Forced Marriage: Escaping Her Monster

Bobby was sitting in his car thinking that his wife has run away with their daughter. The letter that was written in Scarlett's handwriting said that she is not happy with him and she is not feeling safe with him. Their relationship was pretty shaky already, at least according to him, after his accident and his mother's death. He didn't want to get home and was hell bent on finding his mother's murderer although he never showed his true feelings to anyone.

He did receive some compromising pictures of his wife with another man and he found out that it was Harold Harrison doing it. It was sometime before last year, before the attack on Jerlina. He didn't tell anyone about it and handled it in his own way. He met Harold in an alleyway and talked with his fists so that it would register in his brain squarely.

But unbeknownst to him, that little spark of doubt Harold threw in his heart hasn't doused and stayed in the corner of his heart. It was why his mind went there after seeing his wife behaving differently around him.  It is partly his fault as he started hiding a lot from his wife and he decided to repair their relationship.

But even before that, she left after writing a letter?

He sensed something in the deepest part of his heart that something is wrong. His wife will never choose such a cowardly way if she decides to leave him. She'd make sure the whole town knows that she is leaving for "so and so" purposes before leaving. 

A secret letter? Like hell!

And there was no mention of their daughter in the letter. He knew it is not right.

That is why he called Jerlina; to get a second opinion. Plus, his wife is close with Chippy and she would know it if Scarlett was planning to leave him. After talking to her, he realized that his wife is indeed in danger. 

And so he started to search for her car. He found her car pretty easily following through the traffic cams. It was parked in the airport. It was surprising because from the credit card records there was no trace of her purchasing air tickets. Before he checked with the airport authorities, he received a call from an unknown number. 

"If you want to find your wife, download this app!"

That's all that mechanical voice said and the call ended.

She is kidnapped? 

He was stunned for a moment, but slowly his wife's disappearance made sense. His hands started to shake thinking of the fate of his wife and his only daughter. He saw this notification for an app download. 

Is he the kidnapper? Is he trying to hack my phone in exchange for -  Ah! Screw this!

Before he could rationalize why someone would ask him to download an app he's never heard of, he downloaded it.  He stared at his phone to see if something is happening on his phone but nothing changed. He almost threw his phone as his phone vibrated. It was a call from Gordon and he answered it. 

Gordon told him to get to this particular location with his handgun. He also gave a quick summary of what has happened so far as Bobby drove to the abandoned industry at the far side of the city.

Apparently, from their initial investigations, Gordon found out that Harold was planning something against him for a long time. And… Gordon was very elaborate about it, but Bobby figured that Gordon was planning to trap Harold for a long time, especially after learning that Jeremiah is planning on bringing down Jerlina.

Harold never left the country. He was kept in the basement of the Harrison house. All the reports about Harold leaving the country were falsified by Jeremiah to blame Jeremy when the time is right. But unfortunately, some "head injuries" Harold suffered made him unstable and his wife left him. 

Harold escaped his father's arrest just yesterday because he was frustrated with and was trying to find a way to get back at Bobby for hurting him. And so someone from Gordon's side was the one who gave Harold this amusing idea of "kidnapping" Scarlett and helped him achieve his goal.

Gordon told him that Cia is safe with their people and all he has to do is hand over Harold to the police. Harold also happens to have set a camera to record his act of vengeance. He agreed to set the camera because he was very trusting of this "double-agent" they have planted by Harold's side. And now they have solid evidence against Harold.

Although Bobby was assured that Scarlett is safe, he still rushed there. And as much as he wanted to kill Harold, he wanted him to live so that he would be paraded in front of the media just like Jeremy was. 

But he never thought that the smart double-agent who led Harold by the nose was this woman. He has already encountered this woman and she was very annoying, to say the least.

As if someone else could care for his pussycat than him!

"What?" Bobby stopped and turned at Yuri. 

"The video footage will be corrupted after my arrival. He confessed very clearly that he did this to frame your friend…" she wetted her lips looking at Scarlett. 

Bobby in an impulse hid Scarlett from Yuri's view. 

"That day too…"Yuri muttered. 

That day too, just like today, she lit up looking at his face… She loves him!

"I can steal her if I want to, you know?" Yuri said cocking her brows and Bobby gritted his teeth and fisted his hands. If he was not holding Scarlett, he would have punched a hole through her annoying face.

The sound of police sirens got near. "You had a tracker on your wife and that's how you found this place!" Yuri said patting his chest and before Bobby could track her, she disappeared into the darkness.

Bobby looked at Harold moaning on top of the tarp that he spread to hold Scarlett's blood. In the pool of his blood, he was making bubbling noises with his nose.

Well, he is choking on his blood. Thankfully, he had a lot of time before he could die. And the cops will save him with the taxpayer's dime. But what can he do? He wanted Harold to suffer more for daring to touch his wife. He won't be as soft as Jeremy! 

Bobby never felt so good as much as now and he ran out of the warehouse. 

"He's in! Help!" he screamed as he ran in. He threw his gun on the ground and the cops helped him in getting Scarlett. He knelt on the ground and placed his hands behind his head following the cops' orders. He knew they would gladly kill him if he gives them a chance. 

"She's drugged! That scum drugged her! Help her!" he couldn't help but plead for his wife. "I don't know where my daughter is! My daughter! Cia – she's one year old; blue eyes, short brown hair… she's beautiful… I don't know what she was wearing… my wife left early today …"

He kept on talking. He was worried although Gordon said that he has arranged everything. 

And he let out a sigh of relief when he saw a media van parking in the distance.  And he now understood the extent of Gordon's plans. 

With the arrest of Harold publicized, the narrative created by Jeremiah Harrison will collapse. More people will start believing that Emma's suicide is an attempt to frame Jeremy just like Harold did. The Harrison name would lose all credibility.   

And to execute and operation this big… How well connected and how twisted are those people? Is Emma's death even a suicide? Did she die because of the complication of her fall or there is more? Bobby was filled with various thoughts. 

And what assurance is there that those people won't turn on us? Are those who complain that they are innocent and are getting framed innocent? Are they the victims of people like Erling? Who knows the truth?

Suddenly the world around him seemed much sinister than he has always known it to be.

It was then he noticed a small pen drive in his shirt pocket where Yuri patted him. A shiver went through his spine.

What fresh hell is this?

The ambulances arrived and Scarlett and Harold were taken to hospitals. Bobby didn't care about anything else and wanted to go with Scarlett. But he still has to give statement to the cops and more importantly he has to get his daughter. She must be scared without her parents near her.

The cops received some chatters in their radio. Apparently a couple found Cia under a tree by the roadside and brought her to the nearest police station and she is safe.. The cops then took him to the station and got all the statements and the gunshot residue and they asked him to explain everything.