20 hours
~Celine~
I could hear the thumping and pounding of their feet on the earth drawing closer and closer, the wind blowing against my face violently as I dashed through the woods.
And just when I thought I was going to lose them because of Kiara, my wolf’s commendable running skills, my ears caught the roars of power bikes behind me.
“Sh*t! Is this man going to ever let me be?!”
Bursting out of the moist, cold woods, I met the tarred, long, and quiet road. It was 3 a.m.… of course, it was going to be quiet.
Looking back to see how great I was doing, I found out the bikes were just behind me. I couldn’t count how many they were because they had their headlights so bright, I could hardly see anything behind them.
All of a sudden, just at the perfect time, I saw someone walking out of the midnight bar a few meters away from me, heading to his car.
Just then, an idea struck in my head. I knew I was going to get caught if I just kept running.
“Hey! Help me! Please help me!” I cried out as I drew closer to his car.
“What?!” The man asked, and without wasting any time, I opened his car door and jumped into the front seat.
“Get in right now and drive! If we don’t go now, you’ll get killed!” I yelled in terror, and in a twinkle of an eye, he was in the car already.
Just like I wanted, without hesitation, he pressed the accelerator so hard and we dashed off with maximum speed.
I kept my eyes on the road through the front mirror watching how these bikes weren’t relenting either.
“Who the hell are they? What do they want with you? Who are you?!” The driver asked, panting and driving as fast as he could.
“$500,000! To get me out of New Orleans tonight!”
“$500,000?!”
“In or not?!”
“Buckle your seat belt.”
Taking a turn to the right, we drove down an old path, going into the darkness of the morning even more.
*
I am Celine Gomez, the first daughter and only child of the great Alpha Darius Gomez.
I have been living in fear of my father since I was a child. I was only seven when I first witnessed one of my father’s brutal killings, and this wasn’t just anyone he killed, but my mother. My biological mother!
He snapped her neck in rage like she was some dry stick when I was right there in the room with her.
As if this wasn’t enough, he wants me to get married to his friend! Why would a father want his twenty-three-year-old daughter to settle with a man of his age?
I had always dreamt of escaping this cursed man I had as a father, but it had been extremely difficult. Even when I ran far away, he would always find me and bring me back to him.
But this time, I will be gone for good! He will never find me. I will never get married to his friend.
*
After spending a day on the road with a total stranger, we finally got to New York City. I breathed her air deeply as I began to anticipate living the life I’ve always wanted for myself.
“Let’s secure my apartment first, then I’ll send you your money,” I uttered.
“No! We are not doing that. The deal was to bring you to New York and here we are. Don’t waste any more time, okay? Let me have my money.” He responded coldly and tiredly.
Who wouldn’t be tired after driving nonstop for a whole day?
“Fine.” I muttered, pulling out my phone from my pocket so I could transfer the money.
Part of the benefits of being famous and wealthy is that I don’t have to go to the bank before I can transfer a huge amount of money.
“Done,” I uttered, and almost immediately, a message popped into his phone. “That is it, right?” I asked, and he nodded, checking his phone screen.
Suddenly, he parked his car at the roadside and switched off its engine.
“We are done. It’s time for you to leave.” He uttered.
“What? I haven’t gotten an apartment yet. I still need you to take me around so I can find the perfect house.”
“No, you don’t need me, okay? You’re rich! You can always hire another driver. I need to go back to my family.” He uttered.
Though I felt heartbroken he wanted to get rid of me as fast as he could, I understood him. He had his life to live too.
“Okay. It was nice riding with you.” I answered, unlocking the seatbelt and stepping out of his car.
Stepping away from the road, I heard him zoom off before I could even wave him goodbye.
“He does hate me.”
I stared at my phone in my hand, knowing fully well it was time to get rid of it too. I wasn’t going to underestimate my father’s ability to find me.
If he’s tracking my phone, then I better lose it somewhere I’ll never be again.
Without further delay, I smashed the phone on the ground. Its crashing sound drew the attention of those who walked by me, but I care less.
I began to crush it with my boots until I was fully satisfied.
“Let’s do this, Celine,” I said to myself as I began to walk away. I still had my credit card, and I needed to withdraw some money, if not all from my account before he could trace my bank activities too.
I found an ATM as I kept walking down the road, and I decided to stop and withdraw some money.
Slotting my card in, I got the most shocking message of my life.
“Dear Celine, your account has been frozen?! What the hell?!”