💎💎💎 DUSK TILL DAWN 💎💎💎
BY AUTHORESS LILLY
⏰ CHAPTER 22 ⏰
🌻 James POV 🌻
“What are you doing here this late?” Stefan asked as I stood in front of the door
“Let me in” I shoved him aside and walked in
“What’s up?” He asked as I sat on the couch
“I think my Dad might have been the one that kidnapped Julia” I said
“What?! But you were sure it’s Michael”
“It’s just a doubt Stefan, just a doubt”
“Well clear your doubts James, Julia’s parents said they saw Michael, they said it was Michael that kidnapped their daughter, what more proof do you need?” Stefan asked
“You don’t know my Dad Stefan, when it comes him, I have to be 100% sure of everything, he killed Andrea remember? So I can’t trust him yet” I said and he nodded
“So what do you want to do?” He asked
“I need you to do something for me”…..
🌻 Julia’s POV 🌻
Mr Whistler had placed some men here yesterday, to stay guard over me
I was finally untied from the chair and taken to a much smaller room with the men standing guard outside
“What am I going to do? How do I escape from this place?” I wondered as I paced around
I can’t die here, I can’t
The door opened and one of the men came in with a plate of pizza and dropped it in front of me
“Eat up, I’ll be back for the plate” he said and I sighted a gun in his trouser as he walked out
An idea clicked in my head
It’s risky but being here and doing nothing is much more risky
🌻 Micheal’s POV 🌻
I took a remote to turn on the the TV but Rachel collected it
“I’ll help you” she said and I chuckled
“You’ve been treating me like a kid that can’t do anything since yesterday, you won’t let me stand by myself or walk around a bit by myself, now you won’t even let me press the remote too, it’s not like pressing the remote will make me go unconscious”
“It’s stressful” she said
“Do I look like I have stress allergy?”
“Yes Michael, as long as you are still hospitalized here and you haven’t recovered, yes you do have stress allergy for the time being” she said and I sighed
“Fine, suit yourself”
She sat beside me and we watched the TV together
“Aren’t you tired?” I asked
“Tired? Of what?” She asked
“Well you’ve not gone home since yesterday and you slept over here last night, aren’t you tired of taking care of me?”
“How will I be tired Michael, you are like this because of me and I have to take responsibility” she said
“So you are doing all this because of guilt?” I said and she placed her hand on my shoulder
“Am doing this because I care Michael, I care about you”
“Thanks Rachel” I smiled
“I do care about you but not enough to stay here like this with you for the rest of the day, I need to go home and have a bath, gosh I stink”
“Actually I was going to be courteous and not say anything but now that you’ve mentioned it, yes Rachel you do stink, I was going to ask you shift a bit and give me a little space cause ooh, the smell is….. Ouch” I yelped as she hit my back
“How can you hit a patient?!” I said
“And how can a patient be so rude and unfeeling to his caregiver!” She said angrily
“Come on, I was just pulling your leg”
“Well that was not accepted” she said
“Fine, am sorry, you don’t need to worry, I’ll still like you even if you stink” I said and she gave me a deadly stare
“Sorry, sorry” I quickly said
“The only reason am still here with you is because I don’t want to leave here all by yourself, am waiting for Nanny to come and then I’ll leave” she said
“Is that the real reason or am I just too handsome for you to leave alone” I said and she laughed
“In your dreams”
🌻 James’ POV 🌻
I walked into the office and I saw Tyler
“Good morning Tyler” I said as I walked up to him
“Morning” he said and quickly turned to walk away
“Is Dad in?” I asked
“He went out some minutes ago” he said and continued walking
I walked up to him and stopped him
“Are you avoiding me?” I asked and he shifted his gaze uncomfortably
“About what you said last night….”
