Chapter 9 I will be there tonight but don't tell her
The next day, Danica woke up feeling desolate. The expanse of the posh room swallowed her. She decided to fill in the void by preparing breakfast. She was bored staying without doing anything and used her time to do all the cooking at different times of the day. This new life seemed doubting to her in the sense that she felt sluggish. Cooking in a place like this could not be compared to the restaurant where she could cook for hundreds of different customers a day. The worse was, no one would give her the answers she craved.
Life proceeded as Danica continued to cook under pretense while she waited patiently for the intended parent who never showed up. A week passed and she couldn't take it anymore. She comprehended that the more time it took for her to conceive, the longer she was bound to stay. When she perceived that Paul knew more about the intended parent than Mabel, she turned her frustrations on him.
After breakfast one morning, Danica called Paul to the lounge. Paul had no idea what Danica was up to. However, Danica never bid her frustration.
"Paul, you have to tell me about the intended parent," Danica's voice carried seriousness. Paul could only pity her and said,
"He has his ways. He will come."
"Is he a spy or a criminal?" Danica asked Paul. Paul was taken aback by her question but responded. "None of those."
"So why do I have to be in this house far from my family?"
"Well, most of his surrogates escaped so I presume he's just being cautious," Paul reasoned, even though he knew that that wasn't Loney's reason. The fact was crystal clear. Paul had no idea of why Loney made it arduous for this surrogate.
Danica had a deep conviction and didn't believe him. "Whatever. But pass this message to whoever the intended parent is. I will not spend more than nine months in this boring mansion. The earlier he gets here, the better, or I will stop eating altogether. Let him know both options," Danica stated factly. She knew that the second option would move whoever the person was since starvation wouldn't be healthy for a surrogate.
Paul was nervous at Danica's threat. He thought of ways to get the information across to Loney without Danica knowing. Relief soaked him when Danica left for her room. He dialed Loney's number but the latter did not answer his call.
At the twins' tiny family house, Daniella had seen the alert on the phone Danica left behind. She wrote cheques to cash out the money, not hiding her surprise at the doubled figure. Still, she couldn't get in touch with Danica to know the reason for that amount. 5 million had been transferred instead of 2.5. Since she looked like Danica, it was easy for her to cash out the money with the already signed cheques.
First, she had to journey to Russia to meet Ray but thinking it through, she decided to pay first the people she owed in Mexico. Since Justice's money was more, she went there first and alone even though it was dangerous. These mafias could not be trusted. However, she couldn't risk getting Herty involved.
The pub wasn't dense with customers but only staff. However, when she made her way to the Justices' office, she could tell from the bloodstains on the floor that someone had messed up with him. She was in time to see a man running out of the office with broken jaws and a battered face. A cleaner was already cleaning the bloodstains on the floor.
Justice puffed on his cigarette, a frown overshadowing his face as an image approached, covered in a hood. His bodyguards ambled towards the figure, their guns pulled out to shoot.
"It's me," Daniella yelled, removing the hood on her head with her backpack containing the money hanging behind her. A wry smile covered Justice's face.
"You finally made it on the seventh day," he scoffed. "Is the item in the bag mine?" He asked. Daniella nodded and threw the bag on the floor. Justice beckoned one of the bodyguards to pick it up and opened it. He nodded at the content, as Daniella turned to leave. She wore black jeans and a sweater with a hoof covering her head. Since she started going by Danica's name, she didn't want anyone to see her at such places. She felt she could clean up herself and start her life afresh.
"Are you going to leave just like that?" Justice snarled behind her. Daniella froze. She heard Justice's steps behind her, as he whispered in her ears. "For old times sake, don't leave me hanging." He said in a deep breath. Daniella could feel his hot breath behind her neck. In times past, she enjoyed the feeling because she earned from it but now, it made her uneasy. Still, she knew that it wasn't easy to part ways with the mafia. Certain compromises were bound to be made.
"I'm not feeling well today. I will meet up with you later," she said in a shaky voice. For the first time, she said a prayer in her mind that if God saved her from Justice, she would get serious with her life.
However, when she felt Justice's hands wrapped around her stomach swinging her to face him, she lost hope. Her eyes met his lustful gaze and she trembled in fear. She owed him nothing at this moment and she wasn't one to give herself for free.
"You are lying to me," Justice snarled, as his hands climbed to her chin, squeezing it tightly. Daniella winced in pain.
"Please, I paid you everything. Just let me go," she begged.
"You might need me in the future. How about one time for a favor in the future?" Justice uttered lustfully. His alcohol mixed with smoke breath made her shiver. She knew that anytime Justice drank, he did anything he wanted, whether reasonable or not. Daniella didn't think that she would ever need justice again. After settling all her debts, she will still have at least 2 million.
