113
Kamille’s POV
I woke up to another day of emptiness. The weight of the past weeks had taken its toll on me, leaving me feeling hollow and broken. My children were still missing, and every moment without them felt like an eternity. I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering how much longer I could endure this torment.From NôvelDrama.Org.
I stood up and made my way to the bathroom. I had a shower, got dressed and walked out of the room. Belle had prepared me breakfast but I had no appetite. I walked over to the dining table and picked some berries into my mouth before heading out into the living room.
I turned on the TV, hoping for some distraction, something to take my mind off the nightmare I was living. The news was on, and the headline caught my attention immediately.
Manor Family Business Hits Jackpot: Stocks Skyrocket.
The words felt like a punch to the gut. While my world was falling apart, Ellen and her father were thriving. The cruel irony was almost too much to bear. I stared at the screen, numb with disbelief and anger. They abducted my kids, demanded I relinquish my rights as a true Manor, yet they are feeding off people’s investments like the pigs that they were.
Tears began to fall off my eyes, but I wiped them away. As I sat there, Zeke walked into the room. He took one look at my face and then at the TV. Without a word, he grabbed the remote and turned it off.
“Kamille,” I called softly.
I looked up at him trying to rein in my emotions. “Zeke,” I whispered, but my voice betrayed me and began breaking.
Zeke rushed to my side and enveloped me in a gentle embrace. “I’m here. I’m so sorry for everything. You should not be paying attention to these things,”
“I don’t care about them anymore Zeke, I just want my babies back,” I cried, wetting his shirt with my tears.
“We’ll get them back,” He paused. “I won’t rest until they’re safe.”
I sniffled and just clung to him. This was not how I had planned for this to happen. I was just to come get my revenge and get the fuck out of here until things were a bit stable and conducive for my children and I to return fully.
After some time, Zeke pulled back and looked at me. “Kamille, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
He seemed to hesitate in saying what he wanted to say. I wondered what he wanted to say that made him feel hesitant about it. Then suddenly his phone rang and he glanced at the caller ID “Excuse me, I will be right back,”
I nodded and he stood up and stepped out of the living room. I sighed and decided to go through my phone, hopefully I would not find something as traumatizing as what I saw on the television.
As I turned on the backlight, I noticed a video message from the same unknown number that had tormented my life for the past two weeks. My heart pounded as I opened it, fearing the worst.
The video began to play, and I saw my children. They were lying asleep in a small but decent room. Relief washed over me momentarily; they looked unharmed. But then a voice, soft and too familiar to ignore spoke.
“Where is my mummy?”
Oh my goodness, Tyris!
The phone slipped from my grasp, and I felt a fresh wave of panic and despair crash over me. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. This time as the ocean of tears came flowing in, I made no efforts to build a dam around it.
My kids were still in a hospital or wherever the hell Ellen had them kept and they needed me. They needed their fucking mother. I cried uncontrollably.
Attached to the video was their threat note warning me of the consequences of not giving up my inheritance. Zeke walked in then.
“Kamille,” He called slowly.
“Zeke,” I called with tears choking in her throat.
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. “My spirit is already dampened, Zeke,” I cried, my voice choking with emotion.
He embraced me and got the phone from my hands and looked at it as I struggled to speak. “I just got a video of the kids. They’re still alive, but they’re being held hostage. They still want me to sign over everything to them, or they’ll kill them. How do fuck do I tell them they can have it all but they have to return my kids to me?”
Tyris was awake but weak and those doctors seemed to be giving her something. I felt scared and angry, but I tried to comfort myself that the kids were being treated by doctors and that showed that they too did not want the kids dead but why could they not just give them to me already?
Zeke’s face went pale. He sat down beside me, pulling me into his arms as I wept. “We’ll figure this out,” he murmured, trying to soothe me. “We’ll get them back. I promise you.”
“But how?” I asked, my voice trembling. “How can we fight against this? They have all the power. They have our children.”
“We’ll find a way,” he insisted. “We won’t let them hurt our children. We have to stay strong, for their sake. And they can never have all the power,” Zeke’s last sentence carried so much power and authority and I chide myself for forgetting his level of influence and authority. I had to trust Zeke. I had no choice.
I clung to him, trying to draw strength from his presence. But the fear and helplessness were overwhelming. The thought of my children in danger, of losing everything, was too much to bear.
“We need help,” I said finally, my voice steadying with determination. “We can’t do this alone. We need to find someone who can help us.”
Zeke nodded, his eyes filled with resolve. “I have already made some calls. We will have our kids back soon enough,”
I nodded sadly.