Outfit of the day.
Suhana's POV
1 week later
Moving into the McAvoy Manor brought a lot of changes. I was staying with completely unknown people for the first time in my life. The estate itself is a maze. Even though Billy gave me some idea about what is where I was still scared of getting lost.
Inside the main house, I only saw the lobby, the kitchen, and Sarah's room. The rest of the manor is still unexplored. I didn't go for a walk since the day I stepped in here but I wanted to. So I decided to take a walk tonight after putting Sarah in her bed.
It was only Mr. McAvoy and Sarah who lived inside the huge house. All of us who worked there lived in the cottages inside the estate. I was living alone in mine. The first couple of nights in the cottage, I was scared to go to sleep.
Every night when I returned to the cottage after putting Sarah in her bed, the silence inside the cottage felt eerie. My body and mind were always on alert when I stepped inside. But slowly, I got used to it because living alone gave me privacy too.
Apart from Billy, there was Robert and his wife Martha. They have been working for the McAvoy family before Mr. McAvoy and his sister Elanor were born. Martha is in charge of the kitchen and the manor while Robert is the head staff of the estate and security. They are a lovely couple but unfortunately have no children. A reason they took care of the McAvoy children like their own.
There was also Jessica and Emily. Their work was to help Martha in the Kitchen. About 10 more people were there only for doing other chores like cleaning and laundry. Among them, I got acquainted with Loren and Ana. Almost every person I got to know there welcomed me happily. As if they were already a family and I became their new member.
Especially Martha. She would always ask me about my family, about how my life was before moving here. Her interest in my outfits was something else. She said she loved my ethnic wear and would love to try dresses like mine one day. I suggested that she can try one on Eid. She merrily agreed and said that she will take me shopping to help her select an Anarkali Salwar Suit.
While everyone seemed to have accepted me, Mr. McAvoy seemed the opposite. Since the day I arrived, we crossed paths a few times but he never said a word. He did not even ask me about how Sarah was doing but spent time with her whenever I'm not around. Not that I'm complaining. I, myself wanted to maintain a distance from him as his dislike towards me was too evident.
Sarah would observe me the entire day like a curious kid and shower me with questions right before going to bed. Especially about Islam. Maybe the interest came to her naturally as her father was a Muslim. She would sit near me during my salah and watch my movements.
I gave her answers but then she would come up with new ones. It was so hard to convince her to sleep as she has to go to school the next morning. Like the past few nights, tonight is nothing different. She kept asking questions till she fell asleep.
Sarah's Bedroom
I slowly walked out of her room and closed the door behind me. I decided to take a walk before going back to my cottage. Putting my flip-flops on and adjusting my dupatta over my head, I stepped outside under the moonlit sky and was hit by the breeze.
I started taking slow steps down the driveway, enjoying the night view of the hill. The constant chirping of crickets reminded me of the summer nights back home. The sloped driveway was illuminated by light poles but something was different.
There were not many guards tonight like the other nights or days. I know that the guards work 2 shifts. So, there would be the same number of guards at night-time as during the day-time. I only saw 3 guards inside one of the security booths but they didn't notice me walking past them.
It was supposed to be way more than 3 though. Maybe I am thinking too much. Maybe they are busy with something else. Soon, I found myself approaching the main gate of the estate and there were no guards near the gate?
Maybe they are standing outside, I thought.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
A loud shriek made me stop in my track. I tried to look for the source of the scream when another scream hit my ears, making me turn my head to my left. It was coming from the barn. Before I could think of anything, back-to-back painful shrieks erupted from that direction. Someone was in pain. That person needed help and I could see no one else there, not even a guard.
Where are they?
Should I go there and check?
What if it's dangerous?
But what if I can help that person?
Are we under attack?
Are there robbers inside the estate?
Is that why the guards are nowhere to be seen?
What should I do?
My line of reasoning was soon interrupted by another loud scream and then it all fell silent. All I could hear was the sound of the crickets and my own rapid heartbeat.
Why did it stop?
Is that person alive or...?
Without thinking anything else, I ran towards the barn. As I got closer, I saw that the barn gate was wide open. Slowing down my pace, I fast-walked inside the barn. Looking around me, I only saw horses inside their stables.
Taking a few steps further in, I stopped hearing some voices coming from the stable at the end. Slowly, I got close enough to get a full view of that stable but I was not ready for what I saw.
There I saw Billy with 5 other guards, standing in a circle, looking at the ground. On the ground, there was a man, lying on the stable floor, soaked in blood. He was barely conscious, crying in pain. His fingers were cut and his head was severely injured. It looked like someone had hit his head with extreme force. He was withering in pain while the guards kept staring at him.
Why aren't they helping him?
