"Call... her."

I didn't wait another second and followed Brandon's command. Removing my sling bag from my shoulder, I opened the zip. It was cramped, filled to the top. I fiddled around with the contents, trying to find her card.

It should be here, I thought. Brandon had kept it on the bedside table and I had made a point to keep it back in the bag before we went out to search for Giulia today.

My patience was running out. The pile of lip care products and tissue wipes dominating my purse didn't help either. With a frustrated sigh, I stalked over to where Bella was sitting. She looked up, pursing her lips. Without a word and with more force than necessary, I flipped the bag over, rattling all the contents out on the bed.

Bella gave me a wary look, perturbed by my franticness. There was no time to explain it to her. Instead, I focused my attention on finding the card.

The black and red scrawl on the piece of rectangle glistened as I swiped the layer of other memo and cards away from it.

Phew, I thought, picking it up. Uncertainty assailed me. What if everything was a joke and I took it seriously? Or maybe she never expected me to call her. It could have just been a formality or politeness.

Or maybe not?

"What are you thinking about?" Brandon interrupted my thoughts.

"Uh... "

"Call her." He pointed to the card with his eyes.

"Uh..."

Call me if there is any trouble. Her words repeated in my head.

I looked at the card and then at Brandon again.

She offered to help me in the time of need. In the time of trouble. This counts as trouble, right?

Without giving it another thought, I dialed the number. Brandon sighed in relief. I turned my back towards them, listening intently to the ringing of the phone. They crowded behind me as Brandon explained Bella and Sarah in hushed whispers about who I was calling. I peeked a look back when he mentioned her and the story behind our meeting. Bella didn't look particularly pleased. Sarah on the other hand had a look of wonder and fear on her face.

Before I could chicken out and back away, she picked up her phone.

"Tyler?" An amused voice greeted me from the other side. I pulled the phone away from my face and stared at it. A shiver ran down my spine.

How did she know it was me?

I must have spoken aloud because I heard her laughter. Putting the phone back to my ear, I waited for an explanation. It came, as expected.

"Yours is an American number with a Singaporean code. I took my chance."

"Oh." I faked a laugh. It was awkward, and she caught on, breaking out into a spell of laughter. I proved to be a constant source of humor for her. For the record, it made me feel good, albeit, a bit sheepish.

"So what do we have today?" She took her time speaking and her tone was casual and inviting. Maybe she had time to have a chat. Not that the words exchanged would be fun for either of us.

"Um..." I stalled, at a loss of words. Should I make the basic conversation? Or should I jump on the issue right away?

I had no idea why I was so conflicted today. Maybe the thought of making a single mistake, and holding the responsibility of it made me so conscious of my decisions.

From the hindsight, I saw Brandon motioning me to speak up but I shrugged, not sure how to start.

"Is everything okay?" Kiki spoke, her voice clouded with suspicion. Was my life this haphazard that even a stranger could smell trouble over the phone?

There was no answer from my side. It felt weird to skip the pleasantries. I should have eased into the issue, I added as an afterthought. The bickering in my head didn't make up for the silence over the phone, and it must have alerted her because I heard the creak of a chair, maybe as she stood up to talk.

"Hello? Are you okay?"

"Kiki."

There was a loud exhale. "You scared me there. Is everything okay?"

"Um... no," I said at last, biting my lower lip. I massaged my temple with my thumb. "You remember my friend? The one we talked about?"

"Yes, of course." She hesitated. "What happened?"

Her tone changed from warm affection to a calculative husk. I stayed silent, in a dilemma, when she demanded an answer again. "What happened?"

I looked back. The three of them were openly eavesdropping. It felt awkward to speak everything in front of Bella so I held up a finger and motioned that I would go to the bathroom. Brandon raised his eyebrows, about to ask why. But a side glance at Bella, and he understood, nodding.

I locked the bathroom door behind me.

"Kiki?" I asked, making sure that she was listening.

"Speak up, girl. I don't like riddles."

"Yes. The thing is," I started, leaning against the door. There was a hesitation from my part in forming the words. In a rush I completed. "Bella's girlfriend is missing."

"Missing?" Her reply was sharp, and she trailed off in a speculative tone.

