Chapter 8
Nadine.
Clayton had someone come into the room and untie me. They also brought some food and water, but they didn’t let me out. I knew what was happening – I was becoming a prisoner.
Natasha hadn’t left yet.
“What?” I’d asked.
She woke up with bleary eyes and stared at me like I was a strange creation.
“Where is Clayton?” She asked.
“He left, obviously,” I answered, looking at her contemptuously.
“Mmm,” she said nodding. She stood up, walked to my side, and planted a kiss on my cheek.
“See you later,” she winked and left topless.
I was awoken by a nightmare. In it, I had seen Anna running the streets of New York in tattered clothes, all scrawny and haggard, begging for food.
“Oh, shit,” I said to myself. “Anna, what could be happening to you now?”
I heaved myself out of bed and began to pace the room. From the weak light that streamed in through the window, I could tell that it was early morning, but there was no way of telling the time for sure. After what seemed like hours, someone knocked and walked in with a tray of food.
“Good morning, Miss Nadine,” he said to me in a calm baritone.
“Morning.”
He dropped the food and turned to leave.
“Wait,” I called to him as he opened the door.
“What else can I help you with, miss?” He spoke.
“I need to get out of here,” I told him. “Surely you can help me out of this-this prison.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that, miss,” he noted strongly.
I groaned in frustration.
“Please, I will-” I started to say.
“Is there something else you want me to do for you,” he said. “Anything, asides from letting you out of here. Those are my orders, and I can’t go against them.”
“Okay, tell Clayton I want to see him,” I told him, my voice laced with desperation. “Please. I need to somehow speak to my sister to know if she’s okay. She’s only a teenager and-”
“Okay, miss, I’ll tell him.” he said, nodding. He turned and left.
I felt an overwhelming loneliness again. I went to the tray of food and tried to eat, but I had no appetite.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.
Clayton.
As I had breakfast, I saw the butler striding towards the dining table, and from the look on his face, I knew he has a piece of information to spill out. I wondered if something went wrong in the red room.
“Why do you look so morose?” I asked him as he drew nearer.
“Sir,” he said.
“Yes, what happened?” I asked him, eager to know what had occurred.
“She says she wants to speak with you,” he said, “something about wanting to talk to her little sister.”
“Oh, I see,” I said, nodding.
I took a sip of my coffee. “Her sister, I see.”
My phone buzzed and I saw that I had an email from my secretary. There was an emergency meeting and I needed to be there.
“Oh, shit,” I said under my breath.
“Anything the matter, sir?” The butler who still stood nearby asked me.
“No,” I said. “Get the driver. Tell him to get the Lexus ready. I’m going to work in a jiffy.”
I began to walk to the bathroom to have a quick bath. We rarely had emergency meetings at the office, so without asking for details, I knew it must be serious. When I had taken my bath and worn my suit, I headed for the car. But before we zoomed off, I spoke to the butler.
“Get a phone to the red room, and help Nadine talk to her sister,” I told him.
“Okay, sir,” he said with a slight bow.
“Do it now,” I instructed firmly.
He bowed again and left. The driver eased the car out of the building, and very soon, we were speeding on the road on the way to work. And as we did, I made various calculations in my head on what could have possibly happened at the office.
Nadine.
The strange man walked in again. I had been expecting Clayton, but I had waited for so long that anybody would do.
“So?” I said spreading my hands. “Did you tell him? What did he say?”
“He agreed,” he said.
I heaved a sigh of relief. Clayton might be a bastard, but he was a human after all.
“Thank you for your help,” I told him. “I’m grateful.”
He nodded and handed me a phone. I took it from him and dialed Anna’s phone. It rang several times but kept going to her voicemail.
“Oh, no,” I said aloud. “She could be in danger or something. I wonder what she has been through.”
“Can you call someone else?” The man said I’d almost forgotten he was standing there. “Mr. Clayton said not to waste time.”
I thought for a second and decided to call Naomi.
She picked up her phone on the second ring.\
“Gosh, Nadine, where the fuck have you been?” She let out. “I’ve lied to the manager so much; my job is on the line.”
“Hey, Naomi, please, listen to me,” I said to her. “Listen carefully.”
“What is it?” She spoke. “Where the fuck are you?”
“I’m somewhere, I don’t know exactly,” I told her. “But I need you to do me a favor.”
“I always do you favors,” Naomi said. “What do you want this time?”
“I need you to go over to my place and check on Anna,” I said.
“Oh, my god, you left the little girl alone,” she said in horror.
“Look, it’s not my fault, okay?” I said, already getting flustered. “Just go over to the fucking house and check up on her, okay?”
“Uh-huh, I hear you,” she said. “So where are you?”
Just then, the line went dead, and I handed the phone back.
“Thank you very much,” I said as the man left without saying a word.