Chapter 45

Neil

I thought I would be able to tackle everything in a day. Yet, it's been a whole two days since Ashley's disappearance. Those two days aren't the best day for me. I was literally losing my shit. And what makes matters worse is the fact that, my father is the reason behind it all. It's surprising that, the whole me wasn't able to accomplish his task in less than twenty four hours.

I don't remember when last I saw my father ever since my mother passed away. How he turned his back on me and showed he isn't a least bit bothered about her death. I know we'll eventually meet sooner or later not when he's holding Ashley captive. I will do everything it takes to save her. To get her in my arms once again. To fill my empty heart with her warmness. The sound of someone's presence snapped me out of my reverie.

Standing few miles away from me, Kristine. One look at her shows how worried she is. "Hey" I hoarse out adjusting my sitting position. She made her way towards me squatting next to me. "Neil" I know what she's going to say. She'll ask me about Ashley. How will I be able to answer her when I don't have the answer myself.

I felt her hand on my shoulder which made me flutter my eyes shut "I know what you want to say. But the only thing I will be able to say to you is to trust me. I will save Ashley. No matter what it takes" A pile of silence fell on us as I waited to hear what she had to say.

"I trust you and I know you'll save Ashley again. You two are incomplete without each other but for that to happen you need to pull yourself together. You didn't eat or get enough sleep since yesterday. You might break down at this stage"

"I can't even if I want to. Not after knowing what she must be going through alone. I can't bring myself to until I know she's safe and sound. That's why I-" My words came to an abrupt halt. I wasn't supposed to let anyone know about my plan.

"You what? How would we help if you don't tell us your plan? I can see you're trying your best but at least, we need to know to be able to help you"

Kristine is right in every possible way, maybe I won't be able to save it fast alone. "But I don't want to put your people in danger by-"

"Ofcourse you will not. And besides, I've gone through that before. It's nothing new to me" She ushered with a slight chuckle. I suck in a deep breath. "If that is the case then we need to come up with a plan. I'm afraid of what my father will do to her. He fears no one"

Kristine squeezed my shoulder. "That's why you are the only one who can bring him down. Show him you're not like him. I know you're not the type to get so weak easily. I can understand but let's bring him down and save Ashley. Together"

For some reason, her words kind of energize me. To put an end to everything, I have to show him what I'm capable of. It's time to use my mother's words. Whatever difficult situation you found yourself in, always be strong and brace yourself to tackle that problem.

"Kristine?" I called.

"Yes"

"Let's do this"

"Great! You made the right choice. What do we start with" She rises up to a standing position.

"First, I need to have a word with Mr. Richard" Together with Kristine, we left for the Inn, where Mr Richard and his wife are staying. Their stay at the village must be low-key seeing as there isn't any news about them on the tabloid. The only recent news is about Mr. Richard company having some financial problem.

I knocked on their wooden door and we waited for them to open up.  Within a minute or so, the door was pulled open by Mrs. Richard. One look at her face you'll know the woman barely have enough sleep and the redness of her eyes indicates she'd been crying. I can't explain the look of disdain she threw at me. But I ain't going to let that get to me. Our misunderstandings will be discussed later.

"Good day Mrs. Richard" I commenced. "I'm here to have a word with you two"

"About what?" Her voice came out somehow harsh.

Kristine leaped forward. "It's about Ashley. So we need your cooperation. Please" Her eyes went to me then back to Kritine. "Come in"

I patted Kristine on the shoulder before we embarked inside. It's my first time coming since their arrival. Yet, I didn't waste time to dwell on the surrounding. My eyes immediately stopped at Mr. Richard pacing around the room. "Good day sir" I ushered.

"What are you doing In my house? I'm sure you haven't forgotten about my warning yesterday" He replied taking his seat.

"I have not. You made it so clear that I won't be able to forget even if I want to. However, that is not what I'm here for. Your daughter is in danger and for us to save her as soon as possible, we have to work together. You and I both know how dangerous Raphael can be"

"That's nothing for you to concern yourself about. Your job is already done here, so I would advice you to leave from hear as soon as possible. It might be possible you and your father are creating another conspiracy against my family and I won't let it happen" I felt the anger rising up inside me. But, I stood calm. Getting angry won't do me any good.

"You can say whatever you want to say Mr. Richard. But I'm sure of one thing, I'm not like my father.  I'm far different from him. And if you want to save your daughter, you have to come clean and reveal the secret you're hiding from your family. The reason why my father is keen on destroying your family. You can't keep hiding it"

The man's eyes widened for a while. I know he wasn't expecting the words out of my mouth. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what you heard Mr. Richard. It's high time you tell us everything. My father would not haunt your family without a reason behind it. At least I'm sure of that. There must be a secret underneath"

"What none-"

I cut him off immediately seating myself comfortably on the couch. "I don't think you can still deny it. Not after the look on your wife's face" I spared the confused woman a glance. She must be hidden in the dark too like her daughter.

"Kristine bring him a glass of cold water. He might need a cold water to calm himself down" Kristine nodded her head in return alighting to the kitchen.

"So Mrs. Helen, I will advice you to get ready to fight for your daughter's life after hearing the secret your husband is hiding from you" For the first time, I saw the fear in the man's eyes. What could it be for him to be so anxious about? I know my father is a no nonsense man, when he's keen on something, he make sure he gets it.

"Here sir" I was surprised when he took the water from Kristine's outstretched ones. That shows I'm not mistaken when I say he needs the cold water.

I waited for him to gulped the water down before I began talking again. "So Mr. Richard, Do you want to go ahead and tell us everything or should I call my father and ask him. I know he would be willing to tell us" I didn't miss the look of unease that graced his face. I have to push him into telling us.

A pile of silence fell on us. The only sound is the one from the clock tickling with each passing second. "Richard tell us what you're hiding. We have to save our daughter but for that to happen. We need to know your relationship with Rapheal. Why he's keen on destroying you"

"I'm sorry Helen. I'm sorry for what I'm about to tell you now. But believe me it was a mistake back then"

"I trust you. And I know you won't do anything that will bring harm to the family"

"Thank you for having your trust in me. I've been keeping this grave secret with me for a long time. A secret only me and Raphael know about. Back then I didn't think about my mistake coming back to hunt me. Selfishness and greediness took the better of me. I know one day the truth will come eventually and that I have to bare the consequences. So today, I will tell you everything. From the beginning to the end"