THE PRICE OF HER TEARS:9
1025 Words
Episode 9: The Woman in the Black SUV
The black SUV disappeared into the afternoon traffic, leaving behind nothing but dust and unanswered questions.
Inside the house, Florence stood by the window, watching the empty road. An uneasy feeling settled deep inside her chest. She couldn’t explain it, but it felt as though someone had been watching her.
She drew the curtain shut and turned away.
For now, her children needed her more than her fears did.
“Mummy!” Divine giggled as he toddled across the sitting room with his favorite toy clutched tightly in his tiny hands.
Florence smiled despite the weight on her heart. She bent down and scooped him into her arms, kissing his forehead.
“No matter what happens,” she whispered, “I will never let anyone take you away from me.”
Angela and Tracy exchanged worried glances.
They had never seen their mother so protective.
Not even when Gilbert’s temper had shaken the walls of their home.
⸻
Across the city, Barrister Daniel Joe drove toward his office with the anonymous phone call replaying in his mind.
“She’s in danger.”
“Gilbert isn’t acting alone.”
“If Florence stays in that house tonight…”
The caller hadn’t sounded frightened.
They had sounded certain.
Daniel tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
Whoever was helping Florence possessed information that only someone very close to Gilbert could know.
As soon as he arrived at his office, his secretary hurried toward him.
“Sir, someone has been waiting for you.”
Daniel frowned.
“I don’t have any appointments.”
“She insisted.”
“Who is she?”
The secretary lowered her voice.
“She refused to give her name.”
Daniel hesitated before opening his office door.
A woman dressed in an elegant cream-colored suit stood with her back to him, staring out the window.
She turned slowly.
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“You…”
The woman smiled faintly.
“It’s been a long time.”
⸻
Meanwhile, Gilbert sat inside an exclusive private club, swirling a glass of expensive wine.
Across from him sat a sharply dressed man with silver hair and piercing blue eyes.
Unlike Gilbert, the older man spoke very little.
When he did, every word carried weight.
“Are the papers ready?” he asked.
Gilbert nodded confidently.
“My lawyer has already begun the process.”
“And Florence?”
Gilbert’s expression darkened.
“She still believes this is only about custody.”
The older man chuckled.
“Good.”
Gilbert leaned forward.
“Once I have Divine, she’ll have nothing left.”
The man’s smile disappeared.
“No.”
Gilbert looked confused.
“You’re thinking too small.”
The older man placed a thick envelope on the table.
Inside were photographs.
Not of Florence.
Not of Divine.
But of another little boy.
Gilbert stared at them in confusion.
“Who is this child?”
The older man slowly folded his hands.
“The reason everything began.”
⸻
Back at Daniel’s office, silence filled the room.
The mysterious woman remained standing.
Daniel finally spoke.
“I thought you left the country years ago.”
“I did.”
“Why are you back?”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Because Florence’s life depends on it.”
Daniel’s heartbeat quickened.
“You know Florence?”
“I know far more than she does.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Who are you?”
Instead of answering, the woman opened her handbag and carefully removed an old photograph.
She handed it to him.
Daniel looked down.
His face turned pale.
The picture showed a much younger Florence standing beside a smiling couple.
Between them was a newborn baby wrapped in a white blanket.
Daniel looked back at the woman.
“This… this isn’t possible.”
“It is.”
“The date on this photograph…”
“…changes everything,” she finished quietly.
Daniel struggled to find his voice.
“Does Florence know?”
The woman slowly shook her head.
“No.”
“And she must not know.”
“Not yet.”
⸻
That evening, Florence prepared dinner while the children helped set the table.
For the first time in weeks, the house felt peaceful.
Mama Grace arrived carrying fresh vegetables from her garden.
“You need strength,” she said warmly.
Florence smiled.
“I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
Mama Grace laughed softly.
“You’d survive.”
“But it’s easier when people stand beside you.”
As they sat down to eat, Florence’s phone vibrated.
A text message appeared.
Do not sleep in your bedroom tonight.
Her smile vanished.
Another message followed immediately.
Someone is coming.
Florence’s hands began to shake.
She looked toward the window.
Outside…
Nothing.
Just darkness.
She quickly deleted the messages before the children noticed.
“Mummy?”
Angela looked concerned.
“Are you alright?”
Florence forced another smile.
“Yes.”
But she wasn’t.
Not anymore.
⸻
Hours later…
The children were asleep.
Instead of using her bedroom, Florence quietly spread blankets on the sitting-room floor.
She told the children they were having a family sleepover.
Divine clapped excitedly.
Angela smiled.
Even Tracy laughed.
None of them questioned it.
Just after midnight…
A loud c***k echoed from the back of the house.
Florence’s eyes flew open.
Someone had entered the compound.
She gently covered Divine’s mouth before he could make a sound.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Moving toward the bedroom she had chosen not to use.
The bedroom door creaked open.
A flashlight swept across the empty bed.
The intruder froze.
Then another figure whispered from outside the window,
“She’s not here.”
A deep voice answered,
“Find her.”
Florence held her breath as the children slept beside her, unaware that death—or something far worse—had just walked into their home.
Then…
A mobile phone suddenly rang inside the intruder’s pocket.
The caller’s name flashed brightly across the screen.
GILBERT.
And before the intruder could silence it, Florence saw his face.
She gasped silently.
It was someone she had trusted for years.
- Writer
