The morning sun was already high up in the sky but Nina who had been writing late into the night yesterday was still not awake. However, her sleep was bound to be cut short as her mobile phone which she had placed on the bedside rang out loudly.
"Argh..", Nina grumbled out loud on the bed with unsatisfaction before muttering in annoyance though she still didn't open her eyes, "Justin.. Pick up your phone... It's so noisy!"
It was obvious that she thought that it was her husband's phone ringing and still had no idea that he had awoken and went out long ago.
She waited and waited for the phone to stop ringing but was bound to be disappointed as the phone started ringing again after a few minutes of silence. Nina could only open her eyes with great reluctance and sat up in anger planning to denounce Justin who she thought was still lying next to her on the bed.
The result could very well be imagined, because the minute she turned around she saw the space next to her empty. She stretched out her hands to touch the place and felt some coldness, proving that the person who had laid there for the night had long since gotten up.
Only then did Nina's lagging brain seemed to react as she turned to look at the direction of the curtains. When she saw the bright sunlight sprinkling into the room, Nina was stunned and muttered to herself in a daze, "It's already so late?"
After estimating that it should already close to noon with how bright the sun was, Nina hurriedly got up from the bed as she recalled with panic that today was the deadline for submitting the manuscript for her latest book to he editor.
But then mid-way she remembered what had woken her up in the first place and back tracked to pick up her phone by the bedside table. It was also at that moment that she realized that the phone had long since went silent since who-knows-when.
While she wondered who the caller was, Nina unlocked her phone and clicked on the missed call notification displayed on the phone's screen.
Her charming brows however furrowed on seeing that it was an unrecognized number that had called and at the same time, she sighed in relief that the call wasn't from her editor.
"A spam call?", She wondered out loud. This was because this was her private number and normally, those who called in to this number were all people she was familiar with and whose mobile numbers she had saved.
She therefore found it quite unusual to receive a call from an unsaved number and could only conclude that it was a spam call.
But...
Nina hesitated slightly when she saw that the country code in front of the mobile number.
It was the country code for F Nation where Selena was.
'Could it possibly be Selena calling?', she doubtfully thought to herself, but she soon denied that thought since Selena have always been calling her with her Country Z's mobile number.
Still...
Nina hesitated again and couldn't make a decision in her heart but someone soon made one for her as in the next minute, her phone rang again with the F Nation's number calling in.
Nina's hands reacted faster than her brain and by the time she realized it, she had picked up the call. She paused for a second after realizing what she did but still proceeded to say hello to the other side.
The person on the other end of the phone said nothing for a few seconds after she said hello and just when Nina was about to decide that it might really be a spam call, the other side spoke.
"Hello."
Hearing the dignified female voice, Nina unconsciously straightened her spine and stood uprighter, only coming to her senses after she completed the action.
But no one could blame for doing so. This was because the voice she just heard and the dignity with which the person spoke reminded her of her mother-in-law and also those people who had always stood in a position of power!
That, together with the fact that the number was a F Nation's number, Nina was able to piece some things together and a vague guess as to the identity of the person speaking occurred to her.
But she finally regained her calm and waited for the other person to speak even though inwardly her heart was beating in excitement and nervousness at the same time.
"Sorry to intrude.. but... am I speaking to Nina Jonas?", She heard the older woman ask.
"Yes, ma'am. This is Nina Jonas speaking."
Nina heard the woman sigh in relief before she continued speaking, "Hello, Nina. I am Selena's mother. I believe she had told you about us?"
Even though she already had a vague guess as to her identity, when the woman really told her who she was, she still couldn't help but be stunned.
It really was Selena's biological mother!
She hurriedly answered the woman's question affirmatively as soon as she snapped out of her daze and then heard the older woman continue speaking.
"Selena left for Country Z at noon today and its already night time at this moment but she still haven't called in to report her safe landing. I feel worried and uneasy and couldn't help but take the liberty to find your number to ask if you have met her?"
If Nina had not been standing, she would have probably shot up from where she sat. Her voice rose unconsciously as she asked Mrs. Preston in disbelief.
"What?! Selena is already back?"
However, she was able to catch herself in time and in order not to scare the person at the other end of the phone, she mellowed down her voice at the end.
This time, it was Mrs. Preston's turn to rise her voice by a few decibels as she asked with a trembling voice, "...does that mean that she hasn't come to you?"
Only after Nina heard her question did she finally realise the crux of the matter. According to Selena's mother, she had left for Country Z at noon and it was already night time over there and yet, Selena hasn't appeared in her sight.
Taking into consideration that the flight between F Nation and Country Z was only a few hours journey, the assumption that Selena might still be on the plane can be eliminated. And that left them with the option that...
Something might have happened to her.
And that... definitely wasn't good news.
Nina could arrive at this conclusion and so could Mrs. Preston on hearing Nina's silence.
"My daughter...", Nina listened to Mrs. Preston's whimpers from the phone and couldn't help the sympathy and distress that arose in her heart for the older woman.
Having just reunited with her long-lost daughter, she received news that that same daughter might have gone missing again. It was a miracle that she hasn't completely broken down. At the same time, worry and fear clouded Nina's mind as she wondered what might have gone wrong on her best friend's end.
She prayed and hoped that it might end up being a false alarm and that Selena was safe somewhere.
