Chapter Four- Please, don't kill me!

“Good. And you’ve covered all the tracks?” Austin asked Robin.

“Yes, sir,” Robin responded with a stern voice.

“Is everyone in your squad safe?” Austin asked, eyes still on the document he was signing.

“Yes, sir,” Robin replied.

“Well, I have another job for you,” Austin said, handing him a bag of cash and showing him a picture of Rose.

“I don’t care how you do it, but I want the baby gone,” Austin instructed.

Robin nodded.

Rose was unaware of the attack planned toward her. However, she was determined and continued to push through each day. She’s now four months pregnant, and she’s still striving to survive by working for long hours at the cement factory.

She noticed the stares of disapproval she received at work, people wondered how a pregnant woman could do such a job. But Rose knew she couldn’t stop. She had to push herself.

Many of her co-workers criticized her, because she was a little sluggish.

Rose knew that very soon, she would be forced to quit the job at some point.

She even began starving herself to save up enough to care for herself and her unborn baby. 

One evening, after she finished work, she collected her daily pay and went to the locker room to change. There, she saw the manager changing the faulty locker room keys and hiding them on the window blind.

Then an idea struck Rose immediately.

“I could sleep in the locker room to reduce my daily cost of transportation.” She thought to herself.

It was against factory rules, but she didn’t care. 

She tried it that evening without getting caught and continued this routine throughout the week, and by the end of the week she was shocked by the amount she saved up. It was a lot, compared to how much she had saved before, and she was ready to keep the routine going. 

After her work for the day, she’d collect her pay, hide in a storage room until everyone left, then retrieve the hidden key and sleep in the locker room until morning.

Back in Austin’s office, he was concerned because he  hadn’t gotten any update from Robin. He called him immediately.

“Robin, has the job been done?” Austin asked.

“No, sir. We have a little problem,” Robin responded.

Austin chuckled. “Robin, what’s the thing I hate the most?”

“Excuses,” Robin answered in fear.

“The address we traced her to has been under surveillance. There’s been no movement there for about a week, and the place is locked up,” Robin continued.

Austin leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

“Robin, stop making excuses. Find her and get the job done! No more excuses!” Austin yelled.

Robin nodded and left the office. He knew he needed to act fast.

Robin was determined to get the job done and he returned to Rose’s neighborhood immediately. Opposite her house, he saw a woman in her late forties struggling to carry a heavy box into a van.

“Hey, good morning, ma’am. Let me help you with that,” Robin said, taking the box from her.

“Thank you,” she responded, as she took a glance at him.

“Please, I'm looking for the pregnant woman who lives here. She has an order she's yet to receive, and we haven’t been able to contact her since last week.” He lied and asked "Any idea where she might be?” 

“You’re hella huge. You should be a bouncer, not a delivery man.” she teased him.

Robin chuckled. “Thank you. 

“Hmmm… I haven’t seen her in a while, but I know she works at a cement factory. She’s always dressed in overalls and boots every morning.” the woman responded.

“Okay, thank you,” Robin said, as he walked away.

“By the way, that’s a cool-ass bike you got there,” she added, waving as Robin ran toward his power bike.

“Thank you,” he said, kicking off the engine.

“Hmm, the only cement factory in town was Cemex Victorville.” Robin thought.

 He followed this lead and went to the cement factory immediately.

“Hey, I’m looking for a pregnant woman who works here,” Robin told the security guard of the cement factory.

“Yes, we have one. Any problem?” the officer asked.

“No. Never mind,” Robin muttered, then drove off.

The security guard grew suspicious.

Rose had been inside the factory the whole time, she had been working hard and trying to prove to her manager that she was still fit for the job. Good for her, because this was working. He noticed she was arriving early that week.

“You’ve been coming to work early. I’m impressed. Keep it up, Rose,” the manager said.

That evening, Rose followed her usual routine and stayed back after work.

The security guard noticed she hadn’t left through the main gate. When he checked the register, he saw that Rose had signed in weeks ago but never signed out. Concerned, he informed the manager.

