Being Emily's best friend and virtually family, Samantha couldn't help but shudder and worry for her. She had a remote hunch that Emily was in peril right now. They had known one other for several years and had shared their miseries and struggles in life. Emily had constantly been abused by her uncle, which prompted Samantha to attempt to murder him when they were both fifteen.
At that time, Emily invited Samantha to their house (which was nice and absolutely clean, unlike today) to work on some school-related assignments. Emily planned for both to arrive in the afternoon since Emily's uncle would not be home at that time; perhaps he was out gambling or enjoying his own time elsewhere. She kept her violent family's existence from Samantha a secret, but because the school assignment was so important to her, she consented to finish it at her place.
Upon gladly setting a foot inside Emily's house, Samantha noticed a man showing up from the junction space showcased in their living room (or the kitchen) holding a cigarette, who happened to be seeking anything with his face scowled in wrath. Locking his eyes on Emily, the man appeared to be not paying attention to Samantha. However, Samantha had simply thought it was nothing but a normal interaction of Emily's family welcoming a visitor. But when she turned her head to face Emily, she realized they'd stepped into a mine.
"Why is Emily shaking while looking at him?"
She was sweating and appeared locked in stone as she gazed at the man who aggressively discarded his cigarette on the floor. With Emily's fingers securely gripping Samantha's hand, Samantha realized her friend was preparing to flee with her. But it seemed as though she couldn't get away since she was palpitating in fear, so Samantha chuckled and put a: "Maybe she did something horrible to him? Oh my, that sucks," on her head, thinking Emily would get a few mild strikes for making a little mistake. But it arrived in an odd manner. When the man assertively approached Emily, she appeared to be about to cry. After letting go of Samantha's hand, Emily gazed at her with teared-up eyes and mouthed, "Run," when the man grabbed her hair, dragged her onto the kitchen area, and slapped her repeatedly while she screamed in agony.
"Eh?" Samantha thought, "Why is he hurting my friend?" the smile on her face seemed to vanish as if this had become a serious case, "Aren't they a family?" she was left stunned with her face confused as to the matter, "Who is he?"
Seeing her buddy repeatedly tormented; getting slapped in the cheeks as if the man's hands were a wooden paddle that wouldn't break from hitting her, kicking her stomach with heavy smashes, grasping her hair incessantly with his crimson palm from slapping her face, all made her heart throb faster and boisterous. Samantha felt compelled to act in some way for her friend. She had no clue what to do in situations like these, so she hastily rushed into their kitchen, hoping to locate something sharp without the man noticing her, and her hand randomly chose a knife out of spite.
Up to the present time, while staring near at the car window, Samantha still couldn't forget how she etched a nice trim scrape on that absurd man's face. She spaced out for a second in there and when Rowan turned behind, the knife cut his face and it bled just a few. It was a tiny scratch but at least she got to wound him before he had completely killed Emily.
With the hefty cash on her palm, she had no time to think deeply about it at the moment, but she had thought for Emily only. She felt like a little sister to her, and she wanted to protect and remain with her... forever.
"Just drop me here," she said out of a sudden, without thinking. But in less than a second, she was left astounded when Travis simply ceased driving the vehicle as per her request.
Tires screeching, Samantha couldn't help but think, "Did he know I was going to say that?" since Travis halted instantly in no time.
"Alright," Travis grinned.
But either way, she furiously opened the door and hastily stepped out of the car without closing it. Kenneth, upon seeing her blatantly showing her disrespectful attitude, just met his eyebrows as if frowned, pondering, "What's the problem of that idiot?"
Samantha had already trodden away, pretty far distance from them. Though Travis breathe out the last words he wanted to say before they were going to proceed. He waved his hands, "Bye, my dear Samantha!"
And though she answered, "Yeah, yeah," without turning her head to take a look at them.
The car, although it was left open by her, Travis pushed a certain button with his right thumb at the steering wheel area, and the door closed extremely smoothly. Kenneth observed it and his jaw dropped open from mesmerized. He had never imagined such a vehicle existed. This automobile is a beauty, so spectacular, brilliant, amazing, just as he anticipated. But, in any case, he was still enraged with Travis since he was Kenneth had presumed the reason he didn't collect his money from his clients.
