Chapter 31

It's been a few days since Rita had begun living with the Brabra's. A few days of grief, a few days of pain and sadness. To make matters worse for her, she couldn't get ahold of Rodrigo. His line wasn't going through and even when she asked around in the office, nobody seemed to have seen him. Rita was confused on what to do. It wasn't like Rodrigo not to take his calls especially if he knew she was the one calling.

Rita tried all she could to get him but each time she tried, she was met with no response. She was currently in her office, going over some files when Yasmin announced that a lady was here to see her. Rita wasn't expecting any visitors and so, she was quite surprised by this. Recently, she had been wary of visitors for fear of them attacking her since she seemed to be their best bet.

"How does she look and please, whisper", Rita said.

"Not quite old, she has some greying hair at the side", Yasmin whispered.

Rita didn't know her and she was just about to instruct Yasmin to send her back when something stopped her. It wasn't in her to refuse requests to see people. If this woman could come all the way to the Anderson tower to see her then it must be something important.

"Please send her in", Rita said.

"Are you sure ma'am, I could just tell her you're busy", Yasmin said.

"Don't worry about it, I got this".

"Okay, she'll be with you soon".

"Thank you".

Rita prepared herself for the woman's visit. She didn't know what to expect and simply hoped that she wasn't a killer or worse one of those people that stopped in offices to beg for alms.

There was a light knock on the door and Rita instructed the woman to come in. When Rita saw the woman, her heart was at rest because for one, she didn't look like an assassin and secondly, she didn't appear poor. As a matter of fact, Rita quickly valued the woman's gown to be one of those middle class dresses.

"Good day ma'am", Rita said, rising to her feet.

The woman walked closer with a small limp. Upon closer look, Rita discovered that the woman was a beauty. Her once blonde hair which was now white shone under the powerful chandelier, she had a porcelain face, one that Rita knew might have graced the cover of a magazine. And when the woman smiled as she shook Rita's hands, she saw a dimple.

"Good day Miss Anderson", the woman said with a slight accent.

"Please sit down. I don't believe we've met", Rita said.

"No, we haven't. I'm Camille, Rodrigo's mother".

Rita stilled, staring at the woman. Now, everything made sense. She knew how Rodrigo got his handsomeness. If this woman was a male, she'll be the envy of every woman in this city. The fine shoes and dresses made sense a lot since Rodrigo was in the habit of taking care of his mother through all the money he made working as her chaffeur and personal guard.

"I knew you'd be surprised. My name is Camille Campbell, mother of Rodrigo Campbell. I'm sorry for barging into your office this way", she said, quietly.

"No..no, I mean it's fine. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you earlier. This is such a pleasant surprise", Rita said.

She was beyond surprised. Here she was, sitting with the woman who bathed Rodrigo, took care of him during infancy and even up till now. She was beyond honored sitting with the woman who birthed the man she loved.

"How are you doing Miss?", she asked.

"I'm... Just okay, please call me Rita. Rita is fine please", she said.

"Okay. I don't know how this sounds but I came in respect of my boy... Rodrigo. I can't seem to know where he is. His lines aren't going through and even when I asked some of his friends, they don't seem to know where he is. This got me worried and I decided to come see you", Camille said, sadly.

This broke Rita's heart. With the way her health was shaky, she shouldn't be made to pass through all this. She didn't know how to inform her that she hadn't spoken to her son for over a week now. This was getting worse by the day and Rita needed to find him quick. The problem was she didn't know where to start from. He might not even be in the country for all she knew which made it worse.

"Ma'am, I'll just say this as plain as possible. I don't know where your son is. I've been trying to get ahold of him for over a week now but I can't. To be honest, I really don't know what to do", Rita said.

"My son would never behave this way. Something must be wrong somewhere, please when last did you see him".

"About two weeks ago when he came over to my house after my... Accident", she said.

"Dio Mio! That's too long, what is happening", Camille croaked.

Rita could see that the woman was moved to tears. She quickly walked over to her side, handing her a tissue. She comforted her as best as she could, vowing to find Rodrigo at all cost. She couldn't stand to watch the woman in pain knowing what she was going through.

"Please, stop crying. Rodrigo wouldn't want to see you like this, we need to put heads together to find your son".

"First it was Sophia, now it's my son, Rodrigo. Oh Lord, would I be a childless widow before I die" she sobbed.

Rita fought to keep the tears at bay. She couldn't cry knowing fully well that it wouldn't solve anything. Her best bet was to find ways she could find Rodrigo and she wouldn't hesitate to use every available resources within her hands.

Camille stopped crying soon, dabbing her eyes with the tissue Rita handed her. When she certified that she wouldn't cry again, Rita went back to her seat.

