The two friends stood outside the school gate... the atmosphere was tense.
They exchanged glances in complete silence...
Now the street is crowded with police, families, and students, while teachers try to keep everyone away from the crime scene. They are now thinking about what they saw before Lucas breaks the silence, clutching his stomach in disgust behind them, his voice trembling:
"Only God knows how long she's been hanging like this!!" At that moment, Emma broke down crying. "Are we going to die!!" Her body was still shaking violently from what she had witnessed; she could barely stand.
And so Elizabeth breaks her silence as soon as her friend cries, grabbing her shoulder tightly. "Come to your senses!!" Looking around her, the situation is chaotic. Large cars appear coming from afar, and before she knows it, a group of journalists come out to ask everyone what is happening...and among the faces.
Amid the chaos, Noah appears, standing like a statue, with his small family gathered around him. His father, who appears strong and robust, is holding Jack by his shirt furiously, shouting in his face, "WHO DID THIS TO MY DAUGHTER?!" Tears are falling from the man's eyes like a waterfall.
Noah remains motionless even as his mother tries to grasp his face with both hands, her strong nails digging into the boy's skin, while she cries bitterly, her eyes red and sore from crying, whispering, "Where is my daughter?! I want to see HER!" while his little sister clings to her hand, frightened, whispering, "MAMAA ! Please don't hurt my brother!"
"GET A WAY FROME ME!" she screams forcefully, pushing her child to the ground frantically. "WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?!" she screams as everyone tries to calm her down... including Clara, who is trying to save Jack. "Please calm down, sir. This won't do any good."
A stifling heat begins to rise in Elizabeth's body; she feels as if she is suffocating. She whispers, clutching her neck with trembling fingers, "We need to get out of here first!" Emma immediately agrees, but her focus falls on something that paralyzes her. She mutters, "Who are these people?"
It's a completely black car, looking very luxurious. It stops in front of the school gate, and a man with familiar features gets out, wearing black glasses. Some men in black suits follow him... It's Frederick...
At that moment, Elizabeth completely forgot how to even breathe. A powerful shiver ran through her body as soon as her eyes met the eyes behind the glasses. He stopped the moment he saw her, and although nothing showed on his face for a while, Elizabeth felt a very bad feeling... a feeling like anger wrapped in calm before he finally said:
"Who would have expected to see you again? What a coincidence!" He pauses briefly before continuing, "wasn't in the mind."
She could almost swear that she had forgotten how to think. She began to breathe with great heaviness in her chest as if her heart was about to burst out.
"He seems to know you," Emma gasps, turning to her in astonishment that quickly turns to shock. She seems to have processed everything happening in her brain cells, saying, "This is the one who broke into your house...isn't that right?"
Facing them, Frederick appears very silent before ignoring them and heading towards Noah and his family. Everyone slowly moves out of his way, and in seconds that can almost be felt, as soon as Noah's father sees Frederick, he shouts, "Brother!!"
Leaving Jack, who couldn't believe he could finally breathe, gasping with difficulty... before he collided with one of Frederick's men, who was grinning like a hyena, saying, "Hello, Detective "
Elizabeth watches with wide eyes as the man who broke into her house a few months ago disappears amidst the crowd of journalists who gather to question him without fear.
"What brought this &%& here?" she whispers to herself in disbelief, interrupted by Lucas's voice saying:
"Yes, who would ever get involved with a family like this?" he said, scratching his head. "He's a famous businessman, despite his... not-so-good ways..."
"I don't think that's the most important thing," which makes both Elizabeth and Lucas look at her. Their eyes are drawn to what she's looking at, and Emma focuses on him... It's one of Frederick's men, with a huge body and almost one eye, the other appearing dull and white. He looks at them with a grim glare. Emma leans nervously towards Elizabeth, grabs her arm, and whispers:
"I have a feeling that this man is the one whose eye you gouged out... but I have no proof!!"
Elizabeth squeezes Emma's hand without saying a word, confirming her... feelings.
They both watch the man, standing still, throw his cigarette to the ground, stomping on it slowly with a half-smile.