Mr and Mrs Patrol; Gareth's parents, knew that things were not well at all for their only son. It was impossible for them to just sit back and wait for Gareth to meet his fate; they needed to act. With both their phones taken away from them, they agreed that they could use a neighbour's help. Hand in hand, the couple approached their neighbor and asked if they could use her phone.
"What happened, Mr and Mrs Patrol? You look seriously terrified? I saw some cars at your home? Did anyone rob you of anything?"
"No, we are fine," Mr Patrol answered. "Yesterday we visited a relative, and both of us forgot our phones there," he forced a chuckle.
The neighbour, not buying the story, stared at the couple and asked, "what about the cars that I saw parked outside of your house?"
"Those were our friends, just passing by and saying hallo."
The neighbor waited a little, and although she was hesitant, she handed her phone over.
"If you're in any kind of trouble, you should let us know. We're neighbours, we help each other. We can call the police if need be." She assured the couple.
"Not at all. We are well." They lied.
Alone, the couple dialed Gareth's number. No matter how many times they tried, the number did not go through.
"I think his phone is switched off," Mrs Patrol said. "We might have to call his house phone. The maid will respond.
They agreed, and Mr Patrol dialed the house phone. Sure enough, a voice answered, "hallo?"
***
Kiara was very scared, not knowing what lay ahead for her and her son. She had not heard from Gareth since the time he made a call to Vine. The young maid walked in, bringing some food for the baby.
"What is your name?" Kiara asked her.
"You keep asking me that, but I have told you many times that sir Gareth said I must not tell you." She said in a very humble tone.
She placed the food on a small table and turned to leave.
While feeding her son, Kiara tried hard to think of a way out, but there seemed to be nothing. She told herself that is the maid was not willing to say her name, what more about asking for her phone? She was obviously never going to agree to that.
She looked around in desperation, and finally came up with an idea; a very far-fetched one. She needed to wait until it was time for the next meal. When she heard footsteps, she prepared to act. Quickly she went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
She heard her bedroom door opening, and the sound of a food trolley being pushed.
"Hallooo!" the maid called.
"I'm in here," Kiara said in a sickly voice.
"I have brought some food. Are you OK?" the maid asked.
"Not really," Kiara continued to sound sick. "I have a running tummy. Please, do get me some more tissue paper. I have run out."
The maid was surprised. Run out? Why; she had added four tissue papers to the bathroom just that same morning.
"Did you check the tissue holder to your left? I put some toilet paper there this morning."
"They're all finished, please bring me some. Please my dear, help. Take Vincent with you, and feed him. I am too sick to attend to him." Kiara's voice was sounding so sick that the maid felt sorry for her.
She picked the child up and started pushing the food trolley with one had. That was exactly Kiara's plan, and the maid fell for it. While Kiara planned; she had hopped with all her soul that the maid was going to try and go out with both the food trolley and the child. That way, her hands would be too full and the chances of her forgetting to lock the door would be very high. Good for Kiara, it happened as per her wish.
When Kiara heard the maid walking out, and the noise dying off as she went down the corridor, she tip-toed and ran out of the room. Down the stairs she ran, until she got access to the main door. She was obviously scared, because there was no way she could have been sure of how many more people were in Gareth's house. Her heart told her that there was no way there would be no bodyguards, but still she tried her best.
She had two options; one was to run away, and the other one to call for help. Due to the plan that she had hatched; the running away idea could no longer be carried out. How on earth would she have run away leaving her son? She knew that Vincent Lisandro was Gareth's life-card; the man needed the child in order for him to live. The chances of Gareth ending the little man's life were very low; but who could be certain with a thug like Gareth? Surely anything was possible, so there was no taking chances.
The doors that led outside were al locked, and there was no key in sight. She looked around and saw the house phone. Swiftly she headed towards it, with the intention of calling her mother and asking her to make a police report. The reason why she did not want to make the report herself was that she was not sure how long the call was going to last. Who knew what time the maid was going to appear? It was best to ask Aletha to do all the work.
Just as she was about to pick up the phone, it rang. Without hesitating, Kiara answered it. The idea of changing her voice came like a flash, and in a thin, suppressed voice, she said,
"Hallo?"
An elderly man spoke, "Where is Gareth? Did he kidnap a woman and a child? Tell him I said he must run. Vine is coming for him. We gave him your address. Leave now!"
Kiara looked around, and wondered who the man was; the one who spoke over the phone. Whatever the case, Vine was coming for Gareth, and that, to Kiara was good news. She decided if Vine was coming, then she was going to wait for him to rescue her and her son.
The maid ran into the house and with a trembling voice asked, "where do you think you are going?"
"I would have escaped, but there was no way out. I'm going back to the room." Kiara said with neither fear nor guilt.
"Wait until sir Gareth hears about this," the maid was furious.
"And when he hears about that, you too will be in trouble for letting me out," she sneered.
Kiara walked all the way to her room. Closing the door behind her, she said a prayer, for God to lead Vine and make the rescue mission a success.