116

116
Chapter 116

Sophia drove away from the prison feeling lighter than she had in days. She hadn’t expected the conversation with Jessica to go the way it did. She went there prepared to stay guarded, but somehow she left feeling calmer.

It could also be because she felt like she understood something she hadn’t before and she saw Jessica in that very vulnerable state.

People did bad things sometimes, but not every bad thing started from pure evil. Still, she knew forgiveness didn’t erase consequences.

She exhaled softly and kept driving. After a while, she realized she was hungry. She spotted a restaurant by the roadside and decided to stop there. Since it was the weekend, there was no rush to get anywhere.

She parked and walked inside. The place was quiet and comfortable. Sophia found a seat near the window and ordered something simple. While waiting, she absentmindedly checked her phone.

There were no new messages from Damien. She smiled slightly. He had mentioned being busy today, so that was quite understandable.

Soon her food arrived and she started eating quietly. Halfway through her meal, her phone vibrated. She reached for it casually and frowned slightly when she saw an unknown number.

Her expression changed when she opened the message.

“Hello, Sophia. This is Jessica’s mother. I would like to see you for something important.”

Sophia stared at the message with confusion.

Again? She honestly wasn’t expecting that. She had already gone to see Jessica and even made her decision and wasn’t sure she wanted to still be wrapped up in anything like that.

Sophia then rested her elbow on the table and thought for a moment.

“Well, maybe I would tell her myself.” She said under her breath.

After all, her daughter would most likely be going home tomorrow. Sophia opened the keyboard to reply but before she could type anything, another message came in.

“7:00pm would be favorable.” 

Then immediately after, a Location was  attached. Sophia opened it to read it properly and she discovered it was a restaurant.

She looked at the name and frowned slightly. She didn’t recognize this one but it’s not like she had gone to all the restaurants in the world.

Her fingers paused over the screen.

“What could be so important this time?” She thought to herself.

Her eyes stayed on the address for a minute before she finally replied.

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

The message showed it was delivered already. Then Sophia locked her phone and continued eating quietly.

For some reason, she felt strangely curious but all she had to do was to wait. When she was done eating, she paid and drove home.

By the time she reached the mansion, the house was quieter than usual. Damien still wasn’t back either. Sophia changed into something comfortable and ended up lying on the bed while watching a movie.

Her mind drifted occasionally to the meeting later and what Jessica’s mother wanted. But eventually, the movie distracted her enough.

At some point, her eyes became heavy. Without realizing it, she fell asleep with the TV still playing softly in the background.

~

Sophia woke up slowly to the faint sound of the television still playing in the room. For a second, she looked around blankly before remembering she had fallen asleep.

That was a really good sleep right there. In fact, if it was possible, she would have slept in and just woke up the next day.

Her eyes moved towards the clock and she saw it was 6:08pm. She blinked twice and sat up immediately.

“Can’t believe it’s almost 7pm.” She said under her breath.

The meeting she was to have with Jessica’s mother made her just too curious to postpone to another time. She rubbed her face and stretched slightly before reaching for her phone. There were still no messages from Damien.

She stared at his chat briefly, thinking if she should tell him she was going out, but eventually decided against it.

She wasn’t doing anything dangerous after all. All she had to do was to meet Jessica’s mother, tell her that she had already decided to let Jessica go, and come back. And it would definitely not take so long.

Sophia got off the bed and headed into the bathroom. Warm water ran over her skin as she showered quietly.

Her mind wandered as she allowed herself to enjoy the warmth of the water.

“But what exactly could Jessica’s mother want now? She had already begged.” She thought to herself.

Sophia had already forgiven Jessica. There shouldn’t really be anything left to discuss unless it’s something else that she doesn’t know about. And maybe she wanted to thank her properly in case she already knew.

Sophia finished showering and wrapped herself in a towel. She stepped back into the room and stood in front of the mirror.

Since she wasn’t going anywhere fancy, she picked something simple. Nothing too colorful or formal. It was  just a soft neutral outfit that she was comfortable in.

She dried her hair and checked the time again. After grabbing her phone and bag, she headed downstairs and walked out into the compound.

