Do I look like I care?

****

After the conversation between Elena and Richard about Gabriella, some ladies entered the villa a few minutes later, looking confused as they did not know who to ask about the person they were looking for.

Luckily, Elena walked in at the right time, and one of the ladies approached her for directions to find the person they were seeking. "Excuse me, ma'am, do you know where Richard Maxwell is?" she asked.

"Why do you seek Richard Maxwell?" Elena interrogated.

"He asked us to meet him in his villa, and he told us to ask for him from anyone at the villa," one of the ladies responded.

"Kindly sit while I call him for you. What do I say your name is?" Elena asked.

"Tell him Elizabeth," the lady answered.

Elena left to meet Richard. When she arrived at his room, she knocked three times on his door

"Come in," Richard responded.

"Good day, Mr. Richard. You have three guests waiting for you in the waiting room. One of them said her name is Elizabeth," Elena said.

"Oh! Tell them to come upstairs to my room," he replied.

Elena looked extremely shocked and disappointed but did not say anything because he is her boss. She only felt pity for her daughter, as she knew how much she loved Richard and how long she had waited. So she left Richard's room to deliver the message to his guests. After a short walk, she arrived at the waiting room.

"Mr. Richard is waiting for you in his room. It is located on the second floor, to your right," Elena said to them, smiling sheepishly.

"Thank you," one of the ladies said, while the others left without expressing gratitude to Elena. But she wasn't bothered because all she could think about was finding her missing daughter. She had a feeling that something terrible had happened to her poor daughter.

Eventually, she started calling everyone she knew who had a certain relationship with her daughter to check if they knew where she was, but to no avail.

After a while, Rosella arrived at the villa and saw Elena. "Elena, where is my son?" she questioned.

"He is in his room," Elena replied with a direct tone.

"Is he okay? What is he doing in his room?" Rosella murmured to herself, while Elena was still standing in front of her.

"I think he has a guest, ma'am," Elena poked her nose.

"A guest? A female guest or a male guest?" she asked in curiosity.

"I do not know, madam. Can I return to my post?" Elena responded.

Rosella became more curious and wanted to go and check who the guest was, but she stopped herself. As she murmured to herself. "He is mature enough to decide what he wants. I will see him later then," So she left and went to her room.

"Gabriella was still on her way home, unable to hold back her tears as she cried like a little child. She had been deeply wounded by the man she had loved for the past ten years, never imagining in her dreams that he would ever hurt her like this.

Meanwhile, Elena was still searching for her missing daughter, causing her a great deal of distress and agony. Suddenly, Gabriella arrived at the villa and ran to meet her mother at her workplace.

"Mother! Mother!" she yelled, running towards her. Upon hearing Gabriella's voice, Elena's heart skipped a beat and tears streamed down her face as she rushed to meet her daughter, embracing her without hesitation.

"My love! Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was about you? Please, never do this to me again," Elena said, her eyes filled with tears.

"Mother, I was kidnapped," Gabby trembled.

"What?!" Elena exclaimed. "Where, when, how? Tell me everything. I want to know every detail," she anxiously questioned.

So Gabriella narrated the entire incident, from her abduction at the party to the suffocation and waking up in a hotel room with a man, to the conversation she had with Richard, and how she broke down and cried.

"Hmm, it will all get better. We will be fine. Just hold on a little longer while I change my clothes, and then we can go home today," Elena consoled.

Gabriella sat down next to her mother, resting her head on her thighs. Elena felt sorry for her sweet daughter because she knew that what awaited her was something she was not mentally prepared for."

Few minutes later, Richard came downstairs to the living room with his female guest, while the ladies were giggling to each other. Coincidentally, Rosella arrived in the living room at the same time and was surprised to see some unfamiliar women with her son.

"Hello champ," she said. "Hi mom, when did you get back?" replied Richard. "A few hours ago. Who are these lovely ladies?" Rosella asked. "Oh mother, they are the mothers of my guests," he smiled. "Guests, you say!" She smirked. "Okay love, we'll talk later," she giggled heavily and left.

Then Gabby and her mother entered the living room, which led to the exit of the villa. Gabby was shocked when she saw some unknown women with Richard and how close they all were to him.

This made her numb but also angry. She tried to speak, but her mother held her back, trying to control her outburst. However, Gabby did not care. For the first time, Gabriella Hart disobeyed her mother and stormed towards Richard with evident fury.

"Who are these ladies?" She challenged him. But Richard paid her no attention and considered her insignificant, as he savored every moment of the torment he was perceiving.

