Chapter 344: FIND A WAY OUT
"Thank you so much for letting us stay here with you. I know we have come unannounced but I appreciate your hospitality," said Robert, appreciating all of Beatrice’s help when she welcomed them inside her home with open arms.
"This is nothing," said Beatrice. "Oliver, Levi," she called the boys and she responded immediately.
"Yes, Mrs winter," they replied.
"I know that you both must be really tired. I know it’s way past your bedtime so I want you both to go upstairs. There’s an empty bed there so you can go ahead and sleep for the night."
"Thank you Mrs winter," they replied in unison and bolted upstairs with their tiny feet.
As soon as they were out of sight, Beatrice faced Robert with questioning eyes just like the one Emma was also shooting him with.
"What happened?" Beatrice asked him, eyeing him closely as he combed his hair in frustration. "Who is chasing you?" She asked bluntly.
Sighing out loud, Robert replied,
"It’s Seraphina." He glanced at Emma and her eyes slightly widened at the mention of Seraphina’s name. "She was the one who texted me using Francis’ phone..." He went on to narrate everything that transpired that night to the both of them but made sure that he didn’t mention the kiss, even by mistake.
"I don’t know if she was bluffing but I brought you both out of the house just in case she did lie to him that I raped her."
"Oh my God," Emma gasped, her hands covering her mouth as her lips widened in shock. "So now, we are running from a corrupt politician and there’s a chance that he might kill us off?"
"No!" Robert objected. "He’s not going to kill us. I will look for a way to get us away from the city and we can travel to another city then we can start our life there," he added but he was aware how impossible that was. Francis was the senator of Boston and if he was to trace them, especially if their faces appeared at the airport or any kind of traveling station, it was the end for them.
"Do you even know what you are saying?" Emma questioned him, confusion written all over her face. "This is Francis we are talking about. He’s a cruel man and he will ruin us the moment he finds us," she added, fear gripping her skin the more she spouted out words. "What about Levi and Oliver? What kind of life are they going to live if we don’t end up being around to guide them properly?" She questioned, tears falling from her eyes this time.
Before Robert could say anything else, Beatrice raised a finger to gain their attention.
"Please, remember that the boys are upstairs. If they hear you crying, they are going to be more worried than they are," she reminded them.
Emma wiped her face clean and tried to control her sniffing but it didn’t stop.
"I will find a way," Robert said after a few heartbeats. Emma regarded him for a few seconds before she looked away.
"Did anything happen between you and Seraphina?" She suddenly asked, completely catching him off guard. "Tell me."
Robert glanced at Beatrice before he replied truthfully, "She kissed me when I was about to leave but I pushed her away immediately."
Emma regarded him for a few seconds before she nodded her head in understanding. She trusted Robert but didn’t trust Seraphina one bit. She might not have met the lady yet but the things that she had done that day prove she was a bitch.
Silence surrounded the living room while the sounds of crickets resounded in the background.
"So what are we going to do about this Francis matter?" Beatrice brought up the topic again. "Just like you said, he’s a senator, a dangerous man and it wouldn’t take long before he found you," she added.
"I will think of something," said Robert. "But we will get through this," he turned to look at Emma who was sobbing silently. He placed his hand on hers that was wrapped around her knee and held it tight. "We will get through this, I promise."
Emma nodded again without saying anything. They decided to change the topic and discussed miscellaneous things even though the air was heavy because of the amount of danger they were in.
A few days passed after that while Emma and Robert continued to stay at Beatrice’s house. No one except for Beatrice and sometimes, Robert were allowed to leave the house.
Whenever Robert wanted to leave the house, he would always wear a hoodie plus a cap to protect his face from being seen.
Emma wasn’t allowed to leave and so were the boys. They also had to drop going to school. Even though Francis wasn’t too familiar with his family, he could always make inquiries about him and find everything out.
Everything was going well for a good one week living in Beatrice’s house. They didn’t feel too worried about staying with Beatrice since her house was further away from her neighbors.
After her husband, who was a military rank officer died in a war, she was heartbroken but decided to stay away from people and live in a secluded area where a few people also lived but were still at a good distance from her house.
Both the married couple didn’t want to stay idle in the old woman’s house and decided to help her with a few things. Robert would buy some foodstuffs in the house while Emma would assist Beatrice in cooking food.
When Robert realized that they were out of groceries and Beatrice wasn’t around to go buy some since she went to visit her husband’s grave, Robert decided to go out himself.
"Be careful out there," said Emma.
"Alright." He kissed her forehead, wore his cap before wearing his hoodie then headed out.
After getting all the kinds of stuff he needed, Robert was on his way back when he noticed the truck from Francis’ warehouse roaming around the neighborhood.
