'Who am I fooling?' A sad chuckle escaped her lips amid the tears that kept rushing down.
Although her parents had never mistreated her in any way and had pampered her a lot when she was little and even now, what about her grandmother?. Right from the start, the old woman had hated her a lot and it was the reason why her father had sent her to live with her aunty in another province. And also her sister, how could she be only older than her sister by a year?.
Her sobs intensified and she clutched tightly to her bag. She doesn't want to believe any of this. This is still a dream.
Looking down at the photo again, her sobs slowly turned into whimpers and after some minutes, she carefully stood up from the ground, with her legs still trembling slightly.
Her vision was blurred with the many tears that kept rushing down her face and she sniffed constantly then continued walking along the empty street.
After some time, hearing the sound of a car stopped behind her, she turned back instinctively with a gasp, then her eyes instantly widened.
********
__ The Present __
Carl sighed for the umpteenth time as he sped his car out of the silent neighborhood.
He glanced down at his phone and dialed her number again, but it instantly went to voicemail.
His heart thumped rapidly and he increased the speed of his car, knowing that it would take her hours of trekking before getting out of this neighborhood as not many taxis frequent this place and it is also very early in the morning.
Many thoughts ran through his head and he wondered if she had luckily found a taxi as he couldn't sight her on the street even after driving out of the neighborhood. He sighed inside, then changed the car's direction and started driving toward the other side of the city.
Several minutes passed by before he finally arrived at the estate and the security men quickly opened the gate for him.
After parking his car, he strode out toward her apartment and started ringing the doorbell rapidly while the worry in him increased.
"Clara?" He called out anxiously but didn't hear any response from inside and he continued ringing the doorbell.
Many minutes passed by and he glanced up at the sky which is now very bright.
"Clara, open the door please..." He pleaded with a sigh then stopped ringing the doorbell.
"Clara__" he stopped talking as a sound suddenly came from his side and his head snapped in that direction.
Lara paused in her footsteps while staring at the guy who was still in his pajamas as her forehead settled into a small frown.
She could remember that they went out together last night. What happened? Why is he suddenly here in his pajamas?
By then, Carl had already reached the woman's side and he quickly asked her for Clara's apartment keys.
Lara quickly nodded, then walked back to her apartment and came out shortly after, with the keys in her hands.
She hurriedly bid him goodbye and left for the hospital, hoping that they didn't have any misunderstanding between them.
Carl rushed back to the girl's apartment and heaving a deep breath after stopping at the door, he inserted the apartment's key and pushed the door open before walking inside, in hurried footsteps.
"Clara?" He called out while searching around the apartment, from the bedroom to the bathroom, including the kitchen and the storeroom.
Seeing the whole place empty, he walked back to the living room and sat down on the couch with a sigh, wondering where she might have gone.
Standing up, he hurried out of the apartment while making a mental note to call and ask Lily and Maya, for her whereabouts.
********
__ At The Basement __
Many young men and women rushed inside the basement with beads of sweats trickling down their faces and even their black leather clothes were greatly damp.
They all strode toward a large room where many weapons were kept and they dropped down the guns in their hands on the wide metal table while trying to catch their rapid breaths.
The sudden attack from last night has taken everyone by surprise and the battle was very intense that it lasted till dawn.
They were all shocked that the masked men had multiplied in great numbers this time and had even come with larger weapons.
After managing to catch their breaths, everyone dragged their feet back to their separate rooms while the injured ones were being helped to the infirmary.
"Boss." One of the men hurried toward Zach who had suddenly entered the room with a dark expression.
"Where are the captures," Zach asked coldly while tossing his gun which was out of bullets, on the large table.
"They are all inside the cells," The burly man cowered back from the dangerous aura emanating from the guy and he quickly followed behind him.
"Those bastards. " Zach clenched his fists as he strode toward the cell which was on the far end of the hallway.
He couldn't believe that those idiots would dare to attack them again and even in the middle of the night.
Seems like his intuition is slowly becoming right. The chicken organization is really vying to become the leader of the underworld. 'Hehe, in their dreams.' He chuckled darkly then pushed the huge door open which leads to a room where many cells were located and you could hear the groaning and wailing of men from inside as they were being tortured mercilessly.
Stopping in front of the first cell, the burly man pushed it open and after they walked inside, he quickly brought a chair from a corner and placed it behind his boss.
Zach sat down on the chair, as his cold gaze was fixed on the three men, whose masks were now removed, and were piled together inside the cell.
"I will only ask this for once, who is your leader," he muttered with a smirk, as his cold eyes slowly scanned them.