"He always talked about you. Everyday, he talks about how pretty and caring you are", Camille smiled.

Rita blushed at this. She didn't know that Rodrigo talked fondly about her to his mother, she was secretly glad that their relationship didn't just end within the four walls of the office.

"I know that the two of you are in love. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me", she smiled.

Rita was beyond relieved after hearing this. She had been thinking of ways she could break this to the woman and here she was telling her not to worry about it.

"Thank you ma'am, that means a lot", Rita smiled.

"Please, call me Camille" she said.

"Okay. Camille, we need to find ways we can employ to find Rodrigo. Just like you said, I don't think Rodrigo would willingly leave us blank knowing what he means to us", Rita said.

"You're right. The last time I saw him which was the day you said, he appeared normal. The last time I saw him was when he said he'll be going to the mini Mart to get some groceries. When he didn't return, I panicked but I decided to remain quiet being that he's a man and maybe needed some time to think but it's over a week now and still no sign of him", Camille said.

"I think the first place we should start looking is from the Mart. It's a good thing tomorrow is a Saturday. Would you be strong enough to accompany me?", Rita asked.

Already, a plan was already taking shape in her head and if all goes well, Rodrigo would be back in no time.

"Yes, it's for my son", she said.

There was a grim determination in her eyes and Rita heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that she wouldn't have any problems with the woman.

"Okay but if you don't feel up to it, you can always stay back. I love your son too much to risk your life", Rita said.

"Don't worry about it. I know that you love him and I can't wait for everything to work out well", she smiled.

"Thank you. You don't know what this means to me, I'll find your son even if it's the last thing I do", Rita vowed.

"Thank you. You know, when his sister died, Rodrigo was a shadow of himself. I watched him go on for days without food and the only time he ate was when I threatened to disown him", she chuckled.

"He told me all about it. I'm sorry for your loss".

"It's been a long time. Sometimes, I hardly remember it. I've come to learn one thing about him, when he loves, he loves wholeheartedly", she said.

"He talked about it and you and I can say that Rodrigo has a heart of gold. Please, if I'm not prying, what happened to his father", Rita said.

Camille remained quiet for a long time. Rita could see the wheels in her head spinning as she tried to form a sentence.

"Rodrigo's father didn't die as you've been made to know"

Rita sat up upon hearing this news. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, all her days with Rodrigo, she's been made to believe that his father died. Hearing this from her had her feeling confused.

"You mean, his father is alive!", Rita stuttered.

"Yes... Somewhere", she said vaguely.

"I don't understand", Rita said with a confused expression on her face.

"In due time, everything would be revealed. Please, don't inform Rodrigo about this. I never told him that his father isn't dead. If I did, I'm sure he'll go looking for him. He's always been so inquisitive. Let this just be between us please", she said, dabbing a rouge tear from her eyes.

"Your secret is safe with me Camille. Even though I don't know the reason behind keeping it from him, I trust you", Rita said.

"Thank you. I knew I could count on you. What time do we go to the Mart tomorrow?", she asked.

"Okay, just write down your address. I'll come pick you up", Rita said.

Camille nodded, scribbling her address on a piece of paper Rita handed her. She rose to ger feet, ready to leave. Rita felt sad at this. She had come to love and respect the woman and she renewed her commitment in finding her son.

"I forgot to thank you for saving my life by including me into your health care system. Through this, I've been able to get on my feet", she smiled.

"You've thanked me enough Camille, please it's okay", Rita said.

She escorted her towards the door, promising and reassuring her that Rodrigo would be found. She was a bit happy knowing that she had found a friend in her.

"Would ten a.m be okay tomorrow?", Rita asked.

"Yes, I'll be ready. Thank you Rita, see you tomorrow", she said before leaving the office.

Rita sighed as she went back to her seat. She had a lot of work to do as regards finding Rodrigo and if she was to succeed, she needed to begin early. Delay was dangerous especially since she didn't know where he could be.

Rita picked up her phone, deciding to call someone whom she knew could give her answers regarding Rodrigo's disappearance. He was her secret agent, one person she knew could give an answer to her never ending questions.

"Francis, I need your help", Rita said as soon as he picked the call.

"What can I do for the beauty queen", he chuckled.

"Cut it out, I'm not in the mood for that. I need you to find someone for me", she said.

"Okay, send me the details", he said.

"I will text it to you as soon as I get off the phone. Please, I need you to find this person fast. He's someone dear to my heart", Rita said.

"I won't fail you ma'am, give me a week and I'll find the answers you need", he said.

"Good, I knew I could count on you. The ball is in your court, don't fail me", Rita said before cutting the call.