"Could you please tell us your name?" Mr. Rey inquired about the child who was hiding behind Monika.
"Damien," he said as he stood behind Monica, clutching her hand. Whatever happened to the boy was even worse, as evidenced by his fear. "Please don't send me to him. He's not my real dad. " He tried to speak, but his fear overcame him, and he began crying even harder.
Don't worry. He can't even get close to you." Monika reassured him, wiping away his tears. They are here to help you. And I'll see to it that he's punished." She took his hand and made him sit on the chair.
"We called Mr. Norman for questioning, and he said he'd be there in two hours." Mr. Rey paused to observe Damien's reaction when he mentioned the name. Monika gently squeezed Damien's hand to calm him down. "Because we can't keep him with you, he'll stay with other kids in foster care." He concluded with a smile.
"Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Rey." She offered her hand for a formal handshake and knelt down to face Damien. "You'll be fine here, and I'm only a phone call away all right". Damien nodded, a small smile on his face.
Monika, along with Mr. Rey and Damien, patiently waited for what seemed like hours before Jake Norman appeared. He was taken to another room for questioning. Monika and Damien noticed him through the glass window; he was accompanied by two other men, most likely his bodyguards. He appeared to be the villain from a movie, dressed to the nines. Damien was even more terrified as he shot a glare before going inside.
"You stay here alright. I'll be right back." Monika informed Damien and proceeded to the other room where Mr. Norman was being held. 'He appears to be a thorn in the flesh.' She muttered to herself as she sat across Mr. Norman. With an evil grin, he removed his glasses and looked her in the eyes. Monika shifted her gaze away from him, slightly bothered by his presence.
"So why am I here? Can I take my son and go?" Norman began with a huff. "Look, I have more important things to do, so let's just get this over with." He said this while taking out his check. He wanted to bribe them with money in order to clear his hands and started to sign a blank check. Monika, who sat across from him, clenched her jaw in disgust.
"He's not going with you." Monika raised her voice and looked him in the eyes. Norman came to a halt and looked at her. "You're not his biological father." Mr. Rey squeezed her hand, attempting to keep her from losing her cool. Norman was not amused by her action.
"What does it matter?" His father was unable to pay his fees, so he enlisted my assistance, and I adopted that poor boy." He simply chuckled, unconcerned by the allegations. Monika rose from her seat, followed by Norman's bodyguards, who made a retaliatory move but were stopped when he raised his hand.
"Mr. Norman, we have a statement against you so we cannot allow you to take him. He'll stay here in foster care until you're proven innocent." Mr. Ray handed him an affidavit to sign and leaned back on his seat. Monika sat down disgusted by his mere presence and huffed loudly. Norman signed the papers unwillingly clenching his jaw and tossed them back.
"I'll bring my attorneys." Norman stood up and walked through the door, escorted by his bodyguards. For the last time, he returned his gaze to Monika, who was staring at him with daggers in her eyes. "touché," he murmured as he walked outside.
Monika spent the entire day with Damien and other foster children. She felt sorry for the children who had been abandoned by their parents and resolved to adopt a child before having her own. Damien and the other kids loved her presence; they felt safe and happy with her. She fed them, entertained them, and told them stories. To say she was amused would be an understatement of her feelings.
"You'll be fine here, okay?" And I'll be back every Friday." She waved everyone goodbye and left, saying her final sentence a little loudly for everyone to hear.
"Shit." She mumbled and took out her phone to call her mother. "Hi Mom, I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier." I was a little busy…, I said I'm sorry... No. No. I'm on my way home... No, Mom, I'm not driving... The car. Oh, it actually broke... Don't worry, I'll get it fixed.... I'm fine, mom." She waved for a taxi and got in because she preferred public transportation to driving her own car, possibly to reduce pollution. What she didn't notice was that someone in a black car was carefully noting her steps and following her.
The car came to a stop not far from where the taxi had dropped her off. Jake Norman was watching her every move through the passenger's seat window, which was lowered. When Monika entered the house, he gave the signal to leave and left without anyone noticing him.
Jangling through her keys, she opened the lock with one hand while holding her phone with the other, her mother still on the phone. "Okay, mom.... Now I need to go, I'm drowsy.... yeah, mom, I'll call.... okay, bye...." She collapsed on the bed after hanging up the phone. She lacked the energy to even change her clothes. After flinging her boots off, she covered herself with the comforter and closed her eyes when her phone chimed with a notification.
"Don't forget the dinner, babe. ;)" ~ Steve.
"Of course, dumdum," she replied quickly, smiling through the text. 'Dumdum, that's cute.' She changed his contact's name from Steve to dumdum after some thought. She buried herself in the sheets, locked her phone, and dozed off as she felt like she's going to pass out soon.