Riley and her friends went for a shopping spree in town before walking over to the bus stop. Riley had been watching Kate for a while now and had noticed that she kept glancing around.
"Kate..." she nudged her on the ribs. "Are you okay? You seem to be glancing around all this while."
"Um.., something seems to be off Riley."
Riley also glanced around and stared back at her.
"What seems to be off?"
"Well..., do you remember I told you some people have been following us for a while now?"
"Yeah.." she nodded, "What about them?"
Loretta and Nancy's attention were drawn to them on noticing the expression on Kate's face.
"Are you okay Kate...?" they queried in unison.
"Have you girls noticed that we're not being followed today?
Nancy and Loretta swiftly glanced around and noticed what Kate was saying was true.
"You're right Kate..." nodded Nancy as she turned back to her.
Riley glanced at their serious faces and nudged Kate.
"Isn't that a good thing?
"It is Riley but I feel kind of weird like something really bad is going to happen."
"Come on...Kate, that must just be your mind playing tricks on you. This shouldn't be anything you should worry about. Besides....."
They were still talking about Kate's fears when the bus pulled over.
"Let's get going girls..., it's already getting late." said Loretta.
"Sure.." They mumbled in unison as they glided into the bus. They took their seats and the bus sped off after some few seconds.
Riley and her friends were so into their conversations and didn't even hear when her phone rang. After some few minutes of driving, the bus pulled up at Loretta's stop.
She smiled and picked up her bag.
"See you girls tomorrow."
"See you..." they chorused as they made way for her to walk out of the seat. She glided down the bus and waved at her friends as the bus sped off.
Loretta stared at the bus for a while as it disappears into the distance and sighed, turning to the path which leads to her house. It was a quiet road with less or nobody walking on it.
Loretta plugged in her headset and turned on the music before continuing her walk home. She was way too much into the music, titling her head to it's rhythm when someone covered her nose with a drugged handkerchief. She struggled with the person, trying to free herself but to no avail. She ended up falling unconscious. She was dragged into an unknown van and it sped off.
Riley and the rest of her friends continued on their journey home, unaware of what had happened to their friend. After some few distance from Loretta's stop, Nancy also got to hers. She took her bag and they bid their farewells.
She walked out of her seat.
"Don't forget to call me when you get home Riley."
"Alright." she waved at her.
Nancy smiled at them and glided out of the bus. After some few seconds, the bus sped off and Nancy continued her walk. Her path home was quiet a busy road but there was an unusual silence on the road today which sent trilling waves through her spines.
"This is weird." she whispered to herself as she walked on the all quiet road. She was still tensed by the atmosphere when her phone rang. She paused searching through her bag for it when someone hit the back of her head from behind. She fell unconscious and he dragged her into a van and sped off.
The next person to get off the bus was Kate. "I will call you when I get home." she took her bag.
"Alright. Send my regards to you parents when you get in touch with them."
"Sure." she answered as she got off the bus.
Kate waved at Riley as the bus sped off and continued her walk home. The road leading to her house was also a deserted one with fewer people walking on it. After some few walks to her house, she noticed someone following her.
She got startled and doubled her steps, trying her best to escape from him when another person crossed her.
She screamed in fright and he covered her nose with the drugged handkerchief and took her away.
*************
Rosita was busy in the kitchen when she heard the bell rang.
"The door is not locked." she shouted without even checking who it was.
After some few minutes, she heard foot steps approaching the kitchen which she thought was Riley's.
"How was school? Did you enjoy your day?" Why are you not....."
she turned but suddenly fell silent, startled. She stared in fright at the person in front of her and the next thing she saw was a black out.
NICHOLE'S HOUSE
Nichole stood in her study room pacing anxiously whiles she waits impatiently for Zed's call.
"What's keeping him?"
Just then, her phone rang. She rushed hastily for it.
"Speak up Zed, what's going on?"
"We've managed to get hold of Riley's friends and Rosita but for Lian, he is still in his family's company which is making it difficult to get him."
Nichole smirked at the news she just received,
"That's great Zed. Send them to our hideout. We will use them to take down the rest."
"Okay ma'am.." He answered and the line went dead.
Nichole felt relieved and smiled smugly to herself for a successful work done.
