"I'm sorry Steph," Ken murmured but stopped midway as flashbacks of that afternoon flashed before him.
He shut his eyes to shut them down, but they forced their way past his subconscious.
Steph looked at him with a lot of worry and slightly tilted her head in confusion as she asked through her eyes what he was talking about.
"I have been summoned by the cops to the station. I'm heading there tomorrow morning," Ken broke the ice as he scratched his head and looked down at the ground.
Steph thought her ears were playing games with her. Ken, being summoned to the precinct? No f*cking way!
"Why? Are you going to record a statement? Was there a robbery at your place? Did you witness some crime?" She asked in a rush, and Ken only shook his head as he totally avoided her eyes.
"I did the crime," he said in an almost inaudible voice, and Steph broke into a fit of laughter.
"That's not funny," she admitted between hiccups.
"I know, I got some lady pregnant, and since we weren't ready, we tried to terminate it but got caught. Her brother reported us to the cops," Ken had said as a matter of fact, and Steph felt air slowly slipping out of her body.
xxx
"You don't need my help with the pregnancy issue. Vera and Ivan should do a pregnancy test to first confirm if the lady is even pregnant. Then do a DNA test which will determine the next step,' Steph texted back, not wanting to ever meddle again in an innocent child's life.
"You don't need my help with the pregnancy issue. Vera and Ivan should do a pregnancy test to first confirm if the lady is even pregnant. Then do a DNA test which will determine the next step," Steph texted back, not wanting to ever meddle again in an innocent child's life.
She then looked up at her father and brother and sighed deeply, a slight smile on her lips. Max was definitely acting strong though he seemed to be losing it.
He barely ate and was always by Travis' bedside, murmuring a prayer asking God to help his son and, at the same time, repeatedly cursing about Victoria's act.
They were yet to see eye to eye since his abduction, and he honestly didn't know how he would react when they met.
"I'll be back shortly. I'll use the car," Steph said, and Max nodded without looking up at her. Slowly, she moved towards Travis and gave him a kiss on one of his hands and, patted her dad's shoulders assuringly, then left.
After driving for a few meters, she stopped the car by a refill station and, feeling hungry. She stepped down to grab a snack or two.
"Thank you," she told the cashier, who smiled gracefully.
She was eating her snacks and had gotten close to her car when she saw her. Yes, she could recognize her even from just seeing her from behind. Steph's heart beat very fast, and her breathing rate increased as she willed herself to rush to Vera, who was walking hurriedly towards her car.
But, an idea struck her in the nick of time, and she decided against her plan of going to Ivan's.
As Vera started her engine, so did Steph. For the next few minutes, Steph drove at a safe distance behind Vera. She saw Vera drive into a compound, stop the car and rush into the house. A few minutes later, as Steph was still wondering whether or not she had made the right choice and what exactly she intended to achieve, Vera stepped out of the house and drove away hastily in the opposite direction.
'Let's get to work,' Steph told herself and got out of the car and stealthily walked to the main house, turning back every few steps to see if someone was behind her.
Her heart was beating fast, and she feared getting caught, but there was a part of her that was thrilled about what she was doing.
She tried opening the main door and found it locked, so she used one of her hair pins to unlock it.
"Wow!" She said in admiration when she stepped into the living room. She was mesmerized by the aesthetics of the room where Vera's photos, taken during different events, hung.
She moved cautiously towards the other rooms, careful not to knock down anything, and got to Vera's room, which was painted in shades of blue. The bed was neatly spread, and the room was sparkling clean, to say the least.
She moved towards the drawer at the side of the bed and was startled when she heard the door unlock. Panic was written all over her face as she thought of a way of getting out.