THE MESSAGE

If I was dying on my knees,
You would be the one to rescue me.
Ans if you were drowned at see,
I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe.
Ive got you brother.

***

CHAPTER XVIII

*****

“JORGE!” I CALLED for the security guard, making him turn to me with a wide smile.

“Goodmorning, boss-lady,” he greeted, making me roll my eyes but not comment on it.

“Goodmorning. Um, do you know where Daniel is?” I asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

Jorge looked up and down the drive before turning to me with furrowed eyebrows. “I don't know, boss, he drove away not long before you came out,” he answered, making me huff and roll my eyes. Where was the surprise? “It wasn't long since he left, boss? We can go after him for you.”

“No, don't bother,” I sighed, waving a dismissive hand. “It's nit important. But there was something he said yesterday about the maids?” I questioned, making the brunette man perk up.

“Yes, their shifts should be starting soon,” he declared after reading the time off his watch. “Ruben is waiting for you at the car right now, but I can tell him to wait until the maids get here so you can meet them.”

“Wait, wait,” I held up a hand for him to stop. “What do mean he's waiting for me? Waiting for what?”

Jorge frowned and folded his arms over his chest. “You're going shopping with him today, are you not?”

“Shit!” I exclaimed, the realisation finally dawning on me. I took slow steps back, an apologetic smile on my face as I look to him. “I need to go get ready. Could let Ruben know for me?”

Jorge gave me an easy-going smile and waved his hand as I turned back to the house. “Don't worry, boss-lady. I'm on it.”

***

Ruben was a relatively shy, reserved individual unlike Jorge's character. As I moved through the multiple stores with Daniel's credit card in hand, buying items ranging from furniture to sanitary products to clothes to food, the man kept quiet, watching over me from a distance and not trying to make conversation with me at all.

It didn't faze me too much, though. At the beginning, the silence had been awkward but I decided to embrace the break and properly go over my scrambled thoughts. I hadn't come up with a solution to any of my problems, but at least I felt like I was taking steps towards finding some.

A couple days later, I found myself sitting on the front steps of the porch, going through my sketches as Mateo ran around the front yard with the ball I bought him. The storming had eased around three days ago and the weather had been good since then. Some of the guards kicked the ball around with him, keeping him occupied while I stared down at the same sketch for the past five minutes.

In reality, I wasn't actually focused on the portfolio I was supposed to create for my meeting. My mind was elsewhere. More specifically, it was wherever Daniel was. I couldn't help but feel a little bit of worry even though I knew he was most likely fine because I hadn't seen him since the night we talked. I couldn't help but wonder if he was purposely avoiding Mateo and me. It didn't seem like something he would do, but how well did I know Daniel anyway?

I was broken out of my thoughts by the sound of my shrill ringtone, making me roll my eyes in distaste. I was starting to hate the sound, so I knew it was time to find a replacement. Still, I answered the call and held the phone up to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Travis,” I sighed, relieved to hear at least one familiar voice. “How are you doing?”

“I'm good. I actually called because I've secured the details for the meeting with Heidi.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I sent you an email with all the details about where you guys will be meeting and what exactly she needs. I'm only calling to tell you because I know how you don't check your email,” he said, making me roll my eyes.

“Whatever.”

“Truth hurts, doesn't it?” he laughed, unaware of the way it made me smile. “Anyways, you'll be meeting at one of her offices in Malibu. She'll be launching her first ever makeup line and wants to have something unique for the event.”

As Travis spoke, my attention drifted to the sleek black car that was making its way towards the gate. I had no idea who the drivers were, but the guards seemed to know and trust them since the gates began rolling open for whoever.

“Travis?” I called for him, making him hum in acknowledgement. “I'm going to have to call you back. Some thing's up.”

“Oh, okay,” he said, unable to disguise the worry in his voice. “Take care of yourself, babe. Stay safe.”

“You too. Bye.” He gave me my greetings and the call ended seconds later, just when the car began rolling into the driver. “Mateo!” I called out, wanting him by my side so he wouldn't end up running into the moving vehicle.

