Unappreciated Treasure

Rachel was in a lot of pain and couldn't help it anymore. ''Chelsy, why aren't you here already? It's been over two hours since you said you would be here.'' She took her phone and dialed Chelsy's number, but the answering machine kept saying, ''the number you have dialed is not available at this moment. Please try again later.''

She tried again several times, but it kept saying the same thing. ''Ughh Chels, what happened to your phone? And where are you?'' She muttered to herself while grabbing her abdomen and wincing in pain.

She decided to call her mom to get her some pain medication. She dialed her mother's number, and she answered after the first ring. ''Hey princess. How are you?'' Serena Hannigan asked at the other end of the line.

''Mom, I am not doing too well. Can you please ask someone to get me some pain relievers? It's that time of the month and I need some pain relievers.'' Rachel spoke with her voice portraying pain and anguish. ''I will send one of the maids to bring you some pain relievers, okay? Make sure you drink lots of warm fluids and use a warm water bottle on your abdomen to help relieve the pain.'' Rachel's mother replied.

They spoke for a few more minutes and Rachel ended the call. She was in so much pain that she decided to lie down and went to sleep. 

It was the next day, which was Friday. The day Chelsy was supposed to have her interview with Whitemore Foundation. Rachel woke up at about seven thirty in the morning. She was feeling much better as the painful cramps had subsided.

She picked up her phone to call Chelsy, but Chelsy's phone was switched off. She became a little worried. "Why do I have this feeling Chelsy isn't okay?" She muttered to herself. She scrolled through her phone and dialed Chelsy's landline. When the phone got connected, Melinda answered in an unfriendly tone. ''Who is this individual calling someone so early in the morning? Don't you know others are still sleeping?''

When Rachel heard Melinda's tone, she thought to herself, ''Oh my goodness. Not this witch.'' She cleared her throat and said, ''Good morning Melinda. Is Chelsy at home? I would love to speak with her please.'' Melinda, who couldn't stand Rachel's voice, scoffed and replied, ''I am sure it is Rachel speaking. Because only a crazy woman like you will wake up in the early hours of the morning and interrupt the beauty sleep of others. And for your information, I am not your dear Chelsy's keeper. Don't you ever ask me about her again.''

As she was talking, Leonel overheard their conversation and rushed out of their bedroom, and into the living room. He took the phone from Melinda and said, ''Hi Rach, this is Leonel. You were talking about Chelsy. Isn't she at your place? She left here yesterday saying she was bringing some ginger and honey tea over to your house.''

When Rachel heard this, her heart skipped with fright. She could feel her body shaking and panic took over her. ''What? Chelsy didn't sleep at home yesterday? Where the hell is she? She called me yesterday at about four thirty pm and said she was coming over. Two hours later, I tried calling her, but it kept going to the answering machine. She didn't come here.''

When Leonel heard this, his eyes widened, and he looked as if he was going to pass out. He stood there looking petrified. Then he suddenly spoke. ''If Chelsy didn't spend the night at your place, then where would she be? Could she be at Ken's house?''

Rachel said she didn't think so but would find out. ''I don't think Chelsy is at Ken's. He never lets her spend the night at his place. But let me call him and check if she is with him.''

Rachel ended the call and dialed Ken's number. The phone rang for sometime before a male voice answered, ''Hello. This is Mister Robert's Secretary. He is not available to take a call at the moment. Can you leave a message for him?''

When Rachel heard this, her blood was boiling. But she composed herself and asked, "Excuse me Mister Secretary, but I would like to find out if Miss Chelsy Powers is with Mister Roberts right now?" The secretary responded with a negative response, ''I am sorry ma'am, but no. She isn't with him. Mister Roberts has been in Turkey for the past three days.''

When Rachel heard this, she felt her limbs go weak. She crashed onto the sofa in her bedroom and started sweating profusely. She ended the call. ''Oh my gosh. Where is Chelsy? I hope nothing bad has happened to her.''

Rachel called Leonel and told him Chelsy was not at Ken's house. ''Lenny, I just spoke with Ken's secretary, and he has been in Turkey for the past three days. It shows she isn't with him nor at his place.'' Leonel gritted his teeth and said, ''Dammit. Where the hell is she? I'll have to report this situation to the police.''

