Beckoned Through The Dark

52 // Abigail // Momma Bear

I'd hoped to spend the following day with my husband, catching up on life again and making up for lost time.

But as usual, fate was not my friend.

The very next day after receiving a call about Lesego, we received another call from my mother, urging us to come to her house urgently.

I didn't want to go, especially after my last visit, but Ryan insisted that it could be urgent.

I was restless and hesitant, and Ryan could see it too.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I chuckled nervously. "Of course, I'm okay!" I said hastily.

"Abby."

"Okay, okay! I'm just..." I sighed. "I don't want to go back there."

He pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Look, I know this is hard for you, but you said it yourself; children should not be punished for their parents' mistakes. We don't know what is really going on here, so let's just go and find out, then you can decide whether you want to be part of it or not. Okay?" I nodded and closed my eyes as he placed a tender kiss on my head.

We left our apartment, and I suggested that we used his bike, because I'd missed it.

But in all honesty, I wanted to clear my head as we sped up the road.

The wind that passed by helped to ease my thoughts. It reminded me so much of the old days when Ryan used to take me on a ride whenever I was not feeling well.

Guess I had one thing to thank Nomalanga for. I thought, wrapping my arms tighter around his waist.

We arrived at her place a few minutes late, because Ryan decided to take a different route to avoid running into Karabelo.

When we arrived, I discovered that things were worse than I'd imagined.

The gates were locked with chains, and it appeared that the vehicles belonging to the medical staff were still around.

"What do you think is going on here?" I asked Ryan as I climbed off the motorcycle.

"Didn't you say she was due?" He countered.

"Well, according to my calculations, not until the end of the week."

"She's already overdue, so it only makes sense that she gives birth now."

"Yeah, you are right." I took out my phone and called her, and she answered on the first ring. "Nomalanga, I'm outside, open up," I said and hung up before she could respond.

Ryan locked his bike while we waited, and a few minutes later, Nomalanga's husband rushed out of the house and unlocked the gate for us, letting us enter before locking up again.

Ryan and I shared a look but did not say anything on the matter. "What's going on?" I asked the man.

"Go in and find out for yourself," he grumbled without even sparing me a glance.

"Jerk!" I snarled as he walked past us into the house, and Ryan laughed, but all the playfulness vanished as soon as we entered the house.

Nomalanga was yelling at the top of her lungs, asking where her baby was.

And to say I was shocked when we got to the sitting room would be an understatement. Nomalanga was holding the medical staff hostage.

"What's going on here?" I asked.

She was standing in the middle of the room with a scalpel pointed at one of my female colleagues, the worst part was that Nomalanga was bleeding out and she looked like she was going to collapse any minute now.

"They stole my baby!" She said, her face pale.

I gave her a blank stare. Why was I even surprised? Her past was bound to catch up with her, the was going through the exact same thing she put all those women through all those years ago.

I shifted my weight onto one leg and folded my arms. "That's ridiculous. They didn't steal your baby," I said.

"What? How can you be so sure?"

I shrugged. "Simple, they are not like you."

"Babe–" Ryan tried to warn me, but I was not having it.

"They love and respect their jobs, and they follow protocol. If anything, the only reason they agreed to help you was because I asked them to." I turned to her husband with a wry smile. "Tell me, dear step-dad, what exactly did my mother here tell you about me?" I asked.

Nomalanga looked at me with panicked eyes, she literally dropped the scalpel, giving the nurse a chance to get away.

"Guys, let's get you out of here," Ryan said, and I swore right there that I didn't make a mistake by marrying him.

"You can't let them get away; they stole my baby!" Nomalanga bellowed.

"Oh, please!" I snickered, "cut the crap already and sit down, you are ruining your stitches." Her husband helped her out after giving Ryan the keys while I stood and watched. Poor guy, clearly, he had no idea what kind of a person his wife was. "What a gentleman you are," I mocked.

"Abigail, this is not the time for that!"

"When is it ever time for anything if not for your lies?" I countered, and she went mum.

"Nomalanga, what is she talking about?" He asked.

"Honey, don't listen to her, she's just been bitter since I told her about the adoption," she said hastily.

"Adoption?" I walked farther into the room and sat beside her with my legs crossed. "Is that what you told him? She did not adopt me; I was just a mission gone wrong!"

"What?" The poor man looked so... undecided. "I don't understand."

I chuckled. Damn, she really played him. "My dear mother here used to sell babies in hospitals, she stole and swapped new-born babies and deceived many women, ruining lives! As you see her right now, the reason she is scared to go to the hospital is because she is a fugitive of the law. Her face is all over the country, in every police station and hospital, she's been on the run for years." He shook his head in denial. "Tell me something, when she realized that her baby was gone, what was the first thing she did? What did she say when you suggested calling the police?" I asked.

Ryan came back from escorting the medical staff. "Can you tell us what happened?" He asked as he sat on the armrest behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

The husband shrugged. "I don't know, I was in the bedroom with the kids to make sure they remained there."

"How convenient," I muttered, and Ryan squeezed my shoulders in warning. "Mom, how about you tell us what happened?"

"What am I supposed to tell you? I was under anaesthesia, for goodness sake!" She shouted and looked around in panic.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What are you guys not telling me?" I asked.

They shared a worried glance. "We were all passed out," her husband said, "and the nurses did not help your mother to give birth. Whoever took the baby obviously performed the C-section."

Interesting.

I looked at Nomalanga in question. "And you? Are you sure you have no idea who could have done this?" Her eyes wandered off, and I smirked. "I know who has your baby," I said, and she looked up with wide eyes.

"You do?" She asked hopefully.

"I do. You know what I think? One of the women you wronged all those years ago came back to take revenge. You are paying for your sins, and you know what? If it were up to me, you would never ever find your child."

"Abigail!"

"No, Ryan!" I stood up furiously. "She has to feel what she put others through. How do you think they felt when you took their babies, huh?" I screamed in her face while she cried.

Ryan pulled me back. "I think we should go now, baby."

I pulled away from him and fixed my jacket. "Gladly."