Every tick of the clock was pertinent to Vanessa. Those mobs had only given her an hour to get the money or else they would hurt Sophia, and the thought of Sophia getting hurt almost drove her mad. The moment she received the cheque from the doctor she hurried out of the hospital almost bumping into different people on her way out. She would have apologized, but not today.
She looked at the time and there were less than fifty minutes left to make a trip to the bank to cash out the check, before heading to the house. Vanessa almost broke down in tears when she thought about the impossibility of making it in time. She calmed herself down and gathered herself. Panic wasn't going to do her any good. Forty, forty minutes was enough to do everything that had to be done to save her sister...It had to, she convinced herself.
Flagging down a cab, she hopped into it before it made a complete stop. "City Bank, hurry" she splurted out, and whatever anxiety was etched on her face brought the feeling of urgency on the driver as he stepped on the pedal.
Vanessa had her heart at a frantic pace, as she had her eyes fixed on the time all through the trip to the bank. Luckily she made it in time, escaping the end of banking hours by a few more minutes.
She raced into the bank and made all the necessary transactions. She withdrew only the money they owed the thugs and not a cent more. She thought it wise to have just that amount since she didn't know what those men would do if she came home with more than expected. They definitely couldn't be trusted.
She deposited the rest of the money in her bank account, deciding she would come for the rest to settle out the other groups they owed.
When Vanessa hopped out of the cab which stopped in front of her house, it was 05:58 pm. She arrived just at the nick of time, two minutes before the stipulated hour was exhausted. She ran into the house, and the clique of thugs feasting on a bowl of noodles in her kitchen was the sight that welcomed her.
All eyes turned to her the moment she rushed into the apartment. She panted heavily as beads of sweat streamed down her face, while she clogged the cash-filled envelope tightly against her chest and desperately called her sister's name, "Sophia?" not minding the number of eyes fixed on her and the envelope.
Her eyes darted across the room but there was no sight of the girl. "Sophia?" She loudly called again, a roller coaster of emotion sweeping through her face as horrendous thoughts seeped through her mind, making her heart thump hardly against her chest. She turned to the men who were still seated at her dining table, looking at her with inscrutable gazes.
The leader of the group tsked as he lifted his eyes from his watch, "What a shame, I was thinking about having a little bit of fun with your sister, and with you of course, but it seems I got disappointed" He painfully sighed as he looked her over until his eyes stayed on the envelope which she was holding against her chest.
"Where is my sister?" She demanded, her tone was strong yet fear hinted at every sound she made, but the men chose that moment not to answer her.
She started towards the door leading to the bedroom, but one of the men was quick to block her path, tilting his chin towards the envelope, silently ordering her to pass it over. But Vanessa moved it to the side, away from his sight. She couldn't trust them. These men had threatened to harm her sister who she couldn't see right now, for what she knows they might have hurt her.
"I'll see my sister first." She fiercely demanded before calling out her name again. "Sophia!" but there still was no answer.
Fear slowly crept into her heart. She craned her neck to look behind the man's shoulders as she kept on calling Sophia's name. Her heart skipped several beats when she heard a muffled sound emanate from the room behind, but the bully of man was blocking her path.
She snapped her head towards the men seated at the dining and angrily yet fearfully asked, "What have you done to my sister?!"
The leader surreptitiously signalled the man which was still blocking Vanessa's path to take the money, and before Vanessa could react she felt the envelope being snatched from her hold. She tried to reach back for it, but who was she kidding?
"Give that back until I see my sister!" She yelled as she made another futile attempt to retrieve the envelope. She could barely keep herself up as fear and worry for Sophia were slowly overwhelming her.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Came the leader's cold, menacing voice which made Vanessa turn and looked at him.
"We're honest businessmen, and we only asked back for what we were owed, so be rest assured we didn't hurt a strand of the sweet girl's hair, after all, she made us Noodles." He said as he flashed her an eery smile while his minions cackled as they nodded to their boss' words affirmatively. But his smile suddenly disappeared from his face bringing to her clear view the real look of a mob. "But it wouldn't remain so if that money is a cent short." He warned.
Vanessa did fret at his threat because she was certain the money was complete, but she still couldn't trust the word of a dangerous man such as this. Only an insane person would. All she wanted was to see her sister, safe and sound.
Vanessa impatiently watched as they counted every note. Mobs were indeed mobs, trust lacking people.
"You should have brought a money counting machine." She hissed, and the cold gaze which she got for a reply made her gulp and turn away.
Her eyes darted towards the door while her heart continuously raced. Her hands kept quivering by her side as thoughts of what could be happening to Sophia kept searing through her mind, making her sweat all over. She clenched it into a fist to get a grip.
This was all her father's fault! Unlike other fathers who left fortunes for their children, hers felt it nice and convenient to leave an inheritance of a web of debt. Now, not only were they threatened, but Sophia could have already been harmed. This was all his fault!
Blames weren't going to cause a dent in this situation, but her father owed her this much — to bear the blame.
Her eyes darted to the leader's face when she heard one of the men say, "Boss, it's complete."
The man turned to her with a satisfied smile which creeped her out, as he stood up to his feet and approached her, his men following suit.
"It was nice doing business with you. At least you're better than your father. I don't mind giving you a loan with a better interest rate, of course."
"You can keep your money, I'll never need it." Vanessa firmly declared while the man shrugged.
The side of his lips curved upwards, "Never say never, darling." His fingers inched towards her hair, but Vanessa turned her face away.
The man scoffed.
He signalled the man blocking her path to step aside and she immediately dashed through the door, frantically calling out Sophia's name.
Tears pooled in her eyes when she finally saw her sister lying on the floor of the bedroom with her mouth, hands and feet, taped.
"Sophia are you okay?" She worried asked as she crouched down by her side and took the tape off the girl's mouth, earning a painful cry from her, before taking the others from her feet and hand.
"Did they hurt you? Are you hurt?" Vanessa asked as she looked the girl over. Sophia shook her head to assure her that she was fine.
"Are you sure?" Vanessa pressed. She was still so worried. She had spent the last one hour thinking about her safety, so she was really shaken up. Her eyes kept scanning her over.
"I'm fine Nessa. Are they gone?" The girl asked her fearfully.
Vanessa wrapped her hand around her and tightly hugged her, "They're gone." She told her. "And they're never coming back. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." She apologized as tears rolled down her cheek, relief washing through her.
"I promise to do better, and protect you more," Vanessa assured her as she let more tears roll down her cheek. Sophia broke free from the hug and wiped her sister's tears.
"Nessa you're doing a good job taking care of me already. Don't cry anymore. Don't worry, we'll always protect each other." Sophia said as she wrapped her hand around her sister and buried her head on her chest, while Vanessa hugged her back. They both needed some time to calm down.
"How did you get the money?" Sophia remembered to ask. Though she was just a teenager, she knew the money they owed was a huge amount, and that was something Vanessa couldn't have just come across easily.
"Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine." Vanessa said patting her hair gently. First thing tomorrow she would go out and settle their other debts, and then she would start looking for a job. The money paid had been enough to settle the bulk majority of their debts, but she would have to work to be able to take care of them. Thankfully the rest of the money she would be paid for the job would be saved for Sophia's college tuition and other things.
Now, all she needed to do was relax a bit, then go buy an ovulation kit as the doctor had asked her to. The earlier she got pregnant and started the whole process, the better for them all.