***
Meanwhile, Alicia and Frederick go to a store to buy some food because the man has almost nothing to eat at home. The woman has already moved out of the hotel and moved into the home of her niece and her grandfather with her stuff. She is now living with them and doing her best to support Raquelle, who needs the support of her close people as much as never ever. While the girl is sitting at home and does not want to go anywhere, Alicia and Frederick went to a large supermarket that is located not far from the man’s home. They are slowly walking between shelves with various products and putting something in their shopping cart that every one of them pushes forward. Quiet music is playing in the store and does not get anyone tense and helps people relax a little. And there is no fuss or rush today, judging by the fact that only fewer people are walking here. Looking for products, chemical agents, and some other things that would be needed to take care of the home, Alicia is telling Frederick about her yesterday talk with Terrence. But she decides to say nothing about some facts about the story that the man told her and let him know that Raquelle left her boyfriend for a great reason. “Something like that…” Alicia says thoughtfully. “Raquelle got mad at Terrence because he shouted at her for the first time, blamed her for the fact that Simon was threatening everybody, his mother felt bad after that man’s call.” “Oh, my God…” Frederick sighs tiredly. “And the reason why he was so mad was the fact that Simon made him believe that my girl was cheating on him with her familiar policeman.” “That’s how…” “But Terrence couldn’t find the courage to tell her that for a long time and said everything when they told each other many bad things and blamed each other for being a bad partner.” “I see…” “So, that’s the story. That’s what he told me.” “By the way, what happened to Mrs. MacClife?” Frederick asks, taking a colorful packet of milk, kefir, or something like that from a shelf and putting it in the shopping cart. “Something serious?” “The blood pressure went up. The poor woman got too excited and felt bad. But thank God, doctors came just in time and gave her first aid.” “That’s good!” “Yeah, that’s what Ringer did to her! She wasn’t able to get her blood pressure by herself.” “Listen, I still don’t understand how Simon got the numbers and addresses of Raquelle’s friends and relatives.” “Nobody knows it. Even Terrence can say nothing.” “Our girl is not stupid enough to give them to everyone. And there are no betrayers in her circle.” “No, no, come on! It’s not Raquelle!” “Of course, I’ve got one assumption…” “What?” “Raquelle’s fame. It may probably have to do with what’s happening.” “But how?” “Well…” Frederick says nothing for two seconds. “You can get an address where a celebrity lives.” “Yeah, but you wouldn’t be able to get into their homes because there are many cameras and bodyguards.” “And what? The important thing is that you know! You don’t have to get into there! Moreover, when a person gets the number of a famous person, no guards will save them.” “Hm, quite possible…” Alicia takes a little pack of either oatmeal or buckwheat from the shelf, on which there is a large table with beautiful big letters that say “SALE 25%”. “But how is that possible? How could someone actually get someone’s number?” “I don’t know it,” Frederick replies thoughtfully. “But I don’t exclude that some computer hackers have to do with that.” “Hackers?” “Yeah, who knows what those genius people would come up with. Progress never stops. The world is getting developed, and people are learning something new.” “Well, maybe, if Simon had a familiar hacker, he could think up something…” “Who knows, Alicia… But I think hackers really have to do with this situation.” “I don’t know, Mr. Cameron… I’m actually bad at these technologies.” Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Frederick and Alicia go by some shelves, on many of which it’s possible to see various products with a different discount. And it should be noted that they are very popular because people actively take cookies, buns, and some frozen food that do not take a lot of time to cook. So, the man and the woman cannot go by them, closely examine the assortment, take what they like much more, and put it in the shopping cart. “Nevertheless,” Frederick pronounces thoughtfully. “If Terrence and Raquelle really fought because one shouted at another and blamed them for all the sins and even a betrayer, they did a too stupid thing.” “Stupid?” Alicia wonders. “No, I know that similar fights happen to any couple, it does not happen once. But ending a relationship because of these things crosses, excuse me, all the lines.” “Don’t forget that they aren’t too experienced,” Alicia replies confidently, taking a yogurt from a shelf and starting to read something on the label. “They don’t know much about a together life. So to say, they haven’t learned to understand some things.” “You know, my late wife and I also fought because of stupid things at times. But Rosella and I could always come to an understanding and recognize when we were wrong. And that marriage was also the first one for us.” “I will not hide – my late husband and I could also argue about something. But we never had such serious conflicts that would’ve made Dominick and I wish to split up.” “It’s hurt that young people take relationships so easily. They want and get married. They want and get divorced. They want and get married again. But everyone used to get married once and for life. My parents lived for fifty years before their death, but now young people do not live in a marriage for at least one year.” “These two didn’t just know what being together meant. They didn’t know what a relationship was. They didn’t know how to save it.” “Who knows, Alicia? You and I knew nothing about it, as well! And it’s alright! We lived somehow! And we were very happy! If my wife and your late husband were alive, we would live very well and would not even think of divorce. Or as the youth love doing it now, living separately. And going to psychologists that get money out of you but do not help you.” Frederick shakes his head. “People used to live very well without them. But I know why! Because everyone was busy with their business: a man was working too hard to provide for his family, and a woman was watching her children and husband, keeping them fed, washed and dressed up, and making sure everything was clean and in order.” “Do not grumble, Mr. Cameron,” Alicia pronounces softly. “Early or late, these two will learn to solve their problems without going on different sides after every single fight. And understand that it’s impossible to always live in peace. Fights and misunderstandings are an absolutely fine things.” “Yeah, but Raquelle and Terrence’s case is not fine,” Frederick replies confidently. “Either they’re really silly and don’t know they should solve their problems together instead of running away from them and breaking up. Or there’s another reason that could make my granddaughter leave her former boyfriend’s house, come to me with tears, and beg me for letting her live with me.” “Well, I told you what I learned from Terrence.” Alicia clears her throat quickly. “When the servant told me how hard they were fighting almost every day, and this man didn’t miss a chance to show my niece his superiority, I was ready to strangle him with my own hands. But then I talked to him and saw that he was really regretting and trying to fix his mistakes so hard.” “But I’m much more perplexed because Terrence was silent about Simon, who blamed Raquelle for cheating on her boyfriend,” Frederick confesses confidently. “What was hard about telling her all the truth? They could’ve talked about it on that day! So, that man realized that someone played the fool with him! And everything would’ve been fine! No breakup would’ve happened!” “Oh, Mr. Cameron, I’ve got the same opinion as yours,” Alicia says confidently and puts a pack of fresh and bright green apples in the shopping cart. “But at the same time, I feel sorry for that man. Because Terrence didn’t want to do all of that.” “Well, wanted or not, but he will have to explain too much. When I go to his home and make him explain everything personally to me. I want to see what kind of arguments he would find to make me sure he deserves forgiveness.” “Don’t be so categorical, Mr. Cameron.” “I am more than sure he didn’t tell you everything. I am sure there is something that he did not mention.” “I also thought he would lie to me and find some excuses. But no! Terrence honestly told me everything and confessed all the charges.” “Not all of them.” “I think you just need to look at Terrence and see what kind of condition he has now. That man is not what you saw him before. He looks devastated and a little hesitant. He did even begin to slouch somehow. As if he wants to be invisible to everyone…” “Alright, let’s not talk about our opinions. Now we need to think not about him, but about how to help Raquelle get over her condition. And finally persuade her to go to the police and report Simon.” “It’s going to be very hard…” Alicia slightly fixes her glasses and looks around quickly. “I tried to persuade her in all ways. Raquelle says she wants to deal with him alone. And she naively believes she would make him sure to give up.” “Oh, gosh, what a headstrong girl she is…” Frederick moans quietly. “Headstrong, silly, and naive girl.” “That’s right…” And while Alicia and Frederick make purchases, someone sends a message on the woman’s mobile phone. But she does not notice it because she is very busy shopping, examining many products, and talking to the man. But a little later, when both of them find some products they need, go to the cash and stand in a short line, she takes her phone to check incoming calls and messages. Turning on the phone screen, Alicia reads a notification about getting a new message literally ten minutes ago. “Oh, it seems like someone sent me a message…” Alicia says thoughtfully. “Ten minutes ago…” Alicia unlocks her phone, checks the list of incoming messages, and starts reading what someone sent her: “Alicia, it’s Terrence. I’m sorry for bothering you, but I need to talk to you. It’s very important to me and your niece. Please, do not refuse to meet me and talk about the current situation.” After reading the message from start to end, Alicia frowns slightly and thinks about something for two seconds. “So, what did you receive?” Frederick asks, putting the purchases on a special conveyor belt while some people in the line are waiting for a seller to scan the purchases and accept the payment. “Did some idiots send bullshit again?” “Nope, it’s from Terrence,” Alicia confesses. “From Terrence? What does he want?” “He’s texting that he wants to meet me and talk about something that has to do with Raquelle…” “That’s how.” “As I understand, he wants to know everything that happened.” “Or he wants to say he’s madly ashamed of his behavior. And he wants to try to make us sure to change Raquelle’s mind and let him meet her.” “My God, Mr. Cameron, why are you so bad to him?” “I’m just sure that he is hiding something from us.” “Be sure, if you talked to him a little, you would change your mind.” “Well, I don’t know, Alicia, I don’t know… This situation gets me tense.” Alicia says nothing, sighs heavily, thinks about something for two seconds, and reads the message from Terrence again. “I must confess that he is not a stupid guy,” Alicia notices confidently. “He knows who he could ask for help! I know enough about what’s happening in Raquelle’s life.” “So, would you agree to meet him or decline his plea?” Frederick asks. After thinking for two seconds, Alicia nods confidently, saying: “Yes, I will tell him. I will tell him everything I know.” “Are you sure?” Frederick frowns slightly. “I will do this for the well-being of my niece.” “I doubt that she needs his help.” “Yeah, but I think he can do something.” “Alright, let’s see what he can do.” “But Raquelle should know nothing about this meeting.” “Don’t you want to tell her?” “Yes. So, please, say nothing to her about it.” “Alright, I will say nothing.” “Oh, my God…” Alicia sighs heavily. “I feel like I’m playing a double game by supporting Raquelle and trying to help Terrence… But now he is the only one we can ask for help.” “Maybe, you’re right,” Frederick says thoughtfully. “But I don’t trust him much.” “Anyway, I shall meet him.” “Then I will go with you, too.” “Go with me?” Alicia rounds her eyes. “Yes. I really want to look into Terrence’s eyes. See his insolent face.” “Mr. Cameron…” “I think it’s a very good chance to wash his brains and wake him up.” “But…” “And don’t try to change my mind!” Frederick raises his index finger. “I will go with you and say everything I think of that man. And if I know he hurt my granddaughter much more, I swear MacClife will pay me for that.” “Oh…” Alicia sighs tiredly. “I will call Terrence now and agree with him about a meeting.” “If he wants to meet right now, we should leave all the purchases at home first.” “Let’s pay for everything, and then I will call him.” Before contacting Terrence and agreeing with him about a meeting, Alicia and Frederick pay some money for the things that a cashier scans quickly enough. They sort all the purchases into packets for a few seconds and then leave the supermarket. Every one of them is carrying two packets filled to the up. “Isn’t hard for you?” Alicia asks. “Maybe, I better carry everything?” “No, no, it’s fine!” Frederick exclaims. “They’re light!” “Your back would hurt.” “It’s fine, it’s alright. Don’t worry.” Some time later, Alicia and Frederick come to the car of Raquelle, who let them use it at any time to go wherever they need and not to spend much money on a taxi. While the man opens the trunk of the car and starts carefully putting the packets, the man takes her mobile phone from a