Stand By Me Darling
Chapter 414: An Abandoned Daughter

Chapter 414: An Abandoned Daughter

Peggy stayed quiet as she kept in contact with the Rosandale Palace. Even after ten hours of Talia’s disappearance, they still couldn’t find her.

Apparently a Ranger who was with them was the one who helped Ralph to get a hold of Talia. He now confessed that he tried to turn them back to the village, but his voice wasn’t heard.

When he was ’forced’ to speak, he revealed that Ralph had saved his brother get an expensive medicine and he had asked to bring the Princess to where he was as a payment and he couldn’t refuse.

Even the Ranger had no more details to spare about Ralph other than confirming the drawing as Ralph.

The satellite images weren’t clear enough to record anything as there was a solar flare at that time causing disturbance and they had to rely on old-school methods.

From the last spot Talia was seen, the military and Rangers have spanned to a three mile radius without leaving a single stone unturned , but they couldn’t find a single clue as to which direction they went.

As if the troubles already are not enough, it suddenly started raining in that area. The land that receives 8cm rainfall a year as an average had 6mm rain in the past hour alone and the rain hasn’t stopped yet.

The people in that area are happy with that rainfall, but this heavy rain has seriously slowed down the rescue operation.

Oh, Talia! Your arrival brings good luck to everyone and yet you suffer always.

Peggy couldn’t help but sigh. She looked at Arthur and he had fallen asleep after silently crying for some time. She let him sleep since he might need the energy after they reach Basmia.

But the moment his phone vibrated, Arthur woke up.

"Rebecca," he answered the phone.

"Have you found her yet? Why does..."

Rebecca kept talking in a nasal voice and she was crying. Arthur couldn’t understand a word she was saying.

"We still couldn’t find her. I don’t understand what you’re saying. Can you-"

Before he could finish, she started cussing him. He still couldn’t understand her, but the tone clearly suggested she was cussing him.

"We are trying to track her!" he said and wanted to end the call.

Before he ended the call, Joe got the phone and talked to him. Arthur gave a condensed version of everything happened and how they couldn’t find her because the tracker is lost.

"Both trackers?" Joe asked."Becky is saying that Talia carries that ring box with her all the time. Did she bring-"

Only then Arthur remembered the tracker he had installed in the ring box. He had totally forgotten about the tracker in the ring box after his surgery. He even made fuzz when he thought he had lost the ring.

"Kiss your wife for me," he chuckled and ended the call.

"Call the security company for the ring box and ask them to track the box," Arthur couldn’t help but laugh.

Peggy immediately got on with the task. She didn’t know Talia is having the ring box still with her.

Arthur called Louis and checked if there was a box with the clothes they found. Confirming that there was no box, Arthur felt his hope returning.

"But did she have the ring box with her? And how are you sure Ralph haven’t destroyed it yet?" Louis raised a doubt and Arthur’s heart wavered for a moment.

"We’ll know after some time. Once we find the location of the tracker, we can be sure..."

Arthur got up to and fro inside the jet as he became restless waiting for the reply from the security company.

-----

"Why are you so silent, dearie? Talk to me," Ralph said with a fake pout. "That’s right! I almost forgot!" he chuckled and walked to his backpack and got a pouch out.

Talia listened to the surroundings and heard the sound of rushing waters. She figured she is still near the river and she wondered if they have really travelled ten miles North to the Genoas Mountain Range as she figured this type of caves can only be found in mountainous regions. It can’t be possible, right?

Talia couldn’t think further seeing Ralph filling a syringe with some fluid. She already was scared of needles and seeing with her own eyes the syringe getting filled with some unknown drug, she felt her heart pound out of fear.

She knew what his drugs did to Sophia and Sandy. She didn’t want to get added to the statistics.

She tried to control her emotions, but she couldn’t stop from shivering making Ralph have a pleased smile.

"You are scared of needles, aren’t you? And you stink strongly of piss!" he had an amused smile anticipating her reaction.

Waving the syringe, he got closer to her and Talia decided to be brave. Without knowing, she held her breath as she looked away. She felt a sharp pain in her neck followed by a warm sensation passing through her.

