67. Angela Missing

I haven't seen Angela or Lira since that day at the restaurant, apparently, she's been away on "business", as Walter would put it. So imagine my surprise when one Friday evening I got a call from a distressed Lira asking if I had seen or heard from Angela, "Thandie, I think it's Khalinda -no, I am sure it's Khalinda, she took her. She took her, I-am -I", 

I tried to remain as calm as I could because it wouldn't help if we both suddenly freaked out. "Maybe she is with Walter-", I suggested calmly but Lira was not having any of that, "No...I am at her apartment, her car is in the driveway and she left her favorite necklace on the dresser, she doesn't go anywhere without it. I am telling you Thandie. She has her!".

Seeing that there was no progress in reasoning with her over the phone, I instantly asked her to send a location, in 45 minutes, I arrived and Lira threw her arms around me, "Thank you for coming.", she pulled me in and began frantically showing me things Angela wouldn't leave the house without, and without a doubt, it did look like she was taken. I suggested we call Walter, if anyone could help us locate her, it would be him but Lira attested to the idea, "He doesn't know me and Angela wouldn't be happy if she found out I contacted him. Thandie, what am I going to do? I already called the police but I was told to wait for 24 hours. We were supposed to be going for a weekend getaway to Mountain Villa". Mountain Villa is one of the most prestigious getaway places tucked away in the mountains, as the name would suggest. The place is best known for its discretion and privacy, hence it made sense why Angela and Lira were going there, even powerful people went there to partake in their wild and obscene business.

My heart broke for Lira, I sighed and hugged her, trying to assure her that Angela was safe. However, we needed a plan at least to confirm that Khalinda was indeed the culprit, and so Rachel's name popped into my head, "Lira, why don't we call Rachel and first confirm that Khalinda is no longer at the hospital", 

She lifted her face full of tears and nodded, but I didn't have Rachel's number, and there was only one person I could think of who might be of help, but Lira refused to have me call him no matter what. She didn't want us to raise his alarms, and suddenly calling and enquiring about Rachel would definitely trigger him. Lira began scouring her chats and calling people and in 15 minutes, we had Rachel's numbers. I called her, and she picked up sounding faint, as if she was asleep, "Rachel, is me, Thandie Lohan".

She immediately cleared her throat and became fully awake, "Just a moment babe", she mumbled, before addressing me, "Thandie, wow, how can I help you?"

"Uhm, sorry to disturb your night, but is there a way for you to confirm that your sister is still at the clinic?", she stayed quiet for a long second then replied, "Yeah, I have the number of two of the people working there, what is this about? Why are you asking?",

Without wasting time, I asked that she confirm for me, it took a lot of convincing and it was hard to do it without slipping Angela's name, but she caved and hung up, and within a few minutes she called back, I had her on loud speaker, "So, it seems she checked out yesterday, and apparently I am the one who signed her out", I could hear fear emanating from her voice, "Thandie, did something happen to Angela?"

Lira and I were surprised by her question, but our long silence gave her the answer she needed, she requested our location and we sent it to her, within an hour she was standing in front of us, but she was not alone, she was with Walter.

Lira glared at me thinking I was the one who called him, but Walter replied, "She didn't, Rachel did. After all, I am still her legal spouse, wouldn't you agree?", his words were like a knife to Lira's heart, I saw pain flickering in her eyes and I instantly gave him a dirty look, instead he grabbed my hand and led me to the bedroom. 

With a low, hoarse voice he whispered, "Why didn't you tell me that Angela was missing?"

I sighed, "I was honoring Lira's wishes."

Walter paced to the other end of the room, "Those two really thought I didn't know about them huh?", I lowered my head avoiding eye contact, he sighed as he sat on the bed, "If anything happens to her Thandie, I will never forgive myself."

His eyes darkened with guilt, and I marched up to squat in front of him to comfort him, but it wasn't working, he blamed himself for bringing Khalinda into his life, and he cursed the day he met her.

Suddenly, we heard Lira's screams from the dining room and rushed over, I will never forget the fear in Rachel's eyes. Lira was on the floor weeping, "She has her Thandie! She really does! and she's bleeding. My baby's covered in blood.",

Walter's knees gave in and he crumbled to the floor, he kept repeating, "It's all my fault, I did this. It's my fault", like a broken record with nothing but guilt and regret, 

I snatched the phone from Rachel's hand, and she also helplessly fell on the couch and began crying and apologizing nonstop, "I am sorry...I am so sorry,"

To say what I saw on the phone horrified me would be an underestimate.