Chapter 2: A Familiar Face

“Mommy, are you leaving me?”

Her irises are as green as lush meadows in the countryside were glassy. Mother’s eyes were glistening like gems under the dim light as she glanced down at me. Even with her hair askew and mascara running down her cheeks after crying her heart out to my cold heartless father, she still looked beautiful. She reminded me of those princesses about to be whisked away by a terrifying beast that would keep her locked away in a tower.

Almost like a ghost about to fly to the moon, never to be heard or seen from ever again. Similar to that tale of the princess she used to read to us every night…

“Vivien, listen to me.” Bending down, Mother cupped my cheeks and offered me a tight-lipped smile one filled with sorrow. Her palm was warm against my cool cheeks which were damp with my tears. I couldn’t stop sobbing, snot running down my nose as I hiccupped uncontrollably. My hands refused to let go of her, scared she might just disappear. “Once you are older, pave your own destiny. Don’t let other people decide for you—what to do, what to say, or how to act. Life is never meant to be molded after fine print on expensive parchment, it never works that way. Because at the end of the day, no matter whom you please or impress, you are all alone in this world. You can never impress everyone. Do you understand? Vivien, do you understand?”

Of course, ten-year-old me never did grasp the meaning behind those words. My eyes were focusing only on her disheveled appearance and the way the gates were wide open behind her. The men Father hired stood close to us, ready to escort or drag her out if she were ever to resist them. An unfair end for a woman whose dream was almost achieved after a beautiful beginning. Perhaps if she hadn’t spent Father’s money on useless things and paraded them as if she earned six figures, she wouldn’t have been thrown at the streets. Then again, my mother had always been that way since I was born. I guess I just never saw through a mature lens.

“Mommy, don’t go. You can’t leave me!”

She smiled at me one last time. Her final words were muddled by my sobbing, hand reaching out for her—any piece of her to pull her back into my arms. Anything my tiny hands could grasp. Yet, she refused to be grasped. I fought back against the men in suits, hoping to break free from their hold to pull her back to me. My mother was still beautiful as she left, even with her back hunched over and her soul slowly breaking down at the decision my father had made.

However, at the end of the day, she was still my mother. Doron needed his mother as well. I didn’t know what changed my father that day. He had always looked away whenever my mother spent her allowance on the finer things in life. But on that day, it was as if the blindfold he placed over his eyes was finally torn away. He had enough.

“Mommy! Where are you going?!”

I wish I wasn’t crying too hard that night so at least I could’ve heard her last words before she dissipated from my life forever into nothing but snippets and broken memories to look back on. I remember taking her pillow and sleeping with it by my side every night, wanting to bask in her lingering scent. Ever since that day, I’ve come to hate my father—never wanting to hear his side until high school. How could I face the same man who took away my mother? He was the beast who kept the princess from meeting her family and all her loved ones. Of course, my younger self wouldn’t have understood why he did what he had to do. It was only until I grew up that I realized her lifestyle was a parasite to us.

“She’s awfully quiet.”

“Do you want your victims to scream and bitch all the time?”

“Heh. True, that would be super fucking annoying.”

“Stop complaining and just do your job.”

“I already am!”

Of all memories to flash and repeat like a broken record as I sat there in a dangerous man’s car with a cloth over my head, it had to be the day my mother left our family with nothing but the clothes on her back and her purse. Looking back at it now, she must’ve been awfully scared. Thrown out by my father in a fit of rage, having had enough of her spending habits and reckless abandon—doing whatever she pleased in the name of thrills.

The Lichts hate thrills.

She never really fit in with Father’s family. She had to go. What was left of such a divorce was me and my little brother, Doron Licht, torn between following her or staying with our ever-absent patriarch. Still, how could a ten-year-old kid, much less take care of her younger brother, be able to chase after their mother if they ever were to set out and search for her? Doron was a sickly boy and needed constant attention. Younger me knew better than to risk it and follow her wherever she went. Even if it hurt, we stayed in that house, waiting for her to come back. We hoped she would. But it didn’t take long for that hope and our opinion of her to change—much less wonder why she hasn’t come back for us if she ever did love us as any other mother would do.

If my ten-year-old self came to hate my father, I came to loathe my gold digger of a mother upon entering my teenage years. One can take constant absence for so long and turn that hate into apathy. And if I had to choose, I’d rather be with my father and have a bright future. The same applied to my brother, who wouldn’t be alive to this day if it weren’t for my father’s money. He could have cast us aside along with our mother, and yet, he didn’t. I suppose it was because of Doron, who later presented as an alpha. If he had done that, Father wouldn’t have a person to mentor or share his ideologies in business. He couldn’t have that same bond with his daughter who shared the most features of his ex-wife. Still, I was of use to him despite being an omega.

Another sob story to add to the collage of my miserable life.

“Don’t fucking resist or we’ll make sure you’ll never see daylight again. Hear me?” Whoever hired this man to kidnap me must’ve lacked the funds to employ a real kidnapper for him to spout such cliché lines. Laughing at the thought of it might have been inappropriate, yet I couldn’t help but giggle at it internally as he dragged me out of the vehicle. The fear instantly kicked in when it dawned upon me that no matter how funny it was, this was happening. Tripping numerous times on the way to wherever he was taking me, I cursed under my breath until he forced me to sit. I winced at the harsh treatment, praying that this would all end with me still in one piece. Eerily silent and smelling of dust, the area was definitely an abandoned building or room of some sort. Out of all the things the voice in my head could say, the single thought it gave was:

Hailey must be fucking livid and hates my guts right now.

