Chloe walked out to the parking lot and smiled at her friend, who was waiting for her in the car. She took the passenger seat and buckled herself in with her seat belt as they pulled out onto the street.
- Why are you doing this in hiding from James? - He asked, glancing at her surreptitiously.
- Because he doesn't want me to get involved. He thinks this man is acting suspiciously. He says I should stay away from him.
Samuel nodded his head.
- I guess I should agree with that. What if he's some kind of pervert? - Chloe raised an eyebrow and measured him with distaste. - What? How many such cases do you hear? The man is well into his forties. Maybe he likes to pick up young, pretty girls.
- I don't want to believe that. He is educated, has a good position, does not look like a psycho.
- Not such people turned out to be serial killers. A man can be dressed in the best clothes and have a really high position, but you don't know what is going on in his head. You can't define a person by his appearance. The Chucky doll seemed cute, too.
- Since when are you so smug? - Chloe was outraged by his words. She didn't like that Sam decided to lecture her.
He didn't respond. He simply ignored it. Chloe would have put up a fight anyway, so he wouldn't win her over in any way.
When they entered the restaurant, Samuel looked around the interior with obvious curiosity in his eyes. The place was small, but cozy. Only a few tables, and no guests. At fourteen o'clock, they were the only customers.
Chloe looked confused when a woman came out of the kitchen. To her eye, she must have been in her forties because crow's feet had begun to form under her eyes. From her face, she looked friendly, especially when she greeted them with a friendly smile.
- Good morning. We would like to order two sets of black bean noodles. To go. - spoke up, Sam, while the girl did not take her eyes off the woman. She looked at her carefully, wondering if she could definitely turn out to be her mother. She looked entirely unique. The woman in the photo did indeed resemble her, but.... in twenty years, could she have changed so dramatically? Chloe got the impression that it was an entirely different face.
- The takeaway? Of course. I will prepare it for you shortly," she replied and returned to the kitchen to take care of the food.
- And what do you think it is her?
She fixed her gaze on her colleague and shook her head uncertainly.
- She looks entirely different. Maybe it's just the cook? How can you be sure that she owns the restaurant?
- Should we discreetly ask her? - Chloe nodded her head. This was the only way she could find out if the woman owned the place.
When she returned to them with the prepared order, Samuel asked about the bill. Chloe measured it carefully and then decided to speak up:
- Very nice and cozy place. I will definitely be a frequent visitor here. Does this restaurant belong to you?
The woman looked at her and nodded. Chloe hoped that perhaps after seeing her up close the owner would be surprised, since her mother resembled her in her youth, but she looked as if she was seeing her for the first time with her eyes.
- Yes, this place is mine. We don't have many customers here, so I'm glad to hear those words.
The blonde smiled serenely at her.
One thing she was sure of. It couldn't be her mother. Not only did she look like an entirely different person, but she did not react in any way to the sight of her. Something was wrong. Was everything the man there had told a lie?
James was right. She should not trust him.
*
Chloe decided to tell the director about everything. She wanted to admit he was right and ask him to help her find her mother. For the moment he was the only person she trusted implicitly.
It was already turning gray outside when she entered the building and headed straight for his office. There weren't many people in the company anymore, so no one was sticking up for her. She opened the door, but didn't go inside because her attention was caught by Isabelle, who accompanied him.
The girl closed the door so as not to give away her presence. She saw the secretary say something to him, but he was not at all interested in her words. She stubbornly explained something to him, even grieved, and Chloe tightened her lips in anger. This was the first time she felt jealous. In a fit of anger, she felt like rushing in and pulling out all her hair.
She was the only girl who had the right to be with him.
She opened her mouth in shock when the secretary unexpectedly took his face in her hands and forcefully kissed him. James pretended to be a gentleman, so he didn't push her away. He merely asked her not to do it again because he wasn't interested in her.
The blonde snorted in exasperation.
Thundering at him with her eyes, she stepped back and decided to leave them alone. She didn't give a damn what else they wanted to do in private.
