17. The Punishment

The next day, I still went to the hotel because no replacement staff was available. I felt lazy, but I also felt sorry for Mr. Rey.

Since I couldn't just leave, I tried my best to avoid running into Uncle Vincent all day so I could work normally. At the very least, I wanted to pretend that he had never been to the Safari Hotel and disturbed my peaceful life.

But it was all in vain. My mind couldn't shake off the memories of our encounter and our argument yesterday. It was all a mess.

After work, I quickly picked up Noah. I felt anything but calm. I felt like I was being watched. I didn't know by whom.

"Noah, promise me you won't go anywhere with strangers, okay?" I said while carrying Noah so we could return to our rented place quickly. "Lately, there have been a lot of bad people around."

"What are they doing, Mom? Eating kids?" my son asked innocently.

"No, but they like to kidnap children and take them away from their moms!" I replied convincingly so that Noah would believe it and