Melora's first car ride ever turned out to be her greatest nightmare.
Every inch of her was trembling; not from the cold, but fear.
No one asked or spoke to her anything for the rest of the ride, nor did she. Though, the man in the passenger seat, Jim, and the driver were muttering something to each other. Melora tried to catch their conversation but failed. The bald guy on her right, whose name she learned as Timos, was giving her sidelong glances every often, making it even more uncomfortable for her. At first, she had turned and glared, but he kept glancing at her with his narrowed grave eyes. The other guy on the other side didn't even glance at her as though she was invisible, which she found relieving.
The car eventually pulled into the courtyard of a luxurious multistory building, and Melora's jaw dropped as she realized this was their destination; she had never been anywhere like that before, nor had any hope to be, even in the future. She composed herself and took in the surroundings; and to her slightest relief, she found some people around the place in normal attires.
This place wasn't a lion's den, after all, she thought. Though, she partially wondered how this cruel squad-they seemed like one-belonged here.
The car stopped in front of the building and Jim got out. The man sitting next to Melora, whose name she didn't know, got out as well, holding the door open for her. Jim told her to step outside, and she obeyed him, thinking hard if she could escape from their clutches by any chance. She looked around with hope. But a sudden thought made her stop; what if all these people here were theirs and would get her immediately? That would be very embarrassing and more dangerous.
"Walk with me, Melora, and act cool," Jim instructed her in a quiet voice. "Don't act like a frightened kitten to make people suspicious."
Melora blinked in surprise, so these weren't their people! She glanced around her anxiously, toward the main gate, at the security guard and the people, calculating how she should make her first move. Perhaps she could scream? Or perhaps-
"Don't even think about it," Jim's warning voice murmured close to her ear, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Disappointment sank her stomach as she realized he practically read her thoughts and turned to see him narrowing his eyes at her warningly. "Come on, follow me." He then gestured her in, while the others drove off, out of the courtyard.
Since it was the first time Melora had ever been inside such a building, the frightful look on her face was replaced with awe as she began examining her surroundings.
"I see... you've never been to any place like this before, huh?" Jim mused, planting his hands into his pockets, acting cool with himself as they walked in. "Tell me, how's your home, Twickenham? How does it feel to be there... as an orphan?" his voice was balanced with amusement and dramatic pity.
Melora pursed her lips, swallowing a lump in her throat, and grasped the hem of her red hoodie. He was mocking her; she knew it without a doubt. A man like him can mock easily, but only a girl like her knew the pain of being an orphan.
"I'm asking you a question, Melora." Jim reminded her in a grim voice, shooting her a sidelong glance.
"Which is none of your concern," she replied bitterly, glaring at the path.
"Watch your tone, Miss Fribelle," Jim warned her in a murmur, making her eyes snap up to him in shock and confusion.
Miss Fribelle? Her eyes widened. She had no clue why he called her by such a name. "I'm sorry, but what did you just call me?" she blinked at him.
"Oh don't confuse me; you surely know your name, don't you?" Jim's lips held a small grin which alone told her that he was acting.
"My name is MeloraTwickenham."
"Oh really?" he snorted.
Her face turned cold, "How do you know me?" she demanded to know, enough of his games.
He shot her a wicked smirk as they entered an elevator, "Good question, but I wonder if that's even a question." He snorted and remained silent until they reached the ninth floor and walked out. "Your father and I... we were best friends, you know. It's quite saddening that you don't remember me. I know you're just acting, I know you know the truth anyway."
Her eyes widened and she stared at his side face in shock, "M-my father?" she whispered. She never knew anything about her family. As far as she remembered, she had always been an orphan.
He met her gaze, his face suddenly turning cold from all the amusement. "The cheater." He sneered, leaving her shocked and baffled.
The cheater. The words echoed in her head. Her father was a cheater? Her eyes bulged and her breathing quickened as several questions flooded into her head.
Jim knew her father.
They knew her father.
Wait, what if she'd be able to know about her family finally?
