Between us

Chapter 25

"Deep breath in, and out." Lucy said and I complied. "You've been so stressed and it's not good for Puppet, especially now since it's the month she's due." 

"It's not like we're in a stress-free environment at the moment." I said and smiled slightly. 

"Come on, close your eyes." I chuckled when I heard her stern voice and closed my eyes. "Imagine that Puppet is born, that you're safe, and that life's perfect." 

I almost immediately saw a small baby with dark hair and brown eyes, with the cutest pink dress laying peacefully in someone's arms. I could almost smell the room, it smelt like lavender and baby powder, and a very familiar scent made it's way into my nostrils. I saw myself walking towards Puppet and then he came forward, with that shy dimple pitted in his cheek as he spoke softly while coaxing Puppet to sleep. "I love you, Charlie." 

Ryder. 

I smiled and opened my eyes. It all felt so real. 

"You saw him, right?" Stacey spoke in the doorway with a slight smile on her face. 

I nodded with a sad smile. "I did." 

"Where did you disappear to?" Lucy asked and Stacey locked the door and took out a diary and gave it to me. My eyes widen. 
Mom's diary. 

"I stole it from his office," Lucy gasped. "don't worry, he won't even realize it's gone as he's out." She reassured us both and I opened the diary while they both sat down. 

I began to read it and smiled sadly now and then at my mom's words. So far there was nothing really important but my heart stopped at a specific date. 
07/05/2006. 

Merely a week before mom's death. I was surprised, but not because of the date, but because it was written for me. She left me a letter! 

"Stacey, do you have any idea if Dominic read this diary?" 

"I don't recall him reading it, but he was interested in some photo's he found in it." She said and thought for a while. "No, he didn't read it. I'm sure of it." 

I sighed gratefully and tore out the two pages which was written for me, and I hid the pages under my pillow. I felt a slight shiver when I realized that it was her last diary entry. 

"Take this back, just in case Dominic's searching through his safe later." I gave her the diary and when she left, I looked at Lucy, who was deep in thought. "Lucy? Are you alright?" 

"We're in Germany, right?" She asked without looking at me. 

"Yeah?" I answered unsurely, feeling a little bit of hope when she looked at me. 

"I might know someone that lives here, I still remember his number," she thought again, "I think." 

"So you're telling me there's hope after all?" I asked and a tear escaped. I'll get to see Nana, Isabella, the twins, Jessy, everyone again. 

Lucy saw my excitement and sat in front of me and clutched my hands in hers. "This is why I didn't want to tell you, we don't even know if he still uses his old number, it could be a dead end. I didn't want to give you false hope." Her face was full of regret and she began to sob softly. 

"Hey, don't cry." I wiped off her tears. "It wouldn't hurt to try once, and even if it's a dead end, we both know that you at least tried to help." 

"What would be a dead end?" Stacey asked at the door when she came in. 

"Lucy may know someone here in Germany." 

"What? Really?" Stacey asked hopefully and Lucy nodded. 

"But it could be a dead end, what if he uses a new number? Or what if he moved out of Germany? What if-" 

"Stop saying what if, and do the deed instead." I softly interrupted her and Stacey agreed with me. "We can at least try." 

"What's your friend's name?" Stacey asked. 

"Noah, Noah Richwald." She said with a longing look on her face. "We met at the orphanage at the age of five, his mother, Maria Richwald, came with him there claiming that his father should never find him, they had apparently fled from him. We then became best friends, but by the time he turned seventeen, his dad found them both and took them back to Germany. But before he left, he gave me his phone number and said that I could call him whenever I wanted to, which I never did." She said with a regretful look on her face, it seemed that they really cared for each other. 

"You still remember his number though, right?" Stacey asked with an understanding look on her face. 

"Kind of." 

"Wait, you said that he and his mother fled from his father, was he a dangerous man?" I asked and an idea began to form in my mind. 

"Yeah, he seemed like some kind of bigshot here in Germany. Like he's some type of mafia-boss or something." 

If Noah's father is really a mafia-boss, there could be a huge chance that he may know Black Badger, or Ryder. I sighed softly. 

I somehow have gotten used to the fact that my husband was a very dangerous man, and that he did some really bad stuff. But one thing is for sure, I still love him regardless. 

"Dominic mentioned that Ryder was known as Morte Nero in the entire dark industry. If we get to talk to Noah's father, he'll help us when he finds out that I'm Ryder's wife." I explained and Lucy nodded, but Stacey seemed to have doubts. 

"Even if he knows that Ryder's your husband, we don't know what kind of business relationship they both had. He may even be Ryder's enemy." She voiced her doubts and I had to agree with her. 

"But we should take the chance, we'll either get saved, or he might take revenge on me." They both looked at me in shock. "Anything to get Puppet and you two out of here." 

"This is why I used to admire you, Charlie. You are always prepared to take risks in order to protect those you love. I still admire you." Stacey said and I warmed up at her words. 

"Thank you, Stacey." I said and we began to work on a plan of action. 

It was almost time for supper when we finished our plan and discussed the logistics. 

"In order for our plan to work, one of us has to get closer to Dominic, to win his trust somehow. It can't be me, he doesn't trust me anymore." Stacey said and we nodded. 

"It has to be me." I began and they both wanted to object but I held my hands up to silence them. "We both are connected in a way," I said and touched my stomach, and in that moment Puppet kicked softly. "he said that he wanted to become friends with me again, and I saw how he looked at me, I could use that to my advantage." 

Lucy took both mine and Stacey's hands in hers and smiled sadly. "I don't like this plan, but anything for Puppet." 

"Have you thought of a name for Puppet yet?" Stacey asked and I smiled. 

"Yeah, we both did." I remembered how we both had a debate on the best possible name for her, and how we finally thought of something unique. 

"Anything for Puppet," Stacey repeated Lucy's words and we all smiled with the devious plan flowing through our minds. "It's time to hit Dominic where he never expected it." 

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A/n: Hey guys! 👋
Welcome back to another chapter of Between us! 

*In all honesty...I know that I promised to finish the book this month...but I got the writer-zoomies (if that's even a thing) and decided to make the book a little bit longer. But I hope that you'll enjoy reading it! ^_^* 

Q: What did Charlie, Lucy and Stacey plan? Who is this Noah? Will he be able to help them in their plan? Stay tuned for more drama...and action! ^_^

Please forgive any typos and please comment...and don't forget to vote! ;) 

Kind regards and stay safe :)

A. Freeman 
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