CHAPTER 11: Torments
1594 Words
Elena screamed as she read the message. “No… my daughter cannot be dead.”
Another message popped out.
OPEN THE DOOR, ELENA.
Elena was shattered. “How did he know my name?”
Elena was shivering and enclosed with fear. She paced down the sitting room with tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried reaching Melissa, then she saw another message.
WE KNOW WHERE MELISSA IS.
Elena’s eyes were filled with fear. She immediately tried calling Melissa again. This time, the call connected, but Melissa didn’t answer. The ringing continued, then suddenly someone answered.
Elena’s heart pounded.
“Sorry, ma’am. A young lady left this phone here.”
“Where did she leave the phone, and where is she?”
Before she could reply, Elena overheard someone calling, “Nurse, come over!” in the background, and the call ended.
Elena pondered. “Nurse?”
She couldn’t fathom why Melissa’s phone was picked by a nurse. She dialed the number again. It continued ringing, but no one picked.
Elena stood motionless. Her face was pale.
“Could it be something bad had really happened to Melissa?”
Then the front handle began to turn.
Slowly.
Someone was trying to enter.
Elena stepped backward.
Her eyes darted around the room.
There was nowhere to hide.
The handle moved again.
And then—
Bang!!
The door shook violently.
Elena screamed.
Another powerful bang echoed through the house.
BANG!
The door began to break.
Her mind raced.
Melissa was in danger.
And now someone was standing outside her door.
But before Elena could make a move, the door burst open.
She gasped.
A dark, huge figure stepped into the house.
And the first thing the stranger said is, “Tell your daughter to let go of the past.”
He held Elena by her neck, trying to compress her throat. Then he heard footsteps coming from the neighbors around. They heard the loud bang, and they all decided to come out and check where it came from.
The man whispered into Elena’s ears, “Today is your lucky day, but next time you might not be lucky.”
He let go of her and ran past the troops outside. Some chased after him, but he was too fast. They couldn’t meet up with him.
Elena remained frozen in the middle of the sitting room, her hand pressed against her throat where the stranger had held her some moments ago.
Her entire body trembled.
She could still feel the pressure of his fingers around her neck. She struggled to breathe as tears rolled down her cheeks.
The neighbors who gathered outside the house rushed into the house after seeing the man disappear into the darkness.
“Elena, are you okay?”
“Who was that man?”
Elena couldn’t answer.
Her eyes remained fixed on the broken door.
She was trying to understand what had just happened.
The stranger had entered her room as though he knew exactly where she lived.
He knew her name.
He knew about Melissa.
And somehow he knew about the past Elena has spent years trying to forget.
One of the neighbors gently held her arm.
“Please sit down.”
Elena allowed herself to be guided to the sofa.
Her breathing was still unsteady.
“I… I don’t know who he was.”
“Did he hurt you?”
Elena slowly shook her head.
“He held my neck.”
The neighbors exchanged frightened looks.
“Should we call the police?”
Elena looked towards the broken door.
“Yes.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“Call the police.”
One of the men immediately pulled his phone to call the police.
Elena reached out for her phone. Her hands were shaking badly that she nearly dropped it. She stared at the threat messages again.
WE KNOW WHERE MELISSA IS.
Her heart tightened.
Melissa. That was all she could think about.
She immediately dialed Melissa’s number again. The phone rang once, twice, thrice. No answer.
Elena’s eyes were filled with tears.
“Please pick up, my child.”
Elena sat upright.
“Had something happened to my daughter?”
Julia, Elena’s next neighbor, patted her on her back.
“I know Melissa. She is a strong woman. She will be fine. I know she is safe.”
Elena nodded slowly.
“But why isn’t she picking?”
“I have been trying to reach her for hours.”
She looked towards the broken door.
“And now someone broke into my house and threatened me because of her.”
Everyone could feel Elena’s fears.
A few minutes later, the police arrived.
Two officers entered into the house while some others stayed outside.