Her knees shook on their way. Jim told her he was taking her to an apartment where someone was waiting for her. Someone... who could that be? She wondered.
They reached the apartment in no time. A spacious living room greeted them, bathed in luxury, like nothing she had ever seen before. The room had white walls with a painting or two hung on them, a chandelier on the ceiling, a comfy settee, and couches arranged in the middle with a coffee table between them.
Jim looked at her in awe and amusement. "Your home is nothing close to this, am I correct? I pity you, Miss Fribelle, for the dirty life you have."
Melora spun around to face him with a glare, her anger rising. Apart from the anger, she felt hurt as she had always felt whenever her classmates mocked her and her friends about having no family. She wanted to snap at him, but nothing came out.
"Wait here," Jim instructed before securely locking the door behind them and disappearing to the right direction of the living room.
Melora stared at the door with a galloping heart and frowned deeply; no chance to escape. She had thousands of questions in her head, waiting to be answered; starting from why Jim wanted her.
In less than a minute, a woman entered Melora's line of sight, from the direction Jim had gone to, eyeing her with a pleased, satisfied look. Melora gulped at the sight of her but pulled herself together to mask her fear. The woman was tall and pale in full makeup, with dark hair tied up in a ponytail, eyes dark like coal, perfectly trimmed eyebrows, and high cheekbones. Her painted red lips slowly pulled into a small smile and the look in her eyes held a hunger in them, which Melora couldn't easily ignore.
"Melora," the woman called her name, sounding pleased for God knew why. "Finally we meet... again." The woman walked to her, her smile growing, and stopped a feet away from her, examining her face.
Melora stared back at her wildly.
"You're so changed..." The woman muttered, eyeing her from toe to head. "With that beautiful hair like your mother's and features like your father's... how beautiful you've grown to be, Melora. But pity," she frowned dramatically. "Jim told me you're living in Children's Home, and why is that, my dear?"
Melora swallowed the hardness from her throat before finding her voice. "H-how do you know me?" she was extremely bewildered now.
"Oh," the woman's face fell and Melora knew she was only acting. "Oh my," she placed a hand on her heart and turned to Jim, who was watching them with amusement, hands tied back. "I almost forgot she doesn't remember us." She turned back to Melora, "You were only a baby when we last saw each other. I'm Dorothy Spinoza," she stuck out her hand for a handshake.
Melora glanced down at her offered hand with golden rings in each of her fingers but didn't dare to accept it.
"Your father and I were friends; best friends." Dorothy smiled kindly, withdrawing her rejected hand. "Come dear, have a seat and then we shall talk." She motioned her hand to a comfy couch and walked herself to another one opposite.
Melora had no choice, she wanted answers; and as she assumed this woman could be the one to answer her questions, she obeyed and walked toward the couch reluctantly, sitting down. It was the comfiest she had ever sat on but stopped herself from admiring it as Dorothy and Jim took their seats opposite to her.
"You know my father?" she asked reluctantly, withholding the urge to cringe when Jim put his feet on the coffee table.
Dorothy smiled a sad smile and nodded. "I do, we were friends, you see, but sadly your father turned out to be a cheater."
Melora's eyebrows furrowed, sensing a strange feeling rising in her chest at the mention of her father as a cheater. "W-what do you mean?" she hated to stutter in front of them.
"Oh, you don't know?" Dorothy raised her eyebrows, confused and in surprise. "Of course, you do, I'm pretty sure you do, but well, let me explain... He, your father I mean, owes us a debt. He promised so confidently to pay it back in time but never did. He made excuses when the deadline passed; we should've known then that he was cheating us from the beginning, but no, we trusted him too much to doubt so. Only when he moved out with his family to somewhere in hiding did we realize what had happened. No one knew where he was... even still."
Melora gaped at Dorothy, baffled. Despite the entire cheating thing she was informed about, there was only one thing she wanted to be answered so desperately. "So you're saying... my family is alive? My father is alive?"
