Chapter 34- Attempted Murder
______Amara's Pov______
Peace. This was something I had not experienced in years and, now that I was enjoying it, I could not ask for anything better. Life was perfect.
I was currently six months pregnant and living in a relatively quiet community in an apartment with my boyfriend in Ajax, Ontario in Canada. The location of our house was miles away from where Raymond's castle was located and I felt safe being far away from his grasp.
James has been the perfect boyfriend as he has been taking care of me quite well. He loves me to death and this mutual attraction that we have for each other keeps growing stronger the more we spend time together. I never believed in soul mates but I think I have found mine.
James is so excited for our baby to arrive. He acts like he is the one pregnant which makes me laugh. We are not sure of the gender but we want it to be a surprise. We plan on having more kids later on and plan on leaving our past behind us. We have been doing well these past couple of months and soon, our life in the castle will be a blur.
I heard the squeak of the door and looked up to see my handsome boyfriend with a warm smile on his face.
"Honey, would you like anything to eat?" he asked me.
I was going to say no but then my little munchkin gave a little kick in my stomach, signalling that she or he wanted to eat something.
" Sure babe." I responded.
James told me he would go to a restaurant to get us dinner. He then gave me a peck on the lips and left the house.
My tummy had gotten bigger and I gently rubbed it with my hand and felt my baby kick. I cannot wait to see my baby. I have no idea what to call him or her. I have been thinking of baby names but I think when I see my baby, a name will come automatically.
I got up from my bed and decided to go downstairs to get a glass of water. I was feeling a bit dehydrated and needed to stay healthy for my sake and for the baby's development.
As I walked down the stairs, I heard a knock at my door. Who could be there? I don't know anyone around here. Maybe the neighbours wanted to borrow some sugar but after being here for four months, why would they want to act neighbourly now?
James and I rarely left the house as we wanted to be extra careful. If I desperately needed something, James would be the one to leave the apartment to get it for me. We wanted to take no chances in the event Raymond had someone trying to track me down.
The doorbell sounded again but I ignored it and went to get my glass of water. I thirstily gulped down the water and then decided to full my glass again and bring it upstairs to my bedroom. I exited the kitchen and was about to go back upstairs when the doorbell rang again, this time sounding more urgent and there was a pounding on the door.
My heart began to beat faster and for some strange reason, I did not feel safe. I did not want to answer the door as James was not home but maybe this person genuinely needed something. I was about to open the door when my intuition instructed me to peep through the window instead.
I carefully went to a window and peeked outside. A tall and muscular man stood outside and his cap was blocking his face from me. I looked around and noticed a peculiar car to the area but very familiar to me. It was one of Raymond's goons. Somehow they had managed to track me down.
I slowly backed away from the window and walked quickly up the stairs, careful not to trip because I didn't want to hurt my baby. A cold sweat developed on my forehead and I felt as if I was about to have a panic attack.
As soon as I got up the stairs, I heard a loud thud and realised that the front door had been broken down. My heart was at the verge of jumping out of my chest and I quickly ran to my bedroom door and locked it behind me. I grabbed my phone which was on the dresser and with trembling hands dialled James' number.
"Hurry pick up the phone!" I whispered anxiously to myself.
My bedroom door was locked but I was still very fearful. If he could breakdown the front door then nothing would be stopping him from getting to my bedroom. I decided to run to the closet and locked the door. Hopefully he would not find me and leave our apartment with no clue that James and I had been hiding out here.
"James!" I whispered into the phone.
"Hey honey, I'm just leaving the restaurant. I got your favourite-," I cut him off.
"I'm in danger. One of Raymond's men found me. They're in the house,I.." I was cut off my the violent crash of my bedroom door breaking down. My heart started to pound against my chest and I hung up the phone and tried to push myself closer to the closet wall.
"Amara, come out, come out, where ever you are." the man said in a mocking tone.
I stayed absolutely still and watched in trepidation through the slits of the closet door. I could see him walking around the room and after a few moments, he left the room.
I released a shaky breath but was still too traumatised to move.
Suddenly, the closet door was ripped open and I let out a loud scream.
" There you are." the man said, grabbing me roughly by the arm and pulling me out of the closet.
"My, my. Look what we've got here. Amara! You're pregnant?" he said and I recognised him as Aaron.
"Aaron, what are you doing in my house?" I asked furiously.
"The boss was looking for you." he said, looking at me deviously, " He told me when I find you to squeeze the life out of your impotent body for betraying him. I can see James has been here to. He's the father of that bastard child."
"My baby is not a bastard!" I shouted at Aaron.
How dare he come here and disrespect me and my unborn child. Who does he think he is?
"Well, I'm just going to have to kill that thing inside of you first. I'll make sure you suffer." he said with stone cold eyes and sounding diabolical.
"No! Aaron, get away from me and my baby!"I screamed and tried to run away but he grabbed me with his huge hands and began to strangle me.
I struggled against him but he started to hit my belly, causing me to scream in pain. My eyes watered and I struggled to breathe. I started to see black spots when he was suddenly pulled off of me.
I collapsed to the ground feeling lightheaded and I gasped for air as my airways had been restricted.