Leonel called the police to file a report about a missing person. When the call got connected, Leonel explained what had happened. But the police said it hadn't been twenty four hours. And that Leonel should wait for a full day before reporting it as the case of a missing person.

Leonel was so frustrated and didn't know what to do. Suddenly, Rachel called him back and asked how it went with the police, and he told her what the police had said. ''What? Are they crazy? You know what Lenny, let me ask my parents and Jade for help. They will definitely find her.'' Rachel told Leonel and ended the call.

She dialed her mom's number and when the call got connected, she said with teary eyes and a shaky voice. ''Mommy, please, I need your help. Chelsy is missing, and we can't find her.'' Rachel's mom on the other side of the phone responded, '' call down princess. I will inform your dad. He will contact police chief, Logan Langford to help in the search.''

The call ended and Rachel's phone started ringing again. This time around, it was Jade calling. When she saw the call she quickly answered, and there came Jade's husky voice. ''Hello my love. I saw your message. Don't worry, I will contact my friends to find her, okay?'' Rachel could not help but sob. Jade succeeded in pacifying Rachel and then ended the call.

He placed another call. When the call got connected, he spoke in a serious tone, ''Hey Maurice, I need you to find someone as soon as possible. I don't care which hole you dig. But I need results in the next hour. Use every resource you can. I will send you the complete details.'' He spoke and ended the call. 

In a small, unkempt and abandoned room, Chelsy was tied to a chair, and a black bag placed over her head. Chelsy groaned and muttered with a low voice that sounded just like a whisper, ''where am I?''

Suddenly, the bag was pulled off her face and she squinted as the lights from the tiny window shone in her eyes. When she saw herself being tied up, she started screaming with so much fear in her eyes. She looked so terrified.

There were two men looking like street hoodlums in the room with her. One held up a knife and said, "if you don't shut up right now, I'll make sure I perforate your face with this knife."

When Chelsy heard this, she was so scared and started crying. ''Who are you? And what do you want from me?'' Chelsy asked while crying and screaming her head off.

One of the hoodlums placed a black duct tape over Chelsy's mouth and said, ''If you behave, you will not be hurt, and you will leave this place in the next two hours. But if you don't behave, hmmm. I might just have a taste of this sweet body of yours.'' The man spoke while licking Chelsy's face with his tongue.

Chelsy could not stand the bad breath coming from his mouth, with his decayed teeth full of cavity marks. She tilted her head away while crying profusely. The other man pulled the guy harassing Chelsy and said, ''Hey bean. This is not why we are here. Just leave the girl alone.''

Suddenly, the door was swung open. The room was filled with fully armed military men. The two hooligans tried to escape through the other door, but were apprehended and taken away. When Chelsy saw the military men, the anxiety was just too much for her to handle and she passed out.

Chelsy fluttered her eyes open and discovered she was in a hospital gown and on a hospital bed. "Hey Chels, you are finally awake." Rachel's voice sounded at the bedside with so much concern. ''Are you okay? Do you feel hurt anywhere?''

When Chelsy realized it was Rachel, she threw her hands over Rachel's shoulders in a hug and started crying. "Rach, I was so scared." They both cried while hugging each other.

After a while, they disengaged from the hug and Rachel said in a gentle voice, ''Shush now hon. You are safe, and those hooligans will never hurt you again.''

Chelsy sniffled and asked, ''but who are they, and why did they kidnap me? I am not rich nor a celebrity.''

Rachel gently tugged Chelsy's hair behind her ear and said, ''sis, those hoodlums were paid to sabotage your interview with Whitemore Foundation. When they were questioned, they said a strange person walked up to them and paid them ten thousand pounds to kidnap you and only let you go after eight AM today. They didn't know the person and have never met the person. That was their first and only encounter.''

When Chelsy heard this, she screamed with tears rolling down her eyes, ''Oh no, oh no. Not the exchange program again. Why do bad things always find a way to locate me whenever I am trying to see the light?'' She cried, and sobbed like a child whose candy had been ceased.

Rachel was speechless and didn't know how to comfort her best friend. She just hugged her and padded her back.

Who is hindering Chelsy's progress? And what will they do next?