Chapter 2 The Deadweight

“Are you coming out or do I have to use force?” snapped Desmond again.

“Use force and I will call Child Protective Services!” warned Isla.

“Oh, good! Then call them!” shouted Desmond, reached for Isla’s arms and yanked her out of the trunk. He threw her on his shoulder and brought her back to the living room. He dumped her ass on a couch and ordered his men to keep an eye on her, diligently.

“Get every suitcase out. We are leaving in five minutes!” ordered Desmond.

“Ha-ha,” laughed Isla and folded her arms over her chest.

“And why are you laughing?” asked Desmond.

“None of my things are packed. I am not going anywhere,” smiled Isla.

“Ha-ha,” and now it was Desmond’s turn to laugh. Isla looked at him with furrowed brows.

“And why are you laughing?” asked Isla. Desmond pointed at two suitcases playing hide and seek with other suitcases. She recognised them as her bags.

“Your bags are packed, my dear daughter. You are coming with me. Even if the planet is about to end and the apocalypse is starting from Amberwood Shores, you are coming with me,” smiled Desmond, tauntingly.

“I hate you! I hate you!” shouted Isla and jumped off the couch, trying to run away again, but the bodyguards grabbed her shoulders and made her sit back down. She wiggled violently, but the bodyguards kept her pinned down.

Desmond took another look at his house, which he had built with his own hands and sighed deeply. He had to say goodbye to sweet as well as sad memories. This was the house Isla grew up in and was extremely attached to. She played with him and her mother; they laughed together, giggled together, fought together, and after Claire’s injury, everything started falling apart.

He had sold almost everything that belonged to Claire and sent every necessary item to Amberwood Shores beforehand. They just had to grab their bags, board a flight and reach the Henderson Mansion. Their new lives would start the moment they left Valmoria.

The bodyguards placed every suitcase in the trunk of the car and came back to drag Isla. She immediately lay down on the carpet and refused to budge. Desmond hid his eyes with his palm and rubbed his forehead to ease the irritation he was feeling after seeing his daughter’s antics.

“Just drag her to the car!” he commanded, frustrated.

“No, no, I am not going. I am not leaving Mom. You stopped loving her, but I didn’t. I love her. I want to live with mom. I don’t want to go with you. I hate you! I hate you!!! If you take me away from Mom, I will never forgive you, Dad, I will never forgive you!!” Isla had started strong, shouting and fighting back, but soon tears started falling down her face, and her voice was all dejected.

Even Desmond felt her pain. He knew that the mother and daughter were extremely close to each other. It was Claire who taught Isla how to swim, and Isla was a star swimmer in her school. She had a suitcase full of medals. And after every win, Claire would celebrate it as if it were her own win.

“Please, Isla, please understand! This is for you. I am taking you away for your protection. A new place, new people will be good for you, good for us. We can start from the beginning. Please sweetie! Stop fighting with me,” pleaded Desmond.

“No! No! No! You hate Mom, and this is your way to keep me away from her. If you want to marry some woman, go marry her. I will not say even a word about that. Go start your new life! Leave me alone!” snapped Isla.

“You think if I leave you here, your mother is coming for you. You think she will come back to you? She didn’t even come to the court date to fight for you. Why do you think I have your custody? Your mother didn’t care about you, Isla!” shouted Desmond.

“No! No! You are lying. I know you paid money to everyone. You bribed everyone to take my mother away. She didn’t want to divorce you; you forced her just so that you could marry your mistress!” yelled Isla.

“Islaaa!!!” snapped Desmond. He was shivering in anger. “Just pick her up and throw her in the car. One way or the other, she is coming with me!!”

The bodyguards grabbed Isla by her arms and started dragging her body to the car. She just let her body go so that she would feel like dead weight to the guards. But they didn’t mind. They kept dragging her, and when they reached close to the car, one of them lifted her, shoved her inside the car, and two bodyguards sat on both her sides, boxing her in.

Desmond chose to sit in the other car. But before that, he ordered his guards, “Don’t let her out of your sight, even for a minute. If she runs, break her leg. Even after doing that, she escapes, I will make sure you never get a job in this business in this town. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir! Don’t let her run; break her legs, got it!” said one of the guards.

The whole way to the airport, Isla kept sobbing her eyes out. But soon, a plan formed in her mind. She started wailing at the top of her lungs. She knew if she annoyed the guards, they would throw her out of the car and then she would run back into her mother’s arms.

But the guards were extremely familiar with all her tactics. They have been taking care of her for a few years now. The moment she started wailing, the screech of the scotch tape attracted her attention. One guard tied her hands behind her back with a rope, and the other one tore off a piece of tape and covered her mouth.

She kept wriggling, wiggling, moving left and right, jumping on her seat, moaning, groaning, but everything was futile. It looked like she was leaving Valmoria behind. She glanced behind her. Her town, her street, her home, her mother, everything and everyone was screaming for her not to leave them. Real tears now started streaming down her face. Was she never going to see her mother?