While she was lost in her thoughts, she suddenly heard a somewhat cold male voice from the phone, making her a bit startled. The man was of course Mr. Preston who had taken the phone from his wife who was currently too sad to continue receiving the call.
"Can you think of anywhere she might have possibly gone, which could have hindered her from contacting us?", Nina heard the man say and almost instantly, guessed that the man was Selena's biological father.
Ryan!
Nina's eyes instantly lit up on thinking of Mr. Preston's question.
Yes! How could she have forgotten about Ryan?! There is a huge possibility that the reason why Selena had abruptly came back without informing her was because of Ryan!
So... could it be possibe that she was currently with him and this was the reason why she had forgotten to inform both her and her parents as well.
Because, she was enjoying a two-person world with Ryan?
"I thought of someone else who could possibly know her whereabouts. I will be calling the person right away", Nina said hurriedly with a hint of excitement and joy in her voce to Mr. Preston.
Mr. Preston answered affirmatively before going silent. He thought that Nina was going to hang up the call in order to be able to call the person, but he found that seconds later the call was still connected.
His doubts soon got cleared as he soon heard Nina speaking softly and guessed that she had used another phone to call. He couldn't help but nod his head in approval.
His daughter's friend seemed considerate enough. She was able to deduce how anxious they must be and so, opted not to end the call and make them wait anxiously for her return call.
Meanwhile, Nina tried Ryan's number but was told by the operator that it was busy and could only dial her husband, Justin's number as the second option.
She planned to ask him if he had met Ryan today and if he had seen Selena with him...
...
Still inside the moving van and almost close to their destination, Justin who had just ended a call with Ryan who had told him the location Selena had been kidnapped to( which fortunately happened to coincide with the one Kyle had gotten after hacking into Luke's phone and tracing the last call he made) heard his phone ring again.
He took it out thinking it was Ryan again but when he saw that it was his wife, Nina calling, he sat upright. His fingers hesitated on the screen as he pondered if he should tell her about that fact that Selena had been kidnapped or not.
Since he received the call from Ryan informing him about Selena's kidnapping that morning and left her on the bed, he still hadn't been able to make up his mind on whether to tell her or not.
He wanted to pretend he didn't see this call and call her back after rescuing Selena yet, he didn't dare do that since he had no idea why she was calling him in the first place.
Justin could only sigh and accept his fate as he picked up the call, not knowing that the exact thing that he had been afraid of had came knocking on his door. So, after Justin heard Nina asking if he had seen Ryan, he abruptly felt his heart skip a beat.
"Why.. are you asking?", He asked with some hesitation which Nina obviously didn't notice as she continued asking with some hint of expectation and anxiety in her voice.
"Selena's parents just called in and told me that she had left for Country Z at noon over there and now it's already night and she hadn't called to inform them she has landed, neither has she informed me that she is back as well."
Justin's heart skipped another beat on hearing that Selena's parents had called Nina. His thoughts wandered as he began wondering if they would be able to hide Selena's kidnapping from her parents and he also thought that if her parents should somehow find out, wouldn't Ryan be in huge trouble by then? After all, no normal parents would want their child to be together with someone who puts them in danger, not to mention that Ryan's personal danger index was high as well.
While Justin's thoughts strayed, he failed to consider that the person on the other end of the phone was his wife who had been sleeping on the same bed with him for years and therefore, knew him well like the back of her hand.
His silence had made Nina's suspicious as normally if she had told him what she had just said, he would have either be hurrying to comfort her that nothing would happen to Selena or if he knew that Selena's was already safe and he had seen her, he would have told her right away without mincing words.
So, Justin only noticed that Nina's voice abruptly changed and carried a dangerous edge as she asked.
"Justin, what are you hiding from me?"
Justin's face changed immediately on hearing her question and his wandering thoughts instantly snapped back into place. As he urgently guessed at what had made Nina suspicious, he tried making a final struggle while hoping that it wasn't what he thought that she was asking about.
"Justin! Don't try to play tricks on me. I want to know what happened to Selena!", He heard Nina's furious hushed voice that made it seem like she was trying to prevent someone from listening to what she was saying.
Unfortunately, Justin had no time to think about why was that and could only sigh helplessly and told Nina the truth 'cause he knew that he would have to face her wrath if he still continued pretending that he knew nothing.
"Selena was kidnapped..."
"What! Selena was kidnapped?!"
Justin closed his eyes and rubbed his already aching forehead helplessly. He just knew that this was going to happen.
He should have stuck to his guts and pretended not to see her call earlier, yet, he could only grit his teeth and continue cleaning the mess he made.
"Yes. That's what happened. She was kidnapped the moment she landed at Nova Airport. Now, I need your help to keep this news from her parents. No matter what, they can't know about this but don't worry, we are on our way to rescue her right now and she would be able to inform them about her safety personally in a few hours. Do you understand me?", He asked with rare seriousness on his face.
The other end of the phone remained silent for a few minutes and just when Justin thought the call had been hung up, he heard Nina's hesitating voice and he couldn't help the bad feeling that arose in his heart.
Somehow he knew that he definitely was not going to like her next words.
"That... I am afraid it's too late..", He heard his wife say and though the bad feeling in his heart intensified, he couldn't help but ask.
"What is... too late?"
"...that we should try to keep it from Selena's parents.."
Justin: "...". F*ck!