CHAPTER 34: HOME SWEET HOME

After almost two hours of travelling, Naomi arrived at their house safely. The familiar surroundings brought tears to her eyes. The guard who was stationed outside the gate noticed her presence immediately. A look of surprise was registered on his face.

"Ma’am, you’re back!" the guard exclaimed in shock. "I’m glad you are alive and safe!" he said, opening the gate wide.

"Thank you, guard," Naomi said as she stepped into the driveway. Fresh tears sprang from her eyes. She had imagined this scene in her mind a hundred times and now it’s finally happening.

She’s finally home, safe and sound! Such a happy feeling!

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"They are upstairs," the guard said.

Naomi rushed to the main door of the house, excited to see her family again.

She found her stepmother busy chopping vegetables in the kitchen. She quickly announced her presence. "Mom, I’m back!" she said merrily.

Stunned, Luna Alicia’s eyes widened in shock. She blinks her eyes several times. "Naomi! Goodness, you are alive! Where have you been?" she asked, rushing to her side.

The two women hugged each other tightly.

"Are you okay?" Luna Alicia asked, inspecting her stepdaughter’s face closely.

"I’m fine, Mom," Naomi replied between tears.

"But what exactly happened? You disappeared without a trace for more than a year. We are so worried about you. We thought you were abducted by a serial killer and..." Luna Alicia shuddered at the scary image flashing in her head.

"Killed, then buried in the forest?" Naomi finished her stepmother’s statement.

"Yeah, we already thought of the worst because you didn’t message us about your whereabouts. There is no reason for you to leave without saying goodbye. You didn’t call us and we have no idea where you are. People don’t disappear without a trace unless something bad happens to them. I’m sorry, we already thought you would never come back to us alive," Luna Alicia said, teary-eyed.

"I’m back now, Mom. Don’t worry I’m fine," Naomi said gloomily.

"But you must tell me what happened to you? Where have you been all this time? I want to know!" Luna Alicia demanded.

Naomi took a deep breath. "Where is Dad? I want to see him first, then I will tell you what happened to me," she said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"OK. Let’s go to his study room," Luna Alicia replied.

The two women proceeded to the study room. They found Alpha Thomas staring blankly at the computer screen on his desk.

"Honey, your daughter is back!" Luna Alicia announced happily.

The look on Alpha Thomas’s face was pure shock, then replaced by gratefulness, thankful that his daughter is alive.

"I’m back, Dad! I’m so sorry I’ve been gone for too long. But I’m back safe and sound," Naomi said happily.

The father and daughter hugged each other. Happy to see each other again after a long time.

Alpha Thomas inspected his daughter’s face. "Where have you been, my daughter? Tell us! We are all devastated and consumed by grief when you disappear. We think someone has harmed you, which is why you didn’t contact us for a long time. Have you been kidnapped? Did somebody hurt you? The police authorities are useless. They can’t find you. You disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace. Can you tell us what happened to you?" he asked, bombarding her with questions, wanting to get to the bottom of her disappearance.

"I’m ready now to tell you everything that happened to me after my disappearance, Dad," Naomi said calmly.

They settled into the sofa.

Thick silence engulfed the room.

Naomi swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and decided to tell her family the truth. "Um, I got kidnapped by some people I don’t know," she began her narration.

Suddenly the door opened and Naomi’s siblings rushed inside after they learned from the guard that their sister had finally returned home safely.

A tearful reunion ensued between the three siblings.

"I’m glad you’re back, sis!" Bea hugged her sister. "I’ve been praying for your safe return all this time," she said. Tears fell from her eyes.

"I’m back now, sis. Thanks for your prayers," Naomi said joyously. "Now sit down on the sofa and I will tell you what happened to me during my captivity."

John hugged Naomi briefly. "I’m glad you’re back, sis! It’s a huge relief for all of us."

"I’m back, brother. I’m sorry I made everyone worry about me," Naomi said apologetically.

"Children, enough of the drama! Settle down on the sofa. I’m dying to hear what your sister has to say," Alpha Thomas said impatiently.

They all settled on the sofa, staring at Naomi, waiting for her to begin her story behind her disappearance.

Naomi took a deep breath, searching the faces of her family, wondering if they would still pity her after they knew everything.

"Guys, I know that you already think that I was kidnapped... and bad things happened to me that is why I was not able to contact you. All of this is true. I was a kidnap victim..." Naomi said, breathing hard. It’s quite difficult for her to speak about her life inside the windowless room but her family deserves to know the truth.

Her family held their breath, horror leaping from their eyes. They painfully waited for Naomi to continue with her narration.