Dorothy shrugged her shoulders slightly, "We hope so. He was spotted in Chicago two months ago but no one knows his hiding place."
Melora dropped her gaze from Dorothy to the floor, her breathing quickening; her family was alive, she couldn't believe it. So all these years she lived in a Children's Home... she wasn't an orphan at all?
No, she couldn't accept it so quickly, she didn't know whether these people were lying or not. Or... what if she was mistaken for someone else?
"I'm-I'm sorry but I-I think you might be mistaken." Melora shook her head, refusing to believe. "I'm an orphan; if my family is still alive then why I am in a Children's Home?" she asked.
Dorothy and Jim exchanged glances before Dorothy's eyes turned to her, furrowing her thin eyebrows, "You don't know your family? Nothing about them?"
"Absolutely not," she said quickly and directed the rest at Jim. "You kidnapped me from our bus in between our tours thinking I knew about my family?" she asked in disbelief. "Well then, I suppose you're mistaken, you might've gotten the wrong person. I've been in this Children's Home ever since I can remember. This man you said is my father, who cheated you, he would be someone else, not my father. I ended up in the Children's Home because my parents are gone. That's what they've told me."
Dorothy stared at her blankly for a moment before finding her voice, "We're not mistaken." She confirmed in a mutter. "I see them in your face, your parents. Tell me, isn't your name Melora?"
"Yes but-"
"We're not mistaken," Dorothy smiled before it turned to a small smirk. "You're in the Children's Home not because your parents died or left you... only because you were taken away."
Melora's eyes widened.
"And... dumped you in the orphanage." All the smile and smirk vanquished from Dorothy's face, and back was hunger in her eyes. "It was all because of your dear father, of course, the cheater. My dear, we've been trying to find your dear family but keep failing. That's when my friends spotted you and heard some girls calling your name. They immediately recognized you, thankfully because you have your father's features. We've been trying to track down any Fribelle and we found you. Even your uncles didn't know where your dear family was nor if you were alive. But now, here you are, the baby we last saw years ago and cursed, sitting here before us, a grown-up teenager." Her eyes tightened at Melora.
Melora's heart raced; the baby they cursed? The words rang in her ears like an echo. "I can't believe this," she said.
"Don't lie," Dorothy's tone turned harsh.
"What?" she arched an eyebrow, totally confused. "I'm sorry, but what do you want with me?" she felt alerted as the woman's voice changed.
"We need answers from you," Dorothy said, lifting her chin. "Where is your family located? I'm sure you know something... anything... don't you, Melora?"
This woman was crazy. "I don't know anything about my family and I don't even know who they are! Then how am I supposed to know where are they?" Melora asked in disbelief.
"But you must be knowing something..." Dorothy leaned forward, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you, Melora?"
"No!" Melora snapped, jerking her chin at Jim. "Ask him! He and his men kidnapped me when I was with my friends on a tour from Twickenham! For goodness' sake, I don't know what you are talking about! I'm an orphan from the Twickenham Children's Home and I don't know a thing about my family. You're the first one to tell me such." She couldn't believe this was the reason why they had kidnapped her.
"I told you," Jim turned to Dorothy, heaving a tired sigh. "She's just a doll from a dirty place; don't even know who she is. Funny thing is that she thinks she's an orphan when her family is still out there." He snorted, earning a glare from Melora who fought the urge to snap at him.
"How do we know if you're lying or not..." Dorothy asked, eyeing Melora suspiciously from head to toe, as though calculating what to do with her in order to get the truth out.
Melora's patience wore thin, "I'm not! Are you crazy? I don't even know a single thing you just said!" She exclaimed in irritation.
Dorothy studied her face for a brief moment before raising her eyebrows again, "Who told you your parents were gone?"
She gulped before answering, "Mrs. Twickenham-the Children's Home owner's wife. T-they've told me that I was brought there by a man who told them my parents were gone."
"A man?" Dorothy asked alarmed, before turning to look at Jim, exchanging meaningful glances with him. "Gordon Hector." She then gritted through her teeth.