When my vision was cleared, I saw Aaron's bloody body on the floor.
I looked up to see James coming towards me and he embraced me, wiping the tears which I had not realised had fallen from my eyes.
" Are you both okay?" he asked concerned, watching me intently and with concern written all over his face while rubbing my tummy.
I nodded in agreement and he helped me up from the floor.
"We have to get out of here. It's not safe. Pack what you need and let's go." James informed me and I nodded my head in agreement.
I quickly packed a suitcase with all the essential things we needed. James packed his duffle bag with the items he needed and then helped me down to the car, carrying my stuff for me.
He then went back inside to take care of Aaron.
James tied Aaron up and dragged him outside and put him the vehicle he came here with
He was unconscious but not dead but hopefully, he would get the message and not tell Raymond that he had any leads on us.
__________Nadia's Pov________
"Buzz. Buzz."
I was awoken by the sound of notifications from my phone. I stretched and grabbed my phone from my nightstand and sat on my bed to read my messages.
Lisa : Hey. Any plans for today? Seen 8:15 am
Me: No. Not really.
Seen 8:23 am
Lisa: Wanna go to the beach?
Seen 8:23am
Me: Sure. Who's coming with us?
Seen 8:24 am
Lisa: Just the usual crew.
Seen 8:24 am
I flopped my head back into my pillow. The usual crew? That means Khloe and Lucy would be there. These girls despised me for no good reason and I wanted to keep my distance from them.
Lisa: Pick me up at 10?
Seen 8:26 am
Ha! Lisa has another thing coming if she thinks that I will leave my beautiful home to hang out with girls who hate me. She'll have to find another ride to the beach. I'm staying home. I threw my phone back on my nightstand and closed my eyes, attempting to go back to sleep.
About ten minutes later, I heard my phone buzzing again. It was another text message from Lisa.
Lisa: Come on! Don't be a buzzkill. We'll have fun. Trust me.
Seen 8:40 am
Ughh!!! This girl really knows how to guilt trip me. She's such a sweetheart and I hate letting her down.
Me: Okay, fine! Make sure you're ready at 10 o'clock sharp or I'm going back home.
Seen 8:42 am
Lisa: No promises ; )
Seen 8:43 am
I rolled my eyes at her response and got out of bed before I changed my mind. I decided to take a shower and wore a simple blue and black bikini. I left my long brown hair dropped and placed a pair on sunglasses on top my head to complete my look.
I decided to wear simple white throw over to cover my bikini and grabbed a large bag, ensuring that I held my sunscreen, a towel, change of clothes and fresh underwear.
I then went downstairs and asked Aunty Andrea if I could use her car, to which she had no objections. It was almost ten o'clock so I got in the car and drove to Lisa's house. I parked the car and went to the front door. I was about to knock when the door was flung open and an overly excited Lisa came rushing out with a bag full of snacks and things for a day at the beach.
"Let's go!" she shouted excitedly while giggling.
"Glad you're on time for a change." I teased her as I made my way to the car.
"Oh! Before we pick up Daisy, let's stop in the supermarket and buy some drinks. Daisy will bring her cooler from home." Lisa instructed me and I just nodded my head.
Lisa and I went shopping for the drinks and then she gave me directions to Daisy's house. When we got to her house, we filled the cooler with ice on her porch and then added the drinks.
Daisy wore a beautiful black bikini with daisies on it and it complimented her shape beautifully. Her luscious curls were in a messy bun and she had sunglasses on.
Lisa was trying to lift the cooler but it was an utter fail.
"Maybe we should have waited until the cooler was in the car to fill it with drinks. Now it's too heavy." Lisa complained.
Daisy laughed in response, "Don't worry, the three of us will manage to put it in the car. After all, girl power!"
I laughed in response, agreeing with her and then the three of us carried the cooler to the trunk of my car.
"See, I told you this would be a piece of cake," Lisa said and both Daisy and I rolled our eyes at her sarcastically.
We got in the car and I then drove us to the 'Grand Strand' beach where Ali, Jenny, Khloe, Lucy as well as some of the guys were meeting us.
When we arrived, Jenny was already setting up the picnic.
The sun was blazing hot and as I had to tiptoe on the sand as it was so hot. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore made me crave to go in the water.
"Hi Nadia! Glad you could make it." Jenny said with a smile.
" Yeah, I brought the drinks. They're in my car." I informed her.
"Craig! Bradley!" she shouted and the two handsome boys came running to her.
"Can you guys be gentlemen and get the drinks from Nadia's car?" she asked them sweetly.
"Sure." they responded and I pointed to where the vehicle was parked. I gave them the car keys and then went to greet my other 'friends'.
Soon, we were all seated having snacks and drinks.
"Hey, you guys ready to take a swim?" Khloe asked and we all agreed. I removed the sunglasses from the top of my head and removed my throw over causing the boys to whistle when they saw my body. I could see Lucy roll her eyes in disgust and jealousy but I simply ignored her.
We played games in the water such as Marco Pollo which turned out to be a form of tag, just played in the water. We also played water volleyball which was quite fun. After swimming and tired myself out, I decided to go bask in the sunshine by lying on the shore.