Travis had noticed her female student ambled away with no issues so far. He had already known for too long that this street had fewer crime rates so he came to gaze back on the steering wheel, gripped it tightly, and told Kenneth, "Let's go?" before he began to advance. But even if the location had lower crime rates, he would never let his guard down as there's a possibility Samantha might pertain in trouble sooner or later, and Travis would be aware of it as well.
There were numerous residences in the neighborhood since it was in the suburbs on the outskirts of town. Even in the middle of the day, it's incredibly peaceful and spacious as this area was also known as a peaceful town since a lot of police officers lived in this place.
During the day, this place may be rather congested, but it could also be incredibly nimble because of how people work very hard. Samantha's residence was close to a little post office where it's little, yet it could handle any deliveries. Their neighborhood also included a lot of small stores, which were as well easier to get everything the residents wanted.
Samantha, on her way to her home with the money in her hands, also questioned how did Travis know her address. But the same as what Emily had assumed, maybe it was specified in her portfolio, which could be possibly seen by him.
The same with Emily, she didn't bring any belongings with her. The only thing she brought with her was her black purse, which complemented every outfit she wore: her black sparkling sleeveless dress, her black heels, and her black-themed outlined cosmetics. She's a half-African, so she's black of course, and she was proud and confident of it. So instead of shaming herself for being an African, she'd give no care about others disgracing and discriminating against her for being black. She'd even feel pleased every time she heard someone slandering and backstabbing her because, in that way, she'd know a lot of people in this world truly were just jealous of her black beauty.
Carrying the huge cash in her hands, she'd simply passed by the post office near their house and urged to surrender the money by telling it was just a 'lost and found" object as she was confused about how she should use it. But no matter how deeply she had supposed, no reason came up to her mind about why she should go to the address placed at the top of the cash. "And even if I will have to use this money to go to this goddamn address, HE would still come and find me no matter how hard I'd try to hide." She clenched her fists and scowled as her head got preoccupied with the person whom she hated the most— her father.
Taking a halt at the post office area, she took a deep breath first before taking a step forward as she prepared herself to have the money be reported as a lost-and-found thing to the office. The office was nevertheless open even at this hour at midnight in case of a sudden emergency. Although it was a post office, a public department responsible for mail services, this postal office in front of her had also allowed lost-and-found objects to be passed by them to make notice regarding the missing things.
There was a lady upon entering the office. She was a mid-aged woman sitting at her table alone while stamping certain documents regarding the mails by using the round-red stamps. The office was air-conditioned and the light was average in one's eyes, not too hurtful in eyesight and not too shaded as well. And the office, a glass shrouded the entire width within it, together with a little hole at the bottom center for talking, as if the facade of every customer and worker every time they had to communicate.
It was already late at night and yet the lady was here working diligently. Not to mention, the lady seemed not to notice Samantha standing inside the entrance office. How long had she been working on this day? She looked so tired and wanted to take a rest.
Staring at the mid-aged lady, Samantha shook her head to forget worrying about people since she had to worry about herself as well. She fought so hard not to be lured by the money as she knew that being hungry for money would make a person greedy. But before she went after the lady, she took a glimpse at the money as if bidding farewell to it.
While deeply staring at the thick cash, she noticed a small yellow paper almost coming out from being inserted between the flows of it. She had thought it was just a candy wrapper being stuck out of nowhere but when she grabbed the yellow piece, she realized it was a note.
It was a note of what she should do upon arriving home, or else tomorrow afternoon. She had no intention to believe what the message had said but it was really for her. There was her name on it and the name of the one who wrote the message, which was Travis himself. "The fuck?" Her eyes widened after seconds of reading it. There was something in the message that triggered her nerves.
She suddenly forgot about giving the money to the post office and dashed towards her house, despite the fact that she was wearing high heels. The lady didn't notice her but that's a good thing as well to keep her away from being distracted from her work.
