Chapter 39

"What?" Her breathing changed. Who was this guy?

"Listen, you will need to calm down and listen to what I have to say. Like I said, no one has to read the real atmosphere inside here," He tries his best to maintain a normal posture.

Arletta looks at him and forces a straight serious work face, swallowing her liquid and pressing her arms together on the table, "How do I see her then?"

"The church, the one you went to last night. Meet me there around seven. Make sure no one knows that you will be there and wear something that would not describe you,"

Arletta nods like she has made a small deal with a person, "I will be there," She opens the drawer and takes a business card. Handling it to her, "Text me right away," Her voice was crooked. The guy takes it and puts it in his pocket.

"Okay then, have a nice day,"

She nods with a fake smile. He slowly turns to the door and leaves. The night could not get any better, or maybe worse

Carlos on the other hand was inside his 25m² light brown office with one of his secretaries filling in for the day's schedule.

"That's it for today, sir, would you like me to add anything?"

"No. Leave," As harsh as the two words sound, making the poor woman in her mid-twenties leave without any hesitation. It was obvious she was just there bothering him with his very own today's schedule. Carlos was like that to everyone. No employer ever did a good job in his eyes. He would either shout, glare or give one word that would describe how pathetic the work is.

Today was a bit bitter for every worker who encountered him. His madness was over the hill. Everyone kept asking him where his wife was, especially now that he had a lot of important deals and his wife was an important person.

For days, he's been trying to track where the damn woman could have gone to but not even those private investigators that found him anything he wanted them to fail on this one and it drove him crazy.

His gaze turns to his iPhone 14 ringing. Looking at the name that's popped on it, he quickly picks it up, "Hello,"

"We found her," The male voice on the phone says.

"Yes!" He slams the table in relief, "Where the fuck is she?"

"The church, I will give you the address. Be careful though. Your mother-in-law is one of the smartest women I had to investigate in my entire career,"

"Text me right away!"

"Okay," He hangs up.

"I knew this woman had something to do this time. It's okay though, I love how they are giving me opportunities to destroy them," He smirks.

The mother and the daughters, the best tools he has ever had to lift himself from the hell he had to go through as he was growing up and at some point, until now. The illegitimate child that everyone was aware of since the day he was born. The sin of his father killed both his mother and his father's wife.

The evening arrived. Arletta was now in her car. Looking at herself in a long-tiered blue skirt, black Converse and a dark hoody, "This is not myself," She shakes her head before starting the engine.

Reaching the church, no one seemed to be around, "Lucky day," She turns her car to the other side where there were a bunch of houses, "Nothing should indicate I am or was here," She parks her car beside one of the houses, a five minutes walk distance to the church. She finalized her new identity with a brown fringe mid-length curly wig which had bangs. She takes her dark mask and wears it before reaching it.

Reaching the church, she gets inside. She looks at the altar and makes a holy cross, "God, please be on this sinner's side today," She makes another holy cross. Her breathing was starting to become higher and she didn't like the feeling of it.

She texts the so-called, guy, as saved in her phone but she receives no response. She looks at the alter again, what does she do? She walks to the very first chair and sits on it, silently praying for things to not get any worse while checking her phone every two seconds.

Footsteps, stronger as they get near her are heard. The type of steps she has been hearing a lot more times before, "Praise the Lord," And the night could not get any worse. Carlos is here.

She doesn't say a word only feeling like her heart could escape her chest. Her hands were now pressed harder and so were her lips.

"Let's take it she is praying," He sighs as he sits on one of the chairs. She opens her eyes, breathing out the air she was holding.

"Oh God, please let this person see the texts so we can get out of here," Arletta prays the same sentence over and over again. After some time, the phone vibrates. She makes a holy cross and takes it.

'Come out. Now.'

She gets up from her sit and without any other word, she leaves. Carlos was still sitting, praying or pretending to do so. It was still luck that he hadn't noticed who the woman was, though an unusual feeling came when his eyes landed on her front view. She seemed familiar and nervous.

Before Arletta could vanish from the insides of the church, another misfortune arrives. Regina. Her long Virgin Mary-like dress along with her long, golden rosary makes it obvious that it is indeed her.

She looks down passing her like they do not know each other. Regina stops walking. She turns around to look at her, "She looks quite familiar, " she scans her before she turns around again. Reaching the altar, her eyes widen when she recognizes a man sitting on one of those long chairs.

"Carlos," She sounds as calm as possible, trying her best to control her trembling lips and chin.

He tilts his gaze to her, "Regina! I didn't know you came to these churches. I thought you fancy bigger ones as if God is only found there,"

"Now you know you were wrong. God is everywhere. And I didn't know you went to church at all," She raises an eyebrow.

"Come on! You make me look like a bad guy in front of the lord," He smirks.

"It is the truth though," She sighs, "Seeing you coming here is indeed a good sign. I knew my son-in-law would come in a straight line day,"

"A straight line that you perceive, my dear mother-in-law," He gets up from the sit. He steps closer to her, fixing his grey suit coat, "How about we end this chitchat and get straight to the point, Where is my wife!" He shouts.

"What are you talking about, Carlos?" Her eyes are now wide. How much does her son-in-law know?

"Oh, quit the shit Woman. Where is Anahi?" He rolls his eyes, irritated.

"Do not curse inside of the church!"

"Then do not fucking hide your sins inside it,"

"Oh, God!" Arletta was watching is all. Suddenly a hand is pulled and she faces a man in black everything including a black hoody, "keep quiet," He murmurs, "Come on," He takes her to the back of her church.

On the other hand, "Are you gonna tell me or do I have to use my money?"

"I have nothing to tell or show you," She crosses her arms.

"Very well then," He takes his phone out of his pocket and dials the last number he talked to, after a second of beeping, the call is answered, "Boss,"

"Show me the exact direction of my wife please,"

Regina's eyes widen, all this time she never thought someone would succeed in tracing her and her daughter, "You can't take her! No. Not like that," Her hands try to squeeze him.

"Between you and I, you are more dangerous. Even Anahi would agree to that," He shouts.

"You are no different. At least I love her. You don't!" She shouts.

"I. am. Her. Husband. Let go of me before I do something stupid to you, Regina!" He pushes her. A sharp pain passes on the back of her head the moment it hits a wooden chair. But this is no time to feel the pain.

Carlos was already reaching the door. As he was trying to open it, Regina tries to push him but repeatedly fails. The battle is pushed forward until the door is pushed open, exposing a corridor and the two rooms on the other side. He opens the first one, where he was told she would be there.

At the same time, Arletta and the guy finally get the right key, opening it at the same moment Carlos does.

They all look at each other in shock, then look back at the bed, empty.

"What the hell!" Carlos

"Oh, God!" Arletta