by Sherell Lynn
At the mention of my sisters and him I take my elbow and with all my might force it back into Chris stomach. He yelled out in pain. I ran to the door without looking back. He grabbed me by the waist throwing me to the ground. I cried out in pain placing my hands over my stomach to protect the baby from the impact as my body hits the ground.
“Bitch, are you fucking stupid!” Chris spit out lunging for my face. I turn to block his hit, but it was no use. He straddled my body. “You are so fucking lucky my new plans need yo stupid ass to stay alive for now.”
I wailed in distress for my life and what was to become of it. The more I sobbed, the happier Chris became.
“The way I see it, you owe me and in order to collect, I need that bank you have access to. See, when you left me there for dead, shortly after, the cops came along with the paramedics. They took me straight to the hospital where I was in ICU for days. When I came to, the laws were all over me trying to find out what had happened. Luckily for you, I ain’t no snitch. After I healed from my injuries, those bitches locked me up on some trumped-up drug charges. I spent two years locked up and when I got out the only thing I wanted was revenge. From there I made my way back home to see if you too had gone back. I didn’t find you, but I did find those bomb-ass sisters of yours. I watched them for days with no sign of you. I decided in the meantime to find a way to make some cash. That’s why I ended up in the library. I didn’t wanna get caught back up in the dope game. I needed a real job and that all led me here to you.”
Chris wiggled his eyebrows and gave me a shit-eating smirk. “Isn’t it funny how things work themselves out? I mean look, it is because of me you got the rich boy anyway. I saved your virtue for our wedding day. Instead of breaking you off, I was breaking off a few of my side pieces all for you. I wanted my wife to be unlike any of the hoes I was messing with. And now look at you, practically still a virgin and shit.” He laughed as if all of this was a joke.
I closed my eyes and lay there thinking over all Chris’ revelations. Never did I think he would survive that gunshot wound. I was sure he had died instantly. I should have unloaded the whole clip in his ass. Chris took in my enervated body.
“Someone must be tired from all this fighting power you’ve had.” He got up and walked to the door. “It’s time for me to get out of here my plan isn’t going to work if I sit in here with you all day. There is money to make off your ass, so I need to get to it.” He shut the door and I could hear him locking it from the outside. So he was keeping me alive as his cash cow. I envisioned him going to Adam demanding money for my safe return.
I tried to stand, but exhaustion had apparently taken over, preventing me from doing anything else, but lay on this cold concrete floor. I hope that Chris doesn’t return and Adam finds me. I hate that my last words to him were said out of anger. Even though he was wrong for leaving me in a hospital bed, I now understand why. Ms. Brenda helped me see how he could believe the lies that Ava spewed out. I frowned at no one, but myself. It took me being kidnapped by a deranged man that I refuse to call my husband, to realize I still want a future with Adam. He had shown me how a man was supposed to treat a woman. He would be the only man that I love, the only man I would call my husband.
41
Adam
I made it to Bella’s house in record time. I banged furiously on the door. Mr. Garett answered the door and stepped aside, so that my brother and I could go in. Ms. Brenda was sitting on the couch with a face full of tears. I took a seat next to her.
“Thank you both for coming,” she said through her tears.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “What happened?”
Mr. Garett took her hand and sat on the edge of the couch beside her. Giving her a sign to go on and tell us what happened. She nodded and started to tell us how she had picked Bella up down the street from the restaurant. Then they began talking about what took place inside the restaurant between Bella and me. Apparently, Ms. Brenda unknowingly said something to upset Bella because she took off walking down the street. That was a little after lunchtime and it was now well into the evening.
“I just don’t know where she could be,” she cried into Mr. Garett’s arms.
Taking us by surprise, Mr. Garett asks, “Why do the two of you look like you both took a beatin’ and escaped to come here?”
Alex and I eyed each other. That was when I noticed the residual effects of our little disagreement. He had a black eye and a nice cut on his cheek. I was sure I had a busted lip and a black eye as well.
Alex spoke on our behalf, “We just had a minor disagreement over a business dispute.”
Mr. Garett studied us for a minute. I decided we needed to get back to why we are here. “Have the police been called?”
They both nodded their head in confirmation. “They pretty much told us there is nothing that they can do. She is a grown woman and unless it’s been a couple of days, they won’t even come out here.” He said.
I ask, “Can you point us in the direction that she took off in?”
We walked back outside following Ms. Brenda as she showed us where Bella had stormed off. Alex and I started to come up with a plan to search the area and surrounding neighborhood.
“Call me as soon as you see her.” I told my brother.
“Yeah, I will. We will find her,” he stated before crossing the street. We decided to go in opposite directions to cover more ground. As I was walking, I decided to call Ava. I knew that there was some bad blood between us, but there might be a small chance that Bella reached out to her.
“Hello?” Ava’s feminine voice came through my speaker.
“Ava, have you spoken with Bella at some point today?”
She breathed loudly into the phone. “Is that what you called me for? To find out if I talked to your drugged-out whore?”
This maddens me beyond my comprehension. Raising my voice into the phone. “Ava, cut that shit out! You will not disrespect her. Now, I asked you a question and it’s important that you answer it.”