purse, types the number she needs, and starts waiting for the answer. That she gets quickly enough… “Hello,” Terrence’s voice pronounces on the phone. “Hello, Terrence, it’s Alicia,” Alicia says quietly. “Hello, Alicia.” “I’ve just read your message.” “Yes, I sent it to you.” “Sorry for not answering you earlier. I just saw it.” “It’s alright. I’m sorry for bothering you, but I need to meet you and talk about Raquelle and Simon.” “Yes, yes, I got it.” “Could you meet me somewhere in the city?” “Yes, of course, I agree to meet you,” Alicia shrugs. “Great!” “Say, wouldn’t you mind if Mr. Cameron went with me, as well?” “Mr. Cameron?” Terrence stutters for two seconds, getting a little nervous. “Erm, no… I don’t mind. He can come with you. I… I would explain everything to him.” “So, excellent.” “Good! In this case, when and where could you meet me?” “We can go to your home if you want.” “No, don’t go to my home. There are too many people here, and I don’t want someone to hear our talk.” “Alright. Where would we meet? You choose!” “Could we meet in a summer café, ‘The Resistance?’” “Erm, yeah, sure. No problem.” “Do you know where it is?” “No, but I think Mr. Cameron knows. If he does not, we will ask someone or call a taxi.” “Good. Let’s meet there.” “Could we meet there in one hour?” “One hour?” Terrence thinks for two seconds. “Great! I will have time to come.” “Alright, see you in one hour then.” “See you.” Terrence finishes the talk, while Alicia puts the phone in her purse and turns on Frederick, who finishes putting all the packets in the trunk. “So what?” Frederick frowns slightly. “It’s great,” Alicia nods confidently. “We’re meeting him in one hour at the café ‘The Resistance.’” “‘The Resistance?’” Frederick asks. “Do you know where it is?” “I know! It's a good café. They cook delicious food. And that café is very quiet.” “That’s what we need to talk about everything.” “It’s located not far from one small park where I sometimes love walking.” “Great, would you show me a way?” “No problem!” “Excellent!” “So, let’s do something…” Frederick suggests thoughtfully. “Let’s go home, leave all the purchases there, and go to the café.” “And see Raquelle…” Alicia adds. “She’s lately looked not very good.” “Did you notice it, too?” “Even a blind person would see something is not right with her.” “If only she didn’t get sick. She might get worse because of worrying and then have to go to doctors.” “It’s gonna happen if Simon keeps hurting her like this and doesn’t wish to stop.” “Ar-r-r, I wish I could strangle that asshole with my own hands,” Frederick growls quietly. “Alright, let’s go. Let’s leave all the purchases at your home.” “Yeah, let’s go.” A few seconds later, Frederick and Alicia get into the car: the woman sits on the driver’s seat, and the man sits on the passenger’s one. She starts the motor, presses the gas pedal, slowly leaves the parking lot, and goes on the road, on which they are going to go to the home of Raquelle’s grandfather. While on the way, both of them think about the upcoming meeting with Terrence very much. Alicia is going to do her best to help that man get off Simon once and forever. And Frederick, who is not going to be nice to that person, wants to look into the eyes of the ex-boyfriend of his granddaughter and find out if that one really regrets everything he did. “We will see how much you’re regretting…” Frederick thinks, frowning strongly. “If you managed to wash the brains of Alicia and make her believe in your regret, it’s not going to work with me. It’s not going to work, MacClife. I will not be good. And if I know you did something much worse towards my granddaughter, I shall tear you apart. If you dare to come to Raquelle, you will have to deal with me! For my sweetheart, I would tear anyone! Even if I’m no longer young and strong. You will pay for all your sins as well as Ringer. I promise…” While Frederick is thinking about something and later decides to distract and check something in the glove box of the car, Alicia is closely watching the road and praying that the man does not know Terrence raised a hand on Raquelle somehow. “No matter what, I want to help Terrence and Raquelle,” Alicia thinks. “It’s for her better! I’m going to meet him just for her. Not only for a wish to get off Ringer as soon as possible. But also for a wish to help them maybe, not reconcile but at least try to establish their relationship. I see my girl is not indifferent to him, even if she denies everything. I think Raquelle is already regretting breaking up with him. She definitely started to realize she actually felt something for that man. So, I wanna help her figure out her feelings. I wanna make sure she won’t regret anything when it’s too late to change something.” Alicia sighs very quietly, glancing at Frederick, who is looking at something on a piece of paper through his glasses. “And I truly hope Mr. Cameron wouldn’t know the reason for Terrence and Raquelle’s conflict was the fact that he slapped her,” Alicia expresses hope. “He must not know it… He shouldn't get excited… The situation is too tense. He’d better think the case is about the fact that they don’t know how to solve their problems. And I hope Terrence won't say a word about it. Or that man would get Mr. Cameron really mad… I hope he understands it well.” Alicia really wants to help Raquelle and Terrence forget about their offenses at least for a while to sit down, talk about everything quietly and make a decision about their future, not being obsessed with negative emotions and pain. Of course, she is not sure these two would reconcile and be happy together, even if they have a love for each other. But she has a little hope that their feelings will get a victory over Terrence and Raquelle’s wish to go on different sides and help them at least try to start everything again and become the couple that they should have been from the beginning.***
A few minutes later, Alicia and Frederick drive to the skyscraper, where the man’s apartment is. Leaving the car in the parking lot, where there are already some transports, the woman and he get the packets with purchases out of the trunk and then enter the building. When they go up to the latest floor and welcome some familiar people on the way, Frederick opens the door with a key that he takes from a pocket of his coat. The case is that when Alicia and he were leaving the apartment, Raquelle was lying in bed and did not want to get up to lock the door. When they enter the apartment, Alicia notices it’s very quiet here, and one of the doors is locked. Has been locked since the morning… That’s the door that leads to the room of Raquelle, who has not probably left it, has been lying in the bed, and thinking of something very dark. “Jesus Christ, that girl is starting to scare me…” Alicia shows anxiety in a whisper, putting her purse on the sofa in the living room. “She’s lying on the bed all day long and crying.” “And she doesn’t almost eat anything,” Frederick confesses. “I haven't seen her eating well enough.” At this moment, Alicia and Frederick can easily hear the quiet sobs that Raquelle makes while being in the locked room. “She doesn’t get out of the bed and go anywhere,” Frederick says thoughtfully. “Raquelle has been like this for two days,” Alicia notices. “My God, if only she didn’t get sick! If only she didn’t get herself exhausted and didn’t get her health worse due to the stress.” “Maybe, we bring her to a doctor?” Alicia suggests with a scare in her eyes. “If that girl keeps torturing herself and bringing herself to stress, we will have to do this,” Frederick replies thoughtfully. “Oh, my God…” Alicia sighs heavily. “Please, pity the poor girl…” “Yeah, she didn’t do anything bad to suffer like this.” “I’m so worried about her.” “How worried I am! My heart is bleeding when I see her like this.” “She might not get better even if she got off Simon.” “That’s what scares me.” “Oh, my gosh…” Alicia sighs heavily again, and Frederick shakes his head with sadness in his eyes. “Okay, let’s try to talk to her about it later,” Frederick says quietly. “Now let’s put all the purchases in drawers and the refrigerator.” “Yeah, and then go to the meeting with Terrence…” Alicia agrees thoughtfully. Deciding to put all the thoughts aside, Alicia and Frederick take their packets and go to the kitchen. Then the woman and the man start putting all the purchases in drawers and the refrigerator. It takes not more than twenty minutes to do it. When everything is finally put in the right places, Alicia takes her purse that she left on the sofa in the living room and leaves the apartment along with Frederick, who locks the hall door with the thought that Raquelle would not do this herself. After quickly going down and ending up outside, the woman sets on the driver’s seat, and the man sits on the passenger’s seat. She starts the motor and carefully goes on the road, going to go to the café where they are going to meet Terrence and talk to him about everything he wants to know. Alicia and Frederick do not spend a lot of time on the way as the roads are free, and they do not have to get stuck in a traffic jam. So, they are driving to the small park that the man meant, and the woman looks around. “Is that the café?” Alicia specifies. “Yes, it is,” Frederick nods confidently. “Great! Let’s leave the car in the parking lot and then go.” “Oh, leave it there!” With these words, Frederick points at one of the free places in the parking lot where Alicia leaves the car. Then she takes her purse and leaves the salon along with the man. After locking Raquelle’s car, the woman puts the keys in her purse and goes to the café along with the man. When they enter it, they look around and quickly notice Terrence sitting at one of the tables and looking through the window with sadness in his eyes. However, he moves his eyes aside in time, sees Raquelle’s relatives, who have just come, gets up from the table, and comes to them confidently. “Hello again, Alicia,” Terrence says gently. “Thank you for finding time to talk to me.” “I knew you would ask me to meet you someday,” Alicia confesses quietly, shaking Terrence by the hand. “Hello, Mr. Cameron,” Terrence greets much more hesitantly. “Hello, hello,” Frederick pronounces a little coldly and shakes Terrence by the hand he gave him with reluctance. “Glad to see you.” “That’s how! So, I’m glad you did not forget how to be gentle. I already started to appreciate you for it.” “Erm…” Terrence feels great awkwardness and does not feel good because of the gloomy look of Frederick, who crosses his arms over his chest. Maybe, this man would teach the man, who gets diffident and a little white from fear, a lesson. But since they are in the café, the old man tries to hold himself down and be as correct as his offense allows. Because of the silence that settles in the air, Alicia also starts feeling terribly awkward and is afraid something bad might happen right now. That’s why she tries to take the situation under her control and not to let anything bad happen. “Erm, alright, let’s sit at a table and talk about everything quietly,” Alicia suggests. “Let’s not stand here. Bother people.” Terrence nods and goes to the table he was sitting at before along with Alicia and Frederick. When they sit down, a waiter comes to them a few seconds later with a notebook and a pen in his hands. “Good afternoon, what do you want to order?” the waiter asks. “Erm, a cup of a strong coffee with no sugar,” Alicia says gently. “Same for me, please,” Frederick says. “Erm…” Terrence stutters and glances at Alicia and Frederick, biting his lip slightly. “I…” Terrence moves his eyes to the waiter. “Same for me, too, please,” Terrence says thoughtfully. “Alright,” the waiter nods and takes a note in the notebook. “Something else?” “No. We will tell you if we want something.” “Alright, your order will be done soon. Please, wait for two minutes.” The waiter turns around and leaves quite quickly. Alicia and Frederick watch him and understand they can finally start a talk with Terrence. To be clear, he can start asking them all the questions he has. “You said you wanted to talk to us,” Alicia says quietly. “Yeah, it’s true,” Terrence confirms not very confidently, trying to look at Frederick and Alicia as rarely as possible. “I want to ask you very much…” “You can speak. Mr. Cameron and I are closely listening to you. We will answer all your questions.” “First, I want to ask a question… Did you find out where Raquelle decided to hide?” “We did,” Alicia replies quietly. “So, where?” “We will not tell you that.” “No?” “You shouldn’t be worried about her,” Frederick says confidently. “She is not alone and not deprived of our support.” “Is she living in your apartment? Right, Mr. Cameron?” Alicia says nothing and glances at Frederick. “Erm…” Frederick stutters. “She…” Alicia pronounces hesitantly. “You can say nothing,” Terrence says more confidently. “I already understood that Raquelle was hiding there. I don’t know why I didn’t guess it before, but she had no other places to go. Her friends would not help her because she does not speak to them.” “Well… Yeah… It’s… True.” “Please, don’t worry. I promise I will not call her and will not even come to visit her and try to catch her where you are living.” “Will you really not come?” Alicia frowns slightly. “No, no, really. Now it’s not time to talk. And I’m not ready to talk to her… And I wouldn’t like to see her now.” “That’s right,” Frederick throws gloomily, crossing his arms over his chest. “You have nothing to do at my home. But if you come, I will not let you in.” At this moment, the waiter comes to the table, on which Terrence, Frederick, and Alicia are sitting, and gives them three cups of coffee, which he places in front of them. “Here is your order!” the waiter says with a slight smile. “Thanks,” Alicia, Frederick, and Terrence pronounce at the same time. “Bon appétit.” The waiter turns around and