If it wasn't for Micah standing behind her, Mariana would've fainted to the floor. She felt her body run cold as she looked at the ice cream truck again, but her baby was nowhere to be seen.
"She took my children..." Mariana mumbled with a blank stare towards the ground. She barely blinked as her legs froze with numbness. Her world went hazy and it was as if she was floating in empty space. Like she was pulled out of reality and plunged into her deepest nightmare.
"I can't believe it myself," Leilani muttered.
"I wonder how because she was always with us," Micah said and helped Mariana stand up. "I didn't think she would turn around and betray us like that."
"Yeah..." Mariana sniffed and gripped Micah's shirt so she wouldn't fall. She slowly tried walking around, feeling disoriented as her eyes looked once more.
"What if... what if we never see them again..." her voice stuttered out of her trembling lips. She choked on her own saliva as her heart thumped with panic. She started feeling nausea creep up her throat as her mind raced when she first got separated from her mother.
"Last time this happened, I never got to see my mother again..." Mariana's voice got more lower and she clutched her necklace. She never wanted to recall the memory as it felt like a stab in the chest filled with relentless pain. But now it was too late, as she was terrified that her kids were destined to the same fate.
"She's going to kill my kids!" Mariana cried out as her mind resorted to the worst.
"No no, Mariana, don't think like that," Micah said as he held onto her. "I don't think she'll go that far."
"But where is she...?" Mariana said, looking around the bushes for any clues where Mona could've gone. But she couldn't find much and the place got even more crowded. Her body shook with irritation and wanted to push people out of the way.
"Where did she take them?" Mariana's anger blazed as she bared her fists in the air. She felt enraged at the betrayal, mostly because of how nice they had been to her. Her tears were burning to burst out, but she held them back so she can see properly.
"Hold on Mariana." Micah ran to her side and tried holding her to calm her down. "We'll find them soon, don't worry. We just need to figure out where she's gone." He caressed her hand which eased her mood a little.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then exhaled.
"Alright, alright," Mariana said, and then started thinking while her eyes roamed around.
"Um, how about we check her room first?" she suggested.
"I think that's a good idea. It might give us an idea of where she went," Micah agreed.
Mariana wiped her leaking nose and swung her fist at air. She wanted to punch something to let out her frustration, but knew it was worthless.
"Let's go then." She sighed and let out a low growl of frustration. She stopped looking through the bushes like an animal and grabbed Micah's hand. They then all went back to the hotel rooms with the officer.
The hotel staff opened Mona's room for them, and they went to investigate.
Mariana wept silently as she had to go look through the drawers just to have a clue on where her children are. She still couldn't believe they were missing, and she had to find them like this.
Suddenly, her phone began to ring and when she got it out, it was from a private number. Mariana quickly picked it up and put it on loud speaker.
"Hello?"
"Hello Mariana—"
She instantly recognized the voice, and it made her face red hot as she screamed into the phone, "Mona! Where did you take my kids? Give them back!"
"Now Mariana, calm down. Your kids are perfectly safe, and—"
"Don't tell me to calm down!" She screamed with fury. Tears streaked down her face as her cheeks grew increasingly red. "Why would you do this Mona? I thought we were friends!"
"I'm sorry Mariana dear. Don't get me wrong, I really do like you, and I was going to change my mind about this. But I made a promise and I intend to keep it."
Mariana sobbed more quietly, feeling heartbroken and betrayed, then asked another question. "What promise? What is it your not telling me?"
There had been a slight pause on the other line before she heard a sigh.
"I can see you don't really remember me, Mariana. But I don't blame you, because it wasn't really that clear at that time."
Mariana's body stiffened as Mona's mysterious voice chilled through her ears, filling her with perplexing thoughts on what she meant.
"What are you talking about?"
She heard a slight, sinister chuckle on the other line, and Mariana was going to shout again until she finally answered.
"All in due time Mariana. But if you want to see your kids again, then you'll have to come find me, but I don't think you would want to do that."
And with that, the call ended.
Mariana's phone slipped through her hands but before it could fall into the ground, but Leilani caught it just in time.
"Wow," Mariana mumbled as her body stood still in shock.
"I was definitely not expecting that," Micah mumbled in utter shock.
"Me either," Mariana said and took the phone from Leilani.
"Do you remember seeing her anywhere before Mariana?" Miguel asked.
