8. A Help from Mr. Bellamy.

Ida drowned herself in the laptop that Mr. Bernard gave her along with the files she'd been arranging for two weeks. She didn't realise sleep had embraced her until she woke up from a nightmare again.

She was panting hard, still hearing the yelling, still feeling the heat of the fire, still smelling the singed ends of her hair. She curled up on the bed, arms wrapped around her head, rocking back and forth till the images faded away.

Ida stumbled into the bathroom and washed her face of the sweat and tears. She pressed the soft towel to her fast, her swollen, irritated skin welcoming the gentle caress of wool.

She looked at the clock and saw that it was 1 am. Attempts were made to fall asleep again for a few more hours but she only tossed and turned in her bed and she didn't get a wink of sleep after that.

She kept staring at the ceiling blankly for what felt like hours. At last she sighed, getting up from the bed. Looking around dazily, she grabbed a bag. She took out all the clothes she owned, a few simple outfits the foster care had provided, and started packing them along with her gadgets and files.

Her phone buzzed with the alarm she set for 3am before she dozed off, and she swiped at the screen until it went silent. She watched the alarm icon fade to black, the phone as lifeless as she felt.

Urging herself to move, she took out a pen and her notebook to write a letter for Laura and Mr. Bernard.

"I am sorry, Laura and Mr. Bernard, for leaving you guys without letting you know in person. I can't thank you both enough from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for helping me throughout the past 2 weeks. I will be forever grateful for both of you for the rest of my life. But, I hope to move on by myself now. So, please…don't try to find out about me and let me go... Love, Ida."

Ida placed the note into an envelope she'd found in the kitchen cabinets and took a deep breath. She grabbed her bag and slowly opened her room door. She peeked out to see if there was anyone and slowly crept out of her room, the door closing behind her with a small click.

She walked towards Laura's room and her adorable snores were audible when she pressed close to the door. Thank you, Laura." she murmured, though she knew she couldn't hear her. "I will always be grateful for your kindness towards me."

Soundlessly, she slipped into the large living room, the brightly coloured paintings on the wall, the worn board game boxes, all beckoning at her with mournful goodbyes.

This foster care was maybe 5 times as small as her mansion but it had tried to give her the love that she needed and she would always remember this foster care that had been her home for the past 2 weeks.

She placed the envelope on the coffee table and took one last look before she slid quickly out the main door and walked outside as fast as she could without alerting any light sleeper.

As soon as she'd put a considerable distance between her and the foster care, she slowed her steps, panting.

Her knuckles had turned white from holding the almost broken chain that Alden gifted her to remind herself of the revenge she needed to take on him. The streets were completely deserted, not a single vehicle in sight. Yet she felt a sense of calm and determination as she walked, watching street signs for the address she'd already engraved into her brain.

Her motive to take revenge on Alden kept her walking until she reached a big mansion in a calm, seemingly expensive area. Mr. Bellamy's mansion.

It had been difficult for her to find the exact address, since the mafia was extremely discreet, but nothing was ever not on the Internet. Even if it was just fragments.

It was 5 o'clock when she reached there and she stood in front of the big gates of the mansion, which looked painfully like her own. Guards lined the giant gates and they watched her with eaglelike eyes. She could feel their gaze on her, searching her, scanning her for weapons. They needn't worry, she laughed to herself. She seeked the suffering of one man and one man only.

As she looked around, a few guards looked at her weirdly, and one of them approached her.

"Who are you? What do you want?" One of the guards asked her, face blank. But she saw a glint of irritation in his eyes. He was probably wondering what a pale faced girl with fumbling legs could want at this hour. He was probably resenting her, hating his shift and wanting her to go away so the hours could pass smoothly and he could go home to his family.

"I want to meet with Mr. Bellamy." Ida answered with a straight face and the guard laughed out loud and the other guards joined him.

Of course she knew that they wouldn't let her in so easily. It was impossible, considering Mr Bellamy's status.

"Little girl, go home. It is impossible to meet with Mr. Bellamy unless you have an appointment. Do you? I expect that you don't." The guard taunted, raising his brows. Ida shook her head and he chuckled. "Then, leave and go home. This is not a place for playful girls like you." The guard said.

"I don't have a home!" Ida replied, her face falling intentionally. Even so, her voice cracked, reminded that it was painfully true.

