Chapter 9. Criminal

"It's unusual for you to take us somewhere like this Iris," mum said. "But where are we going?" I glanced at her from the rearview mirror of the car and saw her playing with her diamond necklace. It was the same one she was wearing that day in the adoption center. It brought back certain memories. Both good and bad.

"It's a secret mum," I said.

Daddy cleared his throat and patted my mum's arm. "There there Samantha," he said in his booming voice. "I'm sure your daughter has a good reason for kidnapping us this evening and taking us somewhere without a chauffeur."

I nearly doubled over with laughter at his statement. Oh I'd kidnap someone alright. But that would be for later. For now, I had to tell my parents that I was to leave for another country. That was why I was going to take them to this fancy place that they loved. I'd butter them up with a nice dinner, and then I'd tell them.

When we reached our destination, I got out of the car gracefully and opened the door for my parents. They were used to this kind of treatment. But this time around, I didn't bring the chauffeur. I wanted the three of us to talk and bond without distractions.

I ushered mum and dad to the restaurant overlooking a lake. The maitre d' helped us to a table and handed out three menus. After we were served with our choice of food, I decided to proceed with my plan.

"So mum," I started. "I just turned 22 last month and I graduated with the degree that you chose for me."

Mum raised her trimmed eyebrow and glanced at me while drinking her expensive wine. After she placed the glass carefully on the table, she said "Yes munchkin. Your father and I know that perfectly well. We're thinking that it's time for you to take over some of the family business."

I almost choked on the steak I was eating and grabbed the glass of wine quickly to push the food down. Once I finished sipping, I stared at my mum with wide eyes. "I don't think being a scientist is for me. Neither is being a philosopher, a professor, or whatever it is that you guys do."

Father laughed hard. He was always amused when I said such things. The mustache that he grew moved up and down together with his trembling body. "You're not planning on being a model forever right munchkin?"

"No daddy, I have a different plan altogether."

Once I graduated from the university, Brooke asked me to model with her. She kind of forced me into it actually. It was one of the payments she wanted for helping me out with whatever I asked of her since we became friends.

Who knew that someday I'd turn out to be a model? It was quite hilarious. But people from different modeling agencies kept on contacting me so I didn't see any reason not to do it. Besides, it helped me get more connections. I learned from Brooke that connections were something a person should have, regardless of the industry you're in.

From the other side of the table, my mum placed the napkin she was holding down. "What do you want to do with your life Iris?" she asked with a worried expression.

I took a deep breath. It was the perfect opportunity to tell them. "I want to go back to my birth country mum," I said while grasping the napkin tightly beneath the table. "I want to find myself."

Mum had a shocked expression on her face and quickly turned to her husband. "Larry," she said with a trembling voice. "Our baby doesn't want us anymore." My parents both turned to me. "You don't?" dad asked with a crestfallen face.

"Don't be silly dad," I said. "I love both of you. I seriously do. You've given me everything I fancy in life, a great education, a large mansion, an expensive car. I couldn't ask for more. But though I'm grateful, I also need to find myself. Will you support me?"

My parents didn't speak. After several minutes of openly staring at me, dad said "Let me converse about this with your mother. Please give us a moment to do this munchkin."

"Sure dad," I said and got up from the table. I placed the napkin down and walked gracefully toward the direction of the lake after opening the door. When I glanced back inside the establishment, I saw my parents discussing amongst themselves. It would be a long debate, I thought.

In the meantime, I fished out the phone in my purse. I'm glad I brought one. This green dress didn't have a pocket. "Hiya," Brooke said after answering my call. "Before you say anything, let me guess. You found out you're really in love with me and you're asking me for sex?"

I rolled my eyes. Typical Brooke. She was always playful when it came to me. "No," I said. "We're friends and friends don't fuck friends Brooke."

"Friends with benefits do," she retorted suggestively.

"Well I don't have time for friends with benefits so stop being horny and talk to me like a normal person. I swear, you and your sex talks."

"You're such a party pooper Iris." I could imagine her pouting right now. She was cute but that wasn't enough for me. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I already told my parents about the plan to leave for my birth country," I replied. "Really now?" she said. "And what did they say?"

