Seed of Possession

Bryan arrived at the orphanage within an hour. He quickly exited the car and ran inside. As soon as he opened the orphanage door, he saw the Director of the orphanage talking to the police officers.

“What happened?” He quickly asked as he walked towards them.

“Mr. Bryan,” the director said in gasp, surprised by his sudden arrival.

“Who is he?” the police asked the director.

“He is the sponsor of Clara, the one who supports the child and provides scholarships. He is also the biggest sponsor of the orphanage,” the director explained, prompting the police to jot it down in their notes.

“Does this sponsor have a close relationship with Clara?” the police inquired, and the director nodded in response.

“Yes, of course, they are very fond of each other,” the director replied.

“Wait, how did Clara go missing? What happened? How did it happen?” Bryan asked, one question after another, directed at the director.

“Clara was just playing outside with the other kids when an unknown person forcefully took her. Our volunteer, Soleng, was also taken by the kidnappers.”

“Is there any CCTV footage?” Bryan asked, but the director disappointingly shook his head.

“There’s CCTV footage, but it suddenly stopped working yesterday.”

“Then, who is the witness?”

“Whoa, sir, hang on a second. We already asked that of the director, and we’re going to interview the witness right now. Relax, and we will do our job.” The police calmly said to Bryan.

Bryan let out a sigh and nodded his head. “Excuse us, I just need to talk to the Director,” Bryan said to the police as he simply placed his hand on the back of the Director’s shoulder and lightly grasped it. The Director winced due to Bryan’s grip.

“Yes, police officers. I think Mr. Bryan and I need to have a conversation about what happened. After all, he is our generous sponsor,” the Director said to the police.

“Okay, but please come back here. We have questions to ask both of you,” the police said. Bryan simply nodded as he gently pulled the Director toward him, making way for his office.

“We will have a long talk, Francis,” Bryan whispered to the Director as he pushed him away as soon as the office door opened.

“Now, tell me what truly happened, Francis? I know that Clara will not play with the other kids in the orphanage,” Bryan said sternly to Francis, the Director of the orphanage.

“Well, she had a change of heart, and she wants to be a normal kid,” the Director reasoned with Bryan, which made Bryan angry. He quickly punched Francis in the face.

“Don’t play with me. You know who Clara truly is. She is not an ordinary child, and Lola Soleng, the volunteer, is her real grandmother. I am her godfather,” Bryan said in anger as he punched the Director again in the face.

“Ouch! MR. BRYAN!” The Director screamed while holding his bleeding nose.

“Tell me, Francis. What truly happened? You know that I am not the only one you will face after this. You know what Giselle is capable of. One whisper of her to the Governor, and your life will be truly ruined. We might see your corpse floating in the river the next day,” Bryan warned the Director, making him feel scared.

“I didn’t have a choice,” the Director replied.

“They barged into the orphanage in the middle of the night, entered my room, and pointed a gun at my head. They whispered like devils, asking where Clara was,” the Director continued.

“They threatened me. If I didn’t reveal her location, they would bomb the whole orphanage, and all of us would die,” he added as he went to his desk and opened the drawer.

“I didn’t have a choice. I was put in a spot that would be difficult for anyone,” he said as he walked toward Bryan and handed the couplings to him.

“Look, I know who Clara is and who is behind her. I dare not harm the child because I know what her mother is capable of doing. But I was put in a situation where I had to choose the lives of many kids over one. I am the Director of the orphanage, and I stand in as their parent. I’m sorry, but I did what I had to do,” the Director said, smiling at Bryan.

“These are the couplings of the man who took Clara. I forcefully pulled it from the man’s suit. I hope it helps you in your search for her, and I will pray that you find her immediately,” the Director said before quietly leaving the room.

Bryan stayed in the room, looking down at the couplings. Suddenly, a picture flashed in his mind. “Same as the other couplings,” Bryan mumbled.

“It’s all connected.”

********

Giselle blankly walks outward from the room. She is in shock about what happened to her daughter, Clara. Her daughter suddenly vanished in the middle of the night, according to Xander, and the person who kidnapped her daughter is the same person who kidnapped Ellisa, her previous mother-in-law. It’s all connected, and she has no idea who the persons behind this kidnapping are.

Giselle is thinking that it’s all a scheme of her father to get her back to the miserable place, but her father is not the type to kidnap her child because her father would do worse than that. Her father would immediately call all her brothers and sisters on her father’s side to threaten her. But the thing is, how did they know the location of her child? It’s a secret, and the people who know the location of her child are Bryan, Ellisa, Krizza, Xander, and-

Giselle stops as she remembers something. “Did they make a move?” She mumbles as an alluring laugh echoes in the corridor of the mansion.

Giselle quickly turns around as she starts to go into the maid-quarters. All the maids look at Giselle as she is covered in a dark aura.

“What’s happening?” One of the maids whispers to another maid.

“I don’t know; she just came here to this part of the mansion.”

“Is she going to torture us because of what we did to her before?”

“I hope not.”

All of the servants and maids just watch Giselle walk past them as they are curious about what their mistress is doing in the servants’ area.

“MIRANDA!”

“All the maids were startled when they heard Giselle shout because it was the first time they had heard her raise her voice.

” MIRANDA!” Giselle called out again to the maid. Miranda quickly walked in front of Giselle, slightly bowing to show respect.

” Yes, Mad-”

“Follow me,” Giselle said coldly as they turned into a dark corridor. Giselle immediately pushed Miranda and cornered her against the wall. Miranda gasped at Giselle’s sudden actions.

“Tell me, did Chantal and Lorenzo already know about my secret?” Giselle asked in a low tone, looking directly into Miranda’s eyes.

“Did Flora tell them about what she heard? I thought you were working on that,” Giselle whispered to Miranda.

“N-No! She didn’t tell anyone about what she heard. She was scared of Rolando, and even if Lorenzo asked and threatened her, Flora wouldn’t speak. I made sure she didn’t talk!” Miranda explained in a shaky voice.

“Then how did my child go missing?”

“W-what I-I don’t know!”

“Did Lorenzo already know my secret?” Giselle asked seriously.

“No-no? I’m not sure! I haven’t heard anything from him in the last few days since the scandal happened! B-but I did overhear something that I will report to Rolando right now.”

“What is it?”

“There’s a rumor circulating among the mansion’s workers that Lorenzo possesses a weapon that guarantees his victory as the next successor. It’s just a rumor; it’s not con-”

“He already knows,” Giselle gasped as she let go of Miranda from her grasp.

“Someone leaked out the information,” she continued.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“No, that’s not possible. All of us are loyal to Master Xander!” Miranda said with determination, defending her co-workers who serve Master Xander.

“How can you be sure? Maybe, like you, there is a spy among Xander’s servants,” Giselle said, leaving Miranda dumbfounded.

“And Flora could have leaked the information she heard. She might have told it to somebody, maybe not to Lorenzo, but to her mother, Chantal,” Giselle said firmly.

“No! That’s impossible. I am guarding her 24/7, and Madam Chantal cannot go to Flora,” Miranda said, avoiding Giselle’s poisonous gaze.

“What do you mean she cannot go to Flora?” Giselle asked, leaning her face closer to Miranda.

“Madam Chantal was locked up in her room by order of Master Lorenzo. No one is allowed to get in there. Even their kids are not allowed after the scandal. There was a huge fight between the two, and after that, Chantal was locked up in her room,” Miranda explained to Giselle, making Giselle stand up straight.

“Flora is completely innocent!” Miranda said put loud and tears flow downs to her face.

” SHE IS INNOCENT!”