Bloom in Deception

ChapterThree:UnknownHorizons

Samantha’s fingers tightened on her jacket until her knuckles ached. The central lock’s click still echoed in her ears like a gunshot in a quiet room.

“Pull over,” she said, forcing the words out steady with her last strength even though her pulse hammered at her throat.

She was unconscious! But these words remained in her mouth. She had said this a thousand and one time to the driver before the tragedy stricken.

She managed to open her eyes; there was crowd of viewers around. She still don’t know what happened what had happened, but it was obvious something terrible occurred.

The ambulance drove in, lifted her into the van and zoomed off to the nearby emergency ward. it was a fight of mental life and death for her.

Samantha laid unconscious for three days in the hospital. Couldn’t talk, nor eat just her eyes moving and her purse beating showed she was still alive. It was though the universe needed to give her “special rest” from all the tension she is faced for years and her stocked mind.

Samantha regained consciousness late in the evening of the third day after the incidence, the first person she saw was Lila. Her friend she intended to go and meet in “Hudson Valley” though was unable to really to that was Lila but knew she recognized that person.

At first she her eyes where blurred, everything not appearing real in it’s right form but her mind and eyes begin to reconcile in agreement quickly. After an hour, finally that was Lila beside her all those while.

Samantha: “Lila, what are you doing here?” She asked calmly with whole lot of concern.

Lila: Thank God you are recovering. We will talk about that later.

Samantha: where is Ethan and my mom?

Lila: “Everybody is fine. I have not told them anything, I don’t want Rose to be worried. Though……”

A nurse stepped in:

Nurse: “ Mrs Samantha, how are you?”

The nurse asked as though trying to pick words from a toddler.

Samantha: “ I am fine thank you”

“ Nurse can you tell me what I should be doing here? The last thing I remembered was that I boarded a taxi going to your house Lila” she immediately turned to Lila for a confirmation.

Nurse: Your vehicle had a fatal accident; your driver lost his life on the spot. Details were gathered through his phone that he was a bad guy that change passengers route at any slit opportunity, take them to the gangster building down the road, for organ harvesting especially when there are urgent clients waiting. According to little investigations gathered, he never planned for this; he would had poured a substance in the vehicle to make you unconscious but the deal came unexpectedly and he wanted to just ma over his way. God really saved you” the Nurse explained

“Investigation is still on though” the nurse added as she continued to observe and check Samantha’s vitals.

Samantha pursed her lips for minutes and too a deep sigh “hmmmmmmmm” the sigh sent a huge message; it is actually what the mouth could not say nor explain or express. then managed to say, “Where is my luggage and my belongings? Where they able to retrieve any?”

Nurse: “yes! God was really on your side. Everyone knew that was God on your side” “the police had in their course study every bit of items suggested to be your property for proper investigation. Once you are discharged, your properties will be handed over to you. Just relax”

Lila: “I got a call from the emergency unit telling me they got my number and address from your luggage some days ago”.

“What is the way forward now?” she said, turning to the nurse.

Nurse: She is very lucky! No serious injury, just minor scratches on her hands and legs, but I believe she will be relieved soon.

Samantha, how are you feeling?

“I am very fine” Samantha replied.

Lila: “Persons can be so heartless...”

(The doctor came in.)

Doctor: “Hello, Samantha. How are you doing now? From your scans and checks, you are fine. thank God you have regained your consciousness. all you need is bed rest for some time and you will be discharged soon. The nurses will always be available to attend to meet ur needs, tend your minor injuries and give you the required care.

The next week, Lila took Samantha home. This time, Samantha was now very strong, had fully gathered back her mind and think well but one thing came back; the pain she choose to leave behind in Marcus house and the unknown feature she is about to face.

Samantha sat on the edge of the mattress in the room that Lila showed her to be her room till she is settled; elbows on knees, and let herself feel the ache of everything that had happened, including missing him(Marcus). It was a physical thing, sharp behind her sternum, like a bruise she kept pressing to see if it still hurt.

Yes, it did!

Samantha sat in the silence for a long moment. “Finally I can breathe outside that house now hmmm” (Samantha murmured to herself ) reaching out to her laptop bag where Lila had kept it close to the bedside in the room. She cannot wait any longer to submit applications for jobs.

