TWO

Chapter 2

“No, you had called to insert your two-bit nose into my life once again! I do not care who or how many men you take into your bed. I haven’t once interfered into your RELATIONSHIPS in the past years, so keep out of Daphne and my relationship as well.”

There it was! Isabelle smiled bitterly. The punch she had been waiting for. For him to take out his sword and cut her in half like he always does. Never in these 3 long years had he wondered what had actually happened that night, never questioned the supposed facts, even for a wife whom he had known, loved him so.

He had taken one look at her, lying unconscious in bed with a man, and decided that she had committed the ultimate sin. That the wife who loved him so much, was a slut, a cheater who would open her legs for any man who would want her.

He hadn’t asked her why. Hadn’t asked her if it was true and hadn’t allowed her to explain. For the great renowned Nikolas Demetriou, he didn’t use second-hand things and if there was even a question of her being touched by another man, he would no longer have anything to do with her.

And that had been that. He had cut her off, without even listening to her. Branded as the whore. Isabelle now wore it like a badge.

“Yes, I will keep out of your relationship with your fiancée, and now you can keep both me and my daughter out of your life too. Because she had refused to ever go back to Greece.” She cut the call after that deliberately and let his thousand-and-one call go unanswered after that.

Once upon a time in her life, she had let herself be the cowardly doormat for these people, but she would never let her daughter to be treated like that.

Isabelle was feeling a little guilty for sending Sophie to her kindergarten school today, even when the little one hadn’t wanted to. She had wanted to be home today, with mommy, to spend some time together, after staying almost two weeks with her papa in Greece and as much Isabelle had wanted the same, she had work today – a huge shipment was coming in today from Birmingham and she needed to be there to receive it.

But to make it up to Sophie, Isabelle decided they could have a movie night tonight, with lots of popcorn, her favourite animated movies, and staying up as late as she wants, since it was a weekend night.

Smiling to herself, imagining how excited Sophie would be, she went to pick her up from the kindergarten.

“But, Mrs. Lancaster. Sophie’s dad was here almost 2 hours ago, during lunchtime. He picked her up already.” Once she had read somewhere that getting burned alive was the most painful way to die, but she couldn’t comprehend how it could be more painful, scarier than this!

She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t speak, for minutes she couldn’t even focus on the woman in front of her. Nikolas had taken Sophie. He had taken Sophie two HOURS ago! He could be out of the country by now! Out of the jurisdiction of her country! Out of her reach!

Panic surged inside of her in waves, tearing her apart bit by bit as she felt the weight of every second. She had threatened him last night that Sophie was never going back to Greece with him, and now he had taken her! Taken her away from her!

No! NO! NO! Despite her hands shaking terribly, she started the car, she needed to go! She needed to find him and her daughter! Somehow! Please! She wasn’t even sure who she was pleading to. Stepping on the gas pedal with all her might, she took off, swerving left and right through the traffic, jumping more than one red light as she sped through the roads.

‘The Airport!’ Yes, she will have to go to the airport to stop him from taking her daughter away, and if he has already gone? A sliver of pain and fear mixed together moved down her spine. Her hands shook even further. ‘Then she would follow them to Greece.’ She told herself, ‘Follow them to the ends of the earth, to get her daughter back!’

‘Why can’t the car go any faster?’ She looked at the speedometer, she was going at 130mph, and yet it seemed to her that she had barely moved, she could feel herself sweating, water on her forehead, she pressed open a window, why wasn’t the AC working, she pressed the gas pedal even further with her feet, pressed it as hard as she could.

She needed to go faster. Her heart was racing like a wild horse. Please God! She needed to see her daughter! She needed to see her little girl.

Instead, she saw smoke coming out from the front of the car, a dark grey cloud of smoke bellowing out from the engine, the inside of the car getting even hotter. she braked, but it was already too late. The tyres screeched loudly, getting scarred across the road at an unnatural angle, before it came to a stop.

Isabelle knew she needed to get out and she tried, taking off her seatbelt, escaping towards the door, but it was already too late, she could smell it now, the metal burning. The smoke had turned into fire. She was coughing, trying to find the handle of the door in the smoke.

And her daughter was gone!

Nikolas Dimitrious had taken her! was the last thought in her mind before she lost consciousness and gave up into the darkness.