leaves to do something quickly enough with the empty plate in his hands. “Do not worry, Mr. Cameron,” Terrence says quietly with sadness in his eyes. “I will not bother you.” “I hope,” Frederick pronounces coldly. Terrence says nothing and takes a sip from his cup. “Say, why didn’t you want to talk to us at your home?” Alicia asks. “Because of the servants,” Terrence confesses. “They know absolutely everything that happened between Raquelle and me. Even if nobody told them anything, those women always know everything.” “Were you afraid they would overhear our talk?” “Yeah…” Terrence moves his eyes slowly to his cup of coffee, and Alicia takes a couple of sips. “Did you ask us to meet you not only to find out where Raquelle decided to hide?” Alicia specifies. “Am I right?” “Yeah, you’re right,” Terrence nods and thinks for two seconds. “So, what’s the reason?” “I was thinking about our talk we had the day before yesterday. After that, I made absolutely sure that I should’ve helped Raquelle in any way.” “I’m glad if you really did.” “Yeah, but sadly, I don’t know everything that has lately happened to her. So… I would like you to tell me everything you know. I want to know what I could grab first.” Alicia says nothing and, frowning slightly, looks at Frederick sitting next to her. “Are you sure?” Frederick asks gloomily. “Do you really want to try to help?” “I am,” Terrence nods confidently. “Or are you going to talk to the wind and eventually leave Raquelle at the worst moment? Just like you did it some time ago! You promised her very much but left her in the end!” “Listen, Mr. Cameron, I completely understand you are mad at me because of my disgusting behavior towards your granddaughter.” “Oh, disgusting is too soft to say!” “But I swear, I’m really regretting everything I did,” Terrence says with pity in his eyes. “And I am not going to leave her in trouble this time.” “Nobody can guarantee that you are not lying now.” “I am not lying!” “Moreover, you are an actor. Playing a role is very easy for you. Everyone knows you can play any person so well that people will believe it.” “It’s not an act of an actor! My word!” “Someone’s word can’t always be honest.” “Now I’m real. Not the fake version of mine. And I really want to make amends to your granddaughter and prove to you that you can trust me. I am not as terrible and mean as everyone thinks.” “You made everyone think so.” “Yes, I did a disgusting thing, I don’t dare to deny it. But I’m really trying to get better! Trying to prove that I’m sorry by doing something, not saying words.” “Trying?” “Trying.” “So, we are giving you a chance,” Frederick sighs quietly. “But it will be very hard for you to make at least me sure you are really regretting.” “But I’m really very sorry.” “And remember very well, my dear Terrence, if you dare to leave Raquelle alone after such loud words, you will have to talk with me,” Frederick says confidently. “You will never be able to come to my granddaughter. Because I will not let you do it. And I will protest against her reunion with you. My granddaughter does not need the one to talk to the wind. I can give her only to the one, who can keep his promise.” “I understood you very well, Mr. Cameron,” Terrence replies quietly and confidently. “Be quiet, I will not betray you not for anything.” “We will see, MacClife. I am closely watching you.” Silence settles in the air for two or three seconds, during which all three drink some coffee from their cups, and Alicia decides to meddle in Frederick and Terrence’s conservation and change the subject. “So…” Alicia pronounces thoughtfully. “Do you want us to tell you everything we know about Simon and Raquelle?” “Yes, Alicia,” Terrence nods. “Please, tell me everything you know.” With these words, Terrence puts his hands on the table and folds them in front of himself, and Alicia sighs heavily, saying; “Alright, Terrence, we shall tell you everything we know.” Alicia thinks for two seconds, biting her lip slightly. “Say, what’s the last thing you know about this story?” “Well…” Terrence stutters. “The last thing I know is… Simon is going to keep torturing Raquelle until she loses her strength to resist.” “Yes, that's true,” Alicia confirms confidently. “Simon really decided to get Raquelle as exhausted as possible.” Alicia takes one more sip of coffee. “Because of him, everybody turned their backs on Raquelle,” Alicia confesses. “As far as I know, that man doesn’t hurt the close people of my niece. He just scares them and makes them sure to turn their backs on her because she is the one to blame for everything and also mentally ill.” “I know,” Terrence nods. “And I think you know she fought with Natalia because of what Simon did.” “Sure.” “First, I was torturing myself with guesses and had a bad presentiment. But then I received a call from Mr. Cameron, who confirmed that everything was very bad, because Raquelle went to his home with tears and told him what happened.” “Yes, yes, I got it,” Terrence nods. “That man scared Alicia and me a little by calling our numbers and starting to palaver us,” Frederick confesses. “He called both of you?” “Yes. Moreover, Simon did his best for Alicia not to find out what happened to her niece.” “What? But how?” “He just cut off the phone cable in her apartment.” “Come on?” “It’s true,” Alicia confirms. “And I accidentally crushed my mobile phone and had to buy a new one. As for the cable, I already solved this problem by calling a master, who quickly fixed everything.” “So, does that scumbag have acquaintances in London?” “I think so. And I forgot to say that I somehow received a call from his accomplice, who started to slander my niece and say she would be dead soon.” “Wow…” “I know…” Alicia falls into silence for two seconds and glances aside. “Honestly, I’m afraid to imagine what would happen if the situation got much worse.” “Did Simon do something else after that?” Terrence specifies. “No, Simon hasn’t lately been heard and seen,” Frederick meddles in the talk. “No calls, no letters… Nothing like that.” “So, didn’t he even call Raquelle?” “Nope, he called her a couple of times. Threatened her again. And told her about a lady that you were spending time with.” “Does he know about that girl?” “He does.” “And when is Ringer going to do something?” “Who the hell knows! Nobody knows when he would love to meet her face-to-face. But I think Simon wouldn’t waste too much time. It’s been quite long.” “Damn…” Terrence swears quietly. “Simon is doing his best to ruin the life of my girl,” Alicia says with sadness in her eyes, sighing heavily. “He got her to fight with all her close people, who mean much to her. Turned her against her friend, who allegedly helped Simon find her and wanted to take revenge on her because of jealousy. And he said he would keep torturing her as long as she breaks down and stops resisting.” “He said so?” Terrence rounds his eyes. “He said so.” “That man does know all the vulnerabilities of my granddaughter and uses it well,” Frederick says confidently. “And he does know she would be broken if something happened to one of her close people.” “Yeah, he is playing hard.” Alicia sighs heavily, glances aside, and takes a sip of coffee. And Terrence frowns slightly and shakes his head. “So, as I understand, almost nothing has changed lately…” Terrence says thoughtfully. “Well, actually, yes,” Alicia shrugs. “As you see, nothing special.” “Actually, I suspected something like that… I was sure Simon really wanted to do his best to destroy that poor girl.” “And it seems like he is not going to stop.” “Nasty jerkoff… He does know she would not take it. No matter how strong that girl is, Simon’s tricks are something that crosses the lines.” “That scumbag must be stopped!” Frederick exclaims. “Or my granddaughter will be dead. He will not calm down until he gets away from her.” “I know…” Terrence thinks for two seconds. “And I will use any, even the smallest chance,” Terrence promises with sadness in the eyes and swallows up nervously. “I will not leave her for the second time. Maybe, I fix my mistake somehow… That I made when leaving her at the hard moment and not trying to show interest in what was happening to her…” “Yeah, but how are you going to help her if you do not know what to grab?” Alicia throws her hands up. “Raquelle doesn’t want to see you after everything you’ve done. She would hardly love to ask you for help.” “It will not stop me.” “Even if you help her somehow, it will not mean she will wish at least to talk to you,” Frederick notices. “I was reflecting on that…” Terrence runs his hand through his hair. “Thinking very much… And I know something. I know I will make another big mistake if I let her go so easily.” “You should have thought earlier,” Frederick shrugs. “But you did and then thought.” “I know… Anyway, I do care about her life. I still worry about her. I will always do.” “She doesn’t need your sympathy, Terrence. She doesn’t need you at all.” “Don’t tell me what I know.” “But it’s the truth,” Alicia says quietly. “You should be ready that your efforts will not be worth it.” “It’s alright!” Terrence exclaims. “But my conscience would be clean. I would tell myself I would do something and do my best to help her.” “Anyway, you’re now the only one to be able to do something. My girl cannot do this all alone.” “Listen, did Raquelle report to the police about Simon?” Terrence asks. “The police?” Frederick asks. “Erm, no, she didn’t!” “No?” “She refused to report him. She is afraid that the man would kill her or someone of her close people…” “She would hardly love to get the help of the police,” Alicia says confidently. “Raquelle is afraid of Ringer. Who knows what that sick bastard could come up with… Maybe, he actually wants, heaven forbids, to kill her.” “Didn’t she talk to the policeman, whom she wanted to ask for help?” Terrence specifies. “Erm… No, as far as I know.” “It’s weird…” “Is that true they agreed about a meeting, but it never happened?” “Yes. On the day Simon showed up, Raquelle called him. That policeman said he wasn’t in the USA at that moment and promised to be back at the nearest time and meet her. But when she was living with me, that man never called her. As if he forgot about his promises.” “Could something happen to him?” Frederick shows anxiety. “Do you think Simon could do something to him? He could find out something about that Hunter? It seems like it’s his name…” “He could do something not to let him contact Raquelle. Just like in Alicia’s case.” “Yeah, maybe!” Alicia nods confidently. “Honestly, I don’t count on him much,” Terrence confesses. “You say the name of that policeman is Hunter?” Frederic specifies. “Yeah,” Terrence shrugs. “Listen, I remember that Raquelle somehow had an admirer that had the same name. That man was in love with my granddaughter for a long time and was trying to get her attention. But she considered him just a friend.” “But the man was very good,” Alicia says thoughtfully. “I didn’t see him personally, but I know enough about him thanks to Mr. Cameron.” “I’m sorry she didn’t pay attention to him. He was a good guy. Hunter was one of those, who really deserved to be with Raquelle.” “The one you are talking about and the policeman are the same person,” Terrence confesses. “That’s how?” “Yes. Do you mean Hunter Lynwood?” “Yes, him.” “Raquelle somehow said that man was in love with her. And she was sure he was still not indifferent to her.” “That’s how?” “Yeah… Judging by their talk.” “Anyway, we can stop waiting for her to go to the police,” Frederick assumes quietly. “Simon is going to be blackmailing her by making her feel much worse or really killing her. Raquelle thinks she is going to be in great danger if she asks the police for help. I don’t think she would love to get much more problems.” “I agree, she’d rather prefer meeting him face-to-face,” Terrence says thoughtfully. “If my neighbor hadn’t persuaded Raquelle to go to the police and called them at my home, my niece would’ve done nothing when Eleanor Woodham decided to deal with me,” Alicia replies confidently. “We can’t let her stay without the protection of the police. Who knows what that man would come up with. Trust me, I know Simon very well… And I’m sure he would do anything for his goal… Anything…” Alicia and Frederick stare at Terrence with horror in their eyes after his last words, which really scare them. “Do you want to say Simon would really try to…” Alicia wants to say and falls sharply into silence because she is not able to keep speaking. “Kill her?” Terrence specifies hesitantly. “Y-yes…” “Yes, he could do this. I mean, I don’t doubt it’s one of the missions on his list.” “Jesus Christ…” Frederick shakes his head. “So, what do we do?” Alicia wonders with horror in her eyes. “We’ve gotta save Raquelle somehow! My girl is in great danger! If she goes to the meeting with him, nobody will be able to rescue her.” “Even we will not be able to help her,” Frederick adds. “Despite our efforts, everything may be worthless if Alicia and I do not know what’s going on.” “Persuade her to go to the police,” Terrence insists. “In any way. Or you will not see her anymore.” “You know her!” Alicia exclaims. “Raquelle is madly headstrong and always does what she wants.” “Anyway, we’ve got a good chance to put him in prison.” “How?” Frederick wonders. “No report – a crime is going to be free.” “No, no, I don’t mean it…” Terrence thinks for two seconds. “I should tell you something about Simon that almost nobody knows. What could be a reason to report him to the police.” “So, what do you know about him?” Alicia expresses interest. “When Raquelle had told me what Simon came up with, I met my friend from the police on the same day and explained the situation. He promised to help us, but that man asked not to write a report to the police and wait for a while. And a little later, my friend told me about Simon’s past.” “What do you know about his past?” Frederick