That day was a day that should never have happened.
Judd was getting ready to go to the city and deliver some of the new pieces they had composed. It was always a family thing to go out together, but their little boy was down with a fever and they didn't want to expose him in the trip, so Rei decided to stay with him and their daughter.
She didn't like letting Judd go alone to the city. What with those vultures trying to flirt with her husband for being a foreigner. If possible she would have him tied with a leash so he wouldn't leave her side.
She didn't know when she became that possessive of him, but she greatly disliked the way other women looked at him. She admitted that he was aging very well, and it was extremely hard for her not to seek him for a kiss or a hug. That's why she understood those vultures' minds.
After being together for six years, she really couldn't do without him.
"What time are you coming back?" She asked while eyeing him tie his shoelaces. She glanced at the clock hanging in their living room and noticed it was barely 7am
"I'll try coming back by noon. You need something so I can buy it on the way?" A shake of head was his answer when he looked at her. Then, she glued herself to his chest, silently asking for a hug which he readily gave her. She smiled in his warm arms. Totally one of her favorite places.
"Don't let those women look at you too much." She mumbled in his chest, feeling the vibrations of his laugh.
"Let them look. I'm all yours anyway." That reply pleased her immensely that she felt her confidence rise to new levels. That's right, he's all mine, she thought, a smirk forming in her lips. She finally let him go with a kiss that made him shiver.
Her day began between checking her son, making breakfast for her four-year-old daughter that was in high spirits that morning, giving Leng some soft food and some medicine, and finally releasing the little terror, Darlene, on the field behind the house.
It was after lunch, at noon, that everything changed for the worse.
Leng was fast asleep after eating and taking another doses of medicine. Rei was washing the dishes and listening to her daughter slowly playing one of the easiest opus in the piano. She constantly looked out of the window, wanting to spot Judd before he reached the house to receive him with a kiss.
However, what she saw made her stomach drop and her heart tighten. A car was coming down the dusty main street. A car she knew just too well.
She left what she was doing with a curse and immediately snatched her daughter from the piano, carrying her to the room where her brother was sleeping. She ignored the questions from her daughter, and just asked her not to say a word.
She unwillingly woke her son when she carried him, blue eyes locking with hers. Without much thinking, she took them to the cellar under their house. They mostly had the furniture they didn't use anymore, some stacks of grains and other preserved food there. It was quite packed and had good insulation.
"What's wrong mommy?" Her daughter asked one last time, seeing how serious and anxious Rei looked.
"Do as I say, please. Do you promise me?" Both kids nodded to their Mom. She sighed. "No matter what, do not say a word, do not make a sound, and do not move from here. If anything, wait until you father comes back to get you out of here. Understand?" She directed the question to her daughter that could understand more than her brother. The little girl nodded.
"Is this like playing hide-and-seek?" Rei smiled at the innocence of her boy. She patted his feverish head and gave them both a tight hug.
It took her all the will in her to let them go and not to cry. She knew that if they saw nobody in the house, then they would start searching. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to run without being seen and persecuted. The lands around their house provided close to no cover. And, she wasn't going to risk the life of her kids.
"Yes, it's like hide-and-seek. But, this time, you have to be almost invisible if you want to win. You'll get your favorite food for dinner if you do so." Their happy smile was something she would forever treasure more than ever since she didn't know what was to come.
A lie.
She knew well, but didn't want to think about it.
She kissed their heads one more time and left the cellar after a soft 'I love you' came out of her mouth. Next, she arranged the house to make it seem as if she was alone. She couldn't hide the signs that she had a family, but she could well make it as if they hadn't been there for a long time. She had been trained for that.
Actually, she had been trained to never be found. She had become complacent. Though she also couldn't be blamed for wanting to enjoy her family in peace. She had hoped that after years of not seeing anything suspicious, they had forgotten about her. She had clearly underestimated their persistence.
Just when she was done cleaning the kids' room, a knock came from the front door. She swallowed and remembered all her training, making her face as impassive as possible when she opened the door.
"You really are impressive Rei Lee." A man she didn't know nor remember said. Someone new, she thought. "My life was on the line if I couldn't find you. Your previous partner couldn't save himself because of your little disappearing act. You are a bad person, making others die for you." She didn't comment anything while two other men looked around her house without much luck. "It seems they aren't here." The man said with a clear tone of disappointment.