"This is just perfect. Let's see our those two stupid brats beats me on this."
She glanced in the air with a victorious smile dancing on her face when she notices the hidden camera in her room.
"What's that...?"
she reached out for it and chuckled, "Ugh? You think you're smart, huh?" she smashed it on the floor and crashed it with her foot and smirked.
"Let's see how you fight me now."
She picked up her phone from the table and sauntered out of the room. She rushed to her bedroom, picked up her bag and went down the stairs.
Just as she got to the end of the stairs, she walked into Lionel. She smirked at him as she walked pass.
Lionel turned starring skeptically at her as she glided out of the door.
"What could she be up to? I need to find out."
He rushed up to his room, threw his bag on the bed and went over to his study table. He turned on the laptop and went straight to the secret camera footage. He watched attentively as everything unfolds before his eyes and thumped his hand on the table.
"Shit!"
He rushed out of his room to Nichole's study room and saw the camera crashed into pieces on the floor. He knelt picking them up but then stopped and hurried downstairs, trying Kate and her friends line but got none of them.
"I've got to save them."
He traced after Nichole.
Riley got home and was surprised to find the door half opened.
"This is weird." she muttered as she slowly pushed the door opened, walking quizzically into the house. "Mum...,mum..." She glanced around but there was no reply and there came a sudden fling of fright in her heart.
"Let my fears not be true."
She rushed to the kitchen, to the bedroom and to the terrace but there was no presence of her mother.
She slammed herself in the sofa with tears in her eyes. "This can't be happening." she buried her face in her palms, distressed.
She suddenly reached out for her phone about to call Lionel when a message binged on it. It was a video message from an unknown number.
"What could this be?" she clicked on it. She attentively watched with shaky hands as the video unfolds before her eyes.
Just at the end of the video, a call came in. She hastily answered with a cracky voice and shaky hands.
"Hello..."
The voiced giggled on the other side of the phone. "You can't outsmart me Riley?"
Riley got stunned on hearing the voice of the caller.
"Nichole....?"
"Yes, it's me sweetheart." she snorted. "Did you miss me?"
"What do you want from my family Nichole..? Why are you doing this to us?" she cried. "Why are you being so heartless?"
Nichole chuckled, "One question at a time sweetheart. Let's say...., I hate your family for the humiliation they caused me some years back. And secondly, I just hate to see a happy family. For the third, I think I will reserve it for later but should in case you want to know more or save filthy mother and friends, the meet me in Laczode street 141. You should come alone if you don't want the worse to happen." she hanged up before Riley could even say a word.
Riley stood up to leave when a call came in again. She checked the caller and it was Lionel.
She hastily answered, "Lionel..."
"Where are you Riley?"
"Home. Lio, Nichole..."
"I know Riley..." He said, cutting in. "She got Your mother and your friends. I promise to get them back safely, Okay..?"
"But she..."
"Just listen to me Riley,don't do anything she will ask you to do. Just leave it up to me. I'm sending you a video. Take it to the police station to ask for their assistance. I will call you back if anything."
"But Lio...." she muttered but he had already hanged up. "Damn it!" she ruffled her hair. "Damn you Nichole..." she shouted and collapsed into the sofa with tears in her eyes.
************
Lian was quiet busy with office work and wasn't expecting any drastic change in events. He slammed himself into his chair after a long meeting when a video message came in. Followed with a call. He checked the caller and answered.
"What's going on sweetheart?" He uttered but all he could hear was cries from the other side of the phone. "Riley?, Why are you crying?"
She sniffed, "Nichole got mother and my friends."
"What..?" He rose from his seat. "How did it happen?"
"I don't know Uncle...The video I just sent you is an evidence to which we can use to get her apprehended. Please send it to the police for assistance. I'm going to meet her up."
"No Riley.., you can't....." He uttered but she had already hanged up. He tried calling her again to stop her but her line was dead. "Damn..." he thumped his fist on the table and rushed out of his office.
After some few minutes drive, Nichole noticed that she was being followed. She checked the number plate on the car from her driving mirror and knew who it was.
She smirked, "Just has I had thought."
She sped up and Lionel also sped up after her. Not knowing that it was part of her plans to also tie him down to be able to make it easier for her to track down Riley and destroy all of them together.