asks. “As it turned out, people have reported Ringer many times, charging him for fraud and theft.” “Fraud?” “Yes. But I swear, I knew nothing about it. And I got surprised when my friend told me that.” “But how did Ringer become a fraud?” “As that man told me, Simon wasn’t earning his money, he was cheating on decent people and stealing everything possible from them.” “Stealing? But how? Is he a thief?” “Sort of.” Terrence takes a few sips of coffee. “The plan was the same. Simon found a victim, introduced himself as a powerful man from the show business, and promised great fame for a lot of money that he was actually supposed to spend. He introduced himself as anyone: director, producer, actor… It doesn’t matter!” Terrence drinks some coffee again. “A victim was on the top of the world from happiness and gave much money with pleasure,” Terrence says. “And when Simon got the money, he broke contact with his victim and ran away. It goes without saying, a victim got no fame and gave their money at their will.” “Wow…” Alicia resents. “How could he actually dare to cheat on people?” “He didn’t want to work and earn money in an honest way. He thought he would get very little money for that and decided to play harder.” “I wonder, how long was he doing it?” Frederick wonders. “And how much did he steal?” “Simon was using this plan for many years. Until he somehow realized he got sick of it. And he decided to get better. To become a personal driver.” “Whom you hired?” Alicia specifies. “Right. But he told me many times that he always dreamed of becoming a director. I know Ringer is a huge fan of old movies and gets pleasure from what was filmed in the twentieth century.” “I’m sure he would film some bullshit that people would dislike to death.” “Who knows.” “So, as it turned out, is Simon a long-time fraud, who might become a killer?” Frederick concludes. “It’s correct,” Terrence nods. “Ringer is by far not holy.” Alicia and Frederick say nothing for a few seconds and think about everything they just heard from Terrence. “Oh, gosh…” Frederick shakes his head with his widely open eyes. “I’ve got nothing to say…” “Is all of that really true?” Alicia wonders. “True,” Terrence confirms. “Oh, my God…” Alicia takes a couple of sips of coffee, trying to swallow up the lump that she has in her throat. “My friend from the police told me all of that,” Terrence confesses. “The police have a file on Simon, who sometimes changed his look not to get caught by the police.” “Changed his look?” Frederick wonders. “Erm… Well… Wigs, glasses, and other stuff…” “So, does it mean my niece got in touch is a fraud?” Alicia wonders. “She didn’t get in touch with him. He found her.” “But why did he decide to ruin Raquelle’s life?” Frederick wonders. “What did she do that he takes it out on her and literally tortures her in all ways?” “As Simon himself says, Raquelle should pay for all the pain she gave him,” Terrence shrugs. “What kind of pain?” “I don't know, he said so!” “But why did he decide to take revenge on her for the scandal that happened a long time ago?” Alicia wonders. “Is Simon such a vengeful and vindictive man that he is ready to take revenge on anyone, who would go against him?” “I don’t know, Alicia… I swear.” “What if there is something else that we do not know yet?” Frederick assumes. “Something else?” “Of course, I understand everything, but excuse me, it’s a stupid reason for revenge.” “Nobody denies it,” Alicia shrugs. “Something is not right. There must be something else that would explain all of his actions!” “Do you think there is a secret that connects Raquelle and Simon?” Terrence wonders. “Absolutely, yes. It’s not a secret to us that Simon slandered Raquelle one and a half years ago on purpose. We learned it thanks to her good friend and his friend. Now Ringer is revenging her and torturing my granddaughter on purpose. And if it’s so, there must be a reason why he doesn’t want to leave her alone. Everything in this world happens for a reason.” “But what could connect two absolutely different people?” “Who knows, Terrence. But I’m sure there is probably one more reason for Simon’s revenge. Maybe, even a real one.” “Actually, Mr. Cameron is right…” Alicia agrees. “Of course, that man is such a bastard, but I think he is revenging for the reason.” “Who knows…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully. “Who knows…” Terrence thinks for two seconds and then moves his eyes to Frederick and Alicia. “You know, I have come up with an idea…” Terrence confesses confidently. Alicia and Frederick look at each other and move their surprised look at Terrence. “Idea?” Frederick wonders. “What idea?” “That would help to stop that cockroach,” Terrence replies confidently. “What do you want to do?” Alicia asks. “I want to do something: when Simon asks Raquelle for a meeting somewhere, I will send my friend and his helpers there so they get that scumbag caught.” “That’s how…” Frederick pronounces thoughtfully. “It goes without saying, Raquelle will know nothing about it. In the opposite case, she might get scared and go nowhere. But we can’t let it happen.” Terrence drinks some coffee from his cup. “I think if we’re together, that jerkoff will be given to the police.” “No, Terrence!” Alicia shakes her head sharply. “You say it like everything is very easy.” “Indeed, Terrence…” Frederick agrees. “It’s very easy to say something, but the question is whether it may come true.” “But we can’t just sit and do anything!” Terrence exclaims. “What if that jerk really wants to kill Raquelle when he gets sick of torturing her in all ways. In that case, he may be more aggressive. And nobody might be able to stop him.” “I know this plane is risky and dangerous to some extent,” Terrence replies quietly. “But this is the only way to get Simon caught.” “But it would put my niece in danger,” Alicia notices confidently. “Simon could do anything to her if he saw the police.” “I think they’re smart people and would come up with something. Do their best for her not to suffer.” Frederick and Alicia say nothing and quickly look at each other. “Alright,” Frederick sighs tiredly. “Let’s assume the police would go there and try to catch Ringer. But how are you going to find out when and where he would love to meet Raquelle?” Terrence thinks for two seconds, biting his lip slightly and looking at Frederick and Alicia. “Erm, I guess…” Terrence pronounces hesitantly. “I would need your help.” “Our help?” Alicia rounds her eyes. “But what could we do?” “Nothing hard. You should just call me shortly after Simon asks Raquelle for a meeting. Just tell me where and when he would be waiting for her, and then leave everything to the police and me.” Although Terrence’s suggestion seems quite real to Alicia and Frederick, they get kind of confused. They do not know if they could trust this man and have no worries that he would lie to them and not wish to leave Raquelle in trouble at some moment. “Would you really do it?” Frederick specifies. “Wouldn’t you love to do the mean thing that you did somehow?” “No, Mr. Cameron,” Terrence shakes his head confidently. “I promise I will bring this case to an end and do my best for that jerkoff to pay for all his tricks and leave your granddaughter alone.” Alicia and Frederick think for a few seconds and look at each other as if they are wishing to know each other’s opinions. And then the woman sighs quietly and moves her eyes to Terrence, saying quietly: “Alright, Terrence. Mr. Cameron and I will do everything you want.” “But we are doing that only for the well-being of my granddaughter and for her own safety,” Frederick adds confidently. “It would be better for her,” Terrence says quietly. “And do not think you would do away with us so easily, and we would forget what you did to our sweetheart after Ringer goes where he belongs.” “I know,” Terrence cracks a slight smile. “Anyway, thank you so much. Alicia, Mr. Cameron…” “Try, my dear, try,” Alicia advises confidently. “As you made a mistake, fix it.” “I knew you wouldn’t refuse to help me.” “Mr. Cameron told you we agreed to do this just for Raquelle.” “But remember, Raquelle should know nothing about our plan. Or we can do nothing, or something may go wrong.” “Do not worry. She will know nothing.” “I will tell her nothing, as well,” Frederick promises confidently. “Thanks,” Terrence pronounces quietly. While silence settles in the air, all the three share a slight smile with each other. And then Terrence gets quite sad and moves his eyes to the half-empty cup of coffee, thinking of something not very good and starting to finger over nervously. “What's wrong?” Alicia expresses anxiety. “Are you okay, Terrence?” “Yes, I’m fine,” Terrence replies quietly and looks at Alicia with sadness in his eyes. “I'm alright…” “But why are you sad?” “Erm, I…” Terrence falls into silence for two seconds and looks at Alicia and Frederick quite hesitantly. “Mr. Cameron, Alicia… I would like to ask you something… Can I ask you a question?” “Yes, of course,” Alicia replies amicably. “Ask. We will answer you.” “Tell me…” Terrence moves his eyes to his hands for a second and then looks at Alicia and Frederick with sadness in his eyes. “How is Raquelle doing?” “Bad,” Frederick pronounces with sadness in his eyes. “Too bad…” “Bad?” “The poor girl is suffering very much because everybody left her. She is suffering because that sick asshole can’t stop mocking her. Even his silence is great torture to her.” “Sadly, she’s got nobody, who would support her, except Mr. Cameron and me,” Alicia says thoughtfully with greater sadness in her eyes. “My gosh…” Terrence shakes his head. “That’s good I decided to leave everything and come here. My heart told me that something was not right.” “Does she really feel so bad?” Terrence asks hesitantly, rounding his eyes full of horror. “Very bad. My girl always cries and does not almost leave her room. She is only lying in a bed…” “Oh, my gosh…” “My heart is bleeding while looking at her…” Alicia sighs heavily, while Frederick drinks some coffee from his cup. “I’m also worried about her,” Frederick confesses quietly. “I never saw her in such terrible condition. Even when Ringer did a dirty trick for the first time, she didn’t suffer so much.” “It seems like that bastard got what he wanted,” Terrence says thoughtfully. “He wanted to get her exhausted – you see the result!” “You know, sometimes we think she’s hiding something from us.” “Hiding? Why do you think so?” “Raquelle has lately looked too badly and almost never leaves home. She locks herself in her room and cries for hours. Yesterday, my granddaughter ate almost nothing and refused even what she always loved…” “Oh, no…” Terrence gets horrified. “Her condition scares me. I’m madly worried about her, and I sometimes don’t sleep at nights. Because I always think of her and what’s happening to her.” “You make me nervous…” “It seems like she needs a little before she breaks down and… Heaven forbid, harms herself.” “Jesus Christ, Mr. Cameron, don’t say that!” Alicia exclaims with horror in her eyes. “I don’t even want to hear that my girl might do something to her.” “I wouldn’t personally be surprised if it happened,” Terrence confesses with sadness in his eyes. “Ringer went too far.” “Please, don’t say these things! Every day, I pray to God that He helps my girl get over it and stop mocking her like this.” “If I could, I would pay for her sins,” Frederick confesses. “I would pay for all her mistakes… I would do anything to know my granddaughter is happy and healthy.” “Oh, I would also prefer suffering to knowing that she is not alright…” Alicia sighs heavily. “And the worst thing is that I don’t know what’s happening inside her because Raquelle doesn’t tell almost anything about what she feels.” “Wow…” Terrence exhales sharply, grabbing his hair with both hands. “I have nothing to say…” “And the bad thing is that my friend said she would have to get through many tests before getting peace in her life.” “Your friend?” Terrence frowns slightly. “She can read a palm. So, Raquelle somehow gave her a hand, and that woman told her something about her fate.” “And I’m starting to believe her more and more,” Frederick confesses. “All the words of your friend are coming true!” “You know…” Terrence pronounces hesitantly. “I always thought it would be easy for her because she had gotten through so much in her life. She was kind of tough… But… What’s happening now…” “So, she is not quite tough…” Frederick sighs heavily. “Or Ringer is pressing on her so well that she cannot take it all,” Alicia adds. “After our words, I’m starting to worry about her much more,” Terrence expresses anxiety. “And I’m afraid to know that scumbag would kill her someday, or she would be brought to such a great despair that she would decide to kill herself…” “Alicia and I are worried about her…” Frederick shakes his head. “As I’ve said, my granddaughter didn’t suffer so much when Simon slandered her and told the world a lie.” “Right…” Alicia confirms with sadness in her eyes. “Or she just had no time to think about it. Because she thought of my problems and was busy with a wish to help me.” “Probably. If not for the story of that woman, Raquelle would’ve kept thinking of what Simon did to her.” I think it helped her distract a little for a while… What could she think about now? About a breakup? About her fight with the best friend?” “That’s right.” “Oh, God, how hard it all is…” Alicia sighs heavily and takes two more sips of coffee, which got a little cold. “My God, my girl lived a quiet life…” Frederick says thoughtfully. “She hurt nobody, was doing her business, felt very happy… But then one bastard came into her life and spread chaos.” “And the most important thing is that we still don’t know why he treats her like this,” Alicia adds. “What Raquelle did to make Simon hate her so much and cannot leave her alone.” “I suspected that man much less,” Terrence confesses tiredly. “I didn’t