Eva wiped her hands with a towel and looked through the peephole. She could just about make a part of a suit.
"Yes?" Eva answered but the person knocked again. Eva felt her palms sweating as she grabbed a knife in her hand and hid it behind her back. She opened the door.
A tall man in a very formal and well-tailored suit stood in the corridor. He had a square-jaw with a stubble, slightly ruffled black hair, and blue eyes in a colour of an ocean. He could easily be from a perfume ad poster.
"How can I help?" Eva asked with a faked nice voice. It was her customer service voice that she had trained many years ago whilst working as a cashier in a supermarket. She still could pull it off whenever she needed it.
"You have something that belongs to me." He said with his deep voice. It was not a surprise that his voice was anything like this. It matched him perfectly.
"Excuse me?" She asked in surprise. "And what would that be?"
"Kids. The girls."
"Kids? Yours?" She looked surprised before she laughed. "I highly doubt it." She pushed the door to close it but he swiftly pushed it back and held it open.
"They're mine."
"First of all, they're not something. They're not a thing. They're people. And secondly, absolutely not." Eva felt adrenaline flush through her. Her hand tightened around the knife.
"I'm making it simple. Give them back and I'll let you off."
"Get the hell out of here." She said angrily.
The man straightened out and looked at her with a deathly cold gaze.
"They are my kids." He said as if it was obvious. As if he wasn't a stranger who appeared out of nowhere. As if he wasn't just breaking into her apartment.
"I'll call the police!"
"You have no right to keep them away from me." He was stern. He sounded like there was no arguing.
"I do not know who you are and what you want." Eva said with equally stern voice. "But you must leave now."
"Not until I get them."
Eva turned red from anger and took the knife from behind her back, pointing it towards the man. Her knuckles turned white.
"I'm calling the police."
"Go ahead." He leaned against the doorframe.
Eva did just as she said, holding a knife pointed at him.
"There's an intruder in my home." She said loudly. "He is trying to kidnap my kids."
The man scoffed as he crossed his arms on his chest.
"I am not kidnapping them if they belong to me." He said towards her but she only scowled at him and continued speaking on the phone.
"No, I do not know him. And yes, I feel threatened."
"I haven't threatened you." He rolled his eyes impatiently.
"It doesn't mean that I do not feel threatened by a strange man in my apartment." Eva hissed at him which only made him roll his eyes again.
"If I were to hurt you, I would have done so already."
"Instead you refuse to leave and you want to kidnap my kids."
"They're not yours." He repeated more impatiently.
Eva put the phone away as the dispatcher told her to wait for the officer. She looked at a handsome man in the suit quite unsure how to feel. Her hand still on the knife.
"Who are you?"
"Callum Anderson."
"No. Who are you to the girls?"
"I'm their uncle."
"Oh, fuck off." Eva said angrily which took Callum by surprise.
"Excuse me?"
"A fucking uncle? They had no family come for them for a year. And now you parade here claiming to be their uncle? If you actually are their fucking uncle, you're an asshole, sir. Absolute fucking asshole." Eva didn't mince her words. Said Callum straightened up as he listened to her verbal diarrhoea.
"You're well judgmental."
"Am I supposed not to be?"
"Well, you have my kids so maybe not?" He shrugged as he slowly moved into the apartment. "Please lower the knife. I don't want you to hurt yourself."
"You underestimate me, sir."
"Sir?" He furrowed his brows. "How old do you think I am?"
"I don't care."
He looked around the rather small apartment.
"Where are they?"
"I ain't telling you."
His eyes landed on the closed door of their bedroom.
"There's like three doors in this matchbox sized apartment." He said loudly. "I think it leaves very little guessing."
"Leave." Eva repeated.
"It's this one, isn't it?" He pointed at the kids' room door.
"No." Eva said sharply, pushing the knife closer to him. He took the step forward regardless of her, towering almost a foot taller than her. He was intimidating in more than one way.
"Again, put it down. You will hurt yourself." He repeated, reaching his hand out. A very clearly expensive watch showed from under his sleeve, and a heavy gold signet shone on his finger.
"Sir, with all due respect, this is my home and you do not get to tell me what to do." Eva hissed, still standing strong. But her vision was mostly hazed red.
"Good evening, I believe we received a call." The police officer said as he knocked on the door.
"Oh, thank God." Eva sighed in relief. "I do not know this man. He is trying to get my kids."
"You can lower the knife down, Miss." the police officer nodded as he took handcuffs out. The second police officer came in. "What's your name?"
"Callum Anderson."
"The Anderson?" The police officer raised his brows.
"I guess." The man shrugged as he gave Eva a sideway glance. His eyes darkened. The female police officer walked up to her, trying to calm her down. Eva was quick in showing all the relevant documents to the female officer, including any adoption papers and IDs.
"Why are you here?" The police officer kept asking said Callum more questions.
"These woman has my nieces. I am their only living relative." Callum answered.
The door to the kids' bedroom opened and Suzie appeared, with Emmi right behind her.
"You should be sleeping." Eva quickly got up and hurried towards them. She was ready to protect them and shield them if Callum decided to take a step closer.
"Come to me." He said as if he tried to order them. Perhaps he did. Perhaps he wanted to. But they haven't moved. Instead they hugged each of Eva's legs, Suzie reaching to Eva's waist and Emmi reaching to her hips.
"You do not have to if you don't want to." Eva said reassuringly caressing their heads.
"I'm your uncle. Don't you remember me Suzie? Emmi?" He asked with pained face. Eva froze. Not many people knew their nicknames. But he did. Eva realised that he might have spoken the truth.
"Uncle Cal?" Suzie asked.
"Yes, I'm your uncle Cal. I used to bring you the biggest gifts for your birthdays." Cal smiled.
"Eva, I don't want to go to uncle Cal." Emmi said quietly as she tugged on Eva's sleeve.
"You don't have to." Eva said in a comforting tone, picking the girl up with a slight huff.
"Do we have to go with uncle Cal now?" Suzie asked. "Does it mean we have to leave you?"
"No." Eva said decisively as she looked back at Callum. "Look. I am their legal guardian and they do not wish to be with you." She spoke to him.
"It is true. She is their legal guardian." The police officer agreed. "If you wish for contact with the kids, you must get it through the court."
Callum scowled at Eva but his gaze seemed to soften when he looked at Suzie and Emmi. He walked up closer and squatted in front of them to be at their level.
"It's okay, girls. If you wish to stay with…" he looked up at Eva as he realised that he didn't even know her name. "With this lady tonight, that's okay. We'll see each other soon. Don't worry."
"We don't want to leave Eva." Suzie said in her quiet tone.
Callum scowled at Eva again. Then he sighed.
"It's late, girls. You should be in bed."
"I highly recommend that you do not bother Miss Green again, Mr Anderson." The police officer said sternly. "It is still an intrusion. I hope that miss Green will agree with us and we can let you off with the warning tonight. But this isn't going to be the case if you're caught here again."
"Understood." Callum nodded as Eva urged girls to go back to bed which they did resisted, still interested in the commotion. Callum was escorted out by one of the officers whilst the female officer remained with Eva and reassured her that they will be within the area for a while longer, and if she is bothered again to call.
At last Eva was left alone with the girls in the apartment. She was shaken up from the events and a possibility of the future without the girls.
She stayed up for the rest of the night, watching the locked up door with fear that Callum will return.