I was now on the sand relaxing when I heard a scream and looked to see Khloe approaching me while panting heavily.
"What's wrong?" I asked in confusion and a bit worried.
"Lucy, she's in danger. She went in the water and dived. It has been five minutes and I've seen no sign of her." she said, tears rolling down her face.
I immediately got up from my relaxed position, fearing the worst for Lucy. I know she was mean to me before and anyone in my situation would be happy the brat had gone missing or drowned, but I was a better person than that.
I immediately ran into the water and submerged, swimming around, but I saw no sign of her. I resurfaced and Lucy was directly in front of me almost giving me a mini heart attack.
"Lucy, I thought you had drowned. Khloe said you had gone diving but did not resurface. I was so worried but I'm glad you're okay." I said feeling at ease, knowing that Lucy was fine.
Her icing blue eyes raged with fire as she continued staring at me and I looked at her perplexed.
"Nadia, I warned you. I gave you months to leave. I told you to get lost. Why didn't you? You just-" I cut off her speaking.
"Lucy, what are you talking about?" I asked her confused.
I thought this was all behind us and we were finally becoming civil with each other.
" Did you just interrupt my speaking you filthy dog?" she asked in annoyance and gave me a hard slap across my face.
My face whipped the right and I touched my cheek in shock. I felt tears stinging my eyes but I refused to cry in front of Lucy. I turned my head back to face her but she was gone. I looked around me but she was nowhere in sight. She slaps me and then disappears? Is she really that intimidated by me?
Suddenly, I felt a pull on my leg and before I could realise what was happening, I was pulled beneath the water. This caught me off guard and I panicked, going back to the surface of the water since I had swallowed water. I was coughing out the water I had swallowed and also gasping for air. I looked around and saw Khloe.
She smiled deviously at me and before I could say anything she pushed me under the water. I struggled and tried to resurface, but something pulled my leg. I struggled and then something held my neck. The person squeezed tightly. I started swallowing a lot of water because I was gasping for air.
I felt my limbs relax and fell into a world of darkness.
"Get up! Nadia!" I heard someone shout.
I felt pressure on my chest and stomach and suddenly, I shot up from the ground and began coughing out water. Someone was pounding on my back, helping me cough out the water I had managed to swallow.
I could sense that I was being surrounded by people but I was too disoriented to comprehend what was going on. After vomiting the sea water, I collapsed onto the sand again, feeling extremely weak. I could hear sirens in the distance but I was still dizzy and light headed.
A few moments later, I felt myself being lifted and a uniformed man was asking me questions but everything looked blurry to me. I could feel myself being hoisted into the ambulance vehicle and as soon as they shut the ambulance door, I blacked out.
****two hours later******
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
I opened my eyes slowly, the light causing me to groan as my eyes felt sensitive.
I could hear voices in the background.
" Nadia, are you okay? You had me so worried!" Lisa exclaimed as she hugged me.
I looked at her with a sad smile.
" I thought you were a goner." she said.
"Were you crying?" I managed to ask her, my voice sounding cracked and confused.
I heard her sniff which clarified my answer.
"What happened?" I asked in confusion as the last couple of hours felt all jumbled up in my brain.
"You were swimming when all of a sudden a huge wave came out of nowhere and almost drowned you." Lisa said with tears in her eyes and looking like she was going to start crying all over again.
I almost drowned? But that's impossible. I'm a marvellous swimmer.
"It's a good thing Lucy and Khloe found you." she said sounding relieved.
Lucy and Khloe? Something's fishy about that. I think they twisted the truth around.
"Oh, they're outside. I'll call them in." she said but before I could stop her, she was out of the room.
Oh no! I don't want to be in the same room with them.
What happened to me was no accident. These girls are malicious and want me dead. I managed to almost grant their wish to them ]almost drowning today. I was a good swimmer but not as formidable as they were
Lucy and Khloe instantaneously barged into the room, causing me to gulp in fear.
"Nadia, honey, are you okay? You almost gave us a scare." Khloe said in sarcasm.
"Now listen here, you little mutt. I'll give you a few more months to leave our lives."she said sounding irritated.
" If you tell anyone this, we will kill you," she said, causing me to gulp in fear.
They sized me up once last time and then left the hospital room.
As soon as they left, I could not stop the tears from coming out.
Why do they hate me so much? What have I done to deserve such treatment? They actually want to get rid of me and would go as far as trying to drown me? I honestly thought they had changed but I guess people do not change overnight.
I wiped away my tears and looked through for my phone. I needed to learn how to defend myself and fast. I'll have to learn karate to defend myself from people trying to take advantage of me.
____END OF CHAPTER_____
Comment and let me know what you think about this chapter.
This book has been entered in the Watty Awards 2019 so wish me luck! I'm really excited about this and hoping all goes well.
Also, ten more chapters until I am done editing the book.
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Ps: Have you read my other books:
Books in the Castle Series:
1.Kidnapped to Live in a Castle
2.Escaping the Castle
3.Living in a Castle
Other Books:
4. My Rebellious Life
5.Escaping Kidnappers
6.Confessing to My Crush
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Next chapter will be posted soon :)
~Whitney