With his ball in his hand, he came running over to me. “Mama, carro!” He exclaimed excitedly as soon as he had reached me.

I smiled with him, not as excited as he was, but I wasn't going to tell him that for his sake. He tried to run back out, but I hooked my finger into his pants and pulled him back. “Not a moving car, babe. It's dangerous.”

He stayed silent for a couple seconds as the car rolled to a stop before turning to me with confusion. “Dangwous.” It took a minute for me to realise that he was trying to pronounce 'dangerous' because he didn't understand it and he was failing badly.

“Not safe,” I explained for him before saying it in Spanish too since he seemed to understand that better than he did English. “Peligroso.”

He listened to me up until the point the door swung open and all his interest had gone from me to the man who had stepped out of the car.

“Danny!” he giggled, leaving my side to run over to his father.

Daniel turned at the sound of his nickname, an uncharacteristic smile on his face as he slammed the door shut and swooped Teo into his arms. I couldn't help but watch their interaction from afar as they stayed in the same spot and talked with each other for a couple seconds.

Slowly, Daniel began to make his way towards me so I stood up and dropped my sketchpad onto the floor. My eyes remained on Daniel until the door to the passenger side swung open and I squinted to see who Daniel had brought with him here.

“Araceli?”

I had recognised the voice before I had recognised him. It was so hard for me to forget him so it came as no surprise, but I still couldn't help the shock that I felt at the sight of the dark-haired, brown-eyed man.

“Pablo!”

Before I could even understand what was happening, I was running towards him, tears brimming my eyes at all the memories that rushed back. All the memories I tried to suppress.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, tightening my hold on him as he wrapped his arms around my waist as tight as he could. His soft hair brushed against my cheek, his signature cologne wafting into my nose as I tried to hold back the tears. He picked me up off my feet, swinging me around before placing me back on my feet and kissing me wherever he could.

“I've missed you so much, Araceli,” he muttered, making me break down and let the tears slip past my eyes. “You don't even understand how torturous it was without you.”

“I missed you too,” I cried, pulling away from him to see his face as a smile lit up my own amidst the tears. “I can't believe you're actually here.”

“But where were you?” he asked. He used his thumb to wipe away my tears, but they didn't stop pouring down like rivers. “We searched for, but it was like you had just disappeared off the face of the earth.”

I shook my head, taking his hands from my face and holding them in mine. “It's a long story,” I sniffles, trying to hide the pain I felt thinking back to what happened. “Come inside. I'll explain everything to you.”

Eventually.

***

“And that's your son?” Pablo asked, pointing at Mateo who was running around the backyard with Daniel. “So you're telling me that they knew you were pregnant and they put you through all of that bullshit?” I only nodded my head, watching Daniel and Teo as they huddle over what I assumed was a bug. “How evil can someone be?”

I looked over to Pablo, watching him as he buried his face in his hands and shook his head. “I was a fetish to them,” I muttered, staring down at my hands. “Black, pregnant and Latina all wrapped in one parcel.” The pain in Pablo's eyes made my heart clench but I shook my head and smiled. “But all's good now. I'm safe and I have my son... you have your nephew.”

“My nephew,” he repeated, unable to help the smile that broke out onto his face as he watched Teo play. “Mateo.”

“Hmm?”

Pablo watched Teo in shock, surprise and even fear as he came bounding across the field towards us. I let out a small laugh and extended my arms out for him to run into them.

“He does that sometimes,” I smiled, wrapping my arms around him and pressing a kiss to his head as he snuggled into me. “He just thought you were calling him, that's all.”

“But all the way from there?” he asked, gesturing to the spot where Mateo was standing by Daniel a second ago. Now it was just Daniel watching us with a confused expression. I shook my head at him and turned back to Pablo.

“Yeah, sometimes he hears really well and then other times he just does not listen,” I laughed, pulling Teo's ear. “Say hello to uncle Pablo, baby.” I sat him up on my lap and turned him to face Pablo who stared at me and then at Teo with wide eyes.

“Hi,” he waved before turning back to me and resting his head on my shoulders.

“Hey,” he said, clearly not knowing what to do or say in the matter. “How are you?”