“Sir, the pregnant woman signed in weeks ago but hasn’t signed out,” he said.

“I saw Rose today. How come?” the manager asked.

“Maybe she just stopped filling the register. Observe her tomorrow,” he added, handing the security guard his daily pay.

The next morning, the manager saw Rose at work early again.

“Wow! What a miracle. You’re early again?” he asked sarcastically.

“Yes, sir,” Rose replied, itching her neck and yawning, visibly tired.

“Rose, are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” she said, still scratching her neck.

As she turned to return to work, he noticed a bedbug bite on her neck.

He called her back, “Rose, have you been sleeping in the locker room?” he asked quietly.

Rose’s eyes widened. She turned toward him, pretending to be shocked.

“W–what…? No! Why would I do that?” she stammered.

“There are bedbugs in the locker room, especially at night. Look at your neck. Do you want to lie that the bites are also pregnancy symptoms?” he asked, sarcastically rolling his eyes.

Rose sighed.

“The security also told me it’s been over a week since you signed out.

You thought we wouldn’t notice because no one checks the register right?” he asked.

“Sir, I’m sorry. I can explain,” Rose begged.

“Rose, you’re fired,” he said flatly and walked away.

Rose recognized his tone. She knew him well, once he walked away from something, no one could change his mind.

She packed her things from the locker room, returned her ID card and uniform, and left the factory hopeless.

On her way home, things got worse. She got a message from her landlord, asking her to pay up the balance of her rent, which she owed. If not , he would kick her out of the house.

It hit her hard, if she didn’t get a job immediately, her life could fall apart.

She went from mall to mall, searching for job openings. Unfortunately, there was nothing.

Just as she was about to give up, she saw a poster advertising a receptionist job at a hotel. She took a photo of it and took a cab to the hotel.

At the hotel reception, a beautiful woman attended to her.

“Good morning, ma’am. How may I help you?” the woman asked.

“I’m not here to book a room. I mean, I can’t even afford one,” Rose replied with a faint smile.

“I saw a poster about a receptionist job. I’m interested.”

“Oh, okay. Please take a seat. Let me inform our manager,” the receptionist said and walked away. 

“He’ll be with you shortly,” the receptionist said, returning to her desk.

Rose sat nervously, waiting. Then moments later, the phone rang. The receptionist picked it up. It was the manager instructing her to allow Rose in.

“You can use that door and enter the first room to your left,” she instructed Rose, pointing at the hallway.

Rose grew more anxious.

“Am I going to have this interview in this dirty outfit?” she asked herself, whispering a quick prayer before opening the door.

“Good evening, sir,” she said, standing straight with her hands behind her back, her pregnancy protruding.

“Good evening,” the man replied with a smile.

“So, what’s your name?” The hotel manager asked, adjusting his tie.

“I’m Rose,” she said.

“Okay, Rose. I see you’re pregnant. How many months now?” he asked.

Before she could answer, he stopped himself.

“Oh my bad. Please, take a seat,” he offered.

“About four months,” Rose replied, gently sitting down.

He sighed. “Alright, let’s make this snappy. You’re a pregnant woman, and getting a job here or anywhere will be difficult because of that. We need someone we can count on.”

“Please, sir, I need this job,” Rose pleaded.

“Well, I can help you… If you let me enjoy all of this,” he said, moving closer and forcefully grabbing her breasts.

“Get your hands off me!” Rose yelled, shoving him away.

“Leave my office! I was trying to save your miserable life, you ungrateful bitch!” he shouted.

Rose fled from the hotel, hurt.

All her efforts to find a job had been wasted.

Meanwhile, Robin had been secretly tailing Rose, and waiting for the perfect time to strike.

It was late, but she finally got a cab that dropped her off at her estate gate.

As she walked home in the dark, she noticed footsteps behind her and got scared. She increased her pace, but just as she turned to look, someone grabbed her and knocked her to the ground.

“You bitch,” he growled, throwing a heavy punch into her belly.

“Please! I’m pregnant! Don’t kill me!”

Rose screamed, calling out for help.