BELLS IN NEW YORK

Chapter 05- Part 01

⚠️ TW: Includes child abduction. (This is to be expected as this entire book is based on it, but since it is actually mentioned in this chapter, I decided to include a warning)

"What do you mean you can't find Ivaan?" I demanded, unable to process what Pa had just told me.

"Ivaan was playing in the living room while we were cooking in the kitchen. We heard the doorbell, and by the time we got to the door, it was already open and Ivaan was no longer in the room," Pa repeated while stroking Priya's back.

They were both kneeling on the ground in the middle of the living room, surrounded by Ivaan's toys that were strewn around by him. Priya was crying uncontrollably, clutching Ivaan's favorite toy train.

I couldn't believe my ears. This was the last thing I wanted to hear amidst all the other news. Even after Pa repeated their side of the story multiple times, I was still having trouble comprehending it. How could Ivaan just vanish into thin air? He had to be hiding somewhere, right? Yeah. He was definitely hiding.

"Pa, are you sure Ivaan isn't in the house?" I asked, refusing to believe his words.

"We checked, sweetie. He's not here. Under the bed. In the garage. In all the places a five year old could fit. We couldn't find him."

He has to be here.

"I'll check again. He has to be here. You know he's cheeky like that," I said, holding onto a string of hope that was almost non-existent. Pa watched me for a moment and gave me an exhausted nod, knowing very well I was going on a fruitless expedition, but agreeing nonetheless.

Taking that as my cue to leave, I ran up the stairs to my bedroom. I began by looking in the bathroom. Nope. Not there. Under the bed? Not there either. In the closet? No.

He wasn't in the bedroom.

I searched the entire floor and called his name dozens of times. I looked into every nook and cranny that somebody Ivaan's size could fit into.

Nothing.

I ran down the stairs and searched the bottom floor as well. The kitchen, the dining room, the laundry room, the bathrooms. No matter how many times I called his name, there was still no answer.

As the door was open when Pa found Ivaan gone, I decided to check our driveway and garage as well. Surely, he had to be hiding somewhere.

Running outside, I started calling his name once again as I looked through everything leading upto our driveway and in the garage. There was still no sign.

No. No. No.

I could feel my heart sinking into the deepest depths of my stomach. This can't be happening. There's no way.

I walked back into the house, crestfallen. Pa and Priya were still at the same spot I had left them. Pa turned to look at me, exhaustion and fear evident in his face.

"Pa, where's Gopal?" I questioned, realising that I hadn't seen Ivaan's father since I got home.

"He went out looking for Ivaan. He hasn't come back yet," Pa replied. Priya began to cry even louder than before, after hearing her son's name.

I watched as Priya sobbed, her breath hitching every now and then, he tears flowing nonstop from her bloodshot, swollen eyes. I couldn't imagine the pain she was feeling. Her only son, the apple of her eye, was missing.

As I felt my own tears threatening to fall, I managed to get a grip of myself. I had to calm down. I had to focus. One of the most important things I had learned at the Police Academy was to stay calm in any situation, no matter how bad it was. Focusing on my breath, I tried to think of what I might have missed in my frenzy.

As I walked towards the front porch to trigger my brain into thinking rationally, I noticed something I should have noticed much earlier. The CCTV camera. How could I forget that we had installed a security camera?

I sprinted back into the house and asked Pa the time they found out that Ivaan was missing.

"Around 6.30, I think," Pa replied after a moment of thought.

Having received the information I needed, I ran to Pa's room, where the security monitors were located.

Rewinding the footage until six o'clock, I rewatched everything without skipping a second. By the time I reached the 6:48pm time stamp, I had found the one thing I had hoped I would not find.

A stranger, clad in black clothing from head to toe with their face concealed from the camera, was standing at the door. Seconds later, the door opens and the person lunges forward. A few seconds pass without any movement. Then, the stranger picks up an unconscious Ivaan and runs down the driveway until he is out of the field of vision of the security camera. A few minutes later, Pa and Priya come running out of the house and into the driveway. They would have caught up if they had been just a little quicker.

My mind was running at sixth gear. This was the last thing I wanted to see happening. I fumbled in my pocket until I found my phone. I dialled the first number that came to my mind.

"Hello?" Detective Campbell's voice came through from the other end.

"Ivaan. Ivaan was kidnapped."

♧♧♧
Oh no! *cue terrible acting* Ivaan was kidnapped! I didn't see that coming! How could this happen!?!?!

I apologise. Not for the story. Just for the previous paragraph 😁

I'm pretty sure you probably saw this coming, but here it is. I mean, I did mention it in the blurb so... :)

Ugh, I'm terrible at writer's notes!

Anyways, hope you like it! If you did, do leave a vote and a comment. Share it too if you think it's worth being read by your friends!

Tune in next saturday to find out what happens next!

P.S.- I had this chapter pre-written and when I was just about to publish it I noticed that WE HIT 100 READS! WOOHOO!

Thank you so much for reading my work. You have no idea how happy I makes me! I love every single one of you so much!

To anybody who skipped past the entire A/N:

Vote, comment, share because I'm desperate!!!

Addio!
(Italian)

18/06/2022