My eyes lit up at his confidence.
"I'll get it to your office by tomorrow, will that work?"
"Message me before you drop by. I don't want anyone to lose it so I'll take it directly."
I nodded. "Message you on your…"
"Take my personal number." He extended his hand. "Give me your phone?"
I took out my phone and gave it to him after unlocking it. He quickly entered his number, saving it as Iver.
"I should leave now. My associate will be preparing your preliminary documents and sending them to you to double check. If you're unaware, these are just your statements with an approximate timeline. You can add, delete or edit them to make it as accurate as possible, and we will be matching the evidence as much as possible."
I nodded again. "Thank you, Mr. Vane."
"Stay safe, Ms. Sylvie."
He left, and I heaved a huge sigh of relief. I didn't understand the personal interest that Iver so clearly held for this case, however, it was definitely a plus point for me. He was investing a lot of thought and time into this, which was honestly my best shot at justice.
After finishing my coffee and paying for it, I quickly headed back to Claire's place. I needed to collect all my evidence in a single folder and give it to him before somehow Cairo destroys it. I have always kept it as separate as possible so that if he even ever gets to it, he couldn't delete all of it at once. It was and still is my biggest weapon.
After reaching Clair's place and collecting the evidence in a single pendrive, I sat down to have a normal conversation with her when I received a phone call.
I looked at the caller ID. My mom.
Here we go again.
"You should take it," Clair suggested as she peeked into my phone. "You need as much support as you can get."
Taking a deep breath, I slides the green call option.
"Mom?"
"Sylvie!" She said, sounding as if she didn't expect me to answer. "You picked up!"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
"Maybe because you ran away from your home?" Her voice dripped with a screaming 'are you hearing yourself' undertone.
"Right," I exhaled. "Wait, Cairo did not ask you to call me, did he?"
"No, he didn't, my love," she said, "Even if he did, I would never support him unless I know why you ran away."
"You already know half of the story, mom. It just… never stopped."
My sentence was followed by an entire minute of silence.
"I see," her voice softened ten times as she continued, "So what do you plan to do now? Divorce him? What about Lorelai?"
"Yes, I am planning to divorce," I replied, not wanting to disclose the part about pressing charges. "And of course, I will make sure I get Lore's custody."
"But love," She exhaled after some moments of thought, "I understand your struggles. But winning a court battle for her custody with Cairo would not be easy, considering…"
"They're filthy rich. I know, trust me. But I have to do this."
She reluctantly agreed, of course.
My mom was one of the best parents I could have wanted. She loved me endlessly, and tried her best to give me the life she thought I deserved. Of course she had her shortcomings like every single person yet she was one of the most remarkable people in my life.
Our relationship strained when I told her I wanted to marry Cairo. She never liked the Ashcroft family, she knew they weren't good people. It strained further when she realised I needed to do it because of the pregnancy. So I married him mostly against her wishes. That's why answering her call now, realising she was right all along—it is really hard. But I also know that she is one of the only people I could trust right now to be on my side, along with Claire and hopefully Iver.
It was still early in the morning — I noticed as the clock showed 9.21 AM. Lorelai was fast asleep, so I decided to bake her pancakes. She diligently loved them, and I think she could use something nice for now. All of this couldn't have been easy on her young soul.
"You made copies, right?" I heard Claire say as she entered the kitchen. I poured the pancake batter on to the pan as I turned to her.
"Of what?"
"Of the proof that you're going to give to Iver?"
"Of course," I said. "Even though if Iver is somehow working with Cairo then I don't think I would live to use it."
"Shh, don't say things like that," She kept a hand on my shoulder, trying to ease me. "You approached him. There is no way he's in bed with Cairo."
I nodded, flipping the pancake.
After I was done with them, I decided to wake up Lore. It had already been past 10.30 — and that was suspicious, as she usually was wide awake by 10.
I went to her room, slowed footsteps by the door.
"Lore?" I called out but there was no reply. I checked in her bed but it was empty.
"Lorelai? Where are you?" I asked again, the stress suddenly creeping up. What the hell? Where could she be?
"Lorelai? Lorelai!" I shouted, calling for her frantically throughout the house. Claire heard me and ran toward me.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't find Lorelai anywhere!" I shouted, my breathing irregular. I started hyperventilating. There is no way Cairo could have gotten to her, right? Did he take her instead of me? Did I sacrifice my little girl? Am I a horrible monster?
"Sylvie!!" I heard Claire's distorted voice before my vision blacked out and I felt a sharp pain on the side of my head.