Chapter 18: Am I the victim or the villain
Amber had set out that morning with a heart full of excitement and anticipation. Her eagerness to visit her father at the hospital had made her almost skip down the street, with Cole in tow, who was determined to keep up with her. Their laughter had filled the air, but their joy was cruelly shattered when they were suddenly yanked into a waiting car.
In an instant, Amber found herself trapped, a handkerchief pressed to her nose, and the world around her spun into darkness. The last thing she saw and heard was the sound of Cole struggling.
When she awoke, it was in an opulent room that seemed to belong in a different world altogether. Amber held Cole close to her chest, the terror still fresh in her mind, as a man with a burn scar on his face entered the room.
"Oh, my nephew and niece, how nice to see you," the man cooed, his words dripping with an eerie friendliness. "You must know I had not wanted us to meet like this, but your grandparents would not have agreed. I missed you so much, and I have the right to get to know you, so I had to do it this way. Sorry for the inconvenience."
Amber's voice trembled as she asked, "You kidnapped us because you're our uncle?"
"Yes, I thought we already established that," he replied, his unsettling smile never leaving his face. "I am your daddy's daddy's older brother. But I was also best friends with your mum and dad. We were inseparable."
Amber pressed further, her disbelief evident. "Well, my dad never told me about you, and I didn't know Caleb had an uncle."
Her question seemed to ignite a fierce anger in the man. He shouted and kicked the bed frame, causing Amber to cower back in fear. His sudden mood swings left her on edge.
"Silence!" he roared, his outburst causing Amber to recoil. "Of course, they wouldn't have mentioned it. They betrayed me. It's all their fault!"
Terrified, Amber nodded in agreement, wanting to avoid provoking him further. As he continued to destroy objects in the room in a fit of rage, Amber and Cole huddled on the bed, keeping their distance.
Suddenly, he stopped and straightened up, as if nothing had happened.
"I'm sorry, darlings. Did I scare you?" he asked, his tone shifting once more. "I would never hurt you. You have no reason to fear me. Granduncle would never hurt you." she says scratching Cole from Amber and patting his head
Reluctantly, he released Cole, who had been fidgeting uncomfortably in the man's grasp. Cole ran to Amber, and together, they watched cautiously as their enigmatic kidnapper prepared to lead them somewhere else.
As they followed him, Amber couldn't shake the feeling that they were entangled in something far more complicated and dangerous than they could ever have imagined.
Micheal was nice to them he avoided being provoked and took them for work in the garden acting as if they were a family.
...
Lilian had spent the entire day wracked with worry, the police's search efforts yielding no clues about the kidnapper's identity or whereabouts. As evening descended, her anxiety only intensified.
It was 7:30 when the doorbell rang, and her heart leaped into her throat. Rushing to the door, she opened it to find both Amber and Cole standing there. For a moment, shock held her in its grip before she finally reacted.
"Oh my goodness, are you okay?" Lilian asked frantically, her motherly instincts taking over as she checked them over. Her relief was palpable as she ushered them inside the house.
"Yes, we're fine," Amber replied, her voice quivering slightly with the aftereffects of their ordeal. "He didn't hurt us."
"Uncle Micheal was so nice," Cole chimed in, his excitement bubbling up as he recounted their strange day. "We had so much fun playing with him. He even said to apologize to you for taking us without permission."
Tears welled up in Lilian's eyes as she hugged both of her children tightly. The relief of having them back safe and sound was overwhelming.
"He's right, you know," Amber added after a moment. "He didn't hurt us or do anything... dangerous. He was different and weird, but not a threat. He tried to avoid getting angry in front of us. He called us family."
"So he did nothing to endanger you," Lilian whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"No, he said it was a warning, not to us, but to the entire company," Amber explained. "He said, 'Your family situation is special. I won't come for you guys the same way I come for those cannon folders.' He seemed almost... nice."
Amber and Cole's accounts left Lilian with mixed emotions. The relief of having them back was immense, but the unsettling nature of their captor's behavior left her with more questions than answers.
"It's okay, go to sleep. We'll talk tomorrow," Lilian reassured them, tucking them into their beds with a heavy heart. "We'll figure this out together."
Both Amber and Cole nodded, their eyes heavy with exhaustion, but sleep didn't come easily to any of them that night.
...
The room was dimly lit as Michael received the news of Amber and Cole's safe return. His chilling smile barely wavered as he gave the order to release the videos. The man who had delivered the update quickly left the room, and Michael rose from his seat. With a sense of purpose, he walked to another wing of the mansion, where an uneasy reunion awaited.
Upon entering the room, Michael's gaze settled on the man who sat there, a shadow of his former self. Mr. Noah Lane, once a powerful figure, had been reduced to a broken soul since his wife's death. His voice quivered as he questioned Michael's unexpected presence.
"Why are you here? Better yet, why am I here, why haven't you killed me
Noah asked, his eyes reflecting a complex mixture of fear and confusion.
Michael's response was cold and calculated. "I'm not here to kill you, brother. Death is not the way to punish someone like you."
Perplexed, Noah inquired further, "Then what are you going to do?"
A sinister smile tugged at the corners of Michael's lips as he revealed his intentions. "I need to hit you where it hurts the most, and that's your family, isn't it?"
"Micheal," he began, almost pleading, "only our mother and I were involved. You should leave this generation out of it."
Michael's response, however, was far from merciful. He retorted, "Really, but did you know they dragged my generation into it... My wife, whom I married in secret to protect her, was pregnant. But what did they do? They murdered her in cold blood. I came home to see her lying in her blood and that of my child."
The gravity of Michael's revelation left Noah speechless, his eyes widening in disbelief. "I... I didn't know," he stammered.
"Of course, you don't," Michael continued, his voice dripping with resentment. "They knew you wouldn't have let it go if you knew. So they hid it from you. But I might accept your request. I will let your grandson live, but your son and his fiancée need to die so the soul of my wife can rest in peace."
As Michael lingered at the door, he delivered a final chilling statement. "She can't stay; she needs to go."
Noah, though bewildered by the revelation, couldn't help but feel the weight of his brother's anger and determination. The room seemed to close in on him as he grappled with the horrifying consequences of a past he had never fully understood.
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