- Great. Play with that doll, and I'll deal with the old grandpa who's attached to me myself," she said into space as she headed for the elevator. As she approached it, she too violently started hitting the button with her fingers. She needed to vent her anger on something.
Although she tried to ignore the sight she saw in the office, this was the first time Chloe felt jealousy. As you can see... she, too, had finally fallen in love, although all her life she had told herself it would never happen.
*
It began to rain. The girl decided to hide in the nearest tent, where food and alcohol were sold. She bought a bottle of vodka, which she drank in too short a time. Occasionally, she poured herself a drink and eventually got to such a state that everything began to swirl in front of her eyes.
She didn't even realize that she was being watched the whole time.
She put her phone on the table and randomly dialed one of the numbers. Everything was trolling in front of her eyes, so she couldn't even see who she was calling. She smiled broadly when she heard Aaron's voice on the other side of the receiver.
- Did you miss me? - She mumbled, watching the other people who were drinking alcohol in the company. - Because I don't miss you.
- You are drunk.
She giggled into the earpiece.
- Now and then you have to go a little crazy.
- Where are you? Does James know about this? - Chloe became indignant like a child when she heard his name.
- He is entertaining a secretary at the company. Don't let him bother," she stated, batting her eyelids. - How do you know that I live with James?
- He is a friend of my brother. Do you think I won't know that? - The boy was upset that she had brought herself to such a state when there was no one at her side. - Where are you?
- In some nearby tent.
- Where exactly?
- I don't know! - she shouted into the phone, attracting the stares of other people. - Somewhere near the company.
- Don't move from there, you hear? I'll be at your place soon.
The girl did no longer listen to him because he began to annoy her. She hung up and put her head on the table. Someone sat down to her. She lifted her gaze, and a sour smile appeared on her face.
- Are you following me, liar? - She leaned on the table-top with her elbows. She pointed a finger at him. - You fooled me. I was there today and it's not my mother.
The man nervously bit his lip, then grunted.
- Excuse me.
- Excuse me? - she repeated, and a loud laugh came from her throat. People again raked her with their eyes. She was too loud. - You can shove your apology up your ass.
He laughed at these words, but quickly became serious when he noticed how menacing her gaze was. He put his hand in his jacket pocket and took out a photo. Furthermore, he handed it to the blonde.
With semi-conscious eyes, she looked at the girl-like her and the boy, who was a younger version of the man sitting next to her. It must have been him decades ago, and he was accompanied by her mother.
- If you really know her, why did you lie to me? Who is the woman to whom the restaurant belongs?
- She is just an acquaintance of mine," he stated, and the girl squinted. - I haven't seen your mother since I separated from her.
- Why? - She blinked her eyelids to sharpen her vision. Everything began to blur for her.
- She left me when she was pregnant. Since then, I couldn't find her," he revealed, lowering his head. - When I saw you ... I immediately realized that you were her daughter. You are my daughter," he said.
Chloe opened her eyes wider, wobbling in her chair.
- Your daughter? My mother was pregnant with you? - He didn't have an opportunity to give her an answer because the whole world began to whirl before her eyes. Her face fell on the table-top, completely losing consciousness.
*
Aaron, who had been running around with his phone to his ear for quite some time, stopped in his tracks when his attention was caught by a man who was belting a young woman in a car. The boy sharpened his gaze, trying to get a closer look at the unconscious girl.
Somewhere in the distance he heard a phone ringing incessantly. It must have been her cell phone, since the tune was coming from the white tent.
When the man started the engine, that's when he realized it was Chloe. He hastily dialed the number for James.
- I need you to help me. A while ago I saw someone in his 40s take a drunk Chloe with him. I did not have time to react. Do you know who he might be?
He heard James get visibly upset.
- Did you see what kind of car it was?
- Yes. - The boy handed him the model, which made him even more anxious. - Do you know this man?
- I know who he is. He works at our company. I have his data, so I'll arrange it.
James hung up, and the boy nervously looked around. He was furious with his friend for acting so thoughtlessly.
*
She opened her eyes and half-consciously looked around. She was being held up by someone. She blinked her eyelids and saw that it was the man who claimed to know her mother.