"What happened during your captivity, my daughter? What did they do to you?" Alpha Thomas bravely asks the question no one has dared to ask.

Naomi took a long breath. "Thankfully I’m not tortured or harmed physically. But I was imprisoned in a windowless room together with this guy who was also a kidnap victim just like me," she explained.

Her family looked at each other, an expression of fear registered on their faces.

"Who is this guy? Did you know him? Did he hurt you?" Luna Alicia asked fearfully.

"I don’t know this guy." Naomi shook her head. She decided to lie about Alpha Maxwell’s identity.

"But why are you imprisoned in a room with a guy? Are there any kidnapped victims like you in the room?" John asked curiously.

"No. Just me and the guy. Then there is this robotic voice who regularly talks to us and instructs us what to do. The voice hidden in the ceiling told us that if we don’t fall in love with each other and produce a baby during our captivity, we will never get out of the facility alive." Naomi finally revealed the horrific truth. Now that the truth is finally out, she feels better. No need to hide what happened to her during her captivity.

Alpha Thomas’ face hardened. "Daughter, what did this guy do to you? Did he take advantage of you? Did he hurt you and forced himself on you? Answer me!" he demanded. His hands formed into a fist.

Naomi shook her head and said, "No. He never forced me. He never hurt me. He was kind to me." Her eyes shone with love and fondness for her husband.

"Sis, what happened next?" Bea asked.

This is the hard part. Naomi bit her lower lip in agitation. She continued: "The windowless room was scary but spacious and clean. We couldn’t leave the room. But they provided us with three meals a day. The bathroom was clean and the water was abundant. They provided us with a smart TV so we can hear music, watch videos and documentary shows to prevent us from going crazy," she elaborated further.

"That’s weird," John commented, scratching his head in bewilderment. "They kidnapped you and the guy so you would fall in love with each other and produce a baby? Sounds like the plot of a romantic suspense movie," he added in amazement.

"Strange indeed," Bea agreed.

"So, what happened next, daughter?" Luna Alicia asked, wanting to know the whole story from start to finish.

Tears shimmered in Naomi’s eyes. "If we want to leave the facility alive, we have no choice but to follow their command. The guy and I decided to do the deed in order to produce the baby that they wanted. I finally got pregnant, then carried the baby in my womb for nine months and then gave birth to a healthy baby boy. After our baby turned three months old, they finally released us."

Everyone was stunned to the core. They looked at each other. Expressions of shock and astonishment were flashing on their faces.

"Just like that? They finally released you unharmed?" John asked in utter disbelief.

"Yup. I’m home now because the mastermind stayed true to his promise to release me after I produced a baby during my captivity. And now, I miss my baby so much," Naomi said in a wretched tone, sobbing hard.

"But where is the baby now?" Luna Alicia asked worriedly.

"Mom, obviously the mastermind kept the baby. For what reasons we don’t know yet," Bea responded sadly.

"Oh, sorry to hear that," Luna Alicia murmured, feeling sorry for Naomi. Forcefully being separated from your baby is every mother’s worst nightmare.

"What happened to the guy?" Alpha Thomas asked.

"I didn’t see him again after I’d been released from captivity," Naomi replied with a sob.

"I think the guy was disposed of by the psychos after they got what they wanted," John commented casually.

"No, they can’t do that to him!" Naomi sobbed hysterically.

"Don’t be insensitive!" Bea elbowed her brother. "Don’t say that. Can’t you see she fell in love with the guy? You are hurting her feelings by saying her lover got killed."

John rolled his eyes. "Fine. I’ll keep my mouth shut."

Luna Alicia sat beside her distraught stepdaughter, enveloping her in a loving hug. She rubbed her back gently, comforting her.

Alpha Thomas watched his daughter weeping mesirably. His heart was torn to pieces. This is not the right time to ask his daughter if she still remembers the location of the place where she was imprisoned. She can’t think straight, she looks miserable right now.

Luna Alicia looks at her husband and said, "Naomi just came home today. She needs some rest. What she experienced was traumatic and she needs some time to recover. I will take her to her room."

"OK." Alpha Thomas gave his permission.

Luna Alicia and Naomi stood up.

Alpha Thomas sighed heavily. "Daughter, from now on forget about the guy who impregnated you and forget about your son. They no longer belong to your future. You have to continue living your life without them. Consider them part of a cruel dream. A dream that is not real. Do you understand?"

Naomi nodded her head and left the study room with her stepmother and siblings.

Left alone in the study room, Alpha Thomas stared at the wall, wearing a grim expression on his face. He wanted to find the criminals behind his daughter’s kidnapping and kill them all.

They must pay with their lives!