Why isn't Billy helping him?
To increase my state of shock, another man appeared in my view. He had a different appearance than the guards. wearing a hoodie, his back facing me, and he held a GUN. Horror took over me, my forehead and palms drowned in cold sweat drops.
What are they going to do to him?
I wanted to run away from there but my legs felt like they became glued on the spot. I was standing there like a statue, scared that they might notice my presence.
The man in the hoodie crouched down, aiming the gun at the bloodied man's head.
-"Now you know what happens if anyone tries to double-cross me. You f*cking betrayed me but what did that cost you? Huh? Seeing your wife's throat being slit and your brother being burned f*cking alive while you sat there helpless? Tsk tsk tsk... Justin, you shouldn't have joined hands with my enemy. I had some faith in you and you knew how hard it is to gain my faith, the faith of the biggest f*cking mafia in the world," the man stated in a calm yet dangerous tone.
I heard this voice somewhere.
A loud gunshot blasted through the barn, making all the horses snort loudly.
He is dead. He killed him.
The man in the hoodie stayed crouched when he filled Justin's head with a bullet. My entire body started shaking seeing the scene unfold in front of my eyes. A petrified scream escaped my mouth unknowingly, making them all turn their eyes at me. I held my hand over my mouth in horror, realizing what I did.
All the guards were shocked to see me standing there, mostly Billy. I looked at the man in the hoodie and a chill ran down my spine. Half of his face was covered under a mask. His angry gaze locked me in my spot as if I wasn't glued there already. My entire body started shaking and I took a couple of steps back.
Those eyes. I've seen them. But where?
Finally, my mind registered what just happened and I was able to move my feet. I did exactly what anyone scared for life would have done at that time. I ran. Within a few seconds, I was on the driveway. I wanted to run towards the gate and get out of there but it was closed.
There was no way I could open the gate without my ID. So I ran in the opposite direction, towards the manor. If I can get to the manor, I can inform Mr. McAvoy about what happened. He needs to know about what is going on inside his property.
My breathing became harder running up the sloped driveway but I couldn't stop. It was either I run for life or die right there. But if anything happens to me, everyone living inside the estate might be in danger too. What if the gunman goes for them next? Sarah. What if anything happens to her? No, I can't let that happen. I have to alert Mr. McAvoy.
I was near the parking area when I felt a hand grasp my hair bun painfully and yank me back. Before I could scream, another hand covered my mouth and I was pulled into a hard surface. It was the man in the hoodie. I recognized him as I touched the man's hand to free my mouth and saw the hoodie sleeve.
He dragged me away from the parking lot to a nearby metal bridge like a rag doll. I could feel his breathing on the side of my neck while he placed his other hand over my belly, trapping me. I struggled to get out of his hold but it was all useless.
Tears flooded my vision and I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see anything anymore. I just wanted to run away from there. My cries became muffled under the man's hand that was covering my mouth.
He turned me around and made me face him. He now removed his one hand from my belly and wrapped it around my waist, pulling me closer. His other hand was still occupied with keeping my mouth shut. I was pushing on his chest with my bare and weak hands but he didn't budge.
He only stood there silent, his heavy breathing reaching my ears. I kept my eyes closed the entire time yet the tears leaked like a fountain. If I am to die there, his face is not the last thing I want to see before leaving the world. I didn't want to see those eyes again. Instead, I continued my struggle to free myself.
I am going to die.
I am going to die in the hands of a mafia.
He's a non-mahram. It is so wrong. I need to get out of his grip.
He can't touch me like this.
If he wants to kill me, then he better put a bullet inside me already rather than manhandling me like this.
Suddenly, I felt him removing his hand from my mouth, his fingertips brushing on my lips in the process.
No! Please no.
-"Pl...Please lea...leave m...me... y...you ca... can't t...touch me like t...this," I said as soon as felt his hands away from my mouth.
-"Pl...Plea...Please l...let m...me g...go... I...I w...won't say any...thing to... to... Mr... Mc...McAvoy... or... any... anyone... plea...please...let...let... me g...go," The uncontrollable sobs made my speaking harder while I still didn't dare to look at him.
-"Open your eyes, look at me," his cold deep voice commanded after a few seconds. I shook my head negatively.
-"N...no... no... please... no... le... let m... me,"
-"I said OPEN YOUR EYES," he shouted this time, making me stop struggling.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked at the man holding me in horrified disbelief. His eyes were boring into my soul while my eyes couldn't apprehend the view in front.
No. NO.
It's not true.
It can't be him.
He can't be part of any mafia.
It can't be Mr. McAvoy.
My mind couldn't process the revelation anymore as black spots soon took over my vision and I succumbed to darkness.