“Fine.”

“He talks?” he asked, looking at me with wide eyes as I let a humoured laugh slip past my lips. “How old did you say he was again?”

“How old are you, Teo?” I asked, holding him up so he could look at me. He stared at me blankly, making me laugh again as I sat up and rested him against my chest. “He's twenty months, so almost a year and a quarter.” Pablo stayed quiet, only being able to stare at Teo who was dozing off on my shoulder. “You can carry him if you want.”

“No,” he shook his head, his lips pursed as he set his eyes on me. “I feel like I'll drop him or something.”

“While you're sitting down?” I asked, unable to hide the humour in my voice. He gave me a blank look to which I just rolled my eyes at before standing. “I'm going to go give him back to Daniel. Wait for me.”

He nodded, silently watching me as I began walking over to Daniel who was taking a call on the other side of the yard. As soon as he noticed me approaching him, he ended the call and put the phone into his back pocket.

“Can you put him down for a nap for me?” I asked, handing him Mateo who clung onto his shirt. Daniel only nodded and made to walk away, but I spoke up before he could. “Also, before you leave, could I talk to you maybe?”

He glanced at me briefly, before nodding his head, not bothering to give me a verbal answer. We stood in silence for a couple seconds before I stepped to the side and made a gesture as if I was granting him passage.

He rolled his eyes at me, but I couldn't miss the small smile on his face before he walked away to Teo to sleep.

I followed behind them, but stopped at Pablo who stood up and dusted the dirt off his pants.

“How is Emma?” I asked, wanting to know how they were doing together. From the way his lips dropped into a frown, it didn't take me long to realise that the answer most likely wasn't positive.

“She's okay,” he shrugged. “She moved to Paris a couple months ago after the hospital released her.” I opened my mouth to say how great that was, but Pablo had beaten me to it. “She lives with her fiancé now. She's happy with him.”

I didn't need to be a genius to see the pain that Pablo was going through. Even though he tried to hide it with the smile he displayed on his face, I could see how hurt he was just by saying it.

“I'm sorry, Pablo.”

“Don't be,” he laughed, actually giving me what seemed to be a genuine smile. “She's happier than I've ever seen her so I'm happy for her, believe me.”

My heart ached for him. He was such a genuinely selfless person. He didn't mind that he was heartbroken as long as she was happy, even if he wasn't. He didn't deserve to be feeling the way he felt and I wished I could carry the pain for him, but I couldn't.

“She's actually coming back in a couple weeks to visit,” he continued. “So you'll get to meet her if you want to.”

I couldn't help but feel a little excited at the prospect of seeing Emma again. It had been so long and I knew Teo was going to love her. I just wished it would've worked out better for her and Pablo. It didn't take a genius to see that they loved each other.

A part of me was hoping that they would get back together, but who was I to wish that her happy relationship should end? I gave Pablo a sad smile and placed my hand on his shoulder, guiding him into the house.

“Everything happens for a reason, you know?” Ge nodded his head, letting me guide him into the kitchen where Abigail and Jane, the maids, were working. “It'll all work out for you. The stars are aligning.”

He stopped and looked at me, his eyes shining with all the love we weren't able to give each other in the past two years. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin, having to bend a little bit to reach my height.

“I've missed you so much,” he muttered, burying his face in the crook of my neck. “These past years were hell with you.”

“But now I'm back,” I muttered, wrapping my arms around him.

Our relationship was weird. It was sometimes like he was my father and I was his mother. We provided for each other when we could, but even if we couldn't, there was always love to give. I think even if it was just him and I in this world, we would survive just fine.

“Now you're back,” he repeated as if trying to convince himself. He pulled away slightly and cupped my cheek as I smiled at him softly. “Promise you won't ever leave again.”

I could see the pleading in his eyes. The begging for me to not break his heart with my words. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath.

Coming with Daniel, I had every intention of leaving as soon as my ordeal was over. I wasn't well known in New York, but I had obligations there. I had people there. I had work there.