even think Simon could be the one to spread those terrible rumors.” “Right…” Frederick agrees. “You were the one to blame for everything for a long time.” “Yes, of course, we didn’t believe you could do that,” Alicia confesses. “Nevertheless, deep inside, we had some doubts.” “I was sure she would suspect me from the beginning,” Terrence confesses. “And I wanted to prove that I wasn’t the one to do it. I didn’t have to do with it.” “And were you sure Raquelle would believe you?” “No, I wasn’t. But I understood that I must’ve made her sure that someone else was guilty of everything. And some time before my trip to London, I found out the name of the one to really do that and got a greater wish to tell Raquelle all the truth.” “It’s amazing that the one, who saw her at the airport, didn’t tell everyone Raquelle went to London,” Frederick notices thoughtfully. “Yeah, and it seemed amazing to me. I thought he would love to run and tell everyone she ran away. But no. Nothing like that happened.” “Thank God!” Alicia exclaims. “My girl felt bad because of what happened. If people had annoyed her in London, I’m afraid to think of what would’ve happened.” “That’s good she had you,” Terrence cracks a slight smile. “You were with her all the time.” “But I’m sorry she got involved in my problems. I didn’t want to make it happen. I wanted my niece to spend a wonderful time at my home and have some rest. But she had to solve what was happening to me.” “But while she was solving it, the situation got a little better.” “Right,” Frederick nods. “The situation really began to change, and people realized someone played the fool with them.” “Moreover, Natalia came to her. She spent the rest of the Christmas holidays with her and helped her come to herself.” “Natalia has always known more secrets about Raquelle than anyone else… She knows what my girl could be afraid or shy to tell Alicia or me.” “You’re right. The girls are very close and get on well,” Terrence sighs heavily. “I mean, they were close and got on well…” “Yeah, so sorry those girls fought because of Simon’s intrigues…” Frederick says thoughtfully. “They got on so well since childhood. Natalia became the first friend of my granddaughter. Nobody had wanted to befriend her before. Just because I could not give her everything other children had.” “Sometimes children are very cruel,” Alicia notices. “Raquelle was always very nice to everybody, but she wasn’t loved just because she didn’t wear good clothes. Everybody thought she was ugly… But that’s not the truth. My girl was always very sympathetic and getting more beautiful every year.” “Yeah, what a beauty she became by the age of sixteen or seventeen! Boys literally broke their necks when turning on her at the university.” “And Natalia taught her to be more confident and made her sure she wasn’t as ugly as everybody told her.” “She has always been a wonderful friend. Even if she doesn’t always keep secrets, she is an amazing girl.” “Natalia’s future husband is going to be very lucky if he chooses her.” “I wish it happened.” While Frederick and Alicia talk about it, Terrence does not listen to them and thinks of something. The man suddenly calls the memories of the days when everybody started to notice Raquelle did not look good. It unconsciously makes him ask himself whether it could have to do with what’s happening to the girl. However, Alicia quickly notices Terrence does not listen to Frederick and her and moves her eyes to him. “Terrence, are you listening to us?” Alicia asks. “Or are you thinking of something?” “Yes, yes, I’m listening to you closely…” Terrence replies thoughtfully. “I just called the memory about something… About Raquelle.” “What?” Frederick asks. “I do not know if you are aware, but a few weeks ago, when we did not think of Simon, everybody started to notice that Raquelle did not look well.” “What?” “And I saw she looked exhausted.” “And what did it have to do with it?” “Her work. When Raquelle managed to get her good name back thanks to her friends, she started to work like crazy for people to never think of that scandal. It was happening for a long time. And she was so happy her business got much better again that she forgot about herself.” “So, she had already gotten herself exhausted,” Alicia concludes. “And what’s happening now makes the situation much worse?” “Raquelle categorically denied that she looked bad. She thought she was fine. But at some moment, everybody started to drop a hint that she should’ve stopped: from the servants to unfamiliar people.” “Overworked?” Frederick frowns slightly. “Something like that.” “But she was supposed to have free days.” “She didn’t have free days! She spent hours shootings. She could go to a few places per day.” “So, it happens that you did not almost see her?” “It’s true,” Terrence nods confidently. “I rarely met her, literally for two hours per day. And Raquelle got so busy with her work that she forgot me. She was kind of ignoring me! As if I was disgusting to her. As if I got her irritated…” “My friend did warn Raquelle that she should’ve changed her mind about her work,” Alicia confesses. “She said if my niece kept being obsessed with her career, it would lead to bad consequences. But it’s clear that girl did not listen to her.” “Or she didn’t want to change anything.” “I think so,” Frederick agrees. “Raquelle was never interested in a family. She never aimed to have a family life or a romantic relationship. If not for you, she would’ve kept working hard.” “Sometimes I felt lonely,” Terrence confesses with sadness in his eyes. “It hurt that she didn’t want to notice me and refused to spend time with me. I suggested that we go somewhere or spend time at home many times, but Raquelle always found a reason to refuse. Every time I wanted to share some feelings of mine or pieces of news, she found any excuse to leave and not to listen to me. She didn’t care… I think… If something had happened to me, she wouldn’t have moved her eyebrow.” “Did she really date you to make us stop talking to her about her relationship and her wedding?” Alicia asks herself. “Her indifference made me think she didn’t need me at all. And… I started to regret suggesting we date. Regret deciding to get her attention on me. Going to London for her. Wasting so much time on her. Every day, I wanted to end it all more and more and forget that we were actually connected by something.” “My God, why is my granddaughter doing this?” Frederick wonders. “I did educate her in the right way! I always told her the most important thing for a woman was to have a husband and children. I taught her everything she should have known. I was sure she would spend her life with her family and be happy. Why is she so obsessed with work? Why does she not want to be a good girlfriend? Why does she not want to get ready to be a wife and a mother? Why did she do that?” “I guess we really made some mistakes,” Alicia assumes. “For example, we gave too much attention to conservations about a wedding and children. But Raquelle listened to us and did everything otherwise.” “I never demanded anything impossible,” Terrence confesses. “Just care and caress. Support. But she gave me nothing. Sadly.” “You know, no matter what, I can understand you. Understand why you… Believed she was not loyal to you.” “At some moment, I realized that I had begun to treat her indifferently. And… I was thinking of a breakup more and more. At first, I thought the problem was me. I was doing something wrong. I tried to fix myself somehow and swore to give her much more attention. But every day, I realized more and more that Raquelle didn’t need it at all. She lived well without a boyfriend and wanted to change nothing, even after we decided to live together.” “Did you love her?” Frederick asks. “Was your decision to date her really conscious?” “Yes, Mr. Cameron. I loved her with all my heart. I felt very god with her. And my wish to date Raquelle was conscious.” “Why did you actually love her? How did she get you attracted?” “Erm…” Terrence stutters. “Well, she… Erm… Beautiful… Sweet… Kind… Erm… Mysterious… She’s like an unread book with an intriguing synopsis.” “So, did you fell in love with her because of her appearance? Don’t you care about her inside world?” “I did not care about it before.” “It’s like you don’t understand why Raquelle gets you attracted to her, expect her appearance and behavior.” “Maybe. But Raquelle is the reason why I started to think of a wish to marry her. She became the first girl, who caused this type of wish. I hadn’t had a girlfriend that I wanted to see as my wife. Raquelle was the only one. But sadly, she did not meet my expectations.” “Maybe, you believed that you loved her? What if it was a passion? A great passion that you confused with love?” “I don’t know, maybe… But even if I had a passion, it doesn’t mean I felt nothing for her. Vice versa, I felt something nice and tender for her. Something that eventually fell deeply asleep due to her indifference to me. As I’ve said, I felt very good with her. I didn’t feel like I was forced to date her.” “Maybe, you really seem to be ready for a relationship and a marriage,” Alicia says quietly. “But I don’t think you clearly understand what that is.” “No, I understand it well.” “No, Terrence, you don’t.” “Listen, Alicia…” “We know Raquelle and you are experienced in this thing. But trust me, a relationship that starts because of passion does not exist for a long time. Relationships and marriage are something more than kisses, hugs and beautiful words. Something, for which you have to sacrifice and change something. Something, for which you have to learn much to keep your strong love. Everything changes when you let a man or a girl come into your life.” “But I was ready for those changes! I was ready to change my life and let my beloved girl into it. I understood what I was doing well.” “You know, I think you two rushed to start a relationship. You should’ve gotten to know each other better instead of moving in together a few months after starting an affair. You barely knew each other. You began to date literally after a second or third date.” “And now I’m starting to understand it…” Terrence confesses thoughtfully. “We should’ve waited… And I… I was blinded by the passion… Blinded by the wish to do my best for that girl to be only mine.” Terrence exhales sharply. “Moreover, both of us were focused on our work,” Terrence notices. “We didn’t almost give each other attention. We knew almost nothing about each other because we didn’t stop working like crazy and met only in the evenings and during breakfast. Sometimes one of us left so early that we weren’t able to say a word even in the morning.” “That’s good you realize it,” Frederick says quietly. “Understand your mistakes.” “A lesson for the future. Next time, I will be smarter. And I hope Raquelle will also learn a lesson and understand what she did wrong.” “Well, we don’t see she realized something. And I’m afraid my granddaughter is going to make all the same mistakes with another man. Of course, if Raquelle decides to start a new relationship.” “She will realize everything early or late,” Alicia expresses hope. “Everybody has told her about her mistakes many times. My niece should think about just something.” “Maybe, she will do it when she comes to herself after this nightmare,” Terrence assumes thoughtfully. “When Raquelle stops being stuck on Simon and everything about him.” “We wish, Terrence.” “Anyway, we’ve gotta do something to her condition,” Frederick says thoughtfully. “We can’t turn our backs on what’s happening to her.” “And as she’s been exhausted for a long time, it might lead to terrible consequences early or late.” “Yeah, you’re right. We’ve gotta do something. Immediately.” Terrence says nothing and just shakes his head, looking at Frederick and Alicia with pity in their eyes while they look at him and each other. By this moment, they lose their appetite and understand that they do not want to drink the rest of the coffee from their cups. Raquelle’s relatives understand everything about her condition is serious, but they cannot even imagine she feels much worse and has already had a negative reaction from her organism to the stressful situation that sucked almost everything out of her.***
