The Migrated Hope

Chapter 8

As she managed to catch her breath, she noticed a black S.U.V standing at a distance opposite her. She was carefully observing the car, when the rear window slowly slid down. There, she could see Mr. Scott who was wearing shades and who seemed to be calm and composed. He let a cigarette and let out a huge puff of smoke. Next to him, Lily was sitting who was staring right at April. April was terrified seeing Mr. Scott, for it was the first time that she had actually seen him, even more so after seeing Lily next to him. Just when she was about to turn and run, she noticed three people getting down from the car. They had started to run towards her. April started running really fast as she didn't want to get captivated by Scott again. After a few turns in narrow pathways leading to a busy street, she had finally lost them. If it hadn't been for Mr. Sanderson, they would have caught her.

Mr. Sanderson was in a different car now. She noticed that there was a picture of his son and his wife on the dashboard. Considering that Mr. Sanderson had not been responding to her calls or messages, she had understood that he was being searched by Mr. Scott and so he might have gotten rid of the mobile which Mr. Scott had given. She had a number of questions to ask him. But before she spoke anything, he did.

"From years now, Lily has not been with you as a best friend. But she has been with you studying you and reporting it to Mr. Scott. All she did was abuse your trust and take advantage of your friendship. All those memories that you both had created years ago, means nothing to her. In fact, it was her plan to get you kidnapped."

"WHAT? But how can she?"

"Mr. Scott does not care about his son as much as he cares for Lily. So, the whole scenario that was created of you getting teased by his son which made you angry and slap him was a cover up or rather, an excuse to get you kidnapped."

"April, this might be hard to digest but you should listen to me carefully. Lily is Mr. Scott's daughter."

"What? That can't be. She ...."

"She is. Lily's mom and Mr. Scott split when she was very young. After some time of getting split, she married another man. So the one who stays in their room is Lily's step-father."

"Oh, that explains why he never really cared about Lily. He never supported her emotionally. All he did was show his love and energy to his wife. He never was there, for Lily."
In fact, I was the one who was always there for Lily. I was always supportive and have helped her emotionally. I have defended her whenever people spoke ill of her and... and what does she do in return? Get me abducted? This is ridiculous! I cannot believe this. I cannot believe that she did this to me!"

"Calm down, April."

"No, how can I? I need to know the reason, what did I do to Lily or Mr. Scott which makes them to get me kidnapped?"

"That, I do not know exactly. But maybe, and mind you this is just an assumption, maybe it is a game of manipulation well played by Mr. Scott. The separation had left Mr. Scott utterly disappointed for losing Lily. He always liked playing with her and hanging out with her. Whenever he used to fight with his wife, he would take Lily out for a drive. He was her happy pill. But after the separation, he had really missed being around her. He tried getting in touch with her in multiple ways possible but he could not. And he failed consistently because he strongly believed that you were the reason for it. He was convinced that somebody had fed ill information about him in your mind and hence you had gotten over-protective towards Lily. Which is why, when you were sick for a couple of days and when you could not attend school, he ensured that he contacted Lily.
He picked her up from school, took her to places he used to take her as a young child and ensured that she understood that he was her father. He did that for all the 4 days that you were absent, slowly manipulating her into hating you for things you did not do to her. In doing so, he ensured that his daughter also gets an intent to destroy you which would be easier for him since you both were best friends. Your friendship was a tool for him to mediate the anger and revenge that had developed in him."

"Mr. Sanderson, forget about that. We need to call the police! We need to tell them about Mr. Clifford!"

"The police are Mr. Scott's puppets, April. They are actually looking for us. Besides, they know more about Daniel than we do. Mr. Scott has gotten their hands bloody. I was there that day when forty two of them had come to get the plan briefed in Mr. Scott's house. He had successfully manipulated Daniel into thinking that they were his customers, which they were, who bought his death with them."