8 The Peasant Family (2)

Back in the farmer's cottage, something sinister was going on.

When Dawn was on her way to the bathroom, she observed that their breakfast was spread on the round table in the corner of the room. She marveled the hospitality and kindness of the farmer couple. Dawn quickly took a bath and entered the room when she heard loud voices of a TV anchor, which she couldn't make out the words. She picked up an apple to munch and went to Cole to wake him up. Once Cole was in the bathroom, Dawn sat by the small table to have her breakfast. She noticed that the water in the pitcher was almost empty, so she got up to open the door. However, to her shock, the door wouldn't open. She pulled the level a number of times up and down, but it was as if it was locked.

Suddenly, she heard the couple talking.

"Are you mad? Keep them locked," said the woman loudly.

"They must want something; that's why they are trying to open the door," the man's voice followed.

"I will turn them over to their family," the woman replied sharply. "There is a huge reward on them. Don't make things go awry because of any stupidity."

"I know, but that also means that they are the children of Luke Wyatt. We might be implicated if they are harmed," the man said with a hoarse voice.

"No harm will come to them. Just don't open the door until those people come here. I have already called them, and they are on their way. They said they would reach here within an hour."

"Okay," came the man's droopy declaration to his wife's orders.

Dawn's body trembled. The apple that she was happily munching, slipped out of her hand. She covered her mouth with her palm. In a disbelieving tone she exclaimed, "Shit!" She pressed her palm to her mouth. The family that had taken her kindly yesterday had betrayed them. She was running away from her captors, and now she was being handed over to them. Dawn leaned against the door as her mind raced to better cope up with the situation. Tears welled up in her eyes. She shook her head and rubbed her chest as if trying to dilute her fears. She slid down the wooden door and slumped on the floor.

Cole came out of the bathroom and saw his sister. He ran to her. "Dawn, what happened?"

Dawn looked up at Cole. She had tears in her eyes. She had got out of one situation and walked into another one. Were her stars aligned that badly? "Cole, they are planning on selling us to our captors," she said with quivering lips.

Cole gazed at his sister with eyes wide open. He asked innocently, "What do we do now Dawn?"

Dawn bit her lip. Her mind raced as to what could she do to get out of the situation.

Suddenly, a voice boomed from the room outside, "Why don't we increase our demand?" said the man.

"What do you mean?" asked the farmer's wife.

"Kiki, how about we ask for another twenty-five thousand dollars from these people," he said,struck by this idea. "With that extra money, even our son's debts would be covered, and we will live the rest of our lives in comfort."

"Are you crazy? Why will they give a single penny extra? Let's just take whatever they are offering and release these kids. Who the hell wants to get involved after all this is over?"

Hearing this, Dawn came up with her idea almost instantly. She wiped her tears, stood on the door and banged it.

"Stay quiet girl!" Kiki yelled at her. She was getting too nervous.

Dawn immediately responded, "I have a plan of extracting five million extra from the captors."

The voices on the outside halted.

Dawn knew that the farmer couple had taken the bait.

After a moment's pause, she heard the click on the door. When the door opened, she saw the farmer with a gun pointing at her, followed by his wife. Dawn panicked and her palms began to sweat. Her throat became dry.

"What is the plan?" asked Kiki.

Dawn knew that for Helena, money wasn't an issue. So, she would give as much as the farmer couple wanted, only if she could get her hands on the children.

Cole ran to hide behind his sister. Dawn stepped back a little and explained, "It's simple. But before I tell my plan, you have to promise that you will do exactly what I say."

"And why should we believe you?" said Kiki standing behind her husband.

"Because it is my family that wants me, so they will give you all the money you want. Not only you and your son, your generations would live comfortably," Dawn threw her first card. She knew that these people were too poor. So, she empathized with their cause. What she didn't tell them was that her family was seeking to kill them.

There was silence in the room. "Tell us the plan," said the farmer. "If we think it's okay, we will comply with you."

"Let me place a call to the captors. I will negotiate with them, and we can extract an extra five million." She threw her second card. After that, she went and sat on the edge of the bed with her hands leaning back to support her. Cole sat right behind her.

"What are you doing, Sister?" he tugged her sleeve. He was confused. Why would she call their family?

She ignored Cole and tilted her head, "So, what do you say?"

"Why are you even running away from your family?" asked Kiki with narrowed eyes.

Dawn smiled and cooked up a story. She said that her family didn't allow her to go on a vacation with her friends, so she ran away to experience the vacation. She smiled and shrugged showing the rich, bratty behavior that the couple probably expected.

Kiki shook her head and said, "These rich kids." Then, she went outside and brought her mobile. She started to dial the number but suddenly someone knocked at the door. She was startled. Her eyes became wide with fear that the neighbors might have come to know about who they were hiding in their house.

In a hurry to ward off the neighbors, Kiki found the contact that she had saved as "Wyatts" and tossed the phone to Dawn. She said, "Here, call them." She started walking to the door, but after four steps she stopped. Kiki turned to warn her, "Don't you dare to call anyone else, or I am going to tie your hands and legs."

Dawn shook her head. "Why would I do that when we can get so much money?"

Kiki narrowed her eyes at her. Dawn looked confident of the plan. She left to check the front door. Her husband accompanied her with his gun.

Dawn dialed a number with a wide grin.

The farmers committed a great mistake.

Dawn called her father's long time friend, Alvarez, who was the police chief of his area. "Uncle, good morning!"

Alvarez was shocked to hear Dawn's voice. "Dawn, where are you? We are panicking here."