Araceli POV
The night was getting late.
The inner turmoil gradually ate away at me.
Essel was sitting on the couch somewhat six-footed, staring out of the window with two blank eyes.
Krish was sitting on the floor clutching his laptop. His fingers clicked quickly on the keyboard.
After ten minutes, he looked up.
"Mommy, I found Micah. He's moving fast now and should be in a car."
He tracked Micah's cell phone and was able to pinpoint Micah's location.
I sent the location to my phone and stared at the map for a minute.
I was getting more and more uneasy, as if a million ants were crawling inside.
"Why would Micah be at the docks so late?"
The marina over there had once flourished, but now it was abandoned because the coastal environment was polluted.
Not many people had been in that neighborhood for a long time after the factories moved away.
"Mommy, I feel bad..." Essel rubbed where her heart was. "I always feel as if something bad has happened."
"Essel, it's okay," I reassured Essel gently.
I gave Maddox a wink.Maddox nodded and carried Essel and Valeria towards the room.
"Krish, I'm going out. You stay home and don't go anywhere."
I stood up and headed out the door.
The uneasy feeling in my heart grew stronger. I knew I had to go to Micah.
Essel had a strong bad feeling. It meant something was really going to happen to Micah.
"Mommy, I'm coming with you."
Krish ran over to me and took my hand.
He reached for his cell phone and whispered, "I just found Melany's location. Melany is with Micah. Mommy, I'll be good. I'll listen to you. Take me with you."
I looked around the room, frowned, and looked at Krish again.
There was determination in his eyes. I knew that if I didn't take him with me, he'd sneak after me.
That would only make it more unsafe.
I sighed slightly and had to lead Krish towards the car.
"Krish, buckle up."
I stepped on the gas. The car quickly drove out of the villa.
Five years ago, I failed to protect Micah and Essel. it became a nightmare that has lingered with me for the past few years. So now, five years later, I must protect them.
Whoever dared to hurt my children, I would not hesitate to kill that person.
If Melany dared to hurt Micah, I would make Melany pay accordingly.
I pressed the gas to the bottom. I ran several red lights in a row before I finally drove out of the downtown area.
The car quickly approached the red dot on the locator.
I knew I was getting closer to them.
Ten minutes later, the car drove to the beach.
The seawater carried a fishy smell that made me feel sick all over and a little sick to my stomach.
I resisted the urge to throw up and poured a mouthful of water down my throat.
"Krish, you sit in the car. I'll be back soon."
I said in a single word as I turned back to the car.
Krish instinctively was about to shake his head.
I stared at him, more determined than he was.
"Krish, be good. Don't let me worry." I turned and stroked his hair. "I'm going to save Micah. you stay in the car, lock the doors, and don't ever come out. You promised me you'd listen to me."
Krish stared into my eyes and nodded slowly.
My heart beat wildly as if my chest was going to explode.
"Mommy, go. I'll be sitting in the car waiting for you to come back. I promise you. Besides, I can locate you anywhere, anytime. If something goes wrong, I'll call the police right away."
I gave him a kiss on the cheek, pushed the car door open, and got out. I gritted my teeth after making sure the car door was locked and took a step toward positioning myself.
Every step I took brought me closer to the red dot on the map.
Five minutes later, I was walking to the red dot. Here was a large abandoned house. Barrels were piled up at the entrance, blocking the front doorway.
I turned off the lights and slowly took a few steps towards it, seeing a faint light coming from inside.
Someone was inside.
Suddenly, a click came.
My heart was beating wildly. I slowly looked at my feet.
I stepped on a dry branch.
The next second, a wary and frightened female voice came from the house.
"Who? Who's out there?"
It was Melany.
I took a deep breath, covered my chest, and crouched down without making another sound.
I heard footsteps coming closer inside.
Only one person's footsteps.
That meant Melany was the only one in this big house.
Where was Micah?
The footsteps stopped abruptly in the doorway.
"Raphael, I know it's you!"
Melany stood inside crying as she spoke, "I was wrong five years ago! I was terribly wrong! I shouldn't have pretended to be the children's mother! But these five years, I've been so good to my two children! Even if I lied to you, I never hurt Micah or Essel! Why?"
Standing outside, I froze violently.
Did Raphael know about the fact that Melany wasn't the children's mother?
When did he know that? How could he have known?
Who had told him?
Before I could think about it, I heard Melany's voice become more frantic.
"I waited five years for you! I gave five years of my life to you! But what did you do to me? You never liked me. You never wanted to marry me. Eclipse never got a single favor from Royal Pack either! I got nothing! You never gave me anything!"
Melany growled loudly, "Don't you just want to kill me? It's okay to let me die! I want Micah to die with me! With him as my companion, I won't be too lonely even if I die!"
My heartache spread all over my body. Cold sweat has soaked my shirt.
How am I going to save Micah?
I tried to communicate with him using mind-link, but I never got any response.
It reminded me of that day in the conference room of Silver Group when Micah saved me.
Suddenly, Melany's footsteps sounded, but they were getting farther and farther away from me.
I gritted my teeth and took a few steps forward.
I looked up and saw a long broken window. It was covered in sharp, broken glass.
Suddenly, a muffled grunt came.
As soon as I heard it, I knew it was coming from Micah.
I couldn't keep my composure any longer. Gritting my teeth, I pressed my hand against the broken glass of the window and flipped inside.
Excruciating pain shot through my palm, but it was nothing, because my heart was in tatters of pain.
Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I was soon able to see the scene in front of me clearly.
I saw Melany grabbing Micah's arm. Her other hand was around Micah's neck.
Red, sticky blood had been dripping from the back of Micah's head.
My heart clenched violently.
"Melany, are you crazy? What have you done to Micah?"
"Araceli? You're here! I didn't think the first person to come here would be you! This is so much fun!"
Melany suddenly laughed eerily, "How did you find me? Can you sense Micah? My goodness! Is this the power of blood ties?"
Her tone made me shudder.