Chapter 140 - Got An Emergency

Brenda appeared again in Caroline's dreams that night.

This time, in Caroline's dream, Brenda manages to empty the bottle of the acid on her face, making her scream in suffocating pain as the flesh on her face began to rot away and her cheekbones emerged from her face.

She screamed, howling in pain, and woke up at 3:00 in the morning.

Oh My God!

It feels so shockingly real, her dreams are making her f.u.c.k.i.n.g mental and crazy!

She cried hysterically and buried her face in her pillow to muffle her sobs.

After one hour of muffled crying, she shut off her eyes again, forcing herself to go to sleep.

By 4:00 in the morning, she finally falls back into a deep sleep that lasted until 9:00 in the morning.

She went downstairs carrying her daughter in her arms and handed baby Cathy to the housemaid so that she can drink coffee and eat her breakfast in the dining table.

She mixed solid food in the bowl and brought it to the living room so that Merle can feed her daughter.

"Why did you wake up late, daughter?" Thelma joined her in the table.

"I watched a horror movie last night and I dreamed I'm part of the movie, I'm running for my life after the man-eating creatures devoured my companion one by one. Then they suddenly attacked the place where I'm hiding... and all of them jumped after me... tearing my flesh from my bones with their sharp teeth. It feels so real, I cried in fear, then I was not able to go back to sleep right away. Thankfully, I fall back to sleep at 4:00 and wake up late in the morning. End of story," Caroline lied and shrugged.

"You shouldn't watch horror movies during sleep time," Thelma scolded her.

"Don't worry, Mother. I will not watch any horror movies again during bedtime," she replied avoiding looking at her mother in the eyes.

Caroline picked up the spoon and fork and began putting rice and dishes on her plate. She eats breakfast in silence.

Thelma left and went to the living room to bond with her granddaughter.

Caroline tried to push more foods in her throat. Dammit! She can't lose her appetite too!

A few minutes later, she managed to consume all the foods on her plate, she drinks one glass of water and left the dining table.

She went to the living room and took baby Cathy in her arms. "My daughter will take her bath now, Mother," she said.

"Okay, I will tend to my flower garden at the back of the house," Thelma said.

Caroline climbs the stairs and went to her bedroom. She placed her daughter in her crib.

She went inside the bathroom to prepare baby Cathy's bath.

Done with the preparation, she went to the crib and was about to take her daughter to the bathroom when her phone rings.

She got a text message.

She went to the bed and picked up her phone from the side table.

The text message was from an unknown number, again!

She read the message.

'I want to know where did you hide Brenda! Meet me at the White Berry Mall, in the garden, on the ground floor. If you don't come at exactly 3:00 in the afternoon, I will tell the police that you abducted Brenda!'

OMG!

Caroline dropped her phone in the bed and covered her mouth with her trembling hands.

Her whole body was shaking in fright.

She suddenly finds herself gasping for air, she was having a hard time breathing, she got anxiety and panic attacks.

She stared at her phone in bed. She picked it up and blocked the number who sent her the message.

It's no longer a prank!

It's horrifyingly real!

That person who sent her the message know about Brenda and her. That person knows that she was the last person who saw Brenda alive. And besides Allison and Owen, there's another person who knows everything...that...that...must be the woman who put the handkerchief on her mouth. She recalled that when she woke up inside the warehouse, she only saw Brenda, that woman was nowhere in sight.

Oh My God, what she's going to do now?

If she won't come to the mall, that person might tell the police about her and Brenda and they will arrest her and put her in a lie detector test. If that happens, she can no longer lie. She will spend the rest of her life in jail for murder and hiding a dead body.

No! She can't allow this thing to happen.

She already had her plans!

She tried to calm herself, she took a deep breath, then exhales and inhales air into her lungs...

She repeated the same process for ten minutes.

Finally, she can breath easier now, her breathing returns to normal. She must not let that text message scare her and make a coward out of her.

She took a deep breath and picked up her daughter from her crib. Then suddenly...she was startled by the ring of her phone... signaling of another message...she nearly drops her daughter on the floor.

Damn!

She's turning into a nervous wreck!

She quickly put her daughter back in the crib and picked up her phone and checked the message.

Surprisingly, the message comes from her twin sister Catherine, it says...' How are you, sis? Wanna meet up just like old times?'

The message was accompanied by 3 heart emoji.

Caroline massage her heart feeling relieved.