"What? Are you mad? What do you mean you don't have a home? You don't look homeless to me! Don't talk nonsense. Leave before we are forced to remove you from this property unkindly.." The guard said harshly. She understood though. He was just doing his job.

Ida gulped down her anger, smiling despite the uncertainty she felt. If she showed a mere inch of fear he'd pounce on it and talk her down even more. She wanted to yell out loud at him but she regained her posture and spoke firmly to him. "I am not leaving from here until I meet with Mr. Bellamy!"

"You're not gonna listen to me, are you?" The guard yelled, stepping close all of a sudden and shoving her so hard she tripped and fell.

Ida pressed her lips together, wincing as she examined the large gash on her leg.

"Leave. Don't make this difficult for yourself and us." Before the guard could say more she got to her feet.

"I told you, I am not leaving from here until I meet with Mr. Bellamy. It doesn't matter even if it takes hours, Days… or months. I am meeting him and that's all!" Ida yelled at him trying to push away the guard but he didn't budge.

She stepped away from him and turned around, disappearing around the row of trees, pretending to have given up. But she circled the mansion as closely as she could without catching the attention of the guards, trying to see if she could find a way to get over the wall. But it was bricked high above the trees, razor sharp bared wire lining the top.

When she stepped back into view at the front gates again the guard she had spoken to glared at her. She rolled her eyes and sat on the pavement opposite the mansion. The guards had their eyes glued to her.

Groaning to herself internally, she decided to wait until Mr. Bellamy came out of the mansion. As she thought her day couldn't get worse, it suddenly started raining though the sun was now shining brightly above her. She sneezed as rain soaked into her clothing, making her curse the horrible timing of the weather but she was determined to meet Mr. Bellamy. Thank god she had a waterproof bag so her digital belongings were safe from the now pouring rain.

She sat a safe distance from a tree, hugging her arms to herself, in front of the mansion but the guards couldn't care less what she was doing so long as there wasn't a direct threat towards the building. She waited for him for almost 4 hours when she saw a Porsche car leaving the mansion. She was all wet and shivering but all that left her mind and she ran after the car.

But the car sped up, disappearing from sight as her calves burned and her knees trembled. She could heard the guards laughing at her, but she didn't even have the energy to look at them.

Ida sighed and walked back to the pavement and sat down, defeated, but she somehow had hope that she would meet with Mr. Bellamy no matter what. She clutched the chain Alden had given her, reinjecting a surge of fury and adrenaline.

She was shivering under the hammer of rain but she didn't care about it, even when her stomach grumbled in hunger. She sighed getting lost in her thoughts of self pity. Maybe what she was doing was destructive, maybe she was digging herself deeper into numbness but she couldn't stop the flurry of memories. The thought of ruining through her mansion, hand in hand with both parents as they lifted her off the ground running in the hallways. Then blinking and being faced with a wet, dirty gravel sidewalk, raindrops gliding off her eyelashes, mixed with her tears. Knowing she had lost all that, and was now sitting on a street waiting for the person who lives in a near identical replica to what she had called home.

It was almost 1pm when Ida saw the same car coming towards the mansion and she could now surely tell that it was Mr.Bellemy's car. It had stopped raining by now, but she was sniffling

She immediately stood up and ran towards the car but before she could get within 5 metres of it, guards grabbed her arms, holding her back. She screamed Mr. Bellamy's but he didn't hear her and his driver drove into the gates and the gates were immediately closed shut, the clang resounding in the rain.

She cried out in frustration and went back to sit down. Her stomach grumbled due to hunger and she curled into herself, trying to think of anything but a warm bed and a large plate of warm food. She remembered how her mother used to make sure that she was always fed and never went hungry.

It started drizzling again which almost made her cry but she swallowed her tears and kept looking at the mansion without batting an eye.

But suddenly, her eyes caught Mr. Bellamy walking on the balcony. She got up and yelled his name in the rain as she waved her hand at him, trying to get him to notice her.

Mr. Bellamy's eyes fell on her and he suddenly frowned, seeing her waving her hands at him in the rain. He was surprised but at the same time, he could see her shivering and all wet from his balcony.

That's when he heard her faint yelling voice, "I need your help, Mr. Bellamy. I'm Simon Celeste's daughter!" Ida yelled, making his eyes widen at her.