The time is getting closer to the evening. Raquelle has been home, going nowhere and sitting in her room for a long time. The events that have been happening to her lately have done bad things to her and deprived her of hope for something good. Anyway, Simon got what he wanted and brought the poor girl into the terrible condition that her relatives are starting to worry about more and more. Raquelle wants to do nothing. Even think of her career. It does not mean anything to her, just like it did before. She does not care what’s going to happen to it. She is not afraid to lose the status of a celebrity and the favorite girl of people. The girl wants one thing – to get off Simon as soon as possible and run away somewhere to start a new life, in which there will be no place for bad people and negative events. At some moment, Raquelle slowly leaves her room and goes to the kitchen to see what she could eat. But when the girl opens the refrigerator, she suddenly gets a lump in the throat that the brunette cannot swallow up. And she understands that she does not want to eat anything. “No, I don't wanna eat…” Raquelle winces slightly. “At all… I feel sick… I can’t see any food…” Raquelle closes the refrigerator sharply and stops suffering from a feeling of nausea. After this, she walks at the whole apartment in a slow step for a long time, looking at every single corner with her dead eyes and touching some things she sees in her way. Later, Raquelle enters Frederick’s room, which is empty now because he is not home. When she enters it, she feels something very nice and good that warms her up, makes her feel a little better, and even makes her smile. Viewing the photo of the man in a frame hanging on the wall, she gets obsessed with childhood memories that have to do with this man. For example, Raquelle clearly remembers when she ran to her grandfather many times after seeing nightmares. She was really frightened and afraid it would come true. But when Frederick was hugging her tightly, kissing her tenderly, and letting her sleep with her, her dreams were much brighter and good… The girl would like to press close to her beloved grandfather and feel his love and caress that she needs so badly. She would like to be a child. The child that has no serious problems. She would like to go back to the time when her close person could protect her and tear anyone if someone hurt his sweetheart. His things are carefully placed in his room on shelves, his clean bed is made, and there is nothing on the writing table. Just a glass with pens and scissors, a case for glasses, and a couple of thick books. Also, there is a little closet, in which there are some old papers that someone would hardly need and much more books. Very many books. Frederick really loves to spend time reading a favorite book. And he is very happy his granddaughter got this hobby. But now even a favorite book would hardly help her distract from bad thoughts and end up in a wonderful world that is described on white pages. Raquelle walks in the room, looks at every single corner for quite a long time, and sometimes runs her hand over some things. But some time later, the girl pays attention to a big black book that looks like a photo album. Not thinking much, she takes it and runs her hand carefully over it, feeling some positive energy that this thing spreads and makes her smile. The girl, pressing the album close herself, slowly goes to the living room, sits on the sofa and opens it, and starts to examine everything she can see. In the first pages, Raquelle can see photos of herself as a kid. She was about five or six years old in these pictures. The happy girl did not even know what she would have to get through after turning seven. What she would learn about her parents… The little girl looks so careless and funny in this photo. She definitely believed there was kindness in this world that had no place for evil. Ah, how much she was wrong! The little Raquelle did not know the world was actually full of evil and injustice. If she had known it, she would have stopped believing in magic and the good tales she read and heard from her relatives. Viewing these photos, Raquelle smiles slightly and gets back to those days when everything seemed to be so wonderful and easy. When it seemed it would be the one… When she would have never thought someday her life would turn to hell. She would have learned about her parents’ death and had to be bullied by schoolmates, who did not miss a chance to insult or humiliate her, not even wishing to try to befriend her. The next photos were taken at the time when Raquelle had already gone to school. The girl does not even want to view these pictures because they make her think of the worst things. It’s especially hard for her to do it because she cannot stop thinking of bad things. So, she quickly turns this page with photos and keeps slowly turning pages of the album, closely viewing every single photo it has, trying to remember when it was taken, and what events had to do with it. A little later, Raquelle stops her eyes at photos, in which she is posing with Terrence. Somehow, she sent the copies of them to her aunt by her personal plea. Both of them look so happy… The gloss in the eyes is bright, and the smiles are wide and true. It’s impossible to say this couple started an affair for some goals and was playing happy lovers. Someone would have hardly thought they would start literally to hate each other and dream of breaking up and ending this story that nobody wants to think about a little more than one year later. At least, the girl really wants to forget about the relationship with that man once and forever. Maybe, somewhere deep inside, Raquelle understands she is not indifferent to Terrence and cannot say she has never loved him. But she does not want to admit it. She does not want to say that she would like to break up with him much less than anything and would agree to give their relationship a second chance. The girl would definitely try to fix all her mistakes and start to appreciate that man as much as she should have done. And Raquelle is starting to realize that she was not the perfect girl Terrence needed. She is even regretting thinking only of herself and her career and forgetting about her boyfriend, whom she rejected when he wanted to spend some time with her. The girl completely understands it all, but refuses to confess it because she is still obsessed with a strong offense against him. Her mind is screaming that she must stay far from that man. It says she would hardly be happy next to him, and he could easily leave her for the second time after believing one more false slander that would be something like what Simon told him. Terrence already hurt her much and behaved disgustingly towards her. And Raquelle is not going to forgive him and come back to the man, who could easily become one of those, who mock girls and never regrets it. But she does not get better. Because the time is gone. Nothing can be brought back or fixed. The train has gone. This thought makes Raquelle barely hold her years down and regret not appreciating what literally came into her hands. But what she consciously rejected due to her obsession with a career and her wish to reach much more. She makes some effort to brace herself and hold down a wish to cry, as she already has red and puffy eyes. The girl is trying to make herself think she will get through this pain and forget the one, who became a former boyfriend of hers and would start to live her life. And she makes herself believe she would meet a much better man, who would not dare to betray her and would make her truly happy. Who would not talk to the wind. And who would never dare to raise a hand on her… Raquelle gets so busy viewing photos in the album that she does not suspect that Alicia comes back here with Frederick. While the man is doing something while standing near the hall door, the woman, who has already taken off her outside clothes and shoes, goes to the living room and slowly comes to her niece. She stands behind her and starts to view photos with interest, calling the memories of that time with a slight smile on her face but understanding it’s going to be just memories. “You looked very happy…” Alicia whispers. “I can’t even believe anything left from this beautiful picture.” Raquelle shakes slightly from a scare and sharply turns on Alicia’s voice, moving her widely open eyes at Alicia. “Oh, Auntie!” Raquelle exhales sharply. “You scared me!” “Sorry, I didn’t want.” “I didn’t know you were here.” “Did you fall into your thoughts so deeply that you didn’t hear the door was unlocked?” “Erm, yeah, I really fell into thoughts…” “Ah, my girl…” “By the way, when were you back?” “Now. Your grandfather went to a store to buy something… He didn’t almost have anything.” “Wow… I didn’t hear you enter the apartment.” “You didn’t leave your room for a whole day.” “Yeah, but I did now. Got sick of sitting in there.” “I see…” “Hey, was Grandpa back? Or not?” “Yes, he is here. Doing something in the hall. And I came here and saw you viewing photos in the album.” “Well…” Raquelle shrugs. “I found the album in Grandpa’s room and decided to check it…” “If you want, we can wait for your grandfather and view photos together.” “Erm…” “We would view your childhood photos and call the memories about nice moments…” “No, thanks… I’ve seen everything.” “Everything?” “Yes. I’ve finished viewing photos.” Raquelle sharply closes the album and gives it to Alicia. “If you want, you can view them with Grandfather.” “You could wait for us,” Alicia says thoughtfully, taking the album from Raquelle’s hands hesitantly and looking at her with sadness in her eyes. “We could view photos together.” “I didn’t think of it… Sorry.” “Alright,” Alicia cracks a slight smile. “Next time.” “Yeah…” Raquelle says nothing for two seconds and glances aside. “Okay, I’ll go to my room… Maybe, I’ll read something… I dunno…” Raquelle sharply gets up from the sofa with a wish to go to her room and talk to nobody. But Alicia, quickly looking at her from head to feet, stops her: “Wait, sweetie.” Raquelle turns slowly on Alicia. “What's wrong, Aunt?” Raquelle asks without emotions in her eyes. “Sit down with me,” Alicia says softly, putting the album on the sofa. “Why?” “I want to talk to you.” “Sorry, but I don’t want to talk to anyone.” “Even your beloved auntie?” “Don’t be mad, Aunt Alicia, but I want to be alone.” “Please, my sunshine, don’t run away from me.” “I’m not running.” “Sit down, Raquelle, sit down. Talk to me.” Alicia sits on the sofa and softly claps on the place next to her. “Come here, sweetie.” Although Raquelle does not want to talk to anyone, she sighs heavily, comes to the sofa, and sits down next to Alicia. “And…” Raquelle pronounces hesitantly, slowly blinking her eyelashes that are large and fluffy even without cosmetics. “What do you want to talk to me about?” “I just want to talk to you a little,” Alicia confesses. “I want to understand what’s happening inside you.” “Inside me?” “Raquelle, sweetie…” Alicia folds her hands in front of herself. “You know that you and I have never had secrets from each other. Even when I didn’t want to tell you what happened to me, you made me sure to tell you all the truth. And I must confess that you did the right thing. Because who knows what would’ve happened if you hadn’t decided to find out something and help me.” “You know I did this for my love for you,” Raquelle replies quietly. “I know…” Alicia cracks a slight smile. “So, now I want to help you. So to say, to pay you back. I want to help you as well as your grandfather. Both of us want to help you and get you out of the hole you got dragged into.” “You’re already helping me,” Raquelle smiles slightly. “By being next to me. Not believing Ringer and his lie that he told everybody.” “But don’t think I wanna help you because I feel I owe you. No!” Alicia Raquelle’s hand tenderly. “I wanna help you because I love you very much.” “Auntie, I love you very much, too,” Raquelle says confidently. “You’re my close person. I don’t have anyone closer than you and Grandfather.” “So, if you love me, I would like to know everything about you.” “You know everything.” “No, Raquelle, not everything.” “Aunt Alicia…” “Don't you want to tell me something or share something? Maybe, you want to ask me for a piece of advice?” “I've already told you everything I’m worried about,” Raquelle replies hesitantly. “Are you dreaming of something now?” “At the moment, all I want is to get off Simon once and forever.” “Yes, but I see there's something else that bothers you.” “Something else?” “I’ve got reasons to think so. You’ve lately ignored your grandfather and me and locked yourself in your room.” “I don’t ignore you and Grandfather. Why do you think so?” “Please, Raquelle, don't lie to me.” Alicia softly takes Raquelle’s hands. “I see something is not right about you. Anyone would understand that you feel bad. Just looking at you would be quite enough.” “Aunt…” Raquelle pronounces softly. “You’re scaring me, sunshine. When did you look at yourself in the mirror the last time? Have you seen what you’ve become? How much weight you’ve lost!” “Yeah, I know that I’ve lost some weight…” “My God… You’ve always been a skinny girl, but now you’ve got literally only bones!” Alicia quickly looks at Raquelle with horror in her eyes, noticing that the shirt and pants of the girl are freely shaking on her. “Look, your clothes are shaking on you! Your cheek got shrunk, your legs and arms are like sticks, and you’re always very white and weak.” “I’m fine, Auntie,” Raquelle cracks a slight smile, folding her hands in front of her. “Don’t worry about me.” “My God, what are you doing to me? Why are you getting yourself so exhausted? Because of one sick bastard, you’re dooming yourself to suffering! You want to give him pleasure and let him know he gets to get you exhausted!” “Not at all.” “Besides, Mr. Cameron and I notice that you literally stopped eating. You don’t eat almost anything!” “I eat. Not very much, but I do eat.” “How can you actually walk? Do you understand that your hands would be shaking from hunger? Feeling dizzy! Fainting from weakness! Having your stomach hurt, after all!” “Aunt…” “Or did you already get your health worse? Is that why you’re lying in bed for a whole day?” “No, I…” “Do we take you to a doctor?” “Don’t do… I’m fine.” “I kind of doubt it.” “No, I really feel good.” Alicia exhales slowly and shakes her head, looking at Raquelle with pity in her eyes. “I’m worried about you, sweetie,” Alicia says softly and takes Raquelle’s hands. “Worried about everything that’s happening to you.” “I completely understand you,” Raquelle replies quietly. “But sadly, I can do nothing.” “How much your grandfather is worried… He doesn’t sleep at nights and is worried about you and your condition. If only he didn’t get worse.” “No, Aunt, please, don’t say that.” “I’m telling you the truth, girl. If you don’t stop getting yourself so exhausted and scaring us, it will not lead to anything good.” “But you see that there’s no way to solve this problem now. No light at the end of the tunnel.” “But I want to believe there will be one. Every day, I pray to God that He doesn’t leave you and does help you hold on, take it all, and do everything for us to know a way to help our sweet girl.” “Just be next to me, and you would already do very much for me.” “Listen, Mr. Cameron and I completely understand your feelings. But you shouldn't give up so easily. Brace yourself, Raquelle! That sick jerkoff must not think he would be able