Chapter 196 - On Our Way To Lily
Madeline's POV
The moment we got out of the vacation house and walked to my car, I could feel the nervousness and excitement. I know Roman and his men will follow us when he realizes we are leaving the house. I borrowed clothes from Jen, and I am thankful she brought extra clothes, and then I put a straw hat on my head. My heart is thumping so loud, and my best friend and I both laughed when we got out from the parking area, but five minutes later, I can see on the rearview mirror the black cars of Hunter's bodyguards are trailing us, and we need to lose them right away.
I know they have to watch me from a distance. The bodyguards will never communicate with me. They will only make sure I am safe, and there is no possible danger, but this time we need to get away from them, and of course, Gina is good with driving, and in no time, we lose them.
"Wow! You are amazing, Gina!" I exclaimed, and she beamed at me as she looked at me sideways.
"I thought I couldn't lose them, and we should say thank you to the truck driver because we were able to use the chance to drive away from them," Gina replied happily.
The mystery caller already informed me we needed to change a car, and he also provided a new phone we could find at the passenger's seat of the vehicle. He instructed me to turn off my phone after his last call so that Hunter couldn't locate us if he would contact the authority, and the moment we arrived at the house address he had given us, we were both stunned.
"Are you sure this is the correct address?" Gina asked me, and I handed her the paper where I wrote down the address.
"Well, it seems we are on the right spot. Can you open the gate?" She asked, and I nodded my head.
I got out of the car and pushed the metal gate, and I felt relieved that they didn't lock it; and I saw an old two-story house that looked like it had been abandoned for years. I found the car, and Gina parked our vehicle, and we transferred to another sports car, and we left my car in the abandoned house parking lot. The mystery caller was correct, and I found the phone in the passenger's seat.
"I wonder who owned the old house," I said.
"Maybe you were right; Kaye was behind all this. Look at this baby. I am driving right now, and they prepared another sports car. It only means this person who wanted to get hold of you is also loaded." Gina said as she drove fast since we needed to get going.
"Well, I am only thinking Clark Divenson and Kaye," I responded.
"Me too." My best friend responded, and ten minutes later, after we left the abandoned place, I heard the phone ringing, and I couldn't stop feeling nervous.
"Madeline, I told you, no one should know about all this, but it seems you break the first rule." He said, and I can feel the goosebumps that covered my entire frame, and I can feel the shivering of my limbs.
"I can't get out from the vacation house if she didn't come with me, don't worry, she is my best friend, and we have best friends code; she will never tell a single soul. And I hope you will understand that she helped me, and there is no one else who can help me." I replied, and he was silent for a while.
"It is me that you want, right?" I asked.
"Of course, " He replied.
"How can I be sure that Lily is safe?" I asked him.
"She is here, and she is sleeping, Madeline." He answered me.
"You promise to keep Lily safe after I surrender to you," I said.
"Of course, the promise is a promise." He said, and he ended the call without saying goodbye.
We are taking the national highway, and we passed the boundary of the next town after Magnolia Village and the town of Magenta. And the address given to me by my unknown caller where they keep Lily is far away. Maybe it will take us three hours since we need to pass the city of Archois and two more towns after the city capital of our place.
"Hey, why are you crying, Madeline? We are already on our way to save Lily, and you should be laughing that we were able to lose Roman and his men. You should also appreciate my driving skills." Gina said
"I hated myself for tricking and fooling my husband, Gina," I said as I tried to control my tears.
"Well, we can still go back, and you can turn on your mobile phone if you want so that you can call Hunter," Gina said as she glanced at me before she returned her eyes on the road. I shook my head because I knew I needed to follow the command of Lily's abductor if I wanted to save her.
"You know I can't do that, Gina, you are aware we need to save my sister-in-law, and this is the only way to save her. I hate to think that Hunter will be so worried about me. I know before he went to the Magnolia diner, Hunter told me that he didn't want to go, and he wanted to stay with me in our room, and right now I couldn't control myself from crying because I already miss my husband." I declared, and I heard Gina sigh.
"Hey, if you want me to continue driving, Madeline, you better stop crying now, or else I don't have a choice but to drive back to your vacation home," Gina responded, and I tried to control my tears, and I know because I am pregnant I became a cry baby.
"I already told you the possible options, and I asked you how many times if you want to do this before we left your beach house, and it seems you have doubts now since you can't stop yourself from crying," Gina said, and I wiped my tears with facial tissue.
"I am sorry, Gina, I can't stop being emotional, and I hate that I felt so guilty for leaving my husband, and we outsmarted his bodyguards. And now I am sure he had been calling my phone and yours." I replied, and as I looked at my best friend, she didn't turn her head on me because she looked at the wide road ahead of us.
"You better fix your mind, Maddie. I will only give you ten minutes to stop yourself from crying and get yourself together. No more tears and you should be strong. I am not kidding, Maddie; we can't rescue Lily if you continue to sob and feel bad for yourself." Gina said, and I agree with her.
"Okay, I know I need to fix myself, but please don't get angry with me, Gina," I said.
"I am not angry with you, Madeline. But I wouldn't say I like the idea that you will be saving Lily alone. I want to help you, but you don't want anyone to know all about this." Gina responded.
"You heard him, Gina, and I don't think he was kidding. Someone's life is at stake here, and if I make a wrong decision, it could jeopardize Lily's life, and I don't want anything to happen to Lily, Gina, and I know that whatever happened to her I will still blame myself because I am the only want they want. They weren't asking for money or anything. All they want is me, in exchange for Lily's life." I said.
"So, you don't value your life now? How about me, Hunter, and the baby? Don't you ever think about what will happen to us if something happens? To you?" Gina asked me, and I became speechless.
"And do you think I will not feel guilty if they will kill you? Do you think I can still go on with my life knowing something bad happened to you, and I was the one driving you to that place where you could get killed or tortured? Aren't you afraid to lose your child?" She asked, and I could tell my best friend was crying now.
"Gina, nothing will ever happen to me. I can take care of myself." I replied.
"You are not a superhero, Maddie, so don't be so sure that nothing will happen to you because I can tell whoever took Lily, they don't have the heart to feel sympathetic towards you. They are evil, Madeline." Gina said, and I suddenly felt worried.
"I know, Gina, but this is the only way I can save Lily, and there is no other way. Can't you see he has spies? He knew I had company. I don't know. Maybe his men are trailing us." I said, and she suddenly pulled over the car, and she put her finger on her lips to tell me to keep quiet. She signaled me to get out of the car, and then she searched for something on top and under the seats. She continued to look around the car, and then at the front near my seat, she found a small teddy bear stuffed toy, and she pulled out the left eye, then the right eye, and bingo she found what she had been looking for, it was a spy camera. And Gina tossed it on the road.
"Well, at least we never talk about something. It seems the mystery man didn't trust you, Madeline. But I am sure he knew you didn't inform the authority or your husband about all this." Gina said as we got back on the road, and after seeing that button camera, I realized I could be in danger. And I am so thankful that Gina came with me. I know I will spend my entire time crying, thinking about my husband, and I don't know if I can reach my destination on time.. I hope I can save Lily, and I can also escape from them, but it seems my enemies are more wicked than I thought.