Please don't miss chapter 11. ( Ch 11 and 12 are published on the same day. )
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CHAPTER 12: It's Connected
At home, Neal lay in bed thinking about "barn" that Jay said repeatedly.
It has to have some significance, thought Neal.
His mind then meandered to the sound he heard in the tunnel that day which he's sure humming William.
Suddenly Neal got an idea. The basement!, he thought.
Probably the farmhouse had a basement too and it's connected to the barn with that tunnel! If Elisa wasn't lying, William was indeed still there when she left the house. He was just moved to the basement! That's why he could be moved that quickly.
With everything that happened today, Neal decided to act fast.
He looked for Elisa to get the key but he couldn't find her. Impatient, he didn't want to wait and decided to go by himself and enter through the windows or by breaking through the door. He took a metal stick with him for the purpose.
That night, alone, Neal went back to the empty farm house…
-ooOoo
Meanwhile, Candy was thinking about Neal.
She wouldn't mind if the father of her children's was that handsome man. He could solve problems! She always liked that kind of dependable and intelligent man. He was an evil when he's young but what a man he had become now. And his kiss… It was unforgettable. By just thinking about it sent ripples inside her body. She wanted more, not only his kiss, but everything his hot body could offer.
She suddenly missed him. She went back to the Leagan mansion to see him that but the servant said he's not home. Instead she met Elisa.
"What do you want to do here?" asked Elisa.
"Hi Elisa, I'm looking for your brother," said Candy. For once she tried to be friendly. Besides she's in love with her brother and had promised to put the past behind her.
Seeing Candy's face only was enough to make Elisa fuming. She hated Candy. Somehow she felt Candy always got the best in life. She was adopted by the Ardlays. Terry and Anthony preferred Candy than herself. Now, she's a fast friend of Beatrice and William. Aunt Elroy adored her too. And most of all, her brother was totally in love struck with her. She who was once the maid of the family now was on the fast track to be the future Leagan matriarch. How disgusting!
"He's on a date with his love. Don't you know that there's a woman from Florida who came with him?" asked Elisa.
Refused to be provoked, Candy simply replied, "Fine, I'll see him later."
Like Elisa, Candy's heart was instantly full with anger and hatred again as soon as she saw Elisa. She had tried to look nice, put a friendly face, but Elisa still stayed the same. What an annoying woman!
As soon as Candy left, Elisa thought, Strange, where's Neal? She thought he was out with Candy, but obviously he wasn't.
-ooOoo
At about the same time, Neal drove back to the empty farm house. The windows were dark, he pushed the door.
It's open! Weird!, he thought.
Neal entered and picked up a broom nearby to use it to knock at the floor. As in the barn, he heard some hollow sound under a carpet. He lifted the carpet and as expected, he saw a door with a handle attached to. Excitedly he put his hand on the handle ready to pull it.
William! I'll find ya!, Neal thought excitedly.
"Hands up!"
Suddenly the room lit up brightly. Neal saw one man come approaching him and some more men walked behind that first man. Everyone had a gun in their hands.
I'm an idiot! Of course… a trap. No wonder, the door was unlocked!, thought Neal in a split of a second.
"You are not a fool, Neal. A worthy son of the Leagans, just like your sister. Too bad you need to face me."
"Eois McCallister…!" murmured Neal.
"Surprise eh?"
"Honestly?" replied Neal calmly. "No."
Eois laughed out loud. The sound made Neal's heart fluttered in anger.
"You guessed it? But do you know why?" asked Eois gruffly.
"I believe so, but entertain me with the whole truth."
"Revenge," he hissed. "My father was a dutiful member of the council who babysat Sir William until he's old enough and ready to govern," he said cynically. "But what did he get in return? Nothing. Just some pitiful allowance. All the family shares belong to Sir William. It's unfair!"
"When you came with Elisa, we were moving Albert," Eois continued. "I have been anticipating for, maybe, you to come again... That's why I left the front door open." He smirked. "To save your effort to have to destroy it…" Eois grinned.
"Smart. You made one mistake, though," said Neal. He grinned back, gravely.
"Which is?"
"For being greedy in a wrong way unlike your father and to personally tell me all these. Your end is coming, you'll end up in jail."
Eois laughed. "Bluffing, aren't you? You see, I'm the one who's holding the gun." He moved closer to Neal. Patted Neal's lower chin with the cold tip of his gun, slowly. "You are the one who's captured," Eois said menacingly.
"Listen to this," Eois said lunatically softly. "I doubt you know this. Recorded secretly of course!"
Eois pushed a button in a recorder. The moment Neal heard it, he thought he had heard it partially this afternoon, accidentally from the tunnel. But the sound quality was better now. Neal could identify the woman's voice easily. It's unmistakably Elisa's.
"
…
'We've had William for too long,' he heard a man said. 'It's dangerous for us.'
'I can move him tonight,' Elisa said
'To move him only is not enough.'
'You want me to finish him?' Elisa responded.
…
"
"Enough," shouted Neal. "I get the idea. How dare you. You are black mailing my sister. You'll move William, kill him and claim Elisa did it. You will play a hero and won the family support to be the head of the council."
Eois gave a long loud laugh which stopped abruptly. "Correct," he said shortly.
"The man's voice is not mine, by the way. Another accomplice fool of mine which I'll destroy." He laughed even louder. "Just like your sister…"
Neal gritted his teeth, wanting so much to jump across the room to strangle the tiny man. Without all those guns pointed at him, he would definitely have done so.
"Not only her but everyone who has the same last name as her, the Leagans, your entire family. Soon, the Leagans enterprise will be dissolved. I will use my new influence to control not only the Ardlays family shares but the Leagans too."