to make you bend under the burden that he put on your shoulders.” “How do I stay strong?” Raquelle wonders. “How? I see no way to solve this problem! Simon doesn’t call me and doesn’t text me! I don’t know what he will do or when! What his next step would be. I don’t know how long I’ll have to wait.” “I understand it, my sweetheart, but you’d make everything worse if you always sat and worried about it.” “What do you suggest?” “Brace yourself. Don’t let yourself literally give up! Don’t dare to let Ringer eat you. That’s what he wants to get, but you’re succumbing to him! Doing everything that scumbag tells you! I don’t mean the fact that you get yourself exhausted, as that man wants. You’re behaving as he wants. Simon made you think you got mental issues – you behaved like this towards your friends and close people. And they believed it. Believed you were the one, But that’s actually not the truth.” “Aunt, Alicia…” “My God, Raquelle, how could you believe that liar and do everything he tells you? Would you jump off the bridge if he told you to do this?” “Nope…” “Stop, sweetie, stop! You’re making everything worse, and that bastard is now happy and laughing at you. Laughing at how blindly you trust him and doing everything he told you. Ringer wanted it! You gave him this pleasure.” “I don’t absolutely care about what’s happening to me,” Raquelle confesses quietly. “I need to know that stinker would get what he deserved and decided to leave me alone.” “Think of other people a little! Your grandfather, me… Think about what it’s like for us to see you in this condition. Or don’t you care about us? Do you think only of yourself?” “I don’t think only of myself.” “Then stop torturing yourself and scaring us,” Alicia says harshly. “I can’t…” “My God, understand… Much more serious problems might happen in your life. But you’re sitting in your room and suffering because of one sick bastard, who is revenging on you for something we don’t know about. He has mental issues. But you believe him more than those, who love you. You’re listening only to him.” “Listen, Aunt Alicia, I…” But Raquelle does not say what she wants because her phone lying somewhere in her room suddenly makes a very loud sound that says she got a text message. The surprised girl gets up from the sofa and goes to her room, while Alicia follows her, frowning slightly. The girl takes her smartphone, unlocks it, and opens the message by touching the notification icon on the screen twice. Then the brunette starts reading the text she sees: “I think it’s your time to pay for everything. I can make the last part of my plan come true. And I hope you are ready for that. Ready to meet me. Yes, yes, my darling, we will meet. After tomorrow, at five hours in the evening, you must go one very quiet place where nobody will bother you and me. I chose the abandoned place that is not patrolled by the police and located on the outskirts of the city. ALONE. I want to emphasize the word ‘alone’ with a bold line. If you come with someone else, I will defeat all your friends and close people. I doubt you would like to be guilty of someone’s death… I hope you understood me well, and you will do what I told you. A little later, I shall tell you where that place is located and how you can find me. See you soon, the queen of gloss. All the best, Simon G. R.” The time has come! The long-awaited moment when Raquelle would finally meet Simon and talk about everything with him has finally come. She is very happy that the man contacted her and decided to put an end to this story. And she does not care that he told her to come to the abandoned wood… Alicia has been standing on the doorstep all this time and watching Raquelle closely. When she sees the girl getting a little white after reading the message, the woman comes closer to her niece. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” Alicia expresses anxiety. “Did you get a message?” “Yes, from Simon,” Raquelle replies quietly. “What? From Simon?” “From Simon.” Raquelle falls into silence for two seconds, turns to Alicia slowly, and looks into her eyes confidently. “I should meet him after tomorrow at five o’clock.” “Oh, my gosh… Where?” “At the abandoned place on the outskirts of the city. I don’t know where it is, but he promised to text me again and tell me more about it later.” “What?” Alicia rounds her eyes. “Abandoned place? On the outskirts of the city?” “Yes,” Raquelle pronounces confidently, forgetting about her bad condition immediately, because of which she only wanted to lie and sleep. “And I must go there alone. If I take someone with me, I’m gonna be dead.” “I can’t believe it…” “My God, finally…” Raquelle smiles slightly. “I can finally end this story.” “No…” Alicia shakes her head, starting to understand that Terrence was right when worrying that Raquelle would not like to ask the police for help and could easily meet Simon face-to-face. “I can finally stop that jerkoff,” Raquelle says confidently. “I will finally do my best for Ringer to leave me alone once and forever. Oh, my God… Is that really true?” “I hope you won’t go there alone?” Alicia asks hesitantly. “Will you take someone else with you?” “No, Aunt, I will go there alone,” Raquelle replies with her head proudly raised. “Just like Simon asked. No police or someone else will come with me.” “What?” Alicia rounds her eyes full of horror. “Raquelle, are you crazy?” “As Simon said, I must do this.” “No, you will not go there alone!” “Don’t worry, Aunt, I will not let Simon hurt me. I can stand for me.” “Jesus Christ, don’t you understand Simon asked you to meet him at that place and made you come alone for the reason?” Alicia raises her voice a little. “It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that he’s shown up! And I can talk to him about everything.” “Yeah, he chose a very good place for this meeting! Very good to kill someone! So, nobody can find the one to do it! As well as your body!” “Don’t dream up, Aunt Alicia. It’s gonna be okay.” “My God, you’re a smart girl! Why are you doing such stupid things now? Why do you naively believe you would magically assure Ringer to refuse to revenge and leave you alone?” “I must do it, understand. Because of me, too many people have suffered. At least, Simon threatened all the people I know and those I loved and love.” “Open your eyes, Raquelle!” Alicia exclaims. “Don’t do stupid things! You wouldn’t make that bastard give up.” “I can make him sure to give up.” “You will not do. He made you go there on purpose to kill you without problems.” “You’ve got a very wild fantasy, Auntie,” Raquelle smiles slightly. “Honey, for God’s sake, don’t go there alone,” Alicia begs with pity in her eyes. “I’m sure he’s calling you there to kill you and to leave no tracks.” “It’s gonna be fine, don’t worry about me.” “For God’s sake, go to the police. Let them protect you and get that sick bastard.” “No, Aunt!” Raquelle sharply cuts off. “No police!” “Please, my sunshine, don’t do that…” Alicia barely holds tears down and sniffs quietly. “Your grandfather and I don’t want to lose you because of that scumbag.” “You will not lose, I promise.” “Take someone with you, who will protect you.” “I’ve got nobody to count on, Aunt. Nobody would help me.” “No, that’s not the truth!” “So, as everybody left me and thinks I’m crazy, I shall do everything without their help. Now I’m counting only on my strength and myself.” “Gosh, Raquelle, what a naive girl you are…” Alicia shakes her head with horror in her eyes. “How you could be so silly! You were made to go to the woods! Abandoned place! On the outskirts of the city! Doesn’t it say anything to you?” “I’d meet him anywhere.” “Ringer will no longer threaten and call you and your close people to scare them. Now he’s got a new goal – to kill you. Simon doesn’t need your close people. He needs only you. He wants to kill you.” “I’m gonna be fine, Auntie,” Raquelle says softly. “Don’t worry about me.” “How could I not be worried? That scumbag is about to kill you, but I should keep calm?” “You will see, I shall make Simon leave me alone and come back home safe and sound.” “My God, give this girl some brains to make her understand that man is going to get her caught in a great trap,” Alicia begs with a tired moan. “Don’t worry, I will end this story and will no longer let anyone suffer because of him,” Raquelle promises confidently with sadness in her eyes. “He will threaten nobody anymore.” “Maybe, he will not. But he will kill you.” “Hey, Aunt…” Raquelle frowns slightly. “Didn’t Simon threaten you? Somehow, he called Grandpa Frederick, but I heard nothing about you.” “Yes, sweetie, he made my life a little worse,” Alicia nods. “But he started not from threats…” “But what?” “First, someone cut off the phone cable to prevent me from calling you. Then someone turned off the electricity only in my apartment. As I found out some time later, someone checked my fuse box and did something… And some time before I came here, I had received a call from a boy, who started telling me about your alleged mental issues and said you would be dead soon. He said it as if he knew absolutely everything about you.” “That was Simon?” “I don’t think, the voice belonged to a young guy…” “That was probably his accomplice… And seems like I know who that was.” “You know?” “Maybe. The next day after my first meeting with Ringer, a young boy was wandering around the house of MacClife. Rochester saw him and gave us the letter from Simon that he gave her after he was not able to get into the territory of the house.” “Maybe… Anyway, he let me know he was working on Simon. And I didn’t doubt it was not someone’s prank.” “No, Aunt, it’s not a prank.” “I got it. And after that call, I decided to leave my business and go to New York. I couldn’t stay in London anymore and feel like my heart was hurt because of you.” “I see…” “By the way, I forgot to tell you I decided to write you a letter after someone cut off the phone cable.” “Letter? What letter?” “I wrote a letter for you and sent it by mail. But… I didn’t get an answer. That’s what made me much more worried.” “How long ago did you send it?” “Well, about one month ago. I was waiting for your answer for about two weeks but didn’t get it.” “It’s weird… I didn’t get a letter from you. And I didn’t even know you wrote something for me.” “When that guy called me, I thought Simon did something for you not to get the letter. He said nothing to me about it, but I’m sure that I am not wrong.” “Yeah, I think it may really have to do with Simon and his tricks. I wouldn’t be surprised if he checked the mailbox and stole the letter that eventually ended up in Simon’s hands.” “Hey, I’ve just called the memory of your grandfather Frederick talking about him. When Simon called him, he confessed that he had the letter, and that boy really stole it from the mailbox.” “Oh, gosh, that man is my real punishment…” Raquelle moans quietly, running her hands over her face. “Now you see it, honey!” Alicia shrugs. “Although that person hurt none of your friends and relatives, you can expect anything from him. Believe me, I’m absolutely sure that even if he is revenging, he shall go as far as possible.” “And I don’t understand why… What did I do to him, not saying about the fact that I brought him to clear water after he slandered me? I hadn’t known him before he stood in my way!” “Who knows, sweetie… But I do know that going to the meeting alone is dangerous for you.” “Aunt Alicia…” “I am insisting that you go to the police and ask for protection when you go there. A chance that he would do nothing to you would be higher.” “No!” Raquelle sharply jumps off the sofa. “I've decided everything! After tomorrow, I'll go where he told me to go, meet him, and try to do my best to make him give up.” “Please, my sunshine, don’t do that!” Alicia begs with pity in her eyes, folding her hands together. “At least for me and your grandfather! We shall not take it if that bastard does something to you.” “I’m sorry, Aunt, but I can’t go to the police in this case. The lives of my close people depend on that, and I can’t risk them so much. They’ve suffered enough because of me.” “Raquelle…” “I must do my best not to let them suffer. Even if I have to sacrifice myself for that.” “No…” Alicia shakes her head. “It’s gonna be okay, don’t worry. After tomorrow, this story well end once and forever, and I will live a quiet life again” Raquelle kisses Alicia on the cheek with a slight smile, turns around, and goes to her room, inclining her head and moving her eyes down while the woman watches her. After the girl closes the door of her room, she shakes her head and closes her mouth with a hand. “Ah, Raquelle, Raquelle…” Alicia pronounces with horror in her eyes. “This girl doesn't understand that Simon may go too far because of his wish to destroy her. His plea about a meeting drops a clear hint at the fact that he came up with something bad.” Alicia swallows up nervously. “This silly girl believes she’d save everyone if she sacrificed herself…” Alicia adds. “I’m sorry that she doesn’t understand that being a heroine would lead her to nothing good.” Alicia embraces herself with her arms. “Anyway, she won’t go there alone,” Alicia says confidently. “She won’t do. I won’t let it happen.” Alicia glances aside. “And I think I need to contact Terrence and literally beg him to go there and follow her,” Alicia says quietly. “Now we can count only on him. And I really hope he hasn’t changed his mind about helping Raquelle and will find a way to save her… In the opposite case, Mr. Cameron and I will do something to that chatter that he will remember his whole life. That man will not dare to get closer to my girl and talk to her… He will not dare…” While the excited Alicia thinks about the upcoming meeting with horror in her eyes and tries to imagine all the possible turns of events, Frederick comes to her quietly and notices the woman looks scared and a little