"They haven't said anything yet. They're still discussing it." I heard Brooke laugh on the other line. "Maybe they're creating a mathematical formula that will make you stay. You know how they are." I know what she meant. My parents were kind of mental and weird. But hey, they're mine and I got to love my own.

"Hey Brooke, catch you later. My parents are coming this way." I ended the call before she could reply and faced my mum and dad. Mum obviously cried so I didn't know what the verdict would be. I hoped they'd consent. If they didn't, it would be the first time that I'd have to break their rule.

"Pumpkin," dad said when I was about to open my mouth. "We love you like our own. We never thought of you as adopted and every day we thank the heavens that you came to us. But. . . We also know that you want to answer things about yourself. You're an adult now and you have to find your way. So we're allowing you to leave."

The breath I've been holding was finally released. "Thank you daddy," I said and hugged the two of them. Mum cried openly this time. I didn't want to do that to them but I made a promise to myself. Revenge was more important than anything.

"Promise me you'll come back home soon," mum sniffled. "Yes mum, I promise," I whispered.

It was going to be a promise I'd have to break. There were only two outcomes of this road that I was taking. It was either I get the crown back, or I end up dead. There was nothing in between. And I might never see them again.

After a few days of preparation, I finally boarded our private plane and flew back to my homeland. I kissed the ground when I arrived. People looked at me strangely, but I didn't care. They probably thought I was a beautiful yet crazy woman, which was true. I was really crazy for thinking I could kidnap a princess.

Once I got settled down in an apartment somewhere, I proceeded to talk to an engineer. I just bought a land in the middle of the forest in a secluded part of the country, and I fully intended to make a fortress for the princess there. Once I kidnapped her of course.

"I want a building that has several rooms," I told the engineer. "I also want big metal doors that are unbreakable. Make sure you hire the best team for this because I'm expecting much from you."

The engineer nodded. "But Miss Prescott, may I ask what you're going to need this place for? Call it curiosity. Most clients don't demand of such tight security in their place."

"I'm not paying you to ask questions," I snapped. "Just do my instructions and make sure every specification is met. If you do a good job, I might recommend your company to other people."

In a few months time, the building I asked for was successfully constructed. I paid a huge amount to keep every worker, plus the head engineer mum about its existence. Bribing and scaring people has become my forte over the years and I was about to frighten more in the months to come. I'd have so much fun with this.

After the construction, I moved in to the 2nd floor of the building. It had security measures all over the place but looked pretty much like a normal home. At least what I could call normal. Books were all over the area, from the living room table to the shelves inside my room. I've always been a voracious reader and I found comfort being surrounded by my favorite novels.

Aside from the books, I also had an entertainment room with a huge TV, a gaming console, and a comfortable couch. I loved playing games, particularly strategic ones where you had to conquer another kingdom. The irony was not lost in me.

The main control room was also found in the 2nd floor. It was behind a secured door of course. I had several computers there and I could manipulate the whole building from that space when I needed to. It would come in handy once I got Talia.

Speaking of Talia, today was abduction day. I've been planning the kidnapping for years and I got everything down pat. I've mastered the blueprint for the palace, figured out when everyone changes shifts, and how to infiltrate the place.

The palace grounds were large, but since I grew up there, I knew the layout of the whole place by heart. That was my biggest advantage over Talia and her family. They were not really royalty and so they could not call the palace their true home. In the meantime, generations of my family have been living there all their lives, including my dead parents.

What the present Queen and her daughter didn't know was that there were secret passages and rooms all over the place. I merely had to sneak in when the guards were changing shifts, grab the princess, and escape through the tunnels. I did just that.

Come midnight, I parted the bushes where the opening to the tunnel was located. It was several kilometers away from the palace itself and ended on the garden, near the pond. With a heave, I moved the large stone that was covering the entrance of the tunnel.

I kneeled down on the grass and took the military glow stick out of the backpack. Once I did, I snapped it and watched as it glowed a luminous blue in the dark. At the moment, I felt like Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars with my very own lightsaber.