Moments later when she finally arrived at her home, she hastily opened the door and noticed their house being surrounded by absolutely vicious darkness. Out of instinct and disconcerted, she put her fingers at the wall to feel the light switch to turn it on right away. Her face was all worried, she kept halting, and she had no idea what to do next after the lights had already turned on.
"Humph! Hmmmppf!" A voice she heard.
Samantha took no moment to just stand and do nothing, but as her heart kept beating faster, she anyhow pushed herself right away and followed the source of that voice no matter how her feet felt pain from the heels. She had no time to take them off since she had discerned this was an urgent matter.
Upon arriving at the kitchen area, there was no light or sense of lightness along the area so she quickly turned on the switch which was on the wall as well. As the light lit everything in the place, Samantha broke down with tears and screamed all out as she saw someone lifelessly sitting on the floor. The hands of this person were tied up with handcuffs and they were hanged and connected at the sink. There Samantha could see every bruise and wound the person had obtained in her body.
It was her mother.
"Mama." She recognized it was her mother.
When she had found no keys elsewhere, Samantha had planned to cut her mother's shackles, but she couldn't think of anything else she could use to free her mother. She had, nevertheless, got a keen thought. "Something sharp... I should get something sharp." She was shaking. The memories of her when she was fifteen recalled in her mind "A knife." But when she reached for a knife from their kitchen, the knife they had had been already gone. It was nowhere to be found.
"H-Hawhh h-hul?" (How's school?) Her mother's mouth was shut with a cloth wrapped around it and that was why she couldn't speak that clearly. She's as well full of sweat and tears streaming around her face. But despite being in a critical state, she still managed to ask her daughter about school. That's how she's so concerned about her daughter, not about herself.
"Mama." Samantha cried after hearing her mother's voice. Thinking her mother was so selfless, she wiped her mother's wet face with her palm. Her mother huffed so hard as if her life depended on breathing air, and she totally appeared so lifeless and hopeless. With that in mind, she also tried not to burst out of tears in front of her daughter. She might feel embarrassed.
"Let's get out of here, Mama!" Finding some sharp objects to help her mother be freed, Samantha clattered everything in their kitchen to the point she made massive sounds.
But then, she stopped what she had been doing after hearing footsteps coming toward the kitchen area. "Oh? You're here, my daughter, Samantha?"
A man in his 30s arrived, dressed in navy-blue jackets and blue tactical pants, with the name Sam Dale Carungay prominently printed on his name tag. He's a cop and Samantha's father, whom she despises the most. She had no clue this man would return home unnoticed. But it was that note that rescued her... Travis's note saved her mother's life. If she hadn't realized it sooner, this man would have annihilated her mother and left her cold body on the floor. How beastly, uncouth, earthy, and wicked.
Her father would seldom return home because he was the chief of police in their community. He'd head home once a month or once every two months since he had a duty to fulfill to other cities as well as being a member of the country's chief police officers' council. But if this man would have to come home by any chance, he would be nothing less of a monster. He's nothing more than the devil. He's not even close to being a cop. He is far from it.
"Hmmphfh, Hnggnpfh!" Samantha's mother was terrified, and she couldn't stop crying. She had lately declared that she would never cry in front of her daughter, but seeing Dale, her ex-husband, right now made her feel uncomfortable. He's an abusive person she'd wished she hadn't met.
"I was out, trying to find you because you're late again. And yet you're just here, playing with your mother."
Samantha wept and was unable to talk while wrapping her mother in her arms. She was determined to murder this man. But there was an issue... She is black, as is her mother, and they are both women. His father had always been their adversary; he's a male, white, and a police officer.
Because of how unjust the system is, society would rather punish her and her mother than his father. That had always been the case. The society in which black people do not matter, and women do not matter. How long could they stand it?
"Why don't you join your mother, hmm?" Playing the knife (which Samantha had been looking for) in his hand, Dale managed to scoff, crossing his arms, "The fun's just about to begin, my sweet wife and daughter."