white. “What’s wrong, Alicia?” Frederick expresses anxiety. “You’re so scared!” “Oh, Mr. Cameron, I’m really afraid of what might happen…” Alicia says quietly, shaking her head. “My heart is bleeding because of my niece. She’s gonna destroy herself… I’m gonna be right…” “Yeah… I saw she was very upset when going to her room.” Frederick sighs heavily. “The girl doesn’t take care of herself. She tortures herself literally much more than that scumbag Simon does.” “He is going to destroy her soon…” Alicia says a little hesitantly. “What?” Frederick rounds his eyes. “What do you mean?” “I am serious.” Alicia moves her sad, little scared look on Frederick. “Simon sent her a message and set up a meeting.” “Come on?” Frederick wonders. “Set up a meeting?” “Yes. Raquelle just got a message.” “Did that scumbag finally show up?” “Most likely… And you cannot even imagine where that stinker wants to make our girl go.” “Oh, my God…” “When Raquelle told me that, everything went black before my eyes for a moment.” “My gosh, Alicia, don’t scare me, please!” Frederick puts his hand on his heart. “My heart does bleed from thinking that Ringer can do something to her.” “I don’t want to scare you, but…” “Where should she go? And when?” “After tomorrow, Raquelle must go to the abandoned place on the outskirts of the city.” “What?” Frederick rounds his eyes with a feeling that his heart misses a beat. “Abandoned place?” “Excellent place to kill my niece.” “Bastard!” Frederick wonders, getting horrified by what he heard. “She must go there alone.” “Jesus Christ…” Frederick shakes his head. “It seems like Terrence was right when he said Ringer would love to prepare a trap and make her get caught to do his terrible things.” “There’s no need to guess… Anyone would realize that he decided to do that with a wish to kill her.” “And of course, Raquelle wants to go there all alone, naively thinking she would get off such a dangerous man as Simon Ringer?” “Exactly, Mr. Cameron, exactly!” “My God, I’ve got nothing to say!” Frederick puts his hand on his forehead. “When is everything going to be over? When is that jerkoff going to stop? What does he want from my granddaughter?” “Gosh, it’s so good Terrence decided to help her,” Alicia exhales sharply. “Thank God, we agreed with him and decided to stay together to save Raquelle from that sick bastard.” “Of course, I still want to kill him for what he did. But now we need to forget about any misunderstandings for the salvation of Raquelle from that sick man. For my granddaughter, I’m ready to tolerate Terrence.” “I’m praying that he doesn’t leave her at such a hard moment. If Terrence takes his words back and does nothing, you can think we’d lose our girl.” “Gosh, Alicia, don’t say that!” Frederick gets horrified, caressing Alicia’s shoulders. “If that stinker leaves her, we will go to the police. You said the meeting is scheduled for after tomorrow.” “Yeah…” “So, we’ve got time to get ready. And you and I will not let Raquelle go alone. If she resists, we will take measures. Maybe, we will not even let her go to the meeting.” “I’m so worried about her, Mr. Cameron,” Alicia confesses in a little shaking voice and sniffs quietly. “Probably, I’m going to take sedatives on that day and pray to all the Gods that everything ends well.” “Believe me, darling, I’m also terribly worried and will not surely sleep quietly at nights. You know how much I love my granddaughter and worry about her. She is what I’m living for.” “Now we can count only on Terrence. His help. If he follows her and takes the police with him, I can be much quieter.” “By the way, have you told him Ringer asked her for a meeting?” Frederick asks quietly. “He asked us to let him know about any news about Simon.” “I had wanted to call him before you came. But I think we should go somewhere. Because Raquelle may hear our talk with him and realize we agreed with Terrence. She is gonna get mad…” “Maybe, we go to the stairwell?” Frederick suggests. “Nobody will bother us there. Moreover, Raquelle would hardly be interested in something because she has lately, rarely left her room.” “Well… You’re absolutely right about it… But we really better leave the apartment.” “Good…” After looking at Frederick with sadness in her eyes, Alicia sighs heavily and glances aside, thinking about something not very good for a few seconds, while the man also reflects on something that does not let him calm down. They do not understand Raquelle’s wish to go to the meeting with Simon alone and wonder how she could naively believe she would be able to get off that man and make him sure to give up. Every one of them can imagine what that terrible man could do to her if the poor girl had no protection and support. The relatives of Raquelle know that Simon is ready to do anything to reach his goal. Even to kill. Anyway, Alicia and Frederick decide to immediately tell Terrence that he can start doing what he wants. They do not know if he was confident about his decision to help the girl, but the man and the woman are sure this person is the only one to be able to help their beloved girl and save her from something horrible. Somewhere at the bottom of their hearts, Alicia and Frederick hope that Terrence was true, and he will surely do his best to help Raquelle, even if his efforts eventually are not noticed by her.***
Simon is sitting at his home and having a wonderful mood today. He is madly happy that he is finally going to meet Raquelle and deal with her once and forever. He cannot wait to feel the sweet taste of victory and start to think about what he is going to do next. Ringer does not think something might go wrong. He is one hundred percent sure everything is going to be wonderful. Without bad surprises. “It’s time to destroy you, Raquelle Allison Cameron,” Simon says confidently with a wide smile. “The time to destroy you has come!” Simon laughs quietly. “Of course, I would be happy to destroy all your friends and relatives, too,” Simon confesses. “But I will not bother them. For a while! Someday I will reach them, after all.” Simon slowly comes to the window, through which he looks at something with a sly smile. “But now I just want to destroy the girl, who I hate to death,” Simon says quietly. “Who is the reason why people are showering me with mud, even if they do not know me. Who is the reason why I lost everything I had. And I shall get what I want. Nobody can stop me. Nobody will grieve if that girl dies.” Simon rubs his hands happily. “Ah, I'm in love with this sweet taste of victory!” Simon pronounces cheerfully. “I can already feel I’m going to be happy when my revenge finally comes true. When the gal is dead. When she no longer hurts my eyes.” Simon raises his head proudly. “The time has come,” Simon says confidently. “It’s time to do what I've been dreaming for a long time. What I’ve been dreaming while not knowing what to do or where to run. But now I am absolutely confident and know that I can do this. After tomorrow, I will finish this case and destroy my greatest enemy.” Simon laughs maliciously, looking very confident and believing he can do this. The man is thinking of his grandiose plans for some time, and then someone loudly knocks at the door. Ringer turns around, goes to the door, opens it, and sees Richard, who is breathing a little heavily. “Oh, hello, Richard,” Simon greets amicably. “I’ve been waiting for you.” “Hello, Simon!” Richard exclaims and shakes Simon by the hand. “Come in.” Richard enters Simon’s room quickly, while the man closes the door after him. “Ar-r-r, how much I’m sick of some people,” Richard growls irritably, actively waving his hands. “I do really wanna do something bad.” “So, did someone annoy you with a plea to give them money again?” Simon asks. “Aha! While I was on the way to you, I met a couple of beggars! They began to annoy me and beg for money to drink and eat something. I said I didn't have a penny in my pocket, but they kept saying, ‘Gimme some money, I wanna eat!’ They didn’t understand what I told them!” “Don’t pay attention to them.” “Say, do I really look like a man, who has much money? Is there a sign on my forehead that lets people know that I am a charity foundation?” “I would advise you just to ignore all those people and just keep going where you need to go. They will get off you when they realize you can give them nothing.” “Aha, some people even pull my hands! They don’t let me go!” “Sorry, I can’t help you in this case. Those homeless people annoy me, as well.” “That’s really insane… Insane…” “You’re thinking of the wrong things, Richard,” Simon says confidently. “I do know!” Richard throws gloomily. “I know!” “Wait for a while. And get ready. Because after tomorrow, I will finally make all my wishes come true.” “Come on?” “Yes, yes, you heard it right.” “Did you decide when you would deal with the gal?” “Yes, man, I did,” Simon replies with his head proudly raised. “Raquelle is going to be dead after tomorrow.” “Excellent…” Richard smiles widely. “I already sent a message on her mobile phone, in which I told her about the meeting. And a little later, I will text her again and explain where to go. Not to let my dear girl mistake the road. What if she goes to the wrong place, and I have to wait for her.” “And you told her to go there alone?” “Of course!” Simon smirks evilly. “Did you think I needed unnecessary witnesses to the murder? Why? So, I am put in prison? No! I will not go there! Over my dead body!” “What if she’s stupid and deaf and comes there with someone? For example, the police…” “Don’t worry, Richard, she will not come with the police.” “I’m gonna get in trouble if she brings cops with her, ‘cause they probably examined my file from start to end. You know how many reports people have applied! If they get me caught, I’m gonna be dead!” “Don’t worry, nothing will happen to you. No police will come to our meeting. I made Raquelle believe I would hurt her friends and relatives if she did that. I don’t think she would like to risk so much, even if everybody left her.” “Are you sure about it?” Richard expresses anxiety. “What if her skin is more important to her than all those people? What if she puts them in danger and surrounds herself with support and protection?” “No, no, she will not take the police with her. If she comes there with her friend, who is working as a photographer or another man, he will have to deal with you and your friends.” “That’s how…” “Yes. I will defeat Raquelle, and you will deal with her company if that idiot dares to go against me.” “M-m-m, sounds good…” Richard smiles slyly and raises his head proudly. “You can do this?” “No problem! Leave it to me! I will quickly shit any man up and tell my friends to destroy anyone she is going to come with.” “Think about what’s waiting for us when I kill that girl. Think of the fact that I’m going to thank you generously, and you will be able to forget about poverty and make your life better. Of course, if you spend my reward soberly.” “I know,” Richard replies with a slight smile. “That’s what I’m doing all of that.” “Keep doing the same.” Simon puts his hand on Richard’s shoulder with a wide smile. “Trust me, when you get money, girls will not let go. You will have to choose who you want to spend time with today, tomorrow, or in one week with.” “You know, sometimes I imagine myself going out on a big yacht and being surrounded by all the most beautiful girls,” Richard confesses with a wide smile. “Me wearing the best clothes and drinking the most expensive wines, champagne, and other drinks. And having many people serving me and being ready to look into my mouth to please me.” “Your dream will surely come true, buddy. Just wait for a while. You will have yachts, an ocean of champagne, and the most beautiful girls. You just need to make some effort.” “I’m ready! At one hundred percent.” “Excellent.” Simon hugs Richard tightly around the shoulders and claps him on the back, starting to look at the window with a wide smile on his face. “We need to take only one step that our fate depends on,” Simon says with his head proudly raised. “But we can do this. I know it. I believe in it. I feel it!” “I really like the fact that you’re so confident,” Richard notices cheerfully. “Because everything will happen, kid. I don’t even want to think that something might go wrong.” “What if it does? You have a plan B?” “No, Richard, it’s gonna happen as I want. Now nothing can stop me from defeating that gal and taking revenge on her for what I had to get through many years ago.” “It would be great…” “And before she is destroyed, that gal will, of course, learn everything that made me hate her and start to take revenge on her.” “And would you finally tell me everything?” “Of course, my friend. Believe me, Richy, when I tell her everything, she is going to be shocked. Deeply shocked… And she will realize she has believed a lie all her life.” “M-m-m, you can intrigue…” “I love intrigues… Very much…” Simon smiles widely and keeps looking through the window along with Richard with his head proudly raised and a wide smile on his face. He is absolutely sure he can do everything and does not doubt Raquelle will die after tomorrow. Ringer does not want to think that this kind of self-confidence might lead to something bad for him. He is sure everything is planned very well. Nothing can go wrong. So, it means his grandiose plan must come true in any way… Simon cannot already wait to live until after tomorrow and work on his plan with greater pleasure. But unfortunately, the time kind of slowed down after he decided to meet Raquelle. It seems like there is a lot of time before after tomorrow. Literally, the eternity… However, the man is enjoying every single moment and patiently waiting for such a long-awaited day. The most important thing is that the meeting is set up, and he is ready to wait for the girl at the final destination, going to do something that she does not expect at all.