Yet as the days drew on and on, I found myself wishing that they would last longer. I was getting used to my environment and Teo was happier than I had ever seen him with all the space he had to run around and all the socialising he was doing, albeit his friends being the guards. I felt safe here. I felt at home here.

This was how I wanted my home to be.

I nodded my head, failing to hold back the single tear that slipped past my cheek. Maybe I didn't know what I was getting into, but I knew that I would find a way to make it all work out.

“I promise I'll never leave again.”

And I meant it.

***

“We sent Jacob's body back today. Not to his wife though.”

Daniel's sudden presence hadn't alarmed me. In fact, it wasn't sudden. I knew the moment he joined me on the patio, yet I didn't acknowledge and continued to stare out into the bushes the fenced the house.

I found it comforting having him there, but he wasn't going to hear me admit it. Truth was, a part of me was coming to terms with the fact that I didn't want to hate Daniel and it was okay. To me, he was a misguided soul, but he wasn't unjust or partial and that was what I admired in people.

I allowed myself to admire Daniel.

“I thought you would've done that days ago.” My voice was as soft as the breeze that carried, travelling through the air and breaking the silence I had allowed to stretch between us. “You prolonged it?”

“I told them to.” If I was facing him, I was sure I would've caught him shrugging.

“To get information out of his family?”

“To get anything,” he answered. I heard his footsteps approaching me until he was beside me, shoulder to shoulder. Or shoulder to arm in my case. “If they knew anything.”

“And they knew nothing.” Daniel nodded his head in confirmation, making me hum. “They're being truthful. They have no idea who he had given him to order but...”

Daniel turned to me, making me turn to him as he raised an eyebrow at me. “But...”

“But I know who didn't.” The air around us stilled, the soft breeze coming to a halt as Daniel stared at me expectantly. “The Ivanovs...”

“What about the Ivanovs?” he asked impatiently.

I turned back to stare at the dense trees ahead of us and willed myself to speak. “The men that took me... they were all Spanish. I don't know where from; could be Mexico, Spain, maybe even Columbia. All I know is that they spoke Spanish.”

“So it can't be the Ivanovs.”

I glanced at him from the side, allowing myself to take in his attire; black shirt and jeans as per usual. What really caught my eyes was the chain that rested on his neck but disappeared into his shirt. For some reason, it looked familiar.

“What are you going to do?”

Daniel turned to me, his lips set in a frown as I eyed him. “I'm going to eliminate the Ivanovs,” he said coldly. A chilling breeze blew past and a shiver of cold shot down my spine. Maybe I was supposed to be scared of him and yet I wasn't.

“Wouldn't that just give us more enemies?”

“Not if I do it right.” I listened carefully as he spoke, not missing a single detail. “I won't let them know who killed him.” I pursed my lips and said nothing as he continued. “Then I'll take out the rest of the lineage until there's no one competent enough to take over. We wouldn't need to worry about them anymore.”

I let out a wary sigh and turned away from him. “As long as you don't put yourself in danger, do whatever's best.”

Minutes passed by, yet neither of us had spoken, letting the wind carry our conversation for us. Staring at the densely packed trees, I couldn't help but close my eyes and think back to two years back.

I had never taken note of my surroundings when the paramedics had hauled me into the ambulance. I was too busy trying to stay alive, yet in my memories, everything was as clear as day.

The image of my kidnappers, the bay, the container, even the man that had examined, they were all still so vivid in my mind. It felt like I could reach out and touch everything.

It felt so real in my dreams.

“I should be going,” Daniel said, breaking me out of my troubling thoughts.

I turned to him, eyes wide and lips parted. I wasn't ready for him to leave. Him and Pablo were the only people in the house I felt I could actually communicate with and even though our conversations were strained, I still cherished each one as rarely as they came.

“Already?”

He looked down at his rolex on his wrist before looking at me. “It's going to eight and you won't let me leave if it gets too dark.”

“So you decide to leave me while you still can,” I accused, folding my hands over my chest. He gave me a blank look to which I just laughed at. “I'm joking.” I waved my hand in dismissal and turned away. “Go.”

Daniel seemed to have faltered, his gaze lingering on the side of my face. After a couple seconds, he spoke up. “Are you lonely?”

