BEHIND THE MASK- BOOK II

NINETEEN: CURSED LAWYERS

"No, but you can take another guess," Cameron said as the box opened.

Sylvia sighed. "Of course, it would be you. What's with all guards, hmm?"

Cameron chuckled. "When you have the kind of power that I have, it's needed."

"What are you two doing here?"

"Dad told me that you were ghosting him. Why is that?" Riley told her, getting straight to the point.

"Why does it matter? Just go home. You wasted your time coming here." She was about to close the door when Riley held the door open.

"It's not like you to just up and ghost, dad like that. He's worried about you."

"Well, he shouldn't be. I recall you not wanting nothing to do with me," she scowled. "You can leave now." She tried to close the door.

"You're afraid of him finding you since the article was released, aren't you?" Riley figured her out.

She was silent knowing there was no coming back from this. Riley had figured her out easily. She then sighed allowing both of them to come inside. Some of the guards followed them inside as well. When they walked in, the guards stood by the door. However, the moment they arrived in the living room, it was enough to know how she was feeling. The room represented the chaos in her mind. The confusing question she never got answers. The idea of a black hole that she'll never be able to climb out of.

"He's bound to find me regardless of what you try to do. At the end of day, everyone will finally get the peace they deserve." She said.

Riley could hear the pain in her voice. The emptiness, the loss of life and hope. She could also see it in her eyes. With everything that has happened, it was hard for her to forgive her mother, but she hated to see her mother feel what she has felt for the last six months even though she hid it.

Riley sighed, but smiled a little understanding how she was feeling. "You sound like me."

"What do you mean?" Sylvia asked.

"Sometimes, life feels so dark and suffocating to the point where I can't breathe. The air is so thick. I sometimes wonder whether life is worth living anymore." Riley elaborated. "When you live a life like mine, there's no such thing as peace and freedom."

Sylvia was fighting every part of her motherly instinct not to pull Riley into her embrace and console her knowing how Riley felt about physical contact sometimes. "Does it feel like that all the time?"

Riley then nodded. "Not all the time, but I sometimes find myself caught in a lie. This persona that I've built working for Rodney being that lie."

Sylvia understood her. "Well, thanks for coming. I guess. Tell your father I'm okay, alright?"

"We didn't come to only talk to you. There's another reason why we're here," Riley told her.

Sylvia looked at her confused. "Then what else are you here for?"

"Remember when you asked me for help?" Cameron asked.

The memory resurfaced. However, Sylvia was silent, a little surprised. She didn't think that Cameron would actually help her. For the first time, her throat had tightened a little as her eyes became glassy, filled with emotions. Someone finally heard her. Someone finally heard her cry for help, and for that she couldn't be more relieved than she already was. "I didn't think you'd actually—"

Cameron chuckled. "You're welcome."

Meanwhile, on the way to Sylvia's apartment, a woman was driving recklessly worried about her little sister. Fifty calls, A hundred messages and voicemails and none of them went through to her. So, she had no choice but to head there. When she got there, she noticed three blacks parked by the building. Curious, she wondered if the mayor passed through here or something.