"No," she uttered.
She saw the light in Justice's eyes dim, as his face darkened. Violently, he shoved her to the floor. "You dare deny me because you don't owe me? Don't let us cross paths in the future," he warned, turned around, and left. Daniella rose to her feet and run out of the pub, promising to never return.
After catching her breath, she called the guy who met Danica at the club and gave him a location. When he arrived, she paid him off. The most dangerous part was Ray. When Daniella called Ray's second in command, she realized that Ray was on a visit to Mexico because of some issues they didn't tell her. Therefore, she booked an appointment to meet him in his hotel, even though she knew it was risky.
A painful slap burned her face when she got to the entrance. Daniella instantly fell to the ground.
"Smart move, Daniella, faking your death to escape from me. Who helped you?" Ray's voice sounded like thunder. His eyes were fierce. His light blonde hair matched his light blond brows. He was taller than anyone Daniella met. Which possessed great strength. Daniella looked around and realized that none of his bodyguards were around, which made her slightly relieved. She wasn't a fool. If she mentioned her helper, they would kill him.
"No one. I knew my way around Russia." By the time she finished speaking, another slap heated her face. "Arrrhhhh," she yelped in pain.
"Where is my money?" Ray's thunderous voice rang again.
"Here," Daniella said, shoving her bag on the floor.
Ray stared at the bag and yelled, "How much? you know that for the times you were away, interest charges accrued right?"
Daniella nodded and said, "I added $500,000 for the interest."
Ray's gaze softened, instantly turning lustful. "Smart. What do you want?"
"Just my freedom. I don't want to hide anymore and I don't want to be dead. I just want my normal life back," Daniella earnestly said.
"You know you can't just return the money and go right?" Ray's voice sounded dangerous. Daniella expected it and just as she got away from Justice without giving in, she hoped that the same miracle would happen, even when she knew it was impossible. When it came to Ray, she used to be his sex toy.
"There are other things you can do to please me," he said, stepping closer and Daniella crawled backward.
"Things like what?" Daniella asked frightfully.
"Don't pretend to be innocent. The same things you used to do before. Like being a bitch in bed," he licked his mouth lustfully. "Get on your knees, Daniella," he ordered.
Daniella got on her knees obediently. She knew that this was going to happen. Ray opened his trouser zip but before his hand pulled out what he wanted, his phone rang. He saw the caller and furrowed his brow. "Get out of here," he shouted at Daniella, zipping up his trousers. Daniella never believed in miracles but she perceived this to be one. Ray in a normal sense would have never allowed her to easily get away. She crawled out of the luxurious hotel on her knees.
When she got back to her house, it was dark. She turned on the light in exhaustion and saw someone sleeping on the couch. She was startled as the person woke up.
"Herty?" She exclaimed in panic.
"Yes, Danica gave me a spare key a long time ago. What happened to your face?" Herty asked with concern.
"Nothing. I went to pay back the people I owed." Daniella uttered casually. To her, this was a miracle. Things could have turned worse.
"And they did this to you?" Herty found her voice somehow after being soaked in shock.
"It would have been worse. I think I'm beginning to believe in miracles," Daniella smiled.
"This is terrible," Herty insisted, as she accessed Daniella's face.
"No, it could have been terrible. What would you have said if they had stripped me naked and slept with me or made me suck them till they came in my mouth," Daniella said as if it was a normal thing.
Meanwhile, Herty's eyes almost dropped from shock. "What?"
Daniella shook her head and said, "Life isn't as easy as you think. Some of us endure things because of how we want our lives to be but it isn't worth it. I thank God for the slaps because he saved me from the worse. I will follow you to church but I'm going to pretend that I lost my memory," she blurted out.
Herty empathized with Daniella. She realized that she had judged Daniella from the beginning, not knowing how much she suffered. Still, she couldn't understand her reason for pretending to be Danica. "Why?"
"I can't pretend to be Danica. I know nothing about her life out there. I will tell them I had an accident and lost my memory. That way, I will learn everything from scratch," Daniella said.
Herty didn't like the idea but coupled with the fact that Daniella was ready to change, she thought it a worthy sacrifice on Danica's part but if Daniella wasn't faking it. She hoped in the former and said, "Okay. I will see you on Sunday."
At the mansion,
Paul received a call from Loney. "Your surrogate told me to inform you to show up because she won't spend more than 9 months in your boring mansion, "Paul uttered as soon as he answered the call.
Loney forced a smile at the other side of the line. "I will be there tonight but don't tell her."