"Dad will block your attempt," said Neal.
"What can that old man do? How long more does he have to live?" Eois said with a smirk
"Dad will live for a long time."
"But not forever. And his heir is in my hand!" said Eois.
Eois shouted to call his men.
"Leagan, you want to see the heir of the Ardlay, correct ? I'll show you."
"Take him," barked Eois to his person.
One gunman opened the basement, they took Neal downstairs. Downstairs, Neal saw one door. They unlocked the door and opened it. Inside as predicted, Neal saw Albert. He's being tied up.
"I'll kill both of you tonight after I leave to secure my alibi. Unfortunately, you too Leagan since you know too much. You almost ruined my plan!"
Eois asked his man to tie Neal up. Eois grinned satisfyingly. "Killing two heirs in one night, not bad."
Then they left.
"You too?" sighed Albert.
"Yeah..." said Neal.
"What do they want from you?" asked Albert.
"Candy asked me to find you." Neal explained about their threat letters to aunt Elroy and more. "Was about to find out the entrance but they found me."
"Candy never disappoints me. Thanks Neal. At least I am not alone in my final journey. Sorry that you need to suffer with me though."
But Neal barely paid attention on what Albert said. His eyes quickly recognized the similarity of the wooden wall pattern of the wall in front of him with the tunnel's wall. His eyes quickly scanned the rest of the wall in the whole room. The similarity was striking.
The wall! We could've escaped if we're not tied up.
-ooOoo
Meanwhile in the Leagans mansion...
Where's Neal?, thought Elisa... How come he's not home yet?
She asked her staffs to look for his whereabouts, no one knew where he was but they knew he's not with Nichole or Candy.
He must have looked for William, she thought. Could it be that he went back to that farmhouse?
Elisa got restless and worried. She couldn't forgive herself if anything bad happened to her beloved brother. She grabbed her car key and drove to the farmhouse. Unlike this afternoon, there seemed to be people inside. She saw some light from the windows. She got off from her car, unlocked the front door and got in. She saw many of Eois' men inside.
"Ms. Leagan," they greeted her politely.
"You all are here," sneered Elisa.
She looked at their eyes one by one sharply, coldly, threateningly.
"You moved Sir William outside my knowledge! How dare you! Where is he? Take me to see him," ordered Elisa.
Eois' men looked at one another as if they're debating if they should obey her or not.
"Mr. McCallister said we shouldn't take anyone to see him."
"You dare to disobey me, Jack?" asked Elisa daringly. "Bring me to him, it's an order."
"We need to first ask Mr. McCallister, Ms."
"What make you listen to him and not me? How much does he pay you? I pay double!" said Elisa. She threw a sharp look to everyone, one by one.
Everyone stayed quiet, not sure what to do.
"Next time I see Eois, I'll tell him that you, all of you, refuse to obey me. I'll make sure all of you get fired on spot," said Elisa. "Bring me to William!"
They took Elisa to where Albert and Neal were. She was stunt to see the hidden door to the basement, but she stayed cool and pretended that she knew it too. They took her to the room where they put Neal and Albert were. She saw both of them sitting on the floor. Her heart almost stopped beating with worries seeing his brother being tied up.
"Leave! Now!" shouted Elisa. "Don't make me say it twice."
The guards looked at one another. They remembered Eois told them not to let anyone enter that room. But they didn't dare to confront Elisa.
"Ma'am, could we get your car key," said one man. "Just for precaution." She complied. She threw her keys rudely on the floor.
"Five minutes, Ma'am," said another guard.
They moved to leave and Elisa slammed the door in their face. Ignoring Albert, she ran straight to Neal.
"Neal!" she hugged her brother worriedly.
"Elisa you're looking for me, weren't you? You shouldn't. It's dangerous. "
"Oh Neal, did they hurt you?" asked Elisa
"No," Neal answered. "But, good that you came. Quick Untie me and William! I know how to get out from here."
Elisa untied Neal and hurriedly released Albert too. Since Albert had been tied up for too long, for a moment he couldn't get up. Elisa helped to pull him and support him as he wobbled a bit to get used to stand up and to walk.
Meanwhile, without wasting anymore time Neal was knocking at the wall to look for hollow sound. After a while He found it.
"We destroy this wall here. There's a tunnel behind it," said Neal in a low voice.
"Tunnel?" asked Albert and Elisa at the same time.
Neal nodded and at the same time put his pointing finger in front of his mouth. "Shh!" reminded Neal. "Not too loud. They'll hear you!"
Neal whispered, "Yes, tunnel. You'll see later, no time to explain."
Neal then asked Albert, "William, are you alright? Can you walk? Run?"
"Sure!" replied Albert energetically.
"Then, let's roll!" instructed Neal. "First, we put this dresser behind the door to slow them down."
Together they lifted the heavy dresser and put it quietly behind the door so the bad guys couldn't enter to the room easily later. They then lifted the bed frame crashed it to the wooden wall. The wall was destroyed easily and left a big hole in it.
"Great!" exclaimed Neal softly. "My guess was right!" Delighted, he clenched his fist.
"It's a tunnel!" said Albert surprised.
Elisa gasped.
"We should be hurry, they might hear the noise," said Neal.
Albert dragged the bed and put it behind the dresser to slow down the bad guys even more. Neal grabbed a light on one hand and Elisa's hand on the other. Pulling her sister's hand, he went into the tunnel. Albert followed behind them. After a while the tunnel ended, they saw the stairs on the wall. They climbed up, Neal pushed the door carefully to see if there's anyone on the other side. He peeked and as he had predicted, they arrived at the barn! After making sure it's empty, he climbed up first then Elisa, followed by Albert.
-TO BE CONTINUED-
Thank you for reading