The evening air felt cooler than earlier. Her driver was already waiting and then he opened the car door for her respectfully.

“Good evening, ma’am.” He greeted her.

Sophia smiled lightly. “Good evening.”

She got into the back seat. Once settled, she opened the message and leaned forward slightly.

“I need to go here.” She said, showing him the address.

The driver nodded and entered it into the map, then they started driving. At first, the trip felt normal and cool. More like an adventure with an interesting destination. 

Sophia watched the city move outside while scrolling through random things on her phone but gradually, the surroundings started changing.

Buildings became fewer, the roads were quieter too. Sophia looked outside more carefully.

Her brows pulled together and she looked forward.

“Are we sure this is right?” She asked her driver, trying to be certain that they were following the right directions.

The driver glanced briefly at the screen.

“This is what the map says.” The driver uttered, assuring they were on the right road according to the map.

Sophia looked back outside. It felt strangely unfamiliar. Although it didn’t look unsafe, but it was just too quiet.

Eventually, after several more turns, the driver slowed down.

“We’re here, ma’am.” He informed her respectfully.

Sophia looked up, then frowned. Ahead of them stood a restaurant except that something looked wrong.

The place looked abandoned, the sign outside looked faded. There were no parked cars, no lights and no movement either.

Grass had even started growing unevenly around parts of the building.

Sophia didn’t even know what to think of it. Her stomach tightened slightly. The driver looked confused about it too.

“Ma’am…” he said, but Sophia raised her hand a little, signaling him to hold on.

Sophia slowly opened the restaurant information again. She looked at the name, then immediately opened Google and searched it.

A few seconds later, the results appeared. Her eyes moved across the screen, then widened.

Her heartbeat slowed down as she saw the “Permanently closed” tag.

She stared at and saw another article appeared.

“Restaurant closed months ago due to a business shutdown.”

Sophia looked up slowly. Her face changed, wondering if this was a game.

“What in the hell…”

She stared at the building again, then quickly grabbed her phone and opened the contact.

She pressed the call button and the phone began to ring, but then it failed.

She frowned and then tried again but the call failed again.

Her chest tightened because something felt wrong now. She typed a message to the contact but it didn’t even get delivered.

Sophia then looked at the driver.

“Turn around.” She said to him as she wasn’t interested staying in that vicinity one more minute.

The driver nodded immediately and reached for the gear, but a loud thud was heard. Sophia jumped violently out of shock.

She turned instantly and saw that the driver had collapsed sideways. Her eyes widened and her breathing almost stopped.

“Wait…” Her voice came out weak as she stared at him.

He wasn’t moving and her heart started pounding.

“Sir?” She called out to him calmly, but she didn’t get a response from him.

Sophia immediately reached for the door but then, she felt something; a presence.

Her entire body froze.

Slowly, she turned only to see someone standing outside just beyond the car. It was a tall figure and definitely a man completely dressed in a dark cloak; motionless and watching her.

Sophia froze. Her pulse became violent as she couldn’t see the person’s face. Only darkness beneath the hood.

For several seconds, neither moved. Her breathing became uneven and her hand slowly tightened around her phone.

“Who…” Her voice shook. “Who are you?” She managed to ask.

But the man didn’t give her a response.

The figure remained still and then Sophia’s body reacted before her thoughts.

She grabbed the handle and pulled the car door open. The moment she opened it, her eyes widened as she saw someone else in the car.

“Sophia Sterling.” The person called her name, then she felt another person behind her.

Her breath hitched and she turned only to see the person also wore a dark cloak.

Before she could scream, a hand grabbed her arm and something sharp pressed against her neck.

Her eyes widened.

“What…”

It was a sting that felt cold, then warmth took over and her body suddenly became heavy.

Sophia stumbled backward. Her vision blurred instantly.

“No…”

Her phone slipped from her fingers, then she tried stepping away but her legs didn’t respond.

The world tilted and the figures became blurry shapes. Her breathing became weak, then her knees gave out.

The last thing she saw was the first figure stepping closer, then everything went dark and Sophia lost consciousness.