"Uh..." I lowered my voice. "I say missing. But we know who took her."

There was a curse. I didn't know in which language. But the way she spat it out, it definitely was.

"Who is it?"

I flinched, hearing the sharpness and urgency in her voice.

"My friend's father."

She snorted to my surprise. "That stuck up old fart from the dinner?"

"Yes..." I trailed off. It was a bit unnerving to hear such juvenile insults from her. But maybe that was her style.

"Don't move an inch. I'm coming over."

"Huh?" I said too loudly. Before she misinterpreted the sound, I elaborated. "You're here? I mean y-you don't mind?"

Secretly, I hadn't expected this offer to come up. Meeting her again was a remote possibility in my mind. Though her offer had been out of blue for me, I had no doubt that it would only help us.

"There's no way I'm letting this go," she said, "Old judgmental farts like him need treatment. I'm an hour away from the hotel. See you soon."

"Oh-okay."

"Stay there." She hung up.

An hour and a half later, we were back in our room. Bella and Sarah crashed on our bed whilst Brandon and I curled up on the couch. That one hour was like a lifetime. Bella had enough mood swings that we even considered calling up a doctor.

Her frustration and agitation was understandable. With the confirmation of her father's involvement, her outer demeanor had broken down and integrated into the space. Every few seconds she pulled her phase, clutched her forehead, wailed, whined, bit her lip till it bled or on the other hand, go still like a statue, silent and grave in an endless cycle of time.

So, when the doorbell rung and the voice of Kiki reached our ears, we stood up to welcome her like a saviour she was. Being the only person who knew her, I went to open the door with a determined expression.

Kiki stood there in her whole glamoured glory. A sequined bottle green gown hugged her body, something straight out of a red carpet. Her hair swept away into a Hollywood curls hairstyle. She smiled at me, her shimmery nude lipstick alluring me. I watched as she raised her wrist and flicked it once.

A sea of bodies passed by me. I had been so caught up in the moment of taking her in, that when half a dozen more-of-gangsters-less-of-bodyguards looking men went inside our hotel room, I could only stare at them with my mouth open.

"Wh-who?" I stuttered, not able to complete the sentence.

"Bodyguards." She winked. "I have more around." She swayed her head around. With curiosity, I peeked left and right. At least four more men in black were visible. How many were there?

I pulled back in, giving her an awkward smile. "Thank you--"

"Shh." She put a finger on my lips, her pointed red nail sending shivers down my body. "Show your gratitude by lending me your bathroom."

It turned out Kiki didn't really rally around in red carpet gowns. She borrowed our bathroom and in ten minutes she was out in a black and white trouser and a shirt. The sequin dress hung on a hanger, decorating the hotel room wall.

The silence had been eerie. Brandon was on guard with the six hunky defenders glued to the wall, all around our room. They blended in with the furniture well. That much was clear. But for innocent people like us, all we could do was fidget and flinch and sweat, praying for Kiki to come out and help us out of this suffocating situation.

Our breathing eased when she did.

"Bella? I'm Kiki." She extended her hand.

Bella hesitated. Brandon and I shot worried glances to each other. What if one of the bodyguards threw us out of the window because Bella made Kiki angry? It sounded funny but that's exactly what I imagined to happen (merely by looking at the size of the hulks).

It was fortunate that Bella didn't show any sass and extended her hand. Maybe she understood that her aid was the only thing keeping our boat afloat.

"I know," Bella said. She knew her?

Kiki raised her eyebrows as surprised as us. "You do?"

"2013, Hong Kong. We met at a fashion show."

"Isabela Rousell?" Kiki pronounced her full name, more surprised. She turned to me with an unbelieving expression plastered on her face. "She's her?"

"Yeah..." I trailed off. So both of them knew each other? For once, it only made the work easier for us.

"So that old dude is Alard Rousell?" She huffed, crossing her arms. "I guess I know why he's so stuck up."

Bella didn't react to any of the insults Kiki threw towards her father. On the contrary, I thought she wanted to add a few of her own and call it a day. But Giulia won't turn up with us sitting and warming our seats.

Introductions over, Kiki and I went right down to business.

"Here is a recording of what Giulia sent us."