Thanks to the stick, I found my way inside the tunnel and to the garden of the palace. By now, the guards were probably thinking of changing shift. I had a total of 10 minutes to get the princess out of her room and take her back to the tunnel. Failure meant death so I had to hurry.

Making sure that I wasn't followed, I walked silently across the grounds and to the back entrance of the palace. It was the entrance that maids and servants would use. At the moment, it was eerily quiet and no one was in sight. I quickly went to a secret room and reappeared behind a wall that was several steps from Talia's room.

I merely had to nudge the statue of a knight covering the hidden opening and I could silently creep towards Talia. When I was about to do so, I heard someone walking nearby. It was a good thing that the person's footsteps were heavy or I would have been discovered already.

A quick glance at my watch told me that it was way beyond midnight. Everyone should have been asleep by now or the guards should have left their post to change shifts. I waited as the footsteps vanished before pushing the statue to the side. Time to kidnap the princess, I thought mischievously.

My own footsteps were as light as a cat as I headed straight for Talia's room. Years of practicing allowed me to achieve that. Of course I also had to continue my martial arts training to defend myself in case of emergencies. I requested to my adoptive parents to hire the best trainer for me.

Once I reached the room, I was about to open the huge doors when I heard footsteps again. It was heading straight to my direction. Oh God! What should I do? I quickly scanned the area and found an armored statue in the hallway. It was big enough to cover me so I ran behind it quietly and peeked for the cause of the footsteps.

I saw a slim Latina with curly hair open the door to Talia's room and peek inside. I knew her. Based from the live feed that I've been watching all these years, I gathered that the Latina was their current head guard. When she walked away, I waited for a couple more minutes behind the knight statue. Who knew if she'd come back.

When she didn't, I walked steadily to the princess room and closed the door silently behind me. There she was on the bed, looking like sleeping beauty. I headed straight to her and kneeled down beside her.

By now I was 22 and she was 18. She grew up to be a lovely woman. Like sleeping beauty herself, Talia had pink kissable lips. Her lashes were thick and her features were greatly improved over the years. She was always beautiful but man she was simply heartbreaking right now.

I inched closer to her and breathed her scent. I missed that lavender. She was the only person who smelled like that. My eyes went back to her lips. Oh how I'd love to kiss it. Slowly, I moved forward and was about to bring my mouth to hers when I realized what I was here for. I had no time for this, I should hurry. Ignoring my pounding heart, I took the tape from my backpack. If I placed it on her mouth, she'd wake up and struggle. But I was prepared for it.

Biting my lips, I hastily taped her mouth and watched as her eyes fluttered open. Before she even saw me, I shoved a black cloth over her head. By now she was struggling and making noises. I hugged her tightly to me as I tied a rope over her hands and ankles, effectively binding it behind her.

I took another glance at my watch. The guards would be getting back soon. I hauled her over my shoulder like a sack and almost ran back to the secret opening behind the statue. The princess was squirming violently against me, but I held tightly to her and closed the hidden opening. I also took a mobile phone from my pocket and touched the screen after configuring some things.

It was to erase everything that was captured on the camera inside the palace. The people from the control room were also changing shifts so they didn't see what I did. With a smile, I hurried back to the garden.

I was about to enter the secret tunnel to escape the palace grounds with the princess when I heard a man speaking. I knew that voice too well. I wouldn't forget it because it gave me nightmares for years. It was Ronaldo. So the snake was still alive.

I grit my teeth in frustration. Murder was in my mind right now and all I wanted to do was to stab him repeatedly like what he did to my parents. The princess shook against me, pulling me out of my thoughts. I should stick to the plan, I decided.

When everything was set right and I reclaimed the throne, I would behead Ronaldo myself, together with her lover the queen. As for Talia, I would make her life a living hell when that day comes.

With one last shake of my head, I went inside the tunnel while carrying the princess, and back to safety. Once I placed her inside my car and started the engine a couple of minutes later, I couldn't help but smile to myself. It was done. I had the princess. Now it was time to play a little game of chess.