"They aren't." It wasn't advisable to lie. It was obvious they were aware of her family. "It's just you, me and whatever you want to do." The man snapped his fingers and the other two stopped their search. Their main target was the woman in front of them, so there was no need to bother with little nuisances.
Shadow had ordered so.
Their experiment of recruiting the offspring of their agents had failed anyway. They had no intentions of losing their time with a useless man and two runts.
"Take her out." The man simply said. Rei was dragged to the back of the field. Sure, she was their target, but they also didn't want the police to meddle with their business. Nor did they fear Rei's man to open his mouth. After all, if he did something stupid, they would find him and end his life in mere seconds.
So, they hoped he was smart enough.
They reached a field full of wild shrubbery, completely hidden from prying eyes, and without much delicacy, they threw her to the ground. What she expected soon came. Well, the second thing she expected. The first being receiving a bullet in the head without a word of explanation.
The kicks and punches hurt. They were vicious and didn't hold back at all. If some of her bones broke, she kept mum about it. She wasn't going to give them what they wanted. If they expected her to scream and beg for her life, then they were going to face disappointment.
After more than 30 minutes of physical torture, that limited only to punches and kicks to her relief, the two big men stopped, panting and sweating. Rei was on the verge of passing out due to a concussion but fought to remain conscious.
Her whole body hurt, many bones were broken, her face was bloody and was starting to swell. She was having trouble breathing as every time air entered her body, sharp pain circulated throughout it. Her bottom lip was utterly destroyed due to her constant biting to prevent screaming.
But even like that, she felt like she was in heaven. She had been under worse torture than that one. The last one before she escaped was the most horrible. Still, they didn't come to break her bones and give her a concussion. No, they came for something else, and the more she thought about it, the more her regret grew.
"Anything you want to say?" The man asked, taking out a gun. She just smiled and looked up to the clear sky, a tear falling down her cheek when she thought of Judd. Of his smile, his eyes, his warmth. "Ok, then."
'I'm sorry' was her last thought.
Judd never thought silence could reign their house at that time of the day. It was past noon. Usually his daughter played the piano after eating, his son also liked to play with his toys. Though, he must have been asleep due to his illness. He also expected Rei to receive him with a kiss, away from their kids' prying eyes.
There was none of that.
The first thing that came to his mind was that they were playing with him. But, after fifteen minutes of searching for them, he began to worry and began to call out for them. The soft giggles of her daughter told him where they were. He hurriedly walked towards the entrance of the cellar, ready to scold them for scaring him like that. All three of them, mother and children.
He didn't manage to utter a word when he noticed the children were almost completely hidden in a corner.
His son was asleep and still feverish, his daughter was trying her best to muffle her giggles. There were no signs of Rei. He picked his boy up, and gave his hand to her girl to take them out of the cellar. He settled them in the living room.
"Where's your mother?"
What was a simple question became his worst nightmare when his daughter began recounting him what had happened what seemed to be like one hour before his arrival. His face distorted and his mind became possessed by a fear he didn't know he was possible to feel.
Without thinking about the kids in front of him, he ran out of the house to look for her. He didn't want to think the worse, and tried to deceive himself that they had taken her away. However, he still searched.
Given the situation, he couldn't ask the neighbors if they had seen anything, and he didn't want to subject his children to any horror so he looked for her alone. After more than an hour searching, he gave up. He had managed to calm down and thought about his stupid decision of leaving his kids alone.
It was on his way back that he came across her body.
He didn't know how long he stood there looking at the state they had left her: disfigured and lifeless.
Finally, a sob broke through his throat, tears fell, and then a shout filled the air.
He all but threw himself to her mangled body, clutching it tightly to his chest, not caring about the blood that smeared on his shirt, wailing her name and many other words while rocking the body that was beginning to grow cold. He screamed and wailed until he tore his throat. That pain could not compared to his broken heart.
Why?
Why her?
Why his wife? Why his best friend? Why his lover? Why the mother of his children?
Why the first and only person in the world he was ever going to love?
Why his dream come true?
Why his Rei?
Why?
At that moment, he lost himself to his grief over the loss of his wife not knowing. Rei, whose last thought was to apologize for not fulfilling her vows of growing old with him and not being able to raise her kids, died not knowing.
That day was also a day to grieve the loss of a life that was only one-week-old inside her that neither knew even until the end of his life.