I played it again. Kiki didn't express much. She listened to it with a straight face. Her eyes hardened like a granite when the part of Bella's father's involvement came on. When the recording ended in an abrupt manner, her eyebrow moved up a tiny fraction. The only other motion was her chewing on her lip ever so lightly.

"There's a girl with her?" Kiki spoke at last.

"Kate. She's in the competition with us. Or was. She got eliminated yesterday," I said.

"Is that it?"

"Um..."

"It's not all roses between us." Brandon added. "She's been in contact with Alard. And we know that she instigated the kidnap."

That led us to explaining her about the pen drive, the recorded confession of Bella and all the things in between. Kiki digested everything with an open mind, with no judgments or prejudices.

Talking that much was hard work, and after a while my jaw ached from moving too much. I opened and closed it, stretching the muscles. Except the bodyguards everyone had hogged a spot here or there. Kiki and I sat face to face, Brandon at my side.

When a silence ensued, all of us looked at Kiki for guidance. And hope. That one thing binding us to sanity.

"What's the worst that can happen?" she said.

I frowned, expecting a solution, not rhetorical questions in return.

Bella spoke up this time, exasperated. "She'll release the video!"

"And?" Kiki questioned.

"And?!" Bella repeated in a mocking tone. "That'll be the end of us!"

"Why?"

"B-because everyone will find out then!" She stood up, throwing the pillow away from her lap. It was a first for us to see her throw an tantrum. But honestly, it was long overdue.

Kiki provoked her more. "So?"

"So?" Bella fumed.

"Hmm. So? Were you going to live your whole life like a lie?"

"I-I... ugh!" Bella stomped her foot, flipped her hair, turned, crossed her arms, and plopped down on the bed.

"You weren't, right?" Kiki cooed this time.

Bella didn't answer.

"Were you going to? Tell me, Isabela."

The three of us--- Brandon, Sarah and me--- stared at Kiki in a new light. She had reduced The Isabela Rousell into a tantrum throwing adult and was about to coo her into admitting things we wouldn't have even dared to mention.

"No, I wasn't."

"The truth would have come out sometime, right?"

"Right."

She hadn't turned back to us. All we could hear were her small, monosyllabic replies.

"Good." Kiki stood up, her expression filled with satisfaction of getting Bella to admit and confess something I had earlier regarded as impossible. "Now we're going to find Kate."

She clicked her finger and one of her tall bodyguards, the one closest to us, stepped forward. "Find her. I'll give you thirty minutes."

He nodded, gave a side glance indicating three of the six men to follow him.

That's it? She could have sent them hours ago!

Kiki smiled. "I could have. But then we wouldn't be able to do what we're going to do now."

Brandon nudged me, whispering me to stay quiet. I had spoken aloud again, dammit!

Minutes passed by. We waited.

I couldn't keep my silence. "Where were you coming from Kiki?" I asked as the dress hanging on the wall caught my eyes.

"Oh?" She tilted her head, amused. Walking over to the dress, she ran her hand over the material. "It's better that you don't know."

Her words were accompanied by a wink, and I got the signal that wherever she had been could be illegal.

"Right." I laughed, more to dispel the awkwardness than because I found it funny.

I sighed.

Someone knocked on the door. Kiki motioned and one of the bodyguard peeled himself off his position and stalked towards the door. If by any chance it was room service or something similar, poor person would get a heart attack.

We looked on in anticipation. Bella too turned back to us, a pout on her face.

"We found her." He reported to Kiki.

The words sent waves of relief down my body. Bella covered her face her hands, taking deep breaths to calm herself. I patted her lap, standing up.

But then got hit by the uncomfortable silence. Kiki stared at her watch. How long had it been since they left? Fifteen minutes? How much ever it was, Kiki wasn't pleased. But a look at my face, she put on a smile and nodded.

The bodyguard gulped, and took a step back.

"There's one thing I have to say before you go." She paused, pursed her lips and looked straight into Bella's eyes.

I took a step away, and looked between the two of them.

"I've thought this through," Kiki spoke, "and your father isn't involved in this."

*****

Thank you for the chapter title @icBrowies and editing this for me @BrainNemesis !

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