Chapter Five

Esther was walking home from work when she noticed a black G-Wagon following her. She stopped to see if the car would stop too, but it didn't. Instead, it drove past her. She started moving again, not knowing the car had parked somewhere ahead, waiting for her to pass so they could follow her. She arrived home, not knowing the car had followed her straight to her house. When she noticed them, they drove away. She opened the door.

"Hi, Mom. How are you doing?"

"I'm good, and you?" Miss Parker asked, sitting in the chair in the dim, worn-out living room.

"Good," she said, a bit troubled.

"Are you okay, Esther?" Miss Parker asked.

"No, Mom, I'm not. I noticed a black car following me while coming home. It was so suspicious," She said.

Miss Parker was terrified when she heard that, her heart pounding. They are here for her…they've found her. She said in her mind, terrified.

"Mom,” Esther called out when she saw Miss Parker lost in thought. 

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes, I am," Miss Parker said, lying to Esther.

"My dear, go have your dinner and after that, freshen up and go to bed."

"Okay, Mom. Goodnight!" She said and walked away.

"Goodnight, my love," Miss Parker said, her heart disturbed after what Esther had told her.

Immediately, she remembered what Emilia — Esther's mother — had told her before she died after giving birth to Esther.

"Please protect her," Emilia said, crying. "He will find her one day and come for her. Please protect her…" Emilia said as her eyes closed slowly.

"Who is he?" Miss Parker asked.

"He…He…His na…na…me is Pe…ars Wo…wo…" Emilia said, struggling to complete his name but couldn't, and she passed out.

Miss Parker didn't really catch the name clearly. All she could think about was the baby beside her that was crying. She carried the baby, named her Esther, and said to herself, "This is your mother's dying wish, and I shall protect you with my life."

She couldn't hold herself from crying after the memory. "She must not know."

 "Her life is in danger now," she said, crying. Then she stood up and walked to her room, sobbing.

"Good morning, Mom," Esther said to Miss Parker. "Are you okay?" She asked, noticing she wasn't.

"Yes, I am, dear," Miss Parker said, faking a smile.

"Okay, Mom. Goodbye," she said.

"Bye, my love." Miss Parker called out, "Esther, please be careful," looking at her with a troubled face.

"I will, Mom."

Esther knew something was not right, but she had to let it go and not let it bother her. She closed the door behind her and left for work.

At home, there was a knock at Miss Parker's door. She opened it and saw two men in black suits standing outside. She was scared but pretended not to be.

"Yes, how may I help you?" 

"Are you Elizabeth Parker?" Alex, one of the men, asked.

"Yes, I am. How may I help you?" She again.

"Where is Esther?" Alex asked.

Miss Parker replied in a scared tone, "She's not here."

The other man in the black suit said, "You're lying to us. Tell us, where the hell is Esther?!"

She became more terrified and tried to close the door immediately, but Alex held it from outside. They both forced their way inside the house, pushed her down, and the other man was instructed to search around to see if she was somewhere in the house. He went upstairs but didn't find her. He came back down and told Alex,

"I didn't find her," he said in a thick voice.

Alex turned to Miss Parker and said, "We will be back sooner than you imagine, and remember — we are watching you." They left.

She hurriedly got up from the floor and closed the door. She immediately contacted Esther to tell her what had just happened and to warn her to be careful — not knowing that Alex had already put a tracker on her phone to help them find out where Esther was.