Fatima fell to the ground as the blood gushed out of her body. Gunshots were heard all around as Christopher ran to her body despite the officers telling him to stay put. He held her body as he tried stopping the blood. She was as pale as a ghost and she lost consciousness. His eyes widened in fear as he looked at her frail body. “Somebody help!” He screamed for help and carefully lifted Fatima and carried her behind the officers.
The medical team immediately tends to the pair as they take Fatima away from him. All he could do was watch as she was being taken down to the first floor of the building. He followed behind them but the world seemed to stop for him as he stumbled inside the elevator while staring at her being carried by the medical team. They tried their best to stop her bleeding from getting worse.
Once they were down, Christopher and Fatima were surrounded by guards to stop anyone from approaching them as they were guided to the ambulance. After they were set, the team prepared first aid for Fatima and was trying to treat her wounds while the ambulance rushed to the hospital.
Once they arrived, the sun had already appeared again. The sunrise hit Fatima’s body as she was being taken out of the ambulance and into the hospital. Christopher was in utter shock and couldn’t say a word. All he did was follow them inside. Once she was taken to the operating room, they stopped him from entering.
“N-no. No! She needs me!” he screamed as he tried to enter the room but everyone stopped him from doing so. “Stop!” He begged them to let him in but they were persistent.
A FEW HOURS LATER, Grian and the others were informed that she was rescued but she was shot in the process. They didn’t waste any time and they immediately drove to the hospital even if it was hours away. Once they arrived, it was already afternoon since it was far away. They didn’t waste any time and started looking for her. They found her hospital room and they tried entering but the police blocked them.
“We’re her friends,” Grian uttered and tried passing them but they stopped him. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at them. “Let us in,” he commanded and they shook their heads.
“We cannot let her get any visitations as of now, sir,” one of them informed but he persisted. He struggled with them until Christopher opened the hospital room. “You can go inside Philippe. You’re her family,” he informed and the officers got out of the way. Philippe rushed inside and was stunned to see his sister with medical equipment attached to her body. He covered his mouth and tried not to freak out.
Christopher looked at the two before leaving the room and approaching Grian. Grian’s jaw clenched and so did his fist as he looked at his friend. They stared at each other for a brief moment before Chris’ phone started ringing. He looked down and saw it was his mother. He sighed and answered the call before going elsewhere to talk to her.
“Go back home, right now. I’ve had enough with your stupid infatuation!” she screamed from the other line and Chris can already feel the headache coming his way. Instead of answering her, he ended the call and went back to his friend.
“Calm down…” William whispered to Grian, trying to calm him before anything bad happens. As Christopher got closer, Grian was staring at the wall with madness. “Why didn’t you stop her?” Grian asked furiously as his fist clenched and so did his jaw. Christopher looked down on his feet and sighed. “I- I couldn’t…” he answered honestly and Grian grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall.
“You couldn’t?” Grian asked and scoffed.
“Please don’t fight,” Nikki begged the two but they ignored her.
“If she dies- IF SHE DIES, I can’t forgive you,” Grian uttered to his friend and they stared at each other. “It was out of my control-“ he got cut off.
“You could’ve done something different so she wouldn’t have been hurt. If I was there I would’ve-“ Grian was also cut off.
“BUT you weren’t there, you were back at home because you were sick,” Christopher said with squinted eyes. Grian’s grip became tighter and pushed him against the wall again.
“I stayed behind because I took a bullet for her and saved her life, but you… You couldn’t take a bullet for her like I did,” Grian said with fury in his eyes and Christopher’s jaw clenched, knowing he’s right. Grian did something he couldn’t do.
They were quickly interrupted by William and he separated the two apart. “Nothing good will happen if you two fight,” he said as he looked at the pair that’s glaring at one another. “It wasn’t Christopher’s fault she got shot. You should blame who was involved,” he explained.
“Her mother shot her,” Chris said and everyone’s eyebrow raised.
“What?” they all asked in unison.
“What kind of mother…” Grian murmured to himself.
“She was in on it too. They all planned the whole thing,” he explained further and an officer approached them. “We have the recording from when she was in the car,” he informed them. They all looked at each other before they followed the officer and they were led into a room where one of the detectives was. Once they arrived, the detective played back the recording.
[Recording Start]
“Where are you taking me?!” Fatima demanded for an answer. They heard her mother sigh and there was a quick pause and things went silent. They heard Fatima scream at her. “You’re planning to take me to that old man?! What kind of a mother are you?!” They became confused about what she was talking about.
“I thought you already forgot I’m your mother. Right now, you’re only a client’s request to me now,” her supposed mother said.
“What, are you going to sell my organs? My body hasn’t been healthy ever since you started beating me up and leaving us with no money and food to eat,” Fatima frustratedly said and Grian and Christopher looked at each other.
“Sell your organs? No, no. But sell your body? Yes. He’ll be your master.”
“Maybe I should also give William to a woman. He’s confused. He seems to like men more than women,” William’s mother uttered in the recording. Everyone looked at William and he looked away with pain in his eyes.
The detective then skipped hours of recording until they heard Fatima’s voice again. “I’ll put you behind bars.”
“They think I’m a victim too, you can’t put me behind bars.”
“Why are you doing this?” They heard the pain in Fatima’s voice.
“Business?” she answered like a question but was sure about it.
“But why? Why me?”
“He paid huge sums of money.” She said that as if it was just a normal exchange.
“But why? Why would you choose to do this? I’m your daughter, you gave birth to me. Did you even love me?” she asked further and her mother’s jaw clenched.
“I didn’t give birth to you. Your mother died and your father married me after,” her mother confessed. Everyone in the room’s mouth agape and their eyes widened in shock.
“I hated you, you reminded me of her. The woman your father actually loved,” she further said and everyone listening to the recording became confused and shocked with what they just heard.
“What…?” Fatima asked in shock.
“You were a kid, you wouldn’t remember.”
“Philippe and Timothy are the only ones that share the same blood as me,” she added.
[Recording End]
“W-what? I’m confused…” Nikki uttered and she blinked a couple of times.
“Who’s her real mother then?” Grian questioned and they all went silent. No one knows the answer to that question. “Investigate the matter,” Christopher asked the detective and he nodded.
The door opened, revealing Hannah who was out of breath. Her face lit up when she saw Christopher and hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” she whispered and she caught her breath. Chris pushed her away, not wanting her to get close to him. She blinked a couple of times and frowned.
“What are you doing here?”
“Visiting uh Fatima?”
“You hate her,” he said and she cleared her throat.
“I helped with the investigation, the least you can do is thank me,” she said before rolling her eyes and turning around, and leaving the room. Once she was outside, William approached Chris and asked, “Can we trust her?” he asked and Chris didn’t know what to answer.
After that, they all went to Fatima’s room and Nikki looked at Philippe in worry. She wonders if he knows about his mother not being Fatima’s mother. She can’t help but want to tell him but it’s not her place to do so. While they stayed inside, Christopher left the room to talk to Hannah.
“You’re welcome,” she said even if he didn’t thank her.
“Why did you help? You know I canceled the engagement, right? You get nothing out of thi-“ He got cut off.
“I know you did. Shut up!” she irritatedly screamed and cleared her throat.
“I’m not changing my mind about that,” he said.
“I know,” she said and blinked a couple of times, trying not to let her tears fall. She looked at him before she looked away again.
“Then why?”
“Do you really think I have a second agenda? My god, can't you just be thankful?” she said before turning around and walking away.