Audrey kept following the lady, and they headed to the car garage. Suddenly, she stopped and folded her arms, glaring at the lady.
“What are you standing there for, little girl? Don't you want to see your Miss old-fashioned? She told me to take you with me. Do you not want her to see you?” The lady asked.
Audrey gulped and shook her head. “What if I don't believe you? Miss old-fashioned would have gone to get me herself. Why would she send you? And why are you taking me to the garage? Where's the ice cream she went to buy?”
The lady was fuming in annoyance. She thought within herself.
“This little girl is a pest like she's said to be. I have to convince her to come with me.”
Wearing a fake smile, she bent over to Audrey. “She was rushing to leave. I don't know the reason she left, but I know that she wants me to take you back home.”
“No! I don't want to go with you. In fact, there's no way you'd be the one she'll ask to take me home. What about the driver?”
“You little…” The lady managed to get a hold of herself, smiling unwillingly.
Audrey glared at her. “You know what? I don't want to go with you. I'm going back to watch the carnival. Likewise, I'm very certain that Miss old-fashioned would never leave me behind.”
With that, Audrey ran back to the park. The lady ran after her, but ended up hitting her foot on a stone. Groaning in pain, she gritted her teeth as she watched Audrey run off. She struggled up, and took out her phone from the pocket of the jeans she was putting on.
“Hello” She spoke into the phone, wincing in pain.
The voice from the other end sounded so impatient and annoyed. “Where the f*** are you? It's just a little girl, but you've taken ages. Are you that gullible?”
“I'm sorry, ma'am. At first, I was able to lure her out of the park, but the little girl is really smarter than I thought she was. She refused to…”
“Dammit! I can't believe you're this stupid, Sophia. This was just a little task, and you already messed things up. You better look for that little frog.” The phone went off immediately.
Sophia, whose foot was already bleeding as a result of the stumble she did over a stone, limped towards the park. The park was crowded. How was she going to find Audrey now that she had escaped?
“What does she want such a little girl for anyway?”
She thought, but shrugged it off. Her job was to make sure Audrey leaves the park without anyone noticing the kidnap.
Meanwhile, the driver, who was already becoming restless, kept dialing Valerie's number. It was ringing, but the call wasn't accepted.
He glanced at his wristwatch, and sighed tiredly. “What's wrong with Valerie? Does she want me to lose my job for taking her to this carnival without permission? I have a family I cater for with my payment here, I don't want to lose my job. Pick up, Valerie!” He kept on mumbling.
Valerie's phone kept ringing, but it wasn't with her. It was at home.
A few minutes later, a call came into the driver's phone, and he quickly picked it up without staring at the phone's screen. Thinking it was Valerie, he started. “Where the hell are you, Valerie? I've been calling, but you've not been picking up. Do you want both of us to lose our jobs?”
“Mr. Brown, where in God's name did you and Miss Watson take my daughter to?” The calm, cold and deep voice brought cold shivers down the driver's spine. He quickly glanced at the phone's screen, and a gasp escaped his lips.
“P…. President Ethan?” He stuttered.
With a snort, he continued. “I trust you are not deaf. Answer me, immediately. Where is my daughter?”
“We… we're at the park, sir. Audrey… she wanted to…carnival and…” He kept stammering.
President Ethan yelled, almost deafening his ears. “Do you have a death wish, Mr. Brown?”
“No… No, Sir” He gulped hard.
“Who consented you taking my daughter to the park? What carnival are you talking about? It's past 7pm.”
Mr. Brown scratched his head, panicking. He wished within him that he never agreed to take Valerie and Audrey to the park. Now, Valerie isn't taking her calls, and the park is crowded. How would he find them?
“I'm sorry, President Ethan. It was Valerie, she told me to…”
Without letting him finish, Ethan growled at him. “Send me the address. I'll be there”.
The phone beeped off, and the driver bit his nails nervously. He texted the address to the President without hesitation.
On the other hand, Valerie kept looking at Audrey with tears in her eyes. There was no way she could contact her. That was when she realized that she didn't have her phone with her. It was getting dark, and most people were already heading home with their kids.
“Audrey! Audrey!! Baby, where are you?” She kept crying helplessly.
Crying helplessly, she headed to the garage. The driver spotted her, and rushed to her. “Valerie, are you okay? Why are you crying? Where is Audrey?”
Tears didn't let her say a word. How would she explain where Audrey is? She opened her mouth to talk, but words refused to come out of her mouth.
“What's going on? The President already called, and he'll be here any moment from now” Mr. Brown said.
Valerie flinched. “Really? Oh, God!! How do I explain to him that I can't find Audrey? I've been looking for her.”
“What?” Mr. Brown widened his eyes in shock.
Valerie nodded helplessly. “Yes. She wanted ice cream, and I went to get it. Before I got back, she was gone.”
“Is that supposed to be a poem, or are you saying you lost my daughter?” The voice came from behind.
Trembling, Valerie turned around in fear. There stood President Ethan, glaring at her with the most dreaded eyes that sped up her heart race.
Without hesitation, she fell on her knees. “Sir, I'm deeply sorry and…” she was still speaking when Ethan grabbed her up by her collar, staring at her without remorse.
“Where is my daughter?”