Tides of Destiny

Part Twenty: The Rescue

Part Twenty

The Rescue

Alfina Guerrero

It has been thirty-seven hours since Claude took me away from Matt's home by the seas. I groaned in pain as I could feel the shackles leaving a mark on my ankles. It was hard to stand up, the best I could do was to sit up from the cold floor that I was sleeping on.

I was still feeling dizzy, I haven't eaten or drank anything since I was abducted. I gently placed my hand on my still flat belly.

"I'm sorry little one," I muttered weakly.

Traitorous tears escaped from my eyes as I was thinking about my child's future. A future with Matt would have been nice too. I missed the way he held my hands, the way he pulled me into a warm embrace, and the sensation of his lips on mine.

We may not be dating but I'm sure that I was definitely in love with that dashing Norwegian ex-whaler. He actually had a knack for business and with the help of my friends, especially Francine, he was able to start-up a profitable small company that I know will continually grow overtime.

I wish I was there to watch him succeed. I wish I was there to support him for his future endeavors.

"You're still ugly when you cry," a haughty voice said.

"What are you doing here, Zahria?" I asked, quickly wiping my tears off.

I looked at my treacherous cousin. She was now visibly pregnant, than the time I saw her on television.

"Busting you out," Zahria replied as she showed the set of keys she was holding. She quickly opened the jail cell door using the keys she was holding earlier.

Zahria entered the jail cell and unlocked the metal shackles around my ankles. She helped me get up and got out of the jail cell.

I loudly gasped when I saw faint bruises on her face and neck.

"Sorry, I'm not that good with putting on make-up," Zahria dryly joked.

"Did he do this to you?" I asked as I gently caressed the bruise located below the left side of her lower lip.

Zahria winced in pain when my finger touched the bruise.

"Yeah, most of the time. You shouldn't feel any sympathy for me, I stole him from you remember? But at the same time, I saved you from being a battered wife," Zahria joked.

"Why didn't you leave?" I asked.

"I couldn't. He already made a plan to get rid of you and I had my reasons. Do you think that after the shit we put you through, I would endure another scandal that would endanger my son's future? The guilt that I feel keeps me up all night! Do you want my child to shun me? Do you want my poor baby boy to be taken away from me?" Zahria asked as tears were falling down on her cheeks.

I was stunned with what she said. She grabbed my arm and practically tried to drag me.

"We have to go! You need to get out of here. If Claude sees me helping you, we'll both be dead!" Zahria scolded.

Zahria and I quickly made our way through the tunnels that was located underneath the prestigious Guerrero residence. Different emotions were swirling inside me, I never really thought that my once treacherous cousin would be the one who would save me from imprisonment.

As much as I would like to thank her, there was still doubt lingering in my mind. I abruptly stopped on my tracks which made Zahria stop.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Zahria asked looking worried.

I gave her a doubtful look which made her groan in annoyance.

"This is not the time to doubt me, idiot! I was the one who contacted Mathias about your whereabouts. Do you really think that I'm that heartless? Hurry up, your husband is waiting for you!" Zahria revealed.

I was surprised with what Zahria said. She tugged on my arm and motioned me to run but I stood my ground.

"Why did you even do this in the first place? What did I even do to make you hate me so much?" I asked, tears were starting to form from the corners of my eyes.

"I never hated you," Zahria admitted. She bit on her lip and then let out an exasperated sigh.

"When we were kids, we were so close. You were my favorite cousin, until I learned about the truth," she continued. I looked at her blankly, which signaled her to continue.

"Count Donatello Delgado is my father. Your mother—our mother, had him as his third husband before your father. I'm pretty sure you already know about this judging from your face right now. But I witnessed something horrible," Zahria spoke.

"It was when I was five, you were still three months as a newborn infant. I witnessed Madre talking to a man whom I later found out was Count Delgado. Padre was away from the country back then because of business related matters. It was only you, me, some trusted servants, and Madre. The Count was throwing a fit, demanding that he see me since I was his daughter. I was hiding behind one of the grand statues where no one was able to see me. Madre promised the man that he would call me if he would come inside for tea. She quickly retreated to the kitchen and ordered one of the maids to prepare tea for the Count. Before it was served, I saw her stop the maid and dropped something in his tea. He dropped dead shortly after consuming the drink," Zahria's voice trembled as she told her story.

I was shocked with Zahria's revelation. She witnessed her own father's murder.

"I feel guilty for watching my father die. I could have done something. I could have come out of my hiding place and told him that the tea was poisoned," Zahria started sobbing.

"But that is not all of our mother's deceit and lies. She and Claude were having an affair first. I saw them together during the night of your engagement with him," Zahria revealed.

"Why the hell would I believe you when you have spun yourself the web of lies in the first place?!" I exclaimed. Although I was in utter disbelief, some of it made sense why Claude and Madre were so close with each other back then and how they acted with one another.

"Because I seduced him in order to save his damned life! It might not be the nicest way but it was the only dumb thing I can think about, and yeah it fucking worked! Besides, why the hell are you so mad? He's not even the father of the child I'm carrying! Why would I even stay and fall in love with your fiancé's abusive ass? The main reason why he even kidnapped you in the first place was because he wanted to take revenge on you for allowing the government to kill Made," Zahria ranted.

Everything was a mix of everything and I couldn't process all of the bombs that Zahria kept on dropping. The only sensible way was to quickly get out of here and we have already wasted time.

"Fine! Let's go now!" I shouted, causing to snap out. I grabbed her arm and immediately ran. I know I may be bad for making a pregnant woman run, but this was our only hope of escaping and making sure that we were all safe.

After a few more minutes of running, Zahria and I reached an area in the gardens. The toolshed was connected to the basement tunnels which were luckily still operatable and the toolshed basement door was unlocked.

I helped Zahria climb the ladder and told her to find the exit. We were near the main entrance gardens and we both decided to run towards the main entrance.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!"a scream echoed throughout the whole garden.