"Who?"
Dorothy turned to her with an uninterested expression, "We know that man, and he left us years ago. We lost contact." Her face suddenly turned confused, "But Melora, are you alone in your Children's Home then? No sister with you?"
Melora blinked, "I-I have a sister?" her mouth hung open, heart pounding faster.
Dorothy rolled her eyes while Jim snorted. "Do you have a sister with you?"
She gaped at Dorothy in confusion. "N-no, I don't... I don't have a sister or a single sibling." She stuttered in confusion. "Or... do I?"
Dorothy didn't answer her and turned to Jim instead, "We've got to find Gordon. The sister isn't with her, which means she's taken. We should search for Zchelea."
Zchelea? Was that her sister's name?
Melora held her breath as she listened to Dorothy's cold words. Her eyes were wide; she has a sister? She couldn't believe it. And these people were after her family?
"I have a sister?" she asked eagerly, shifting on her couch restlessly.
Dorothy and Jim were discussing something in murmurs and ignored Melora's question.
"I'm sorry but are you saying I have a sister?" Melora tried again, growing impatient and desperate to get the answer.
Dorothy averted her eyes from Jim to Melora with a blank expression. "Looks like it was a waste of time, Miss Fribelle. You're no use." Her voice was harsh but Melora didn't care; she just wanted an answer to her question.
"Wait, please, you were saying I have a sister?"
Dorothy got on her feet, trying to dismiss her, not caring to understand the desperation of the girl before her, to know about her sister. "Tell the Redwoods to take her back to her home while you search for Gordon," she ordered Jim and he nodded like an obedient child. "At least, we were able to know her sister isn't with her. We should contact her keepers. They must have his number."
She spoke like the boss, but Melora didn't care and got furious as Dorothy ignored her on purpose. "Don't you hear me?" she raised her voice, rising her feet.
Dorothy and Jim glared at her, "Don't raise your voice," Dorothy warned slowly.
Melora narrowed her eyes into slits. She felt a sudden, powerful anger toward them because of everything she just learned; about their plans to track down her family in hiding. "Then answer me now!"
"How dare you raise your voice at me, you useless dirty dog!" Dorothy snapped at her.
"You're some kind of monster," Melora blurted out without thinking twice.
"Watch your tongue," Jim stood up immediately, shooting her a meaningful glance as though she'll listen to him. "Don't talk to her like that. You don't know who she is,"
"I don't care as long as you don't give me the-"
"Alright," Jim gave up. "Yes, girl, you have a sister named Zchelea. She was brought with you to the Children's Home, but what happened to her? Do you have any idea?" his words were harsh.
"N-no," she stuttered, breathless and unable to believe that she has or had a sibling. She had always dreamed of having one but knew it was impossible, and that's why she had Leanora and Evelyn to cover up that spot-they were all she had.
"Then shut your mouth and don't speak a word out unless you're asked. And, we're leaving soon, I mean, you are leaving soon to your dear dirty Twicken-Twicken home and I warn you not to tell this anyone, about anything we discussed here. If you do..." Dorothy trailed off in warning, jabbing her index finger at Melora. "I'm warning you, MeloraFribelle, I'm warning you, don't tell any of this to anyone. Do you understand?"
The woman's voice was unbelievably grave and deadly, and it made Melora's heart race. She never knew a woman could possibly sound like such. Melora gave a blank nod, her gaze turning to Jim as he made a phone call, walking toward the main door and exiting as he muttered something to the person on the line.
As she waited there, left alone with Dorothy, she got warned once more. And Melora confirmed this woman in front of her wasn't a complete human. She wasn't just threatening, rather, she seemed to possess authority and spoke as though she was the ruler of the universe.
Jim eventually arrived back and asked Melora to follow him out. As she made it to the exit, Melora recalled how she had entered here; like a confused, frightened kitten; and now she was exiting, with the information about her biological family in her hands, shocked and confused about everything she was told.
All these years she lived as an orphan, she wasn't one at all.