She braced herself for everyone's questions. She was sitting in the middle of the media from all corners of the city. At least within the area that's her so-called family's territory.
She could hear every clicks of their cameras as well as the murmurs of almost every one. Her appearance seem to have really shattered everyone. After five long years, the missing daughter has returned.
Every single report that's inside this conference room has been preparing for the questions that they wanted to ask her. Who would not want to?
The family of the missing woman has lost hope of ever finding her, or so they thought. And now, just when her father is about to start his campaign as a senator, she occurred out of nowhere. A drama that would stir up everyone's world, especially her so-called family.
Not far from where she is, a man in disguise was standing just in between all the reporters. Wearing a black fedora with a fake mustache and eyeglasses.
He was standing right across her staring deeply into her green eyes.
It felt really strange the moment she saw Kara's photo. Indeed the similarity is so uncanny.
The same deep set green eyes and almost every feature she has was an exact replica of Kara's that she thought they could be twins.
She glared at him as he smirked at her greeting her the best of luck.
In a few minutes, the head speaker inside the conference room started speaking. He was giving a short introduction for her and as soon as he was finished, everyone in the room started raising their hands, with the hope that she would entertain their questions.
The head speaker pointed a finger towards a woman who was wearing flimsy clothes.
"Can you tell us what happened to you for five years?"
She recalled in her mind the story that they were supposed to be running the moment she step in.
"What happened to you?" her mind was thinking of when Terry and Keld were preparing her for her sudden appearance.
"I was abducted by someone while I was on my way home one day. I was walking alone after a quick jog when all of a sudden someone grabbed me from behind. They covered my mouth and nose with a handkerchief and that was when I blacked out."
"Show me more tears." Terry instigated tears from me.
"I...I found myself inside a dark underground where I was tied up wearing only my underwear." her eyes started to well up.
"Be more convincing. If you need to cry harder, do it. The key is to make everyone believe that you've been through such a terrible incident."
She kept talking all the while trying to remember the script they were supposed to ran through for everyone.
"They tortured me, telling me that they would kill my family if I don't give them what I want."
Her mind refused to think of the things that she's saying right now. It was a story they thought could be a realistic thing to happen. No matter how much she'd want to, she just could not imagine it ever happening to anyone. But to her dismay, it does happen to a few people who are victims of kidnapping.
She could not bear to think what they may have gone through, and now, she's setting her mind to think of the same thing to be happening to her in order to manipulate people. She said a quiet prayer for all of those who may have been a victim of the same thing.
"They took advantage of me." she stopped mid-sentence and swallowed a lump in her throat. She's pretending to be someone who has gone through something that's too brutal she could not even say it herself. "I can't.. I -- I just can't.."
She wiped away her tears as she saw every single reported in the room gasp and become uncomfortable of what she has just said.
They've prepared for this day for a whole year. She's run through the story over and over in her mind until she'd get to feel every bit of it's details.
"How did you get out?"
Out of the silence, the man she was staring at a while ago raised his hand and asked.
She looked him straight in the eye and prepared herself for the next part of her story. She sniffed as the tears slowly died down again.
"Someone helped me."
"Who?" another question.
"A woman. The woman who my abductor's lover. She got curious one day of what was beyond the door underneath his property. And that was when she saw me. She was horrified and didn't waste any time to rescue me."
"Do you know who your abductor is?"
"Yes. I will never forget his face."
"Who is it?"
"I can't..."
She started to cry again and even turned her head away from everyone. The head speaker started to console her. He whispered a few words to her and encouraged her to tell he truth.
She nodded as she faced everyone once again. She looked straight at the man wearing his fake mustache just across him.
"It's--- it's Liam Miller."
All of a sudden, the entire room went into a frenzy. After dropping that exact name, everyone was calling everyone they know as she asked to be excused from everything that's happening.
The media was trying to stop her from leaving but she tried her best to get away from all the crowd. All her moves are calculated and very well planned.
Soon enough, she was inside a tinted car as every single photographers were trying to grab her attention.
The moment she stepped inside the car, Terry who was sitting in the front seat turned towards her.
"Are you ready?"
She nodded.
"You did a good job."
"Where are we going now?"
"You'll see."
The car was now moving. She felt her head suddenly aching from all of the events that has just happened. Today was the first step of Keld's vengeance. For a year, she has to train herself to become exactly like Kara. The woman she's pretending to be.
They stopped in a private cabin that's secluded and was almost too far away from the city. It was more of a safe house with the serenity it had. It is backdropped with the vast forest behind it with a small pool in the front yard. The house is well built in two story and painted in Auburn color.
Terry led her inside and gave her a quick tour of the entire place. There's a cute fireplace in the middle of the living room while a huge flat screen TV was also displayed. The kitchen is equipped with all necessary appliance she needed, including a coffee maker, a toaster, an oven, a fully stocked fridge, blenders and all other necessities she might need.
As she looked out the window, she could see three of the men who were on a convoy with them a while ago clearing the perimeter.
The house had three rooms, one was identified to be a panic room while the other one is a guest room. When she stepped inside the panic room, she was welcomed with all the CCTV screens in every nook and cranny of the house.
