CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 69

Maria’s POV

I think I rubbed my ears as I was thrown aback by that revelation. I wanted to believe that it was a joke until Alice repeated it again— Maria, I am your mother.

Everything seemed to confuse me. For a moment, I wasn’t able to form words in response.

"I told you not to tell her," Mother snapped at Alice, even going as far as hitting Alice.

"Mother, what’s going on here?" I faced my mum.

"Don’t listen to her," Mother whispered and held my hand gently. "That’s my sister who I told you was a seer. She actually ran mad. None of her words are logical."

I narrowed my eyes, my head becoming filled with thoughts as I tried remembering what mother told me about her sister. She mentioned her sister’s name was Alice, and she ran mad from being a seer.

I stared at Alice who was still nursing the hurting part of her abdomen that mother had hit her. She didn’t look like someone who was suffering from any sort of mental illness. She had taken care of me while I was at Trevor’s place.

"Don’t listen to her," Alice said with a shaky voice. She reached out to touch me again, but mother hit her off.

"Aunt Alice, it’s so good to meet you again, but you need some rest and you should stop saying all these things." I noticed Alice’s eyes grow dim at that statement.

She forced a smile and hung the bag that she brought along with her over her shoulders. She didn’t say a word, and she walked out of the packhouse into the darkness of the night.

"Maria," mother called out as she hugged me tightly.

When we disentangled from the hug, I stared at the woman I called mother my entire life, demanding for an answer.

"If I’m not your biological daughter, then who is my mother if it isn’t Alice? You said Alice is your only sister."

She didn’t respond, but darted her eyes around in an uncomfortable manner.

"Mother, I’m asking a question. Answer me, please! I deserve to know who I am."

"Fine!" Mother screamed in a way that caused me to almost stumble backwards in shock. "She is your mother, and I’m not going to let you go back to her."

She stopped shouting and father had now emerged from inside. His eyes were a bit reddened like he had been sleeping. Mother’s chest rose and fell in rapidly, her eyes were bloodshot, and I could clearly decipher that she was angry.

She pushed through me and my father and stormed inside. My father and I exchanged confused glances. He was about to say something else when she emerged a few minutes later. She held a contraption that I had similar looks to the defense tool Trevor gifted me.

Before we could say anything, she shot out something like shards from the tool, and it landed on me and father. I felt my legs become weak like they were made of water and I collapsed to the ground immediately. Father groaned and also collapsed as well.

I saw a blurry image of a shadow towering over me, but it wasn’t my mother because I could see her faintly in front of me.

"It is finally time," I heard mother say, and that was the last thing she said before everything went black.

***************

Droplets on water fell on my forehead. I tossed around with dizzy eyes and brushed them off lazily. I opened my eyes and gasped when I looked around my surroundings.

Wet concrete floor, dimly lit room with crates stacked behind and restriction as one of my hand was bound to the wall.

I screamed in fear as I noticed my father and Sasha who were still unconscious and bound to the wall too. Both of their hands were tied, unlike— I had only one hand tied.

My screams still didn’t wake them up. The last thing I recalled was how mother brought out that tool that I couldn’t recognize and shot out something at me and father.

I struggled to get closer to father to tap him to wake up. I needed to understand what was happening and who had kidnapped us.

Was mother abducted as well? Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach father because of where I was stuck on the wall.

I gasped again when I looked behind me and saw Alice’s unconscious form there. Blood was smeared over her forehead and I screamed at the gory sight.

"What’s happening here?" I shouted at the top of my voice, hoping to wake up from this horrible dream.

My chest was already pounding heavily and I became restless as I struggled hard to free myself. The harder I tried to get free, the more the handcuffs burned my skin. I studied the restraint and noticed it was made of silver.

I heard footsteps approaching, and a familiar voice talking with someone. It seemed like it was two people.

"Mother?" I called out as I saw her approach with a man. Relief flooded my chest as it dawned on me that she was safe.

"You’re awake." She chuckled, making me seem even more confused. She crouched down to my level on the floor and twirled my hair in her finger. "I had always known that you were the strongest of everyone."

My breathing became laboured as I struggled to put the pieces together. Was she the one responsible for doing this, and why? I was just worried about her a minute earlier, but here she was, teasing and mocking me.

She held my second hand which was free and stuffed it into a silver handcuff. I screamed and tried to fight her off, but my efforts barely scratched the surface as the silver effect overpowered me.

"Now, I just have to wait for the rest of you to wake up." She sneered with a tiny smile dancing at the corner of her lips.

I raised my weak head to look at her with glassy eyes. "Why are you doing this to us?"

She folded both arms on her chest. "You’d understand soon."

She turned towards the man who accompanied her. "Get me Azazel."

He bowed his head slightly and left to carry out her order. While I was still struggling with the handcuffs, father turned and woke up. His face was shadowed with shock as he noticed his restrained hand.

"Azazel," Mother called out as the man she sent on an errand returned with another man. This man was taller than the former, had a scar running down his chest.

Shock was smeared over my features as I noticed the man. Oh goddess. I also recognized this room. This was the room I woke up in after I was kidnapped the time I tried escaping from my arranged marriage. And this was the same man I encountered that had yanked off my veil.

He narrowed his eyes at me as though also recognizing me. I looked away, and then I heard father’s voice cutting through the brief moment of silence.

"What’s going on here?" Father screamed as he struggled with the chains on his wrist. He grimaced his face as he struggled to free himself. It was obvious that the silver was also burning him.

"Oh, Reynolds, my mate and husband, you never learn, do you?" Mother whispered and she moved closer to him and lifted his chin to look at her.

"Laura, what’s all this?" Father questioned once again.