“Even if I was,” I smiled lightly and turned towards the house. “What can you do?” I waited for an answer but none had come before I was ready to speak again. “You can go, but say goodbye to your son first.”

“I'll come back tomorrow.”

I glanced over my shoulders, my brown eyes meeting his as another breeze drifted past us. “You can do whatever. I don't care.”

But I did.

***

It was well past midnight by the time I had finally felt tired enough get into bed. Mateo had been asleep four five hours and in that time, I was pretty sure I had checked on him a grand total of ten times. Between that, I had been working on my portfolio until I ended up completing it at around ten.

The next two hours after that, I spent outside, watching the stars pass by and going over my own thoughts. I was worried about what the future held for us - us being me, Mateo and Daniel. So far, everything seemed relatively peaceful, but how long was that going to last?

I wasn't stupid and neither were the people who were after me, so it was only a matter of time before chaos would erupt again. Daniel wasn't making any progress with finding out who these people were and I wasn't ready to live the rest of my life in hiding.

On top of that worry, I was also confused. Confused about my emotions in regards to everyone around me. It was obvious that there was no animosity between Pablo and I. From the looks of it, we were just going to pick up from where left off and put back together the shards of our relationship.

Anna was a different case. She believed something that was so far from the truth it hurt. As if that wasn't enough, she wouldn't give me the chance to explain what had really happened and I feared that she never would. I didn't want what we had to end, but the horizon seemed to be getting closer and closer with each passing second.

My relationship with Celeste had always been broken from the get-go but we were never as bad of enemies as we were now. The worst part was I had no one else to blame but myself. And with the end of my friendship with Celeste came the end of my friendship with Guillermo too because the both of them were obviously together and if it ever came to choosing between the both of us, there was no real difficulty in doing so.

My relationship with Daniel seemed to be the most complicated. We had broken up due to a misunderstanding. Now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, it was logical that we got back together again. But I couldn't sit there and ignore how toxic we had been two years back. Granted, I had never been in a healthy relationship, but I knew a toxic one when I saw it.

I had reason to believe that Daniel had done a massive amount of changing during our time away and so had I, but I didn't want to risk it. I didn't like where we were now, but I would rather be here than possibly put our fragile relationship at stake.

I let out a groan at my overactive mind and slammed my door shut behind me. I made a beeline to the window, throwing it open before turning to my bed and climbing into it.

I couldn't give myself too much of a hard time. So much gone on and now seemed to be the only time I had to myself to actually think over everything. When the whole world was still and everyone except for myself was asleep. Now I was truly alone. I just wished it didn't interfere with my sleep so much.

I rolled onto my side, draping my blanket over my body before sinking into my pillow and letting my eyes droop. The room was completely silent, the only sound coming from the occasional swoosh of the curtains due to the wind.

Minute passed by and I felt myself slowly succumb to the sleep that I yearned for when the frill sound of a notification popping onto my found brought me right back.

I let a string of curses fall past my lips as I reached towards the nightstand and grabbed the lit up device. I had no other intention but to put my phone on mute when my eyes focused in on the name of the person who had messaged me.

Daniel.

Sitting up in my bed, I stared down at my phone in confusion until the lock screen timed out and I was sitting in pure darkness. I pressed the power butting again, my growing at the display timed of seven minute past one in the morning. I didn't understand why Daniel would be messaging me at such an early hour.

It wasn't like I was surprised that he was awake. When wasn't he awake? But Daniel didn't seem like the type that engaged in sending mindless midnight messages. It was either someone had stolen Daniel's phone or something serious had come up.

I went straight to my messages, reading over the only two messages that had been exchanged between Daniel and I. They had both been from him and had both been sent two minutes ago.

One was a typed message that read 'Is this him?' and the other was an attached picture. A picture of a man that made my blood boil.

Diego.

From the image it was clear that Daniel had him. His face was beaten and bruised, his left eye swelling up to the point where he could barely open it and blood dripping from his nose and mouth.