She has the visual of the entrance and the exit, even some of the areas inside the forest. Every single corner can be seen that it was almost impossible that a blind spot exists.
This will be her home until such time that Keld would say.
Terry brought her back to the living room as she turned on the television.
The screen now was filled with the faces of the people she has familiarized for a really long time. Four of them stood in front of their house as the man she knew was Liam Miller is being apprehended by policemen.
She could see him rebelling against the arresting officers and how her supposed family were trying their best to control the crown who were starting to mob their property together with all the media outlets.
She heard Terry sigh.
"Are you okay?"
"I am. Are you?"
She nodded.
"Look, this is not exactly what I wanted but know that if you choose to turn away from all of this, I can help you."
She looked at her as she sat down beside Nora and grabbed her hands.
"I don't want you to get in so much trouble. And I know how these things go down. There's nothing real good results to this entire vengeance plan."
"I will be okay Terry."
"I just think that if it wasn't because of me, you would have not been in this whole situation."
"Well, not entirely. It was still my choice. I owe Keld a lot, even my life. And I want to return the favor. Even if it means being caught up in all of these. And yes, I will take your word for it. If all of this goes bad, you will be the first person I will call."
Their conversation was stopped as soon as the reporter filled the screen.
"Liam Miller was just arrested at 3 PM today after the once missing Kara Lee Osmond laid out to the public that she has been abducted by her own husband. In an interview earlier today, she vividly described the things that she had to go through the entire five years that she's been missing. The Osmond family has not given any official statement and has not personally seen Kara. Kara is now known to be in a safe house up until the investigation would fully conclude."
"It really is happening now huh?"
"It is. Wanna take everything back?"
She stared at the huge screen in front of her. The faces of the people whom she knew did something terrible to an innocent woman filled her entire mind.
She was brought back to the time when Keld showed her the video that was sent to him the day Kara killed herself.
She could literally see the same exact green eyes flashing on the screen of his laptop. They were inside his office while everyone has left. Her puffy eyes were transpicuous in the screen.
"I don't know how else I can live with this kind of life. I am in so much pain." he soft voice started to fill the silence inside his office. He was looking at the entire city as Kara was speaking in his laptop. "I can't get out. No matter what I do, there's these leaches who are sucking me out of blood and I can't bear it anymore." her eyes started welling up as she was combing her hair with her own fingers. "I just wanted to be happy and be contented with my life. I found my happiness but they took it all away from me. They took everything away from me and I just can't--- I can't-" she started to cry again for a good two minutes. The only thing you could see is her angel face filled with tears that even she was feeling every single pains she has. "I can't do it anymore. I'm sorry Keld. I'm sorry for all the things I did. I love you so much."
A soon as she gave those last words, she could her the loud bang of gunshot reverberating in the entire room.
She closed her eyes as she saw her fall down.
She wiped out the tears that was starting to fill her eyes. Every words she said has overwhelmed her heart. This was a woman who got caught in the middle of all possible selfish reasons.
A family whose only aim is to pursue their political interest even if it meant sacrificing the innocent.
She now understood what Keld has been trying to achieve.
As soon as she signed those papers, she has prepared herself for what's to come.
Keld moved her as well as Luna And Sierra to a new loft that he personally purchased for all of them. The lease of the house was on her name. Ever since they moved out, she has not been coming in to the escort service. According to madam Lily, she's been commissioned for an exclusive contract with Keld. She didn't even get to know how much was the price it took for him to get her out of the service temporarily.
In a way, he did it to protect her from Marcus, the man who has disrespected her.
She was thankful for everything that he has done for her and it was the same reason why she has decided to be in it with him.
"What do I have to do?"
"You have to understand that whatever we do, could put all of us in danger if we are not careful with every move we make."
"I understand that."
"And for this to work, you will have to listen to everything we tell you. Every single thing that we teach you. You have to be Kara inside and out. From the looks, to the gestures to every single detail that I know of about her."
She nodded as she waited for him to face her again.
"And when we're in this, there's no going back."
She learned that Kara was indeed an amazing woman. Since she agreed to it, she needed to learn how she walks, how she talks and all her body gestures. She needed to learn five different languages in a year. French, Spanish, Chinese, Bulgarian and Italian. She's had private tutors come in every single day to help her catch up with all the languages she needed to learn.
She had to go through a crash course in Fine Arts, just enough for her to know the basics. She's had to memorize every single person that mattered in Kara's life. Her closest friends, her brothers, Liam, and even his family. Every single person that mattered was written down in her lesson plans.
Keld hired the most capable people he could ever find with all the wealth he has, he used all his resources to give all the support in needed.
I sighed as my eyes twitched and turned back into the news flashing in my screen. I was seeing my own face as well as the very recent arrest of Liam Miller.
His face was filled with drought as the flashes of the cameras kept blocking his face in every corner.
"No. I am ready. I won't waste the time and energy that we have invested in all of this. I want to do this for Kara and for Keld. But most of all, for Kara."
Terry stood up and turned the television off.
"Good." she crossed her arms on her chest and stood in front of her, "I appreciate everything that you are doing for him. I hope that by the end of this, you too will get something positive out of it. But most of all, I hope that you don't get your heart broken. But as I said, if you feel like running away from all of this, give me a call."
"I will. Thank You!"