"Not really," Mariana mumbled and massaged her head. All this chaos was pushing down on her.
"Well, I could go back to the station and from there, we could try tracking her phone by any of the nearby cell towers to find out her location," the officer suggested.
"Alright. I still have her phone number so I'll give you that." Mariana smiled and then gave him a thumbs up. She then wrote Mona's number down while crying silently and gave it to him.
When he left, Micah sat on the bed with her, as she leaned on his shoulder.
"I hope we did them, Micah." Mariana sniffed and got close to him.
"Me too Mariana, me too." Micah whispered and then embraced her as they sat on the bed in silence.
****
Mona felt the wind blew past her face as she brushed a strand away. Her green eyes glowed as she gazed along the street as she ended the call.
"Are you okay?" the figure asked as they drove.
"Yeah, just drive." Mona fanned her away, and continued looking out the world. She gently bounced Axel on her lap as he licked his ice cream.
"Mommy, where are we going?" Rina asked worriedly.
"Don't worry sweetheart," Mona muttered, and looked at her through the mirror.
"But I want to go back to Disney." Rina stuck her pink lip out like a sore thumb and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, I want to go on more rides," Raidan said as he played on his Switch with his knees tucked in.
"We can go another time," Mona mumbled, trying to get them to be quiet as her head began to ache. She started rubbing it but the cold wind made it seethe.
"But I want more rides," Raidan whined and started kicking the chair.
"Hey, I said stop it!" Mona snapped and snatched his Switch. She brought the window fully down and stuck it outside.
"If you don't leave me alone, I will throw this thing outside," she threatened in great anger.
"No please!" Raidan pleaded and leapt toward, but was pulled back by the seatbelt.
"Then be quiet and stop moving." She threw it back, and it landed on his lap. She tutted and massaged her burning temples. Their complaining was starting to drill into her head and when she moved, there would be a sharp, circulating pain.
"Stop here." She ordered.
They pulled over to an empty field and Mona got out for some fresh air. She pulled out a cigarette and lit up. She quickly inhaled it like it was her comfort and blew it out. She felt relief wash over her body as it sailed through her gap, and across the blue sky.
"Phew, I feel much better now," she said more calmly and turned back to the car. Her kids got out to stretch their legs, and Electra unveiled herself from the driver's seat, and brushed out her copper hair.
"Come on, let's get to work," Mona said to her and crushed the cigarette butt into the grass.
"Alright," Electra complied and got out the bag from the trunk. She pulled Elisa out who was unconscious, and had some blood stains with marks across her forehead.
"Mommy, what happened to Elisa?" Rina came running beside her. "Why she bleeding?"
"It's okay, Mommy will soon fix it," Mona reassured her and then crouched down to cradle her head. "What happened? This wasn't part of the plan."
"Well, she was making too much noise, so I had to improvise." Electra crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Her brown hair rolled down her back, and she had a small scar across one of her blue eyes.
"But now I have to fix this before we continue." Moan groaned and then got some plasters out. She then cleaned Elisa's wound and patched it up.
"Why did you hurt my friend? Who are you?" Rina started crying and pointed accusingly at Electra. She started kicking her feet which made Electra cry out in pain.
"Ow! You little brat!" Electra swatted her away like she was a bug.
"Hey, be careful the way you talk to my kid." Mona got up so she towered over her in her black, shiny high heels.
"And what are you going do?" Electra challenged her by looking straight into her eyes. "All you got is trying fulfilling some dead lover's wish, and that's not even—"
Mona silenced her by a mighty slap of the wind, turning Electra's cheek bright red as she cried in pain.
"How dare you!" she shouted and strained her voice. She painfully bit the bottom of her lip. Her nails dug into her palm as she tried controlling herself.
"Saying such vile things." She scowled. "Remember I'm the one paying you."
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Electra put her hands up in defense and leaned on the car.
Mona ignored her and put the hoodies onto Elisa and Axel. She then turned towards her kids and said, "stai aproape de mine." (Stay close by me.)
She looked at Electra in disgust and scowled. "Ai grija de ea." (Be careful of her).
Once she was all done, she put a hat on Elisa and Axel to hide their faces and then got back into the car.
"Okay, let's get going," Mona ordered with more calmness.
Electra nodded and turned the engine back to continue on their journey.
A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What did you think of it?
Also Electra is back 4 years later and still says the most outta pocket things.😂😂😂