Furthermore, she felt faint.
She realized that she was completely unfamiliar with the neighborhood and the house when he opened the door and led her inside. She was taken aback by the whiteness of the room, so she closed her eyelids and shook her head. The man let her go, at which point she fell to the floor.
She looked at him and noticed the maddening smile on his face. He closed the door behind him, then walked up to her and put his hands on her stomach. He put his arms around her waist. At that moment, the girl fainted again. She felt bad and found it difficult to react in any way. She had to shake herself off and, above all, get a grip because something disturbing was happening.
Likewise, she was in danger.
- I finally have you all to myself.... - he spoke, laughing in her face. - You are as naive as your mother.
He wanted to kiss her, but she sobered up in an adrenaline rush and punched him in the face. The man staggered backwards, at which point she sprang to her feet and jumped to the table on which the vase was located. She grabbed it in her hands and, without thinking, punched the man in the head. He shook stunned, and blood appeared on his forehead. He looked at her frightened face and started laughing like a madman.
- You are as brave as your mother," he announced, pointing his finger at her. The blonde stared at him with wide-open eyes. She was breathing heavily, fearing another attack, however, he sat calmly. - In the past, I was in love with your mother. Madly. For many years, I had feelings for her, but she fiercely spurned me and treated me as a friend. - He paused and wiped away the blood with the back of his hand. - One day she simply left because she fell in love with another man. She got pregnant with him, but he left her. It was a punishment for her. She deserved it. - The girl slowly began to back away. She climbed the first step. All the time, she watched the man, afraid that he would unexpectedly attack her. - When you were six years old, I met your mother. I was so fascinated by her appearance that I couldn't stand it and decided to have her for myself. She ran away from me. What was my joy when I managed to kidnap her. In my arms she was so fragile and defenseless. Perfect. - His words sounded so shrill that Chloe put her hands to her mouth. Tears appeared in her eyes. She was shocked. - Your mother was a naughty girl," he stated, jabbing his finger. He sat on the floor, and a dangerous smile was painted on his face. The girl was afraid to do anything. She couldn't move because she was afraid that he would unexpectedly attack her. So far, he was calm. - She was so rude that she shouted right in my face that I was disgusting and should be treated. She stated that I would never have her. She considered it an obsession. - The blonde's body shook with chills. - That's why I killed her.
She fell on the stairs. She began to shake with fear. This rush of information made her knees like cotton wool, and she couldn't move.
- Did you kill her? - She repeated in a stifled voice.
- Since I couldn't have her for myself, I decided that no one would. She was mine," he announced, shrugging his shoulders. - My brother was the prosecutor, so he covered everything up. They put an innocent guy in jail.
- You are sick," she said in a trembling voice, putting her hand on the railing of the banister. With that, she perked up.
- When I saw you for the first time.... - he began, and she swallowed her saliva nervously. She took a tentative step back, climbing a step higher. - I found that I had to have you exclusively. You are so much like her....
He got up from the floor and began to approach her again. At that moment, he looked like a psychopath.
As he approached the stairs, the girl regained her fighting spirit and hit him in the face with her foot. The man fell down. She ran to the second floor, but all the rooms were locked. He ran to her and grabbed her by the hair. Chloe screamed shrilly, but in no way could she free herself. He led her to the stairs, at which point she elbowed him in the stomach with all her might.
To get revenge, he decided to push her down, but the girl managed to grab the handrail. Breathing heavily, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and ran straight to the door. She ran outside and fell right into James' arms.
- Help me. This psycho...
He let go of her arms and punched the man with his fist as he ran out into the garden. Chloe put her hands to her mouth as James sat on top of him to prevent him from moving. Meanwhile, he took his phone out of his pocket and threw it to the girl to call the police.
- Didn't he do anything to you? - He asked, out of the corner of his eye looking at the blonde. She shook her head. She was still in such shock that she couldn't stop shaking.
With trembling hands, she tapped out the emergency number and pressed the green receiver, not taking her gaze off the jerking man.
How could she have been so thoughtless and brought danger upon herself?