“Here she is—quite cooperative of her, really. Out of all the people we’ve encountered, this is the least screaming and crying I’ve ever witnessed. Well, I wouldn’t blame her because I could be terrifying.” My kidnapper chuckled, smug dripping in his tone. Perhaps rolling my eyes at such a statement wouldn’t do damage since my face was covered. I continued to stay silent, waiting for their demands. Whatever they wanted, the Cartieras could give it. Unless this was something personal. The question is, for what? “Anyway, where’s Elios?”

“He’ll be back soon with Seth—they had to do some rounds before reporting to the boss. He’s on his way here when I sent them a text that you’ve completed your task.”

“Your turn would be tonight, Roy. Desmond will probably accompany you if you stop hurling threats at someone every two seconds.”

“Shut the fuck up and don’t tell me how to live my life!”

How many are they in this room?

All the amusement I had in my system earlier, no matter how little it was, was instantly out the door when the cloth was removed—my eyes squinting at the light directed right into my pupils, almost blinding me. If fear wasn’t lacing my veins and a gun to my back, I would’ve taken my chance and sprinted out of the establishment due to the lack of restraint on my arms and legs. It was almost as if…

As if they knew I couldn’t fight back and run.

“Take a look at her. Do you think the boss would fuck with this bitch?” A groan slipped past my lips at the harsh tug of my hair, forcing me to look up at the dark ceiling. Dust is visible under the light, coating the musty air. It looked like one of those abandoned warehouses you see in movies, only this time, it was real and not a set. It was a miracle I didn’t sneeze the instant the cloth was taken away. My senses zeroed in on the stinging pain on my scalp at the hand fisting the strands. “I’m slightly impressed though. Doesn’t she look young for a forty-year-old housewife? I guess the reason Harrison got super busy that he forgot about his loans is because his wife is always asking for Botox or some shit. I mean, look at her!”

Wait a minute, did he say… I’m a forty-year-old housewife?

“Now that you said that, she does.”

Did they mistake me for someone else?

“E-excuse me—” The rest of my words died at the back of my tongue when a hand grabbed my chin, lips puckered up in the process. My jaw hurt at how tight his grip was. Wiggling my head away from it proved to be useless because the grip got tighter, followed by a sneer of contempt. Pale blue eyes stared down at me in disgust, making me unable to look away. He had the face of a criminal.

Shit, know that I know how he looks like, I’m not getting out of here alive!

“Wow, I guess she finally found her tongue! What’s the matter? Gonna start pleading for your life?” The same kidnapper, whose name is Roy of some sort, chuckled. He played the part of a criminal quite well. “Better start praying that your husband loves you to come and fetch ‘ya. Of course, he has to bring the money he owes the boss! We’re not running a charity here, for fuck’s sake. Who does he think he is for keeping our boss waiting? It’s way past his deadline!”

“There must be a m-mistake. My husband’s name isn’t Harrison nor am I forty years old.” I managed to stammer out, bits of my voice muffled and hard to understand—but it was necessary because they took the wrong person. The last thing I want is to be sitting here, a gun pointed at my back, and receiving harsh treatment meant for another. I refuse to go out this way. “P-please! You have to believe me!”

Whomever this Harrison and his wife are, they must’ve messed with the wrong crowd.

“I call bullshit.”

“I-it’s true! My name is Vivien Cartiera—ouch!” Tears started to glisten in my eyes at the vicious pull on my hair, my scalp seething in agony. I arched my back, hoping to alleviate the pain. However, it was still stinging and the man refused to let go of my hair. Even if I’ll be able to get out of here alive, I’ll go bald.

“Roy, stop that—”

“What?!” Roy shouted at the individual hidden in the dark, veins on his neck popping out into view. I felt a sob about to slip past my mouth. “Do you actually believe that? I don’t make any mistakes, Oscar. This is Harrison’s wife—same car, same street, and same shitty aura that rich people have. Just another pompous omega who thinks they’re better than the rest. Besides, don’t all victims try and plead? She’s probably super scared that—”

“That’s not her.”

Chilling. The voice that neither belonged to my kidnapper nor to the men who were in the room from the start was laced with ice—one that hinted he was not the type to play mind games for the fun of it nor mess with their prey. The door opening and shutting wasn’t audible due to the man rambling away, making this new person’s entrance a bit shocking. From that moment, I knew the leader of this group had arrived. And for that, I am so screwed. The first to recover was Roy, the silly bastard who couldn’t admit to himself he got the wrong woman. Now that I see him under a better light without my scalp being pulled, he appeared to be like your average goon. Still, he practically lowered his voice in the presence of his boss, showing respect.

“B-boss? I didn’t know you’d arrive early.”

“It’s a good thing I did, Delroy.” The voice that spoke earlier had an edge to it, especially as its volume grew louder as the owner approached us. “Otherwise, you’d be shooting off an innocent woman. Can’t have you messing up when we’ve barely just begun our job.”

“I-I’m sorry, boss. Won’t happen again.”

Lights suddenly flooded the room, more blinding than the single one directed into my stinging irises. Adjusting to it, I was able to make out the faces of all the men present—but one stood out, the man who walked in just now akin to a ghost and possibly the same one who disappeared from my life in a similar way years ago. Those dark and enthralling pupils burning into mine spoke familiarity instead of the common hostility one would expect from a man who is a part of the wrong crowd. His tall stature towered over some of the men, the shirt he wore seemed thin as it barely hid the muscles underneath. A cigarette one of his subordinates lit for him was now in between his lips. I shivered under his hard stare. There was no mistaking that the man in front of me was a dominant alpha. And yet…

No matter how many years it has been, I could always recognize the face of my childhood friend.

Yes, it truly must be him—there’s no doubt about it!

“M-Michael? Is that you?”