FATIMA GOT READY THE next morning. She wore black pants that aren't tight so she can move around easily and she’s wearing a white t-shirt and a black jacket over it. She tied her hair back in a bun as she waited for a call or something on her phone. What’s bothersome is how they found the number. The police traced the call and they were telling the truth in which location they were.
Fatima nervously waited for another call as Grian sat next to her. “Are you really certain about this?” he asked in nervousness and she nodded. He sighed in worry, knowing he can’t really stop her from what she wanted to do. “I’ll come with you-“ He got cut off.
“Shut up, you just got shot,” she said, refusing his request and he gulped.
A few minutes later, the phone rang and after a few rings, that’s when she answered the call. She felt like she stopped breathing the moment she answered. She took a really deep breath before saying, “Hello?” The other side was silent for a few moments before a robotic voice spoke.
“Please go to this street .... enter the red warehouse ... DO NOT TAKE ANYONE WITH YOU ...... I repeat, do not take anyone with you....” The call ended and she looked at the text message and saw the address on where she needed to go. She handed it to the police so they can track the location and let policemen spread in the area but only enough so that the people holding her mother hostage wouldn’t notice.
“I have a bad feeling about this...” Nikki said as she tugged on Philippe’s shirt in worry. He patted her back and smiled.
“Make sure to not let Grian go anywhere out of sight, I’m afraid he might try to follow us somehow,” Fatima said as she eyed Grian who frowned like a little kid. Now he knows he can’t escape her. He kind of finds her being bossy hot though. (Stop it, Grian,) he thought to himself.
After an hour, Fatima rode a taxi near the warehouse as she carried the duffle bag filled with cash that the takers wanted. She took all her courage before leaving the car and holding onto the duffle bag for dear life. She took deep breaths as she started walking. “You okay?” Grian asked through the earpiece she’s wearing that’s so small, you can hardly notice it in her ear.
“Shut up, Grian! Don’t answer him, they might see you talking,” Nikki said and Fatima clenched her jaw. She walked herself even faster as she got near the warehouse. As she saw the red warehouse, she slowed down from walking.
She took a deep breath and walked to the massive door and opened it slightly. She noticed that the place is pitch-black inside. She grabbed the flashlight she brought before entering the warehouse and looking around with the only light source she has.
As she took five more steps inside and away from the door, she heard it shut and she felt a cold breeze pass her body even if she was wearing a jacket.
“Be careful,” Christopher said on the other line of the earpiece. Nikki, Grian, Phil, and Tim are all in Grian’s house protected by the police while Christopher is in a van with some of the police.
The flashlight suddenly spotted her mother in the middle of the room tied up. “F..tm..ma...” She tried calling out her daughter but her mouth has a rope around it, making it harder to talk. She approached her as she flashed her flashlight around the room. She bent down and started untying the ropes around her mother’s ankles and hand before she removed the rope around her mouth. After she freed her mother, the light in the warehouse lit up, almost blinding her.
She heard footsteps behind her and she turned around and saw a man wearing a black suit. Her mother held onto her shoulder as they both looked at the man. “I’m surprised you came,” he said and her eyebrows furrowed. She can’t see his face since he’s wearing a mask to cover his identity.
“Who are you?” she asked and the man didn’t answer.
“The money?” he asked and she clenched her jaw before throwing the duffle bag to him. It landed near his feet and he stared at it before opening the bag and seeing the money she brought. “Exact amount, three hundred thousand dollars,” she said and his eyebrows raised and he nodded.
"How'd you get all the money? You were broke after all," he said with a sly smirk.
"What matters is I got what you wanted so let both of us go," she declared and the man crossed his arms and another person walked in, wearing a blue attire. Unlike the man, she wasn’t wearing any mask so she easily recognized her. “You again?” she asked and the woman smiled and nodded.
“What do you want from William?” she asked the woman in blue but she only responded with a chuckle. The woman shook her head with a smirk. “I never needed him, only you, Fatima…” she explained with a maniac face, and Fatima’s eyebrows furrowed.
“What?” Five men came out of nowhere and surrounded her and her mother. “Don’t worry,” she told her mother and William’s mother chuckled.
“I think we forgot one thing,” Will’s mother said and Fatima was surprised when someone pulled the earpiece out of her ear and threw it on the ground, and destroyed it. “Honey, we’re not that dumb.” She turned around and faced her mother who’s smirking. Her eyes widened and she stumbled back.
“What?” she asked in confusion.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be taken care of,” her mother said, reassuring her and she blinked a couple of times. The men grabbed her and she struggled to get out. “Help!” she screamed loudly as she was being dragged to the other exit of the warehouse. Before they left, her mother pressed a button that made the front of the warehouse explode, giving them enough time to getaway.
Fatima was then tied to the back of their get-away van and her mouth was taped. Her mother laughed loudly as she sat down at the front. “I can’t believe she fell for it,” she bragged with the other two. She was in it all along? It wouldn’t be that much of a surprise though.
Fatima tried speaking but the tape was preventing her. Her mother looked at her and ripped the tape off abruptly, hurting her skin. “What the hell!” she screamed.
“Where are you taking me?!” She demanded an answer. Her mother sighed and pulled out a photo from her pocket and showed it to her daughter. Her eyes widened when she saw a familiar face, a photo of the old man that was disrespecting her in the bar the night she met Christopher and Grian again. “You’re planning to take me to that old man?! What kind of a mother are you?!”
“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 with a smile and Fatima’s face filled with rage and disgust.
“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,” she frustratedly said and her mother laughed ominously.
“Sell your organs? No, no. But sell your body? Yes. He’ll be your master,” she answered and Fatima’s eyes widened.
“Maybe I should also give William to a woman. He’s confused. He seems to like men more than women,” William’s mother butted in and the two laughed. Fatima’s jaw clenched as she watched the two. (God, please save me,) she thought to herself.
They let her be awake the entire time but she was tired out. They drove for hours and they noticed that the police lost track of them. “I’ll put you behind bars,” she whispered, pertaining to her mother.
“They think I’m a victim too, you can’t put me behind bars,” her mother said with so much confidence. Fatima scoffed as she blinked slowly because of tiredness. She looked outside the car and noticed mountains. She sighed and looked down. She can’t fall asleep, not this time.
“Why are you doing this?” She tiredly looked at her mother and her mother pursed her lips. “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 and her eyes widened and her mouth agape. “I hated you, you reminded me of her. The woman your father actually loved,” she further said which shocks her.
“What…?” Fatima asked in shock.
“You were a kid, you wouldn’t remember,” she answered and cleared her throat before looking at Fatima dead in the eyes. “Philippe and Timothy are the only ones that share the same blood as me,” she added and Fatima felt like vomiting by the revelations. This is unbelievable, there’s no way any of what she said was true. There’s no way her father would lie to who her real mother was, right? Or would he?