“What happened?”
Elena slowly explained what transpired.
“Can you describe this man that broke into your house?”
“He was very tall, huge. He wore black clothes.”
“Did you see his face?”
“No.”
“Did he say anything?”
Then she remembered his words.
“He told me to tell my daughter to let go of the past.”
“He also said today was my lucky day, that next time I might not be lucky.”
The officer frowned.
He wrote down everything.
He snapped all the messages that were sent to Elena and told her all would be investigated.
Elena nodded, but her mind was somewhere else. She needed to find Melissa.
At Bellavista Hospital, Melissa sat with her both hands clasped together. It had been almost five hours since Liam was taken inside. She stared at the closed doors. Every time they opened the door, her heart jumped.
Melissa had forgotten she had left her phone at the receptionist desk when she had gone to make enquiries about Liam.
Melissa couldn’t stop thinking about what happened at the hotel.
The attack.
The men.
Liam’s injury.
Melissa tried pulling out her phone to call Elena. At this time, she wanted to be truthful because she needed a shoulder to lean on, but when her fingers reached out to her bag, she paused.
Her phone was gone.
It wasn’t in her bag.
She searched again. Nothing.
Her heart raced.
She remembered having it when they arrived at the hospital. She remembered using it to text her mother, but after that, she couldn’t remember.
“Oh God.”
She stood up.
“My phone.”
A nurse passing by noticed her distress.
“Is everything okay?”
“My phone is missing.”
“Where did you last have it?”
“I don’t know.”
The nurse looked concerned.
Before the nurse could respond, a doctor hurried out of the emergency room.
“Are you Melissa?”
“Yes.”
“I’m the doctor attending to Liam.”
“How is he?”
“He is alive.”
Melissa released a breath she didn’t know she was holding.
“But his injuries are serious.”
“Will he be okay?”
“We are doing everything we can.”
Melissa nodded.
“Can I see him?”
“Not yet. We are still treating him.”
Just then, a nurse rushed out.
“Doctor, please, we need you inside.”
The doctor immediately turned.
“What happened?”
“His condition changed.”
Melissa’s heart sank.
“Liam?”
The nurse nodded.
“His blood pressure is falling again.”
The doctor hurried into the emergency room again.
Melissa stood alone in the hallway.
She felt completely helpless.
She closed her eyes.
“Please survive, Liam.”
The sound was coming from somewhere nearby, a vibration like her phone sound. She looked around. A nurse was standing behind a small desk. Something was vibrating on top of it.
A phone.
Melissa immediately recognized it.
Her phone.
She rushed towards it.
“That’s mine.”
The nurse looked surprised.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Melissa grabbed the phone.
The screen was filled with missed calls. Almost all of them were from Elena.
Her heart tightened.
She immediately called her mother. The call connected.
“Mom?”
There was no answer.
“Mom…”
She heard her mom reply with a teary voice.
“Melissa? Is this you?”
“Yes, Mom.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Mom?” Melissa called again.
Elena’s breathing trembled through the phone.
“Melissa.”
“Yes, Mom. What happened?”
Elena swallowed hard, tears streaming down her face.
“Where are you?”
“I’m at Bellavista Hospital. I’m waiting for Liam. Why?”
Another silence.
“Mom, you are scaring me.”
Elena exhaled. She took a deep breath of relief that Melissa was safe. She gasped for breath and smiled wryly.
Elena looked at the broken door, then lowered her voice.
“Melissa, someone just broke into the house.”
Melissa’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“He came looking for you.”
Her heart stopped.
“Looking for me?”
Elena tightened her grip on the phone.
“He told me to tell you something.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“He said…”
Her voice broke.
“He said you need to let go of the past.”
Melissa broke.
The words sent a cold shiver down her spine, because there was only one person who could possibly know she was digging in Romano’s disappearance, which is Liam Bellini, who is lying unconscious on the hospital bed.
Just then, the doctor walked briskly to Melissa.
“We have lost him”…
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