“You know what, Adam? Fuck you and fuck her!” she screamed into the phone right before she hung up. I take that as a no to my question and continue my search down the street.
Three days had gone by with no sign of Bella. The police were now involved in the search. And even they had turned up empty handed with no answers to where Bella could be. Considering the fight Alex and I had a few days ago, Bella’s disappearance had really brought us closer together. Our time was spent running our company, or constantly searching for her. We put together a team to go door to door in hopes that someone would have information. We also set up a hotline for tips on her disappearance. Today we were meeting the P.I. I hired to help us when all other avenues led us nowhere.
“Mr. De Luca, there’s a Robert Castelo here to see you,” My secretary blared through the intercom. I proceeded to let her know to send him in.
“Mr. Castelo it’s nice to see you. My brother will be in shortly and then we can start.” I walked him over to an area I often took my clients to have an informal chat. It had a couple of oversized chairs with a brand-new table in the middle thanks to the fight between Alex and me. A few minutes later Alex walked in and we started to conduct our meeting.
Mr. Robert Castelo began, “Mr. De Luca, I have been working nonstop day and night to find your missing fiancée and I have come up with a bit of a problem.” His eyes shuffled back and forth between my brother and me.
“Please continue, Mr. Castelo,” I said. Before he began again, he opened his briefcase.
He pulled out a file and handed it to me. “In that file, you will find the information you requested.”
I opened the file and to my dismay, it was empty. “Is this a joke?” I lashed out, wrapping my hand around his neck.
Through strangled speech, he pleaded, “Please, Mr. De Luca, I can explain…Please…let me go.”
My brother grabbed my wrist, giving me an understanding look. “Adam, let the man go so he can explain his fooli
sh mistake.”
We all settled back into our seats. The P.I. cleared his throat. “I meant you both no harm with that empty file. It was to make a statement. The young lady by the name Bella Chapman does not exist. If you had not gotten so upset with me a few minutes ago, I would have thought it was you playing the joke on me.”
Baffled by this news, I sat in silence. Alex asks, “What do you mean Bella Chapman does not exist?”
“There is no paper trail for her until recently. It’s as if she just popped up out of thin air one day. That leads me to believe Bella Chapman is a false identity. There are no school or public records, no social media sites, no other places of employment for her before now. And no one can confirm knowing her before she moved here. Mr. De Luca, everybody leaves a paper trail. Only those people trying to hide something do not.” Mr. Castelo leaned forward in his chair after conveying his message.
My jaw ticked from the anger I felt deep within me. I was trying so desperately to contain my rage. “I am paying you a very hefty fee to find information on my fiancée and you sit here with no answers. Then you mock me with lies about how she does not exist.” He pulled out his laptop and began showing us his findings. We sat there for over an hour looking over the information that led him to the conclusion that Bella Chapman did not exist.
He was right. She was nothing more than a ghost. Who have I been spending time with? Who have I been sharing a bed jam-packed with countless nights of pleasure? What burned me up the most was the one person I needed these answers from, was the one person that was missing. I had left my brother to attend to the office while I found the two people that would most likely know who I was engaged to. I parked my car in front of the town hall building. This was where we had set up phone lines to assist us in the search. I made my way inside finding the two people I needed to speak with.
“Mr. Garett and Ms. Brenda, can I please speak to the both of you?” We walked down the hall to an empty room. Not wanting to waste another minute, I got straight to the point. “I found out today Bella Chapman does not exist. I know that she came to this town not long ago. I need to know why and I need to know who she really is because Bella Chapman is not her real name.”
They both glanced at one another. Mr. Garett decided to speak. “I never asked her to share more than she was willing to tell. Being a soldier, I learned that a man or woman’s past could be haunting. There were days Bella would stare off into space. She would sit there not hearing the words coming out of my mouth. Lost in her own thoughts. You see I am a homeless war vet or at least I was. I met Bella walking down the streets of our town. She was scared and alone. I gave her what I had. And we lived under the bridge for quite some time. Then one day she went and sought the help of Brenda.”
From there, Ms. Brenda took over. “When Bella came to me she wanted shelter for her and David. She told me how she had escaped her abusive relationship. That man she was with was a monster. When I took her to the doctor, it was revealed how much she had suffered. Did she tell you any of this? How he beat her to the brink of death. That girl suffered many broken bones and miscarriages at the hand of that man. It’s no wonder that she ran for her life and changed her name. He would have killed her had she not left. Do you blame her? I can say we never knew her as anyone else, but Bella. I feel terrible for betraying her trust like this. I just hope what information we give you helps you find her.”
Once again, I felt like a fool. I was reduced to tears by my love for Bella or whatever her real name was. If it were up to me, she would remain my Bella forever. In Italian, Bella translates to beautiful and that she truly is. A thought runs through my head. Could Bella’s ex have her? That would be the only thing that makes sense.
