That night, Orena returned home with a heart full of anger, having been deceived about the boxes of money and gold she had painstakingly moved from Merilton's basement to their new house. The boxes that filled the three-ton lorry contained only bricks and paper.
However, upon entering the house, her anger turned to suspicion when she saw her basement door wide open. Her heart raced. She immediately ran towards the basement and switched on the light. Her eyes scanned the surroundings wildly. All that remained was an old mattress and empty space.
"Meisha!" Orena shouted, her voice echoing throughout the room. There was no response. She approached the small kitchen window, which was also wide open, indicating that someone had exited through it. The burlap sack the child wore lay on the floor. Its stench assaulted Orena's nose. She nudged the sack with a broom and tossed it out the window.
"Impossible! Meisha has escaped!" she screamed, her anger blazing.
In haste, Orena grabbed her mobile phone and called one of her henchmen, Tajul. "Tajul! The child is missing! Find her now! Search every alley, drain, road, corner of the city, orphanage, police station, and hospital. Don't leave any place unchecked! I want her found tonight!"
"Yes, ma'am. We'll move immediately," Tajul replied firmly before the line disconnected.
Orena sighed deeply, clutching her mobile phone tightly. Her face flushed with suppressed rage. She then called Merilton to inform him of Meisha's disappearance.
"Merilton, Meisha is missing! She has escaped from the basement," Orena said loudly.
"What?! How could that happen? Wasn't the door always locked?" Merilton asked, shocked.
"Somehow, the door was open. She might have exited through the kitchen window. I want her found immediately! If not..." Orena didn't finish her sentence, but the threat in her voice was clear.
Merilton was silent for a moment before responding, "I'll make sure she's found. Don't worry, I'm going now."
After ending the call, Orena went up to her room to calm herself, but what she found made her blood boil. Her wardrobe was in disarray. Drawers that should have been locked were open, and the valuables inside were gone. Even her bedroom window was deliberately left wide open, allowing birds to enter and defecate everywhere.
"Impossible!" Orena shouted as she checked her belongings one by one. Shopping bags she had never opened also appeared empty. Family heirloom jewellery inherited from her ancestors was also missing. Meanwhile, Orena didn't notice the loss of her health treatment documents from when she was pregnant with Meisha because she had never cared about them. She had simply brought all her belongings when moving to that house without checking their contents first.
She stomped her foot on the floor forcefully, screaming in full fury. "Meisha! That useless child! How dare she steal my things! I won't let you go!"
"She had planned everything! That little girl is more cunning than I thought," Orena muttered angrily. She slammed the wardrobe door harshly.
She began formulating a plan in her mind. "I'll make sure you don't live long. If I find her, I'll kill her with my own hands." Orena's eyes blazed with anger.
Meanwhile, Tajul and his team had begun their search. They combed narrow alleys and areas that might serve as hiding places for a five-year-old child. However, as the night wore on, there was still no sign of Meisha. Tajul called Orena to report.
"Ma'am, we haven't found anything yet. Do you have any other clues about where she might have gone?"
"I don't know! She might be hiding in a drain. Continue the search. Don't contact me until you find her!" Orena snapped before ending the call.
As Orena pondered in her messy bedroom, her thoughts drifted to Marlina. She remembered Marlina, who lived next door to her. Her expression turned sinister.
"Is Marlina still alive?" she spoke to herself. She knew Marlina had long disappeared, and Merilton had told all their neighbours that Marlina had gone to her parents' house. Orena smiled meaningfully.
Orena couldn't sleep that night. She paced back and forth in the living room, planning her next steps. Her burning anger made her determined to do whatever it took to find Meisha.
Orena recalled her story from five years ago, when she and Merilton continued their affair even though Merilton had married a girl chosen by his mother.
"Merilton, darling, promise me you won't sleep with that woman."
"I know, Orena. I don't look at her at all, let alone touch her."
"How could your mother force you to marry that woman? When I'm superior in every way. I'm a law school graduate, attractive, and wealthy."
"I don't understand either, Orena. In fact, as soon as we got married, my mother gifted that woman with property and family ownership documents that had been transferred to her name."
"You need to find out why your mother did that. Isn't that cruel? You do all the work, manage all the businesses and properties, and suddenly the ownership is transferred to that woman?"
"Mother said everything had been arranged by my grandfather and ancestors. I don't know."
Merilton and Orena continued their love affair, even living together like husband and wife without arousing suspicion from their families or the local community. In fact, Orena and Merilton's houses were always adjacent no matter where they moved.
Meanwhile, Orena, upon discovering she was pregnant with their illegitimate child, allowed her pregnancy to progress and chose to give birth to the baby.
Orena was momentarily dazed, remembering herself raising the baby.
She often let her baby cry for hours in the storeroom and only fed her milk occasionally. Miraculously, the baby lived until the age of five. At three years old, Orena began confining her in a cat cage because the child, whom she called Meisha, started walking and grabbing things, causing the house to be messy.
After that, she threw Meisha into the dark basement, supplying her with dry biscuits and letting her drink tap water. She even only provided a burlap sack for her child to wear.
Until the child managed to escape...
I want that child back, she said to herself. However, Orena remembered something. She had never taken a picture of the child's face, nor had she ever closely observed her features, wondering whom she resembled. Orena's mind went blank for a moment.