Second Threat

The five-day ultimatum had passed, and Nathan was expecting to hear from Sarah what she had come up with to recover his children back to him.

One morning, Sarah woke up overwhelmed by the whole matter; she sat on her mattress thinking about the whole thing.

"I miss my kids," she sobs as she remembers those beautiful moments with the kids.

"A week has passed since Nathan came here to threaten; what should I do?" She was talking alone to herself; her mind seemed worried and filled with anguish.

"Nathan recorded my voice, that alone is enough to put me in Michael's problem. Even though he's not the father of my kids, he has a piece of evidence to support his claim." She fell back flat on her mattress and screamed "God help me."

She was in this state for almost thirty minutes before her phone rang. It was a call from Nathan.

Her heart failed as she saw his name on the phone.

"Hello, Doctor," she said, her voice low and disturbed.

"When did I become a doctor? When last did you call me that?" Nathan was surprised to hear her calling him a doctor.

"Aren't you a doctor again?" She asked, wanting to know what Nathan was up to. "Sarah, I am Nathan to you," Nathan spoke from the other end.

"A week has passed since I came to your place to ask for my kids. Each day I kept looking forward to your call to ask me where you should bring my kids to me. But till now, I don't know what you are trying with me." Nathan calmed his voice as he made himself clear to Sarah.

"Thank you, Michael, for not shouting at me this time, Don't thank me yet, Sarah."

"I want to know why you have still not brought my kids to me?"

"Nathan, I don't know what else to say to you or how well to say this again. The kids are not yours. They belong to Michael".

"Sarah, you know I have my evidence coupled with the fact that I am a doctor. You have no place to hide" Nathan sarcastically and carefully responded to her words.

"What are you up to, you are mocking me or what?" Sarah asked in anger. "If you call it a mockery, I don't care; all I want is my kids."

"Nathan you are a fool. You don't have shame. I don't blame you; if you have your kids and your wife, you will not be disturbing another man's wife and kids." Sarah flared up. She yelled at him on the phone.

"Oh, nice one. I am a fool for asking for what belongs to me, right?". He laughed as he spoke to her. "You will know who is a fool between you and I."

"You can't do anything" Sarah objected. "Don't worry, wait and see; what's best for you now is to cooperate with me and get my kids to me in peace. I am giving you till the month's end to return my kids to me. After that, I will take action, and I promise you that you won't like what I will do".

"You can't threaten me on what it's not yours. Go ahead and do your worst. I don't care!" Sarah's voice is bold and firm.

Nathan's finger hovered over the end call button, "Sarah, I will be back for you." He said and ended the call.

Sarah was sweating profusely; the tension in her was much even though the conversation was on the phone.

"What should I do now?" She said to herself. She remembered her friend that she called the day Nathan came to threaten her. She quickly picked up her phone and dialed her line.

----

The phone rang at the other end, but no response. She dialed again the second time it wasn't picked up.

She felt disturbed and wanted to talk to someone.

"I will text her" she whispered to herself. She opened a message chat with her instantly.

"Hello, I have called twice, and you didn't pick up the call. I want to talk with you. Nathan called me not too long ago, and he kept threatening me as usual. Please, when will you be a chance for us to meet? It's more pressing than you can imagine. Thank you".

After a few seconds, the text was received from the other end. Her friend picked up the phone, and after she went through the text she responded:

"Oh, I am sorry! I am busy right now, that was why I didn't pick up your call. But when I saw your text, I felt it would be something serious, that is why I decided to pick the phone up to read the text. I will call you when I am done in the office to know if I will come over to your house or if we will meet somewhere in the town."

She sent the text to her, but she quickly remembered she didn't write any words of encouragement.

"Sarah, I know it can be hard to have peace of mind in a situation like this, everything will be fine. We will talk better when we see."

Both text seems to entered Sarah's phone at the same time. She felt relieved and hoped the day could set in a few minutes so that her friend could leave the office to her place.

Two hours passed, and her friend still didn't call; she felt the day was longer than before. At exactly 3 hours after their chats her phone beep. Sarah picked up the phone and received the call.

"Hello friend, you've kept me waiting for your call. I couldn't put my mind at rest since noon," Sarah said with emotions.

"Sarah, I am sorry. I will come over tomorrow, please. I am sorry I couldn't finish up the office task on time and if I should come, it will be late before I get back home."

"Oh! Evelyn, "Sarah didn't know when she mentioned her real name. She isn't used to calling her Evelyn; she prefers 'friend' to Evelyn.

"I am sorry, Sarah; I promise I will come tomorrow," Evelyn apologized sincerely.

"All right, please, I am in a serious mess. You are my confidants, you know. I will be expecting you tomorrow. My regards to your children." Sarah said softly.

Evelyn ended the call; she knew she must find her way to Sarah's place the next day; her excuse might not count again if she failed again.