"Richard Maxwell!" Gabby yelled in frustration. "So you broke your promise of being in a relationship exclusively with me and went on to have multiple affairs with different women? You disgust me, Richard," she said. But Richard completely ignored her, which only aggravated her further, causing her to forcefully turn his face towards her.

"Can't you hear me calling you, Richard? What is your explanation for this?" she shouted. "Richard, how do you explain your intimacy with Simon Grey?"

"I never slept with him. How many times do I have to explain this to you? I was kidnapped and drugged. How can I elaborate more on my explanation?" Gabby explained.

"Do I look like I care? Can you please leave? You are interrupting my work here with my guest," the ladies smiled, but this disgusted Gabriella. "You slimy perverts," she said while filled with anger.

During the entire conversation between Gabriella and Richard, Elena and Rosella listened attentively and stared at each other in an awkward manner.

"I thought you loved me, but now I see you are just like your mother," said Gabby angrily. "Do not dare drag me into this, Gabriella. I never asked you to wait for him or fall in love with him. And do you think someone like him would want to be with someone like you?" Rosella scoffed at her words.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, never talk to my daughter that way. If you had trained your son well, he would have respect for women. But all you have is an excuse for a son who is a whore in a suit," Elena defended.

Gabriella was shocked to see her mother react that way for the first time, which made tears stream down her face. "Let us go, baby. These people are monsters, and they are not worth your tears," she consoled. Then they left through the exit, but suddenly Elena came back and gave Richard a tight slap on his cheek, leaving everyone shocked and perplexed.

"That is for hurting my daughter and making her feel vulnerable, you bastard," she said to him.

But all Richard could feel at that moment was a tremendous amount of rage because he felt extremely embarrassed by Gabriella and Elena. This turned him into a blood-thirsty, revengeful being.

****

After Gabriella and her mother had left the villa and were on the street late at night, both of them felt weak and emotionally drained. Gabriella's mother couldn't help but feel pity for her daughter and made an effort to console her.

"My love, don't cry over him because he is not worth it. You are extremely beautiful, vibrant, and still young. You will definitely find someone who will truly love you for who you are," Elena advised, trying to comfort her daughter. "Baby, please don't cry," she pleaded.

"But mother, do I really deserve this?" Gabby questioned, scoffing. She wished she could do something to help her daughter, but she knew she wasn't capable. So, she continued trying to console her.

Gabriella and Elena were still walking on the road when they noticed a truck approaching. Unbeknownst to them, it carried the thugs who had been sent to carry out a mission.

Unfortunately, they were heading straight towards Gabby and her mother. The thugs saw them and recognized them from the picture they had been sent. They were happy to have finally found them after all their efforts and stress.

Without wasting any time, they drove closer to Gabby with the truck and executed their plans. As a result, Gabriella was thrown to the other side of the road and suffered brutal injuries, bleeding heavily and gasping for breath. Elena, on the other hand, flew onto the walkway after being hit by the truck.

Once the thugs got out of the truck, they went to each side where Gabriella and Elena were lying. Without bothering to check if they were alive or not, they shot both of them three times. Fortunately, Gabriella was still breathing, albeit bleeding profusely, while Elena lay motionless.

The criminals rejoiced as they had successfully completed the job they were assigned to do. They contacted Richard to deliver the good news, "The job is done, Mr. Maxwell, sir," the criminals said.

Richard asked for further confirmation, "Are you sure they are dead?" "We have already checked," they lied. "They are dead and gone." "Good job! Expect your payment shortly," he replied.

They both hung up and celebrated simultaneously. As they were making their way back to their truck, one of the criminals appeared confused. "Why did Mr. Richard not give us the money when we asked for it? Why did he wait until after we completed the job?" he complained.

"Well, that's how Maxwell operates," the other criminal replied. Afterwards, the goons departed, leaving Gabriella struggling to breathe and lying in a pool of her own blood in the middle of the road.

With tears in her eyes, she reached out her hand to touch her lifeless mother, Elena. After much effort, she discovered that her mother no longer had a pulse and was extremely cold.

This shattered her, as she had overheard the conversation of the criminals and was shocked to learn who had sent them. Her only thoughts were of the revenge she would seek against them.

"Mother, please don't leave this world. I'm not strong enough to face it without you. Come back to me," she cried out. However, it was too late for Elena to come back to life.

Gabriella was in immense pain and agony from the gunshot wound, having lost a significant amount of blood.

Suddenly, she began to feel the terror of the night and, with great difficulty, managed to stand up and started to stumble forward, shouting for help so that she could receive medical attention.