Brielle sat on the park bench, a slow breath drifted from her lips.
Fatigue had clouded her features ,and she barely had enough strength left to keep her eyes open.
She looked at the children in her arms, her expression a strange mixture of gloom and relief .
Gloom- for everything that had transpired earlier.
Relief – for successfully making it to New York .
Yet even after everything she had endured, one question continued to plague her.
Where were they going to stay?
The thought circled endlessly through her mind until exhaustion finally overcame her.
Her head slowly rested against the back of the bench, and she drifted into sleep, the children still nestled safely in her arms while her small bag lay forgotten beside her.
Goodness knew how much time had passed .
What eventually woke her was the sound of the children crying.
Brielle’s eyes fluttered open.
For a moment, she was disoriented.
Then she saw them.
Two men were walking away with the children in their arms.
Her heart stopped.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, shooting to her feet.
The men didn’t look back at her.
‘Hey!
Give me my kids now!’ Her voice echoed through the park , but the men continued walking.
Panic surged through her.
When it became clear that they had no intention of listening, Brielle charged at them.
WHACK!
A sharp blow struck her from behind.
She stumbled forward and collapsed onto the ground.
One of the men had been lurking behind her all along.
Tears immediately filled her eyes as she watched the others disappear farther into the distance with her children.
No.
Not again.
She pushed herself to her feet despite the pain.
She couldn’t lose them.
Not after everything she had done to get them here.
‘I said let them go!’ She shouted.
The men finally stopped.
‘And what if we don’t?’ The man who had previously hit her asked.
Brielle stood there, breathing heavily.
She raised her head and stared directly at them.
She remembered Adira.
She remembered what had happened to her sister’s eyes earlier.
Perhaps she could do the same.
Brielle shut her eyes tightly.
She concentrated.
Nothing.
She opened them.
Still nothing.
The men stared at her in confusion.
Then they burst into laughter.
‘Are you trying to play hide and seek?’ One of them teased.
Brielle’s heart sank.
Had she been wrong?
Was she different from Adira?
She swallowed hard before folding her hands together.
‘Please, I request you ,return my children to me.’ She pleaded, folding her hands together as tears streaked down her cheeks.
She had brought them to