Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Victoria Daniels cut the call with shaking hands and looked up at her captors, hoping to high heavens that she had done well enough for them to be pleased with her act. She was terrified, more terrified than she had ever been in her life, but she was doing her best to look brave, although she was not sure it was working.

"Where did she say she is?" Charlotte asked as calmly as though she were asking if Victoria would like a cup of tea and as calmly as though she was not holding a gun to her head. Victoria quickly stammered out her sister's location, her voice shaking as she did so.

"Why won't that fucking bitch stay in one place? Just when I'm planning to make my move, she moves across the country and ruins my fucking plan! Where on earth does she think that I have the goddamn money to waste in flying some stupid bitch halfway across the fucking world?" Charlotte yelled angrily, pointing the gun firmly and directly at Victoria as though it was her fault that Carol had traveled. Victoria tried to shrink back away from her into the chair in which she was currently bound, but there was nowhere to go. She was trapped and what was worse was that she had no single clue what the hell was going on here and why these people were holding a gun to her head while Isabelle sat there and did nothing.

"Please, please don't kill me," She whimpered pitifully.

"Shut the fuck up and let me fucking think!" Charlotte yelled. She seemed to yell a lot. Victoria slammed her mouth shut, tears rolling down her cheek. She glanced at Jessica who was sitting in the corner and avoiding her gaze and knew as surely as she knew her own name that there will be no help there.

"What are you looking at her for?" Charlotte taunted her. "Next time, maybe in your next life, you will learn that not just anyone can be your friend."

"Please. I don't even know what any of this is all about. I swear that I'll keep my mouth shut and would not let anyone know that you were pointing a gun at Isabelle and me. I swear on my life."

"Your life is worth jack shit. Is that what she told you her name was?" Charlotte asked, smirking and glancing towards Jessica where she was still seated with her hands neatly folded in her laps and staring at them as she laced and unlaced her fingers. Jessica nodded feebly without looking at any of them.

"Yes. She's my friend." Victoria put in, not understanding the gravity of the situation that she was in.

"Christ. You're so naïve and fucking stupid that it's disgusting. She's not your friend, you imbecile. Look at her very well. Doesn't she look familiar to you?"

Victoria took another look at Jessica, as though she had not been seeing her for the past month every day. Jessica's head was still bent, so it was not as though she could see anything.

"No, she doesn't. I swear she doesn't."

"Jeez! Let's go." Charlotte spat in disgust and nodded at one of her men, indicating that they should go.

"You stay with her. I'll give instructions on what you should do with her when the time comes. For now, you're her babysitter. I don't have to tell you that if there are any issues, you'll be sorry, do I?" She spat at the other man.

"No, ma'am." He replied immediately.

"Jessica, you're coming with me. Let's go." She said, gesturing at her to follow as she walked out the door with the first man.

"Wait, your name is Jessica? Why did you lie to me then? What exactly is going on and who are all these people? Do you owe them money? I could get my sister to pay up the money for you, after all, she's a billionaire's wife, and she even offered to give me some money earlier." Victoria asked, staring in wonder at her so-called friend, who mouthed 'I'm sorry' as she passed, not knowing that that was the last time they would ever see themselves alive.

***

Carol walked unsurely out of the hotel resort that she was in, not knowing where to go or what to do, especially as it was already late in the evening. This resort had its own beach and even in the evening light, one could see just how beautiful the place was. Suddenly, she was fiercely glad that she had come on this trip. In the blink of an eye, all the stress that she had passed through in getting here flew away with the evening breeze as though it never was. She closed her eyes tightly, enjoying the evening breeze, allowing it to ruffle her hair and blow its strands every which way. She felt so free and alive, with the only thing missing being Sebastian.

Once he was here and she was able to see his gorgeous smile, handsome face and broad shoulders then everything would be very alright. She still refused to acknowledge the fact that she was treading a very dangerous path with this sudden infatuation she had with wanting to see Sebastian all the time and be with him or in his arms.

One thing she knew for sure, however, and that was that she was not going to leave this place without making sweet, passionate love to him. It was high time, and she was more than ready. In fact, her body longed for and trembled with the need for her to have him. Even as she thought about it now, her whole body was tingling with anticipation, so she steered her thoughts away from that path.

Since she was not such a good swimmer, and it was already getting late, so she was not certain that it would be a good idea to swim, she settled for watching the waves and enjoying the evening breeze.

There were a few persons who were still swimming at that time, while others just watched the waves like Carol and had conversations with each other. Since she did not have anyone to talk to, Carol found a bench on which she sat and just watched the waves for a long, long time, and then when she was tired of doing that, she stood up, intending to leave when a shadow blocked her path.

"Hello, Carol." The person said. She looked up in surprise, totally shocked that anyone here would know her and when she recognized the person, she gave a loud gasp of shock and surprise, considering that it was the last person that she had thought she would find here.