Chapter 62: Run away from him.
After that night she told me to meet her at All Stars Cafe where I later encountered Katie, Noura never spoke to me again. Even when I messaged her, she never responded. So, why now all of a sudden?
"Yeah... I haven’t heard from you for a while," I texted, shuffling towards the bed and plopping onto it.
"I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you that night. I lived in a remote area close to a hood. Unfortunately, I was robbed that night and I couldn’t reach you. I just bought a new phone, and thought of saying hello to you."
"Seriously? I hope you weren’t hurt?" I asked, feeling concerned for her.
"Well, not much. They only hit my head, and I blacked out. But I’m okay now. Anyway, what’s good? Did Alexander cause you any trouble?"
"He’s trouble himself." I scoffed as I sent the message to her. "I asked for a divorce and he trapped me financially. What should I do?" I couldn’t leave yet even if I got a chance. Until he was done with my mother’s investigation.
Noura waited for some minutes before finally texting back.
"Run away from him."
Run away from him? Was that even possible? Alexander could find me wherever I went.
"I can’t. He would find me."
"He can’t. Unless there’s something on you he can track."
Track? I was confused.
"What do you mean?"
"Just think about it, sister. Is there anything he gave you?"
I lifted my head, racking my brain. Was there anything Alexander had given to me all this while? I didn’t think so. Apart from food, clothes and other basic items, there was nothing else.
"No..."
"Are you sure? Just think clearly. I have to go now. I will talk to you tomorrow. Bye, sister." With that, she went offline.
My shoulders slumped as I exhaled in frustration. Goodness, she enjoyed throwing suspense at me and disappearing afterward.
But thinking about it, what if she was right? I remembered the night I was kidnapped and the night I went to meet Noura, Alexander was able to track my whereabouts flawlessly. He found exactly where I was.
Did that mean he planted a tracker on me? But where?
I searched through my body, my hair... even though it was ridiculous. Then, my mind wandered to the ring on my finger and a thought slowly settled in my head. I remembered the way he glanced at my ring when I asked him how he knew I was in All Stars Cafe.
Oh God.
I quickly slid the ring off my finger and carefully studied it, my eyes moving from the diamond, then around the silver band. There was no sign or any imperfection that told the ring was bugged.
Then where could he have hid the tracker?
I sighed, sliding the ring back onto my finger. Maybe I was over thinking. Alexander was many things, but somehow I believed he wouldn’t bug me.
But he was also unpredictable... What if he really did somehow?
Exhausted from thinking too much, I dropped my phone on the nightstand, then lay on the bed and pulled the blanket over my shoulder to sleep.
The next morning, Victoria was already in the kitchen, standing by the stove. The rich scent of frying eggs and toasted bread filled the air, making my mouth salivate for some. When she heard my footsteps, she looked over her shoulder.
"Good morning, ma’am," she greeted with that beautiful smile she always had. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah..." I nodded and took a seat at the counter, watching as she did her thing. I didn’t know what it was, but there was something about her that put me at ease, even now that I doubted her, I just couldn’t shake off that comfortable feeling whenever I was with her.
Speaking of my doubt, I wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask her about that evening before the gala.
"Victoria," I called out, before I could stop myself. "That night, before the party. You told me you had a bad feeling. How did you know something was going to happen?"
Her hands paused over the pan, just for a second. Then she kept stirring like nothing had happened at all.
"It was just an intuition, ma’am. I have learned to trust my gut over the years."
"That’s impossible," I disagreed, shaking my head with a frown. "You can’t just guess or feel something like that."
She stopped whatever she was doing and turned to face me, looking straight into my eyes. Even till now, her green eyes were still difficult to look into.
"It’s very possible, ma’am," she began. "Everyone has instincts. We all get those quiet warnings in our minds when something isn’t right. The only difference is that most people ignore them. I don’t. That was the only reason I told you."
I stared at her, trying to find a lie in her eyes, but she looked entirely genuine. Still, I wasn’t quite satisfied with her answer.
Before I could push further, her phone rang. She wiped her hands on her apron and answered it, and within seconds her whole face changed. The color drained from her cheeks and her eyes went wide.
"I have to go," she said, hanging up. Her voice was shaking. "I’m sorry, ma’am, I have to leave right now."
"Is everything okay?" I asked, concerned.
"I will explain later. I promise," Victoria said quickly, her hands trembling as she pulled a fresh, steaming mug of black espresso from the machine and set it on a small silver tray. "Master won’t be having breakfast. He only ordered his coffee this morning. He’s up in his study. Could you please just help me carry this..." She swallowed hard, as though she didn’t want to say it. But I already knew what she wanted to say. Help her take the coffee to Alexander. And I couldn’t help but scream ’Not again’ in my head. But it was okay as long as it was her.
"I will take it," I promised.
"Thank you, ma’am. Thank you." Victoria grabbed her kitchen jotter and tore a piece out, then scribbled a row of numbers on it, and shoved it into my hand. "This is my personal number. Just in case you need anything while I am away."
With that, she untied her apron, threw it on the chair, and rushed out of the kitchen.
I just stood there, holding the paper. I had never seen her act like that before and it settled uneasily in my stomach. I just hope whatever it was would be fine.
Taking the tray, I made my way to Alexander’s study.