“I didn’t say anything James, I was drunk and I spilled out nonsense, please keep your mouth shut, I know your Dad much more than you and my life will be gone if he finds out I told you anything so please let’s just pretend last night never happened, I told you nothing James, nothing” he said and walked away
🌻 Julia’s POV 🌻
“Hey, are you done eating?” The man that gave me food asked as he walked in
“Why are you laying so still on the floor are you asleep?” The man as he moved closer
“Hey” he tapped me but I remain still
“If this is a prank or an attempt to escape, you should know that it won’t work so wake up” he tapped me again
He knelt beside me, shook me vigorously and then placed his ear close to my nose
“Guys! She’s unconscious! She’s not breathing!” He yelled and I heard two other footsteps running into the room
I quickly reach out for his trouser, took the gun and pointed it at his head
“Stay back or I’ll blow out his fucking brain” I yelled to the other
One of them tried to reach for his gun and I shot upwards and they flinched
“Try anything funny again and the next bullet will be in his head” I said and they stood still
“Now move away from the door, I said move away!” I yelled and they moved from the door
With my gun still pointed to his head I grabbed the man’s and made him my shield as I moved towards the door
“You are crazy if you think you can really escape from us” the man said
“Well, people do call me crazy sometimes” I said as I pushed him away and quickly made a run for it
🌻 Micheal’s POV 🌻
“Nanny just got here some minutes ago and you are already leaving” I said to Rachel
“Looks like somebody doesn’t want me to leave cause he’s gonna miss me” Rachel said and I scoffed
“In your dreams”
“Enough of you guys’ chattering, Michael eat your breakfast, the doctor said you need to eat alot to regain your strength and Rachel, you’ve really done alot for Michael, you should go home rest for a while” Nanny said
“Thank you Nanny, at least you acknowledged my efforts, unlike this guy here” Rachel said
“Am not ungrateful Rachel, I….” The door opened and I stopped talking immediately I saw who walked in
Dad
He walked in and slowly looked at everyone
“How am I the last person to find out that you were hospitalized even though we live in the same house” he said
“Even you” he turned to Nanny “You came home and you didn’t inform me”
“Am sorry Sir, you came back drunk last night and you went for work very early this morning so I didn’t get the chance to inform you” Nanny said
“And you” he said facing me “If you are going to get sick will you do that silently?! Why do you have to make a big fuss by coming to such a big hospital and making people see you and recognize, in case you’ve forgotten am a big figure and this country, people know you are my son, they saw you here and this morning there was an article about it on the news and now am forced to abandon my schedule to see you else I’ll be termed an uncaring father by the press” he said
“On seeing your son like this in a hospital bed, a good father will be worried and enquire about his health and how he’s doing but you, you came here blaming Michael for things that aren’t his fault, you aren’t just an uncaring father you are a useless and incompetent father!” Rachel yelled
“What?!” Dad said as he turned to Rachel
“Rachel stop” I said
“No Michael, I get that you are afraid of him cause he’s your father but he’s not my father so I can say whatever I want to such a callous man!”
Read – My arranged marriage episode 41 – 42
“Rachel stop!” I yelled “You were about going home, you should go now”
“Michael….”
“I said go!”
She huffed and angrily walked out of the room
“Nanny please will you excuse us” I said to Nanny and she nodded
“You’ll be fine” she muttered and walked out
“Don’t do anything to her Dad, do not harm Rachel” I said
“So her name is Rachel” Dad said
“Do not harm her” I repeated
“You seem to care about her alot” he said
“She’s just a friend”
“And she was so bold to insult and talk about me, no I don’t think she’s just a friend”
“Just leave her be Dad” I said
“I cannot Michael, not now that I’ve seen how much you care for her, not now that I’ve finally seen your weakness, I’ve always wondered Michael, you were with me for so many years and all you wanted was the company, the company was the only weakness you have that I could use to control you but slowly, you started giving up your interest in the company, I searched for another weakness I could use against you both I found none, now that I’ve finally found the girl after your heart, do you really think I’ll leave her alone?” He asked
“You won’t harm her Dad, you can not harm her”
“Is that a dare?” He said
“I’ve been silent all this while but if you touch Rachel Dad, I will not spare you” I said and he laughed
“Look at you in a hospital bed and threatening me, anyway, I love a challenge, you should leave this place soon, I do not want to be forced to visit you a second time” he said and walked out
Minutes later, Nanny walked in
“Are you okay Michael? Did you and your Dad had a fight again?” She asked and I stood up
“Where are you going?” She asked
“Am going out to get some air, this room is too suffocating” I said as I walked out
🌻 Stefan’s POV 🌻
I stood in front of my car as I watched the students walking round the school
And I finally saw Sarah walking towards me
“You kept me waiting” I said
“I think you should’ve expected that when you suddenly requested we visit Julia’s parents on a school day” she said
“Right, it was an urgent request but nevertheless you are Julia’s teacher, it’s your responsibility to check on your kidnapped students parents” I said
“Fine, I agree but you tell me, why are you suddenly so interested in paying a visit to Mr and Mrs Campbell?”
“It’s called courtesy Sarah, courtesy, let’s go” I said and we entered the car and I drove off
*******Flashback*******
“You don’t know my Dad Stefan, when it comes him, I have to be 100% sure of everything, he killed Andrea remember? So I can’t trust him yet” James said and I nodded
“So what do you want to do?” I asked
“I need you to do something for me” James said
“As long as it doesn’t involve something dangerous you can go ahead and tell me”
“Visit Julia’s parents” he said
“Why? Do I look like a social service worker?”
“Just shut up and listen Stefan, Julia’s parents claimed to have seen Michael kidnap their daughter and now that I think of it, their statement is the only real proof we have against Michael, now if my doubt is right and Michael is really innocent, that means Julia’s parents lied so we have to start by confirming the truth from them” James explained
“Right, so how exactly do we confirm the truth?”
“Visit them tomorrow and ask them to tell you in detail of what happened the day Julia was kidnapped, if they are lying they’ll definitely let something slip”
“Okay, I’ll go then, I’ll go tomorrow” I said
“Julia’s parents don’t know you so you should go with Sarah, she’s Julia’s teacher so they know her well” James said
“Okay, so while I play your private investigator, what will you be doing?”