He looked like he had been severely beaten, yet I couldn't find it in me to care. The anger that surged through me made me press my nails into my palms in a failed attempt to suppress it. In that moment all I wanted to do was to hurt him as badly as he hurt me. I wanted him to feel the pain and the terror that he had heartlessly subjected me to two years ago.

I was hoping that they had drugged him before they kidnapped him just so he knew how it felt. Just so he got to experience the same vulnerability and fear I felt when I was being drugged two years ago.

The screen began to darken, making me realise that I had been staring at the image in silent rage for almost five minutes. Before I could tap it to keep it awake, the display lit up with Daniel's name, making me tilt my head to the side.

I hesitated before answering, hovering my thumb on the answer button before rolling my eyes and picking it up anyway.

“Hello?” I said as I brought the phone to my ear.

“Did you see the picture?” Daniel asked, going straight to the point. “The one that I sent. Is it him?”

I bit down on my bottom lip, my eyes focused on the wall ahead of me as I transported myself back to the hospital that I was taken from. There was no mistaking it. The man they had was the man that had sold me two years ago and I hoped he knew just how horrific his death was going to be now that he was taken.

“Yes, that's him,” I confirmed. Daniel said nothing, leaving me to fill the silence over the phone. “What are you going to do with him?”

“Get information,” he answered blandly, making me nod my head.

I knew exactly how he planned to get the information and while I could distinctly remember the fear that coursed through me the first time I witnessed Daniel torture someone, this time it was pure adrenaline. I wanted to witness it happen. I wanted to watch him die.

“I'm coming over,” I declared, pushing the covers off my legs and making my way straight over to my walk-in closet. It's not like I was about to get any sort of decent sleep anyways. Daniel had said nothing, making me purse my lips and stop rummaging through my clothes for a second. “I'm bringing Mateo with me too.”

“I don't want to see you with any less that three guards,” he finally spoke, making a smirk fall onto my lips.

“Then close your eyes.”

“Araceli.”

I clenched my thighs together, biting down hard on my bottom lip at the sound of my name rolling off his tongue. Clearly he had no idea how hot I found it when he said my full name like that. It almost made me want to get him angry more times just so I could hear it.

“Two,” I negotiated, making him let out a groan from the other side of the phone. I continued as normal, holding the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I pulled out my least favourite top. I knew I was going to be spilling blood tonight, so at least it wouldn't get over anything I actually liked.

“Be armed,” he finally agreed, making me fistbump the air in victory.

The call ended there, so I set my phone down on the vanity in my room and quickly changed into a pair of black sweatpants and an oversized grey shirt. I slipped my phone into my pocket and placed my gun at my waistband before making my way out of my room and into Teo's.

I didn't bother waking him up because there was really no point in doing so. I gently lifted him out of his crib, rubbing soothing circles into his back and muttering soothing words when he would whimper from the disturbance. I carefully places him in his car seat and used that instead to carry him to the garage.

As soon as I stepped out of the house and began making my way towards the garage, all of the men on the property turned to me. I only had around two security guards that were women, but their rotations meant I didn't see them often so I still felt unease at being the only woman there.

“Ma'am?” Jorge's familiar voice called out to me, making me stop in my tracks and look to him with a raised eyebrow. He jogged up to me so he wasn't shouting across metres and spoke. “What are you doing out this late?”

“Get another guard,” I demanded, not bothering to answer his question. “You'll be taking me to Daniel's house.”

I hadn't given him the time to say anything as I began marching towards the car, the car seat in my hand. Still, he didn't fail to reply.

“Yes, boss.”

*****

Okay, so it took a minute but we got here. We made it.

I'm really sorry for missing how many updates now? It's just my life is slowly going to shit and I'm kind of hoping the summer holidays will change it but its like the summer holidays are taking forever to show up.

I've been really stressed lately and it's making my mental issues flare up so sometimes I just kind of go blank and get nothing done so yeah that's why it takes me so long. I beg you all to have a little bit of patience with me. I'm still trying to figure all my shit out rn.

Anyways, that's all for now. The beginning of the chapter was kind of dry but I hope you liked it. Especially the end.

I don't want to give too much away but the things that happen in the next chapter are *chef's kiss*

Take my word for it.