All she thought about was, “Ethan needs me, I can't afford to see him lack anything”. She opened the laptop. The screen glowed blue against the dimming room. She pulled up the folder labelled “Applications”, created six months ago in secret before Marcus came back at night or during late-night sessions while Marcus slept downstairs. Inside were résumés tailored for different roles, cover letters she had rewritten a dozen times, and a LinkedIn profile scrubbed of anything that might lead back to her old life.

She scrolled through the job boards she had bookmarked: Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and local Hudson Valley listings. Her eyes caught on one she had saved two weeks earlier but hadn’t dared apply to yet.

Blackwood & Associates (A prestigious tech firm known for high-profile clients in lifestyle, tech, and classy brands) Their headquarters occupied a restored estate on the outskirts of town part historic property, the kind of place that appeared in architectural magazines.

The listing was for a marketing coordinator: mid-level, creative, with room for growth, Salary range that made her breath catch, Benefits, hybrid work option.

She stared at the screen until the words blurred. "Too good to be true," her old voice whispered. 'Too visible.' Marcus knows people in those circles. He’ll find you.(something whispered within her)

She closed her eyes, Counted to ten, opened them again.

The other voice, the one that had grown louder in the last few months, spoke more clearly now:

“You are allowed to want more than survival”

She clicked ‘Apply’

The application portal loaded. She uploaded her résumé, attached the cover letter she had polished until the sentences felt like armor, and in the additional comments box, she typed:

‘ I am relocating to the Hudson Valley for a fresh start and am eager to bring my dedication and fresh perspective to Blackwood & Associates’

No mention of her marriage, no mention of her son, and no mention of the years she had spent shrinking herself to fit someone else’s expectations.

She hit submit before doubt could claw its way back in.

The confirmation email arrived almost immediately:

Thank you for your application. Due to the volume of applicants, we will only contact candidates selected for an interview.

She exhaled, long and slow. One application. One step.

She placed Ethan’s baby blanket, a soft yellow cotton frayed at one corner, across the foot of the bed.

She pulled out a new phone from its pack (Lila had gotten her another phone on their way home, after the discharge from the hospital). It is now a new number, a new carrier, and a new everything. She opened the video call app and dialed; Rose (she really needed to hear from her mum and son; they did not know what had happened so far) “I know she must have been really worried now,” she said. Rose answered on the first ring. Ethan’s face filled the screen, cheeks flushed from running around the backyard, a smudge of dirt on his nose.

Mommy!” He grinned, gap-toothed and bright. “Grandma said you are safe and okay.”

“Yes, I am, sweetheart.”

“But why didn’t we hear from you these days?”

“Darling, we will talk about that when we see.”

He nodded solemnly. “Can I come soon?”

“Soon,” she promised. “Mommy has to find a job first. Then we’ll figure out the rest.”

Rose appeared behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder. “ Is there anything you are not telling me? What happened? you’re look unusual! need anything? I can send a rider to deliver it to you anywhere”

“I’m okay, Mum. I need some rest now. We’ll talk about everything when we see each other, but I’ll shop tomorrow.” Samantha forced a smile.

“He’s been asking about you every hour and day since last week we spoke last” she said quietly. “He’s fine, though; eating, playing and sleeping. We’re okay here.”

“I know.” Samantha’s throat tightened. “Thank you, Mom.”

“You don’t thank family for doing what family does for assistance. Just…take care of yourself and be strong up there. One step at a time.”

Immediately after Samantha dropped the call with Ethan and Rose, Samantha discovered the worst possible violation: the small zippered pouch hidden in her luggage, the one containing her passport, Ethan’s birth certificate, and every scrap of emergency cash she had secretly saved for two years, was missing and Completely gone.

The police had returned the luggage sealed, evidence tape intact. No one mentioned tampering. Yet someone had known precisely where to look, what to take, and how to leave no obvious trace.

Her thoughts snap back to the incident and now her only way to prove identity, to protect Ethan legally, to disappear again if she must, have vanished.

Someone is monitoring me

Someone already knows where she’s hiding.

Someone already has the keys to track her down.

As she kneels frozen beside the gutted suitcase, a soft knock comes at the bedroom door. Lila’s concerned voice drifts through: “Samantha? Are You okay in there? I thought I heard something fall.”

Samantha’s pulse roars in her ears. She forces out a calm “I’m fine,” but she knows Lila will not believe it.