Ariana noticed the collar around the cat's neck and tried to cut it off with a knife but kept fumbling.
Ariana decided to quit wasting time. After all, time was ticking, and she couldn't afford to spend it all on a collar.
She continued to hold the cat's jaws open. "Want to bite me? I'm going to pull all your teeth out. Then see if you still want to bite me."
The cat was trembling. It lay there, bound, unable to move. Not that it could plead for mercy even if it wanted to, it's just a cat after all.
Ariana's eyes were grim. Soon, the only sound left in the empty room was the cat's cries.
"Meow." The cat's mouth was covered in blood. It lay there helpless. The only image that filled its little head at that moment was Izabella.
“Bella, I want to spend more time with you. I really want to see you more.”
Not long after Izabella had finished her meal, the director told her to get ready for the shoot again.
She glanced at the door. Rachel still hadn't returned, which stirred unease in Izabella. She made a call to Rachel.
Every passing second seemed to stretch into an hour for Izabella.
The call went through, but all that came was a cold automated message. It was like a bucket of ice water being poured over her from head to toe. "I'm sorry, the number you dialed is switched off, please try again later."
A chill ran down Izabella's spine, her body shaking uncontrollably.
This was the first time this had happened. She had instructed Rachel to look after the cat and to always keep her phone on for easy contact. Rachel always carried a power bank to ensure her phone wouldn't die. And this morning, when Izabella had linked the tracker to Rachel's phone, the battery was full. There was no way it could have switched off due to a dead battery.
So what was causing Rachel's phone to be switched off?
In a matter of seconds, Izabella thought of a million possibilities. She remembered how Rachel couldn't meet her gaze today, and all the oddities about Kristin. Why hadn't she noticed that something was off?
It seemed Rachel was in trouble.
Another chill ran down Izabella's spine.
Brad called out to Izabella a few times, but she didn't respond. He walked over and patted her on the shoulder. "Get ready to shoot, we have to finish the interior scenes today and do the exterior ones tomorrow."
"I'm sorry, Mr. York, I need to take a day off today. I have some important matters to attend to, I must leave."
Brad was taken aback as he looked into Izabella's red eyes. Izabella had always been dedicated, never once taking a day off during shoots. He wanted to ask her if something was wrong, but seeing her frantic and helpless eyes, he was at a loss for words.
"I'll allow you to take the day off. Go and do what you need to do."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Izabella running out whilst clutching her phone. She did not even bother to change out of her costume and makeup.
"Wait." Brad called out but couldn't stop her.
Seeing how desperate Izabella was, it was clear that she had something urgent to tend to.
Izabella didn't care about the stares from passers-by. She hailed a cab.
The driver was taken aback when he saw her. "Are you a celebrity?"
But being a professional, he quickly composed himself. "Where do you want to go?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Twisted Ties of Love