A Glimmer in the Dark Chapter 09
Mom had just promised me yesterday that she’d accept treatment properly. There was no way she’d disappear for no reason.
I called her over and over, but no one ever picked up.
“Claire Evans, don’t panic!” Emily said.
Seeing how frantic I was, Emily grabbed hold of me right away.
“What do I do? My Mom’s gone… She told me yesterday she’d get treated and stay with me, and now… It’s all my fault. All my fault. I never should’ve let her go to the hospital today,” I said.
I yanked at my hair in guilt. Then my phone buzzed. The doctor had sent me surveillance footage.
The second I saw that familiar black figure from behind, I knew it was the same person I’d seen on the street earlier.
I went still.
“I can help you, Claire Evans. Don’t panic,” Emily said.
Emily dialed a number. The call connected almost right away.
“Help me find someone!” Emily said into the phone.
“I know who it is,” I Muttered.
I gripped my phone so hard it hurt and Muttered the words.
“Who? You know this person?” Emily asked.
Emily turned around. She was on the phone with her father.
“My rapist father,” I said.
Mayor Reed drove over himself. Emily helped me into the car.
“Hurry and go there! She’s My only friend. If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive you!” Emily urged her father.
Emily said in a rush.
I saw Mayor Reed pause.
“Emily… you’re not going abroad anymore?” Mayor Reed asked.
“It’s too late for that flight anyway, so how would I leave? Finding her comes first!” Emily said.
Emily wiped my tears with a tissue.
“Claire Evans, we’ll find her. We will,” Emily said.
I was handed information on that man.
Those eyes. It really was him.
The file listed when he went to prison, along with everything he said at the later trial.
“She went along with it. Otherwise why didn’t she push Me away?” he had said in court.
“Quit Making a big deal out of my crime. Maybe she liked it. Maybe she even got pregnant with my kid. That’s a gift from God to her,” he had said.
Reading those disgusting lines made my whole body shake. My stomach churned so hard I thought I was going to throw up.
“It’s definitely him…” I said.
I clenched the file in my hands.
“This time, I won’t let him hurt My MOM again,” I said.
“Even if you weren’t my daughter’s friend, even if you were just an ordinary citizen, I’d still do everything I could. The police have already been called, and we’ve locked down their exact location. We’ll get there in time,” Mayor Reed said.
Mayor Reed looked at me and tried to reassure me.
“If any citizen under My watch gets hurt, then I’ve failed as mayor,” Mayor Reed said.
Emily kept trying to calm me down too.
Thinking about how Mom had cried in my arms. yesterday and said she wanted to start over, my heart was practically lodged in my throat.
I absolutely could not let that Monster ruin my mother a second time.
“No! No! I’m going to kill you! I’ll kill you!” MOM screamed.
By the time we got there, we heard a voice screaming itself raw, and I knew at once it was My Mother’s.
My head was ringing. I wanted to rush in that second.
“Claire Evans, calm down. The cops are already positioned nearby. They’ll make sure the hostage is safe!” Mayor Reed said.
“He said he just wants money. If he gets the money, he’ll leave!” Mayor Reed said.
Mayor Reed swallowed hard and tried to reassure me.
“I promise I’ll bring your mother back safely. I’m going to negotiate now,” Mayor Reed said.
After saying that, he picked up the money and started forward.
Emily kept trying to soothe Me.
“Nothing’s going to happen, Claire Evans,” Emily said.
“Wait,” I said.
I stared at Mayor Reed’s back and said,
“Mayor Reed, let me go,” I said.