She wondered what this drug will do, but sooner she realised that she has started to feel lighter. She could turn her head by now and slowly as the medicine spread, she could move a little. She didn’t have the strength to stand up and run away, but she got a little of her strength back.

"You’re not going to ask me why I hate you."

Ralph sat by her side, with his shoulder grazing hers.

"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely tell you."

Talia stayed silent. She wondered if she could gather enough strength to run away. He kept on saying that he wanted to ’do something’ to her and she didn’t want to wait to find out what it was.

The tracker...

Talia could move her hands a bit and she still couldn’t raise her hands to check her hair where she hid the little chip. It was then she noticed that her ring was missing and she felt more despaired. Her nausea returned as she couldn’t bear the abhorrent stink on her and she felt her abdomen hurt.

Is it because of the acid reflux? But it is my lower abdomen... Oh, no! My periods!

"Searching for your ring, dearie? I’m keeping it safely. You are one sneaky c*nt to hide your engagement to the public..." he kept on talking and pointed at a little basin he kept near the fire pit. "I’ve stored your engagement ring where it belongs - in a pile of sh*t!" he chuckled as if he made a pretty good joke.

"G-give-" Talia tried to speak, but her throat felt tingly. Fearing he might give her another bowl of excrement, she tried hard to suppress her cough.

"Anyways, start listening to me," he grabbed her by her hair and banged her head in the rocky surface of the cave wall. Talia felt a shattering pain in her head by his sudden movement and her head started spinning. She thought she might faint, but thankfully, she didn’t.

"There was a sweet young girl in Esteria who was born during the war...Her parents had abandoned her and she grew up in an orphanage. She didn’t have the best food to eat or the best clothes to wear, but she was happy. It was until that day..."

For the first time since she met him, Talia saw sincere pain in her eyes and she pretended to care for his story. Her thoughts were about the ring and she really didn’t care for his story.

"She was violated by the caretaker of the orphanage – the man she trusted, who was thirty years older than her..." Ralph’s throat closed out of sorrow."When the thirteen year old girl was found to be pregnant, she was called all the names in the world and was thrown away. Her pleadings and her words against the caretaker were all dismissed as ’lies of an immoral girl’..."

Hearing this, Talia did feel bad for that girl, who probably is Ralph’s mother. Times were different then and lies of men were easily accepted as truths than the truths of women. It would’ve been unsurvivable for a thirteen year old girl in a war-torn country with a baby on tow, having no support.

"Even then the young girl didn’t want to give up on her child. She found a way to earn money and although she stayed in the streets, she managed somehow. She delivered her son by herself and she raised him herself. The son grew up and both had each other. They had a slightly better life now that she managed to find a job in a company as receptionist. But fate didn’t leave them alone... She contracted TB and their homeowner learning of the fact, threw them on the streets. She became too sick to work and quit her job. The medications for TB were unaffordable for the poor mother and the seven year old boy watched his mother slowly melting away and her life slipping away..."

Talia did feel bad hearing that story.

Ralph cleared his throat seeing her sympathetic expression."They were back on the streets and even during winters, they slept under the falling snow... A month went by and while the boy begged on the streets for money, he came across an older woman who looked exactly like his mother. Turns out, she really was her mother. She seemed to be well-off and so my mother – the one who loved me dearly... she didn’t even ask for money to get her treatment. She asked her mother to take care of me in case something happens to her. But that woman..."

Ralph’s voice turned malicious and Talia got back to reality. She is currently dealing with her kidnapper who has a dark personality and not some poor little boy who loves his mother.

"She said that she got rid of my mother to get a good life, and that she didn’t want to ruin the good life she has for a b@stard like me... My mother begged holding her legs, but she refused...She wanted my mother to go to her father’s family to get help."

Ralph turned to look at Talia and as his eyes met with hers, she felt a shiver.

Don’t tell me... He thinks my grandpa is his mother’s father? But grandpa was sure he is not of Brunton lineage! Why did Ralph’s grandmother lie?

"When my mother learnt that she is related to the kind boss she used to work for... she was exhilarated. But..."

Ralph suddenly grabbed Talia by the throat and pushed her down, lifting her tunic. "We were thrown out of the Oakley Castle! I watched the life leaving my mother’s eyes on a cold winter night!"