In the middle of nowhere, Max and Travis sat by the roadside, trying to catch their breath.
"He'll come for us, dad," Travis said with concern, and Max looked around them and deeply sighed as he said, "I doubt, but we need to keep going,"
The sun was shining so bright, and the weather was so hot. Coupled with the fatigue and hunger the duo felt, they could hardly take steps.
"Where on earth are we? How will we ever get home? We have no phones, so we can't call for help. Really, dad, we will die in the middle of nowhere," Travis asked in an impatient tone, and Max looked at him angrily and wished to slap him and ask him to shut the f*ck up.
Xxx
"A million visits to the police stations and absolutely nothing new for us. I'm losing my mind," Steph cursed as she stormed into the house and threw herself on the nearest couch. "I'm so worried about Travis. Why would someone want to harm a young boy like him?" She asked as she held her head which was throbbing owing to all the built-up frustrations she felt.
"It doesn't even seem they will do anything. Gosh! I hate cops: they are the most useless people in the entire wide world," Victoria cursed as she headed to the fridge to get herself a bottle of wine.
"Me too," Steph sadly said as she adjusted her sitting position. "Please get me a glass too."
"What! Since when do you drink?" Victoria asked as she rolled her eyes.
"Since now," Steph curtly answered as she unlocked her phone to find a chain of messages from Ivan and Raquel.
She clicked her tongue in disgust and placed her phone upside down and in silent mode.
"Do you think Noah has anything to do with this?" Steph asked in a low voice, and Victoria sipped her drink as she, shut her eyes, and shook her head.
"He wouldn't be that stupid. It's pure coincidence. Plus, the man will definitely talk his way out of any scandal," Victoria said in a dismissive tone.
Steph inhaled and exhaled deeply and placed her glass of wine on the table, and looked directly at her mom.
"Why did you lose your job?"
Victoria looked at her sharply and angrily, but Steph wasn't about to bulge: she wanted an answer.
"That's not important now. My priority is your father and brother," Victoria answered, and Steph scoffed and laughed.
"How are they your priority when you're here sipping a bottle of luxurious wine peacefully? Anyway, I knew you wouldn't say a thing, so I made it my business to find out myself," Steph answered in a confident voice, and Victoria almost choked on her drink.
"Found out what exactly?" Victoria managed to ask in a low voice as she placed her glass of wine on the table and adjusted her sitting position to look directly at Steph.
"Do you know what your biggest problem is? You still act innocent after all of this. Mom, I know you have a slight idea who is behind all these, yet you won't utter a word. Who are you protecting? Yourself or the kidnapper?" Steph asked in a narrow voice.
Tension filled the room, and Steph's words hit Victoria to the core. She wanted to let it all out and be free. Isn't it said that the truth should set people free? But she was afraid.
She thought it was better that even with all their arguments, they were still a family unit, but if Max got to know what she had really done, it would all be over as if it had never even existed.
She was specifically worried about Travis, with whom she had been involved in her mess; hence it was her responsibility to ensure Travis didn't suffer.
"I don't know what you think you know, but it's all hearsay. People lose their jobs daily, children get kidnapped daily, and it doesn't mean their parents are guilty of some crimes," Victoria managed to say with a lump in her throat.
Steph broke into a soft chuckle and nodded her head in sarcasm.
"I know," Steph answered back as she sipped her drink. "Except that you committed a crime. This isn't a coincidence. You were fired because you were helping students steal exams," Steph said in a challenging tone, and Victoria breathed a sigh of relief.
'At least she doesn't know yet,' she inwardly thought.
"Travis used to help you, and maybe another teacher found him, so he threw you under the bus. He was suspended from school, too, but it doesn't explain why he ended up being kidnapped. That too, in our own house," Steph went on and looked up to her mother, expecting an explanation, but she just stared at her daughter blankly.