“I’ll be playing the perfect son to my Dad, I can’t let him know that am suspecting him cause of he catches on, that’s the end, I’ll have lost my chance to know the real truth”
*********Flashback Ends*******
We got to Mr and Mrs Campbell’s house and I parked the car
Sarah knocked on the door and moments later, a woman probably in her mid fifties opened the door
“Good morning Mrs Campbell, do you remember me?” Sarah asked and she nodded
“Of course, you are one of Julia’s teacher, Sarah right?” She said and Julia nodded
“And who’s the man beside you?” She asked referring to me
“He’s my friend and he knew Julia well, may we come in?” Sarah asked
“Ohh of course, am sorry i was just taken aback, I didn’t expect to see you here today”
We went inside the house and she called her husband and we greeted
“It must have been hard for both of you for the past few days” I said and they nodded
“Yes, it has not been easy living without our dear Julia” Mr Campbell said
“I am still unable to sleep at night cause am so worried about her” Mrs Campbell said
“Can you tell me in details what happened the day she was kidnapped” I asked and they needed
“Julia actually went away from home for a few days and we couldn’t reach her at all, we were so worried thinking something had happened to her cause it was during Christmas period and it was alway snowing heavily” Mr Campbell said
“Then she called one afternoon and apologised for making us worry and she said she was already on a cab back home, we were so happy but our happiness was soon cut short when she was kidnapped immediately she returned, that man, Michael Whistler, he came in with some thugs and snatched her from us” Mrs Campbell broke into tears and her husband consoled her
“What cloth was Michael wearing when he came?” I asked and they were silent for a moment
“I….I can’t really remember, it was such a heartbreaking experience so I don’t even want to remember it” Mrs Campbell said
“You don’t want to remember it? Even if it can help in bringing your daughter back?” I asked and Sarah tapped me
“You are pressuring them” Sarah
“Okay, I understand, I hope Julia is safe wherever she is” I said
🌻 Julia’s POV 🌻
I ran with all my might as the 3 men continued chasing me
I need to find a phone, I need to call someone, anyone!
I ran to a bus station filled up with people and I was able to dodge the men for a while
“Please can you help me with your phone ma’am please, it’s very important” I pleaded to a lady I bumped into and she handed me her phone
“James, I should call James” I said and then I realized, I don’t know his contact, it was saved on my phone but I don’t have it off hand
But I still remember Mom’s number so I decided to call her
“Hello, Mom?” I said as she picked up the call
🗨️ “Who am I speaking with?” I heard Mom’s voice and tears rolled down my eyes
“It’s me Mom, it’s your dear Julia” I cried
🗨️ “Who?”
“Julia Mom, your daughter” I repeated and she was silent for a moment
🗨️ “I think….. I think you called the wrong number” she said and ended the call
I stared at the phone confused
What just happened?
“She’s over there” I heard the men shout as they ran towards me
“Thanks ma’am” I the phone back to the owner and ran out of the bus stop with the men on my tail
🌻 Stefan’s POV 🌻
Mrs Campbell dropped her phone and shifted uncomfortably
“Is there a problem Mrs Campbell? Who called?” I asked
“It’s….it’s an unknown person, probably a wrong number” she said and I nodded
“Thank you for your time, I hope Julia comes back soon, we’ll be taking our leave now” Sarah stood ready to leave and I stood up too
“Thanks for checking up on us, it was really nice of you guys” Mr Campbell said
We walked out of the house to where I parked my car
“What was that all about Stefan? Why were you questioning Julia’s parents so much?” Sarah asked
“I was just curious”
“Curious my foot, what is really going on?” She asked and I sighed
“I’ll explain everything on the way, let’s leave here first” I tried to open the car door and I realized I forgot my keys at the Campbell’s house
“Shit I forgot my keys at Julia’s place, I’ll be back in a jiffy” I said as I walked back to the house
I was about knocking when I heard a heated argument going on in the house
“Am done, am out, am tired of all this so I quit” I heard Mr Campbell say angrily
“You know you cant quit, you know how dangerous he is, if you quit the mission before the end, you are as good as dead, you know that” Mrs Campbell said
“But how long are we going to continue this way honey? Am tired of pretending and acting like Julia’s father when am in no way related to that girl”
“We’ve got this going for years and no one suspected a thing, just a few more days or weeks makes little difference, just endure honey, we are almost at the end, everything is almost over” Julia’s Mom said
My phone suddenly started ringing and they stopped talking
“Who’s there?!” I heard Mrs Campbell’s voice as she walked towards the door
I ran to meet Sarah and grabbed her hand
“Run!” I said and we both started running
🌻 Micheal’s POV 🌻
The wind blew against my face as I stood at the rooftop of the hospital
I tried to empty my mind of everything and just enjoy the cool breeze
I glanced down and I noticed a lady trying to run from some men chasing her
She was running and falling and running
“Why are those men chasing her?” I wondered
I looked up but involuntary looked down again
The lady seems familiar
I looked harder as the lady continued running
“Is that…… That’s Julia!!!” I exclaimed
……to be continued…..