Amy looked in awe as her eyes darted to the tall rows of shelves of books. She had not been to this side of town that housed a library. She loved the smell of books, both old ones and new. The course texture and as well as the fine ones. As a young girl, she was not called a bookworm for nothing.
Although she knew it was said as an insult, she did not mind it one bit. She would forget all her troubles whenever she immersed herself in the world of the book she was reading. It was through her reading that she learned and developed her love for computers. No matter where she went, the library would always feel like home.
Stella had left her to look around while she led the delivery boys to carry in the new stock into the storeroom. Once they were done, she walked over and found Amy who marvelled at the books.
"You look like you're at home", Stella said with a chuckle.
"Yes, I love books. I sound nerdy, don't I?" She chuckled.
"No. Not at all."
"Back at the orphanage, we had a library. It was my safe haven. I would stay there all day just simply reading, lost in my own world. Then the nuns would get mad at me", she chuckled as she reminisced on her past.
"You're an orphan?" Stella's face pulled into a frown. Amy realized she had revealed some personal information but she did not think it a big deal. The sadness and sympathy in Stella's eyes caressed her heart. Stella held both of Amy's hands as her eyes brimmed with sad tears. "You poor child. Do you know what happened to your parents?"
"No. The sisters said someone left me at the entrance of the orphanage but they don't know who. No one knows."
Tears streamed down Stella's cheeks. She could not imagine someone abandoning a beautiful child like Amy. 'Who could be so heartless', she thought. The woman was heartbroken for her. 'That means Emily will be alone during that important time. I have to be there for her', she thought.
Amy was quite taken aback by Stella's reaction. This was not the first time someone asked about her past but no one has ever reacted this way. Maybe because Stella was a mother herself. She felt a sudden wave of emotions. She didn't even realize she was crying until Stella wiped them away before pulling her into a hug. She rubbed soothing circles on her back. So this is what a mother's embrace feels like, Amy thought. And why am I crying so much?
"How about we stop by the supermarket and get some ingredients for a walnut pie?" Stella sniffled as she broke the embrace.
"Can I get a whole pie? I really like your pie", Amy said with a sob.
"Anything for you dear." She gently wiped Amy's tears.
The two women left the library after locking up while their eyes were puffy and noses were red. On their way, Amy thought to buy a few groceries only to realize she had no change except her bank card. She stared at it for a bit and thought, it's fine.
At Amy's request, Stella stopped at an ATM machine and withdrew some money before they went grocery shopping. With her current situation, she preferred to use cash as much as possible to be extra careful. Little did she know that her actions had caused an uproar back in the city.
...
"Sir, we have some company." A man reported over the phone. He was wearing a polo shirt and some shorts. He dropped down from a Toyota Camry and walked towards an ATM machine. There was nothing extraordinary about his appearance but this was all a disguise.
"How many?" His boss responded in a cold voice. It was Zach. He had received word from the security team that Amy had withdrawn money from an ATM and they managed to track down its location. He watched as his team hacked into CCTV cameras surrounding the area where the ATM was yet, nothing.
They narrowed down the time frame to when the transaction had been made yet there was no sign of anyone approaching the ATM at that time. So he sent two of his men to survey the area whilst in a disguise. No one understood why he sent them when the camera clearly showed she was not there. But he had a hunch, someone would be there. And he was right.
"I see two, Randy is taking pictures. You should get them any moment now", the man responded as he made a withdraw on the ATM.
True to his word, pictures of men in Black suits and a black SUV were sent to the security team. They run a face recognition analysis and run the car's number plate. The results: DOES NOT EXIST. The identities of both men and the car were simply non-existent.
Zach felt like he wanted to punch something. He was frustrated that he could not find her or his enemy. Yes, Amy's enemy had become his enemy. These men did not look so simple. He needed to find her before they do.
"George?" He barked.
The man in question scurried over almost tripping on himself. "Sir?"
"Five days to get me A.J's contact details."
George was left with his mouth hanging open. But Zach was not the only one frustrated. Somewhere downtown, Peter Wright's boss was also throwing a fit.
Peter stood at a distance with his head lowered as he listened to his boss lash out on the two goons who had been sent to sweep the area where they had tracked Amy's location to be.
"Bunch of fools! Don't come back until you find her!!!" The boss ended the call with a smash of their phone against the wall. "Is she testing me? Is she trying to keep me on my toes? She can't stop me! She will never stop me! My gosh! Why didn't Parton just kill her when he had her? Ughhhhhhhhh! That imbecile!"
The boss took a a cigerette and placed it between their lips to light it. The lighter kept failing and they hurled the two objects against the wall. Peter could feel his boss's stress levels rising. This little trick from Amy had surely put the boss on edge.
When she disappeared, the boss had rested easy but now he felt like Amy was taunting them. Reminding them that she was still around. Amy was a serious threat to their plans, Peter realized this. He needed to think of something before he was used as a stress reliever.
"Peter?" The voice was so calm yet so sinister. It sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine. With his head down, he could hear the approaching footsteps. It was like a predator slowly closing in on their prey. Sweat broke out on his forehead as his heart ran a marathon. To his luck, an idea struck him right then.
"Boss, I know a way you can make her come to you herself. You can do as you see fit with her." He tried to suppress the fear in his tone. He heard the footsteps come to a halt.
"Speak."