Ferdinand could bet that he heard wrong because that voice seemed familiar and there is no way he could even miss it, not in his dreams. He slowly brought his head up to behold the source of the voice, and the sight before him made his face to be clouded in shock and surprise.
The Lady standing before him was no other person than Ciara, his late brother's weak daughter, so they all thought about her. The same woman who he has gone to see in two days before with a hideous plan in his mind.
His initial intention was to get to know Ciara's home, in which the three brothers have been trying to trail her to for the past three years but failed. He had thought Dwayne would be ignorant enough to take him to his sister's house, but he had smartly woven his way out.
-and that same lady stood before him now with an ominous around her that was enough to send cold chills down his spine.
Ferdinand shook his head, trying to shake off the negative sight off his eyes; since he strongly believed he was in a wild dream with everything happening so fast and unexpectedly -he wouldn't bring himself to believe such a sight before him, but he had to.
"C -Ciara...?" Ferdinand choked on his words, his lips, and voice trembling with a mix of emotions as he still finds it hard to believe his sight-probably still in doubt.
"Oh, uncle!" Ciara exclaimed with an unexplainable expression on her face as she slowly strode towards him, her heels clicking against the hard floor and making clanking sounds. "Good to see you again, uncle Ferdinand..."
But Ferdinand did keep quiet, still finding it hard to recover from the shock he is in already nor find his voice...
"And you are finally awake?" She asked rhetorically. "I never knew you were so light weighted, you were unconscious for several hours that I thought you will die in your sleep but look who finally regained consciousness."
Ferdinand did not miss the sarcasm laced in her voice, that was enough to raise his anger, but he couldn't at the moment because he's vulnerable and, without doubt, under her mercy too. He hated -no, he loathed the thought of whatever feeling of fear he was having at that moment.
He's never felt that vulnerable, at least not from someone who was supposed to see and worship him like a mini god. Likewise, he's always been a step ahead of her, but he couldn't even figure out what went wrong and how the table managed to turn against him in a twinkle of an eye!
(Where did she even gather the guts to abduct me and tie me down to this chair like I am worth a piece of garbage?' He asked with in himself, his whole system stirring up in anger and deep rage.
"What is the meaning of all this, Ciara?" He asked her, mustering all the courage he managed to gather with in himself. "I'm sure you aren't aware of what you are doing, Ciara. Untie me this minute, can't you see what this wretch of a guy did to your uncle?"
Ciara was just a few inches away from her uncle, her arms crossed over her chest. "The last time I checked, uncle, the only one fitted for that title is you..."She lilted in a plain yet cold voice, earning a wide look from her uncle. "Don't pretend, uncle Ferdinand, you know this yourself."
Ferdinand forced out a small chuckle, not really sure if she was actually referring to him -of all people? "Uhm -Ciara..."He called out slowly in a muffled tone. "Did you realize you are actually referring to your uncle?"
"Oh, my bad!" She sarcastically muttered, feigning a remorseful look. "It never occurred to me that you will still have the intention of referring to yourself as an uncle to Dwayne and me, Mr. Ferdinand!"
She was tempted to call him by his name, but she needed to, at least, address him formally, no matter how bad he is and how much she loathes him; he is still their uncle and way older than she is.
Ferdinand was taken aback, not having a clue about whatever she was talking about. He wasn't even aware of why she had him abducted, and she would not stop speaking in parables either, worsening the situation at hand. His hands and legs had gone limp due to several hours of being tied to a chair like he worth nothing.
"What did you want from me, Ciara?" He finally asked, finding his voice after several minutes of awkward silence. "Why are you doing this to me? Have I done anything wrong to you that you aren't telling me?"
Ciara let out a dark chuckle that slowly turned into a sly smile. She wasn't surprised at how he feigned innocence but was amazed at how perfectly he did it without thinking it twice, she wondered why he isn't an actor yet -he's exceptionally good at acting because he's yet to know that she learned of the truth already.
"Ma'am, why are you wasting time with this oldie?" Gerald blurted out sharply, chipping in their conversation. "If you are having pity on him since he's your uncle, why not leave him to me to deal with?"
Ferdinand snapped his gaze towards Gerald, he saw the dead emotions in his eyes and his stoic face looked like it had not been smiling for ages. Ferdinand knew whatever thought he's having in his head won't turn out good -not even a bit!
"Why would I ever have pity on someone who almost had me killed years back, eh?" Ciara uttered in a blunt tone, her cold eyes fixated her uncle just to watch his reaction.
Ferdinand was so shocked to have heard Ciara's confession that his lips quivered violently, likewise his whole body. Ciara was glad she caught him off guard else, he would have bluntly denied the truth if she had asked him directly...