continued to talk to Reyona.“Wait, aren't you his ex-wife? What the hell are you calling me for? I have enough problems of my own and I don't have a dime to borrow Tom anymore. You all should leave me alone!”Maxwell collected the phone from Reyona and said “Now, listen here. Thomas said he talked to you about me and his kids. Did you by any chance tell anyone about those things too?”“Who the fuck are you? That asshole told me lots of things that passed right through the right ear, then out the left. I don't have time to prattle to someone else about… hey, Davies! What did I say?!” To
Dawn met them with uncertainties.Reyona woke up as she felt someone covering them up.It was Jane.“Good morning, ma” the nanny greeted her just as Maxwell stirred too.“I can't believe I actually dozed off.” He said tersely.Reyona patted his arm as she said “You needed it.”They started the day with a call to the police station again.Nothing yet.Andrew and Celia arrived that morning with three other men whom the couple called experts in cases like that.While the men discussed in Maxwell's office, Celia urged Reyona to walk with her.“You don't look too well,” she said after they walked in silence for a while, “Have you slept a wink since it happened?”“Actually, I slept for a while,” Reyona said. “Didn't think I would, but then…” she shrugged.“That is nothing to blame yourself for. The two of you have gone through a lot in the past twenty-four hours, and it is understandable how much more your body needs rest.” Celia said as she looked down at Reyona’s rounded stomach.Reyona s
Reyona consciously relaxed her body, as Celia laid her hand on her back on their way to the house.While she kept a pleasant smile plastered on her face, her mind raced terribly in every other way.What was she going to do?How was she going to get the thirty million dollars within one hour?Though she didn’t have all the data in her head at the moment, she knew they did not have up to in the companies’ accounts at the moment.ReyDexter’s account had been drawn down recently to cover the expenses of Summit Edge, so she was sure what they had at the moment could be nowhere near that amount.Summit Edge was also not yielding much yet and what it had yielded so far was still going back into making the company a force to reckon with in all of Australia.The bulk of her personal money had been mostly used in her recent travels too.“What will I do?” she thought as she looked at Celia sideways.She knew the woman could help if she was shameless enough to ask, but how would she explain why s
In a few minutes, she was stepping out of the house in her casual wear as if she was just taking a walk.Thankfully, no one had noticed her as she stepped out of the back door.She continued walking towards the main road parallel to the driveway without actually stepping out onto the driveway where she could be seen by anyone looking out of the window.Maxwell’s home office where the men were having the meeting faced the driveway.Reyona looked at her phone and saw that she had fifteen minutes left.She sent the ready link to Maxwell and then deleted the message and every call she had made in the last few minutes.Then she hid the app on her phone.She suddenly crouched when she heard the sounds of vehicles going down the driveway.“That must be the men,” she thought, as she hoped they had been able to give Maxwell some hope.Grateful for the foliage that covered her from whoever was passing in the driveway, she finally stood up and moved a bit farther away from the driveway before sh
A hot slap jerked Reyona awake.The pain sang through her body, clearing her fuzzy head for a moment.She tried to reach for her stinging face and found out that she couldn’t lift her hand.She started panicking before she realised that her hands were tied to the iron chair she was sitting on.What?She blinked hard in the dark room as she tried to remove her hands from the tight bounds.“When you are done with your drama, let me know.” a rough voice said close to her ears.Reyona jolted and tried to talk.Her mouth was also tightly gagged and all that came out was just an incoherent muffle.“I am going to release one of your hands, then you will make the transfer. After that, you will be allowed to see the girl. Nod if you understand me.”Reyona quickly nodded as tears squeezed out of her eyes.She had never been more terrified in her life.She had never known that the worst feeling she would have in her life was one she would feel in the presence of a faceless man she couldn’t see i
His security men’s missed calls were the first thing he saw.Then he swore when he saw Officer Guy's missed call as well.He saw a message notification sign at the top of the screen as he dialled Officer Guy’s number back.“Hello”: he said as the officer picked up the call. “Sorry, I missed your call. I wasn't with my phone.”“It is fine, we found the van.” “What, where? Is she…” “No, she is not there. Not much clue here either. They strip it down. I am beginning to think we are dealing with some professionals here.” “But the van, plates and everything. It can lead you to…”“Yes, that was our initial thought as well, but we just released the van to a very happy grandfather a few minutes before you called. It was stolen, Mr. Rohan. They stole it from the man’s grandson, who decided to test his driving skills without telling the old man. It was reported stolen in another district the same day they kidnapped the girl. So it was a one-stop job.”They stole the car, then drove straight
Reyona had no idea how much time had passed before the door opened again.Never in her life did she know that she would be so grateful for that tiny slant of light.The light did not even reach where she was, but it was something.Something other than the crippling darkness that seemed to be seeping under her skin.Keeping Allysyn's face in her mind had been one of the things that had staved off the gloom.Reminding herself that the girl was alright was the goal.Maybe they can release Allysyn even if they keep her?Then she would remember Pat and sobbed behind her gag.When she started giving in to despair, she would remember Maxwell.He must be on his way already. He would surely get them out of this, and they could all go home.Then she would remember Junior and vow to open her heart to that delightful kid fully.Then her family would come to her mind and she would wonder what they would do if something happened to her.It was the darkness.It was doing something to her mind.It wa