In the suffocating darkness of the basement, the air was thick with dread. Roseline couldn't even make out her own fingers, her senses overwhelmed by the pitch-black void. Her body was ravaged by pain, her muscles aching from relentless torment. She lay on the cold, unforgiving ground, her vision obscured by the oppressive black cloth covering her eyes. Time had lost all meaning; she could only guess that days perhaps even weeks had passed in this hellish confinement.
…
Six years later, in the seemingly peaceful Auspicious View Community in South City, Roseline had just finished preparing dinner when an urgent, insistent ringing shattered the quiet. She barely had time to react before a small figure darted toward the door. "Mommy, I'll get it!" Andrew's voice chimed, its innocence stark against the growing unease in Roseline's chest.
Andrew, with his angelic face delicate and almost too beautiful flashed her a bright smile before reaching for the door. Roseline nodded, her heart inexplicably heavy despite the domestic normalcy.
When the door swung open, a little girl, no older than four or five, stood there in a pristine white princess dress, her round face framed by soft curls. It was the neighbor's child, Kelly. But something about her presence felt wrong, out of place, like a crack in a perfect façade.
Kelly's cheeks flushed as she called out in a shy, trembling voice, "Taylor, it's me..."
But Andrew whom Kelly insisted on calling Taylor looked at her with a disdain that seemed too mature for his tender age. "Kelly, why are you always so annoying?" he snapped, his tone colder than Roseline had ever heard.
Roseline's heart lurched. She hurried over, alarmed by her son's harshness. "Andrew! Mind your manners. What kind of attitude is that?" she admonished, trying to mask her growing concern with firmness.
Before Andrew could respond, Kelly quickly interjected, "It's okay, Auntie. I just wanted to give Taylor a card..." Her small hands shook as she handed over a delicate, hand-made card, her eyes filled with an unnerving blend of hope and fear. "Taylor, I like you. I hope you'll read the card I wrote..."
Without waiting for a reply, Kelly turned and fled, her little legs carrying her away as if she were running from something far more terrifying than a boy’s rejection.
Andrew, however, remained unbothered. He slammed the door shut and casually opened the card, his expression twisting into one of disgust. "How lame. Who even uses cards to confess anymore? It's so outdated."
Roseline felt a chill run down her spine. "Andrew, what are you talking about? Confession? Do you even know what that means?"
"Of course I do," Andrew replied nonchalantly, as if discussing the weather. "But I already have a girlfriend. We had a fight recently, and now Kelly's trying to take advantage of it."
Roseline froze, her mind struggling to process the words coming out of her five-year-old's mouth. Girlfriend? Fight? Where had he even learned these things? How could her little boy who was barely out of toddlerhood speak so casually about relationships as if they were part of his everyday life?
"Andrew, we need to talk," Roseline said, her voice barely steady as she tried to grasp the situation. "Where did you learn about having a girlfriend? And what do you mean by taking advantage?"
But before she could press him further, Andrew's eyes gleamed with sudden excitement. "Mommy, there's something even more important I need to tell you, I found Daddy!"
Roseline’s breath caught in her throat. The air in the room seemed to grow thin. "What did you say?" she asked, her voice a whisper of disbelief.
"I'm serious!" Andrew insisted, his face full of an unnerving conviction. "Today at kindergarten, we had an awards ceremony. I won a prize, and Daddy gave it to me! He even shook my hand. He's really handsome, Mommy way more handsome than me. If you don't believe me, I’ll show you..."
Before she could stop him, Andrew ran to fetch his school bag, pulling out a neatly folded award certificate. He handed it to Roseline, who noticed the words "Mo Group" emblazoned on the bottom.
Roseline's hands trembled as she read the name, her mind reeling. "Andrew, don't be silly. That's not your daddy. Just a handsome man giving you an award. Now, let's focus on your behavior with Kelly..."
But Andrew wasn't listening. "I'm telling you, Mommy, that man is my Daddy. I just know it!"
Roseline’s heart pounded in her chest, fear gnawing at the edges of her mind. "Alright, Andrew," she said, forcing a calm she didn’t feel. "Let’s not talk about your girlfriend or this…daddy business anymore. It's time for dinner."
Andrew fell silent, but his eyes gleamed with a determination that sent a shiver down her spine. As Roseline watched him finally turn his attention to his meal, a deep sense of unease settled over her. Memories she had buried long ago began to resurface, haunting her like ghosts from a past she had desperately tried to forget.
She had been through so much she has endured the unthinkable. She had survived. But now, staring at the boy who was both her greatest joy and her deepest fear, she realized that some nightmares never truly end. And if what Andrew said was true, the past she had tried so hard to escape was about to crash into her present with terrifying force.
As Roseline's thoughts spiraled, Andrew, oblivious to his mother’s turmoil, made a silent vow to himself: he would find this man again. And this time, he would bring him home, no matter what.