She read her sister's message again. Right now, she wants to reconcile with her sister, because after she disappears from their lives, Catherine will be the one who will take care of her family.

She released a deep sigh.

She will think about it later.

She continues where she left off and brought her daughter to the bathroom for bathing.

Two hours later.

Lunchtime.

Caroline went downstairs to eat lunch. She placed baby Cathy in the arms of the housemaid and went to the dining table to join her family.

They consumed their meals in silence.

When Lily and Jacob left the table.

Caroline looked at her mother. "Mother, I'm going to the mall today to buy groceries."

"Okay, I will make a list of the things that you need to buy," Thelma replied.

"Please do that, Mother," Caroline said while chewing on the tender pork meat in her mouth.

Thelma finished the remaining foods on her plate and stood up. She went to the cabinet, took a pen and paper, and began making the list.

After finishing her meal, Caroline prepared her daughter's solid food.

Done, she went to the living room, placed the baby's food in the center table, and took baby Cathy in her arms.

The housemaid went to the dining table to eat lunch.

Caroline picked up the spoon and the bowl which is a mixture of squash and rice and starts feeding the solid food to her daughter. She smiled while looking at her daughter's adorable chubby mouth munching on the solid food.

A few minutes later.

Caroline was done feeding her daughter.

Thelma sat beside her on the sofa and handed her the list of the groceries that were lacking in their pantry cabinet.

"Is this all, Mother?" Caroline asked.

Thelma nods her head. "Yes. But don't forget my apple pie!" she smiled.

"Sure!" Caroline replied.

"Go now! So that you can return home early. I'm going to cook Pork Sinigang for dinner," Thelma said. She took Cathy from Caroline and placed the baby in her lap.

"Alright, I will go now," Caroline responded. She rose to her feet and climbs the stairs.

Inside her bedroom.

She readies her shoulder bag, dumped her phone, car keys, and wallet inside, and took a quick shower.

Thirty minutes later, she exited the bathroom, went to her closet, and picked up blue jeans and a body fit blouse color orange. Then slid her feet into her flat brown pump shoes.

Done dressing up, she picked up her shoulder bag and exited her room. She went downstairs and bid her mother goodbye in the living room.

"I'll go now, Mother," she said while planting a kiss on her daughter's head and sauntered towards the door.

Caroline exited the house, went to her car and slid into the driver's seat, then started the engine.

A moment later, she was already exiting the entrance of the subdivision and heading downtown.

She was caught in traffic for a few minutes, she grabbed her shoulder bag and checked her phone. She got a few messages from Mike, sending her lovely quotes that elicited a smile from her lips, she quickly typed a loving reply to him.

It's already 2:00 in the afternoon.

The traffic finally eases and she resumed driving straight towards the White Berry Mall.

She arrived at the mall and parked her car properly in the parking area. She immediately exited her car and walked towards the mall's entrance.

Caroline went straight towards the garden area, the only place in the mall where it's open air. She sat down on the vacant bench and looked around her. Many shoppers are sitting on the bench enjoying the blooming flowers.

Which of them is the unknown sender?

She scrutinized each of the women's faces sitting nearby, trying to identify the face of that woman who drugged her inside her house.

Dang! She can't see anyone resembling that woman who drugged her in her house as she continues to check every face that comes and go from the garden's premises.

Where is she!?

Feeling restless, she typed a message... 'I'm here already, where are you!?'...and sent it to the unknown number.

She tried to see if there is a woman nearby who checked their phone, and she was right, all the women around her were browsing on their phones, some are taking pictures and selfies, using the beautiful flowers as the backdrop of their photos.

Sigh.

She can't find that person unless she will get a reply from her and inform her of her exact location in the garden.

Caroline continues checking out people's faces around her.

Unknown to her.

Two people are looking at her from the inside of the restaurant overlooking the garden on the second floor.

"Is that her, the woman who is wearing a body fit blouse color orange?" the person asked while looking at the solitary woman sitting on the bench.

"Yes, she's the one," the other person nodded.

One of them typed something on the phone and sent it to someone.

Back in the garden.

Caroline received a text message from the unknown texter...it says...' I Got an emergency. I will schedule another meetup.'

She released a deep sigh and put her phone back in her shoulder bag.

With one last look around her... finding nothing that warrants her interest... she left the garden and strolled towards the grocery store to do her grocery errands.