A few more days go by with no trace of Bella. We had checked security cameras in all the neighborhoods, including residential and commercial properties that had a system installed, along with speaking to every neighbor within a twenty-mile radius. I had been spending most of my time here when I wasn’t searching for Bella. Whenever I was at home, I thought of her. If I had only listened to her, I could have protected her. That day in the restaurant kept playing over and over in my mind. I told her she was just as much to blame for the demise of our relationship as I was. By her not letting me in, hiding her past, Ava was able to lie and make up whatever she damn well pleased. The truth had made me realize she was only protecting herself and others from a horrible past. I needed and wanted her back to show her how much I love her and vow to always protect her.
Alex came barging into my office. “You look like shit big brother. I have been standing here without you even noticing me. Are you getting any work done?” Alex quizzed my face as if that gave him his answer.
I ran my fingers over my goatee. It had gotten a bit scruffier during these pasts few days. Bella always liked the mountain man look. A small chuckle came from the thought of that.
“I did actually see you come in. What did you need?”
Alex let out a frustrated sigh. “Damn, you get straight to the point, don’t you? Well if you must know, we can’t keep stalling on the McMillan merger. The more days that go by, the more money, they are losing. We were the top bidders and they cannot hold out for the sale. If we keep them waiting, McMillan would be forced to move on or declare bankruptcy. No company wants to do that.”
He was right. Everything had been going by the wayside. I was in this office every day, but I could never truly focus on work. I was about to answer him when my cell phone started to ring.
“Shit, it’s Bella!” My heart stalled into my throat.
Alex’s face was filled with shock. “Adam, answer the damn phone.” He demanded. With sweaty palms, I answered “Bella.” I could hear heavy breathing. “Bella is that you?”
“Oh, you would love for this to be her, but if my voice didn’t give it away let me tell you this ain’t her,” a deep voice blared into the phone’s speaker. I looked at Alex and shook my head to tell him it was not her.
Getting back to the call I ask, “Who is this, and where is Bella?”
He shrieked, a sick and twisted laugh, “You’re a funny rich boy, but I don’t answer to you. I will tell you she is alive, but not for much longer, unless you are willing to pay. How much is her life worth, rich boy?” The unknown man asked.
As much as I didn’t like being called boy or someone threatening my woman’s life, I knew I had to give him what he wanted for now at least.
“Name your price.”
Alex tapped on the desk to gain my attention. He silently asked, “What’s going on?” I searched around my desk for a pen and paper. I saw what I needed and wrote on the paper telling him that Bella had been kidnapped and some bitch of a man wanted money.
The unknown man murmured into the phone, “Five million dollars.”
“Five million dollars,” I repeated into the phone with a little hesitation. I didn’t want to sound too eager, fearing he would raise the price. In actuality, I would pay anything to have Bella back by my side. “Let me speak with Bella to ensure that she is safe.”
The irritation in his voice was clear. “That’s not how this is going to work. I will send you a text where you can drop off the money and then another text with a picture of Bella in her home away from home.” He laughed. “After I have the money, I will send you the address of where to find her.”
This fucker thought this shit was funny. We would see who was going to have the last laugh after I beat his ass. At this point, he would be lucky if an ass whooping would be all he gets. No, he deserved to die.
“How will I know once you get the money that I will get the address to find Bella?”
“You will just have to trust me on that?”
What the fuck! Trust him, now that shit was funny.
The unknown man continued his rant. “I want the money more than I want her. So, if you want her you can have her. She is wasted goods anyway. I’ll be in touch.” The phone line went dead after that.
I sat the p
hone on my desk. Running my hands through my hair, I informed Alex on the part of the conversation he could not hear. Alex jumped up out of his chair.
“You let that imbecile speak to you like that!” He exclaimed, nostrils flaring.
I banged my fist on the desk and shouted back, “You think I didn’t want to cuss his ass out, find him, and tear every one of his limbs off his body. I want nothing more for him to have a slow and painful death.” Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes I calmed myself down. I needed to make sure my head stayed focused.
“I need to get Bella back and that means giving this man what he wants. Her safety is the most important.”
I called Robert, my private investigator; we had gotten on a first name basis after speaking with each other too many times to count throughout the week. Explaining in great detail the events that took place over the phone, he agreed to meet me to go over a plan. Ms. Brenda, Alex, Mr. Garett, Robert, and I all crowded around my cell phone as the first text came in. It was the address of the drop off. A few minutes later, a picture of Bella appeared on my screen.
“Son of a bitch!” I exclaimed. That motherfucker had put his hands on her. In the picture, Bella had bruises covering her face. I had no clue what the rest of her body looked like. I prayed that she and the baby were okay.
We debated until it was time to act on who was doing what. No cops could get involved, it would be all on us. Alex and Robert were going to rescue Bella and get her to the hospital. I didn’t like the fact that my brother would be the first one to see her, given the fact that I knew that he was in love with her. He never said this to my face, but I know how a man in love acted. Every time she was around, he would give her the same look that I would, love and affection. I love my brother, but I be damn if I let him think she was his. The only thing he needed to do is to get her to the hospital and then fall back. And I needed to make this man pay with his life for what he had done. He would never lay a hand on her again. It was my job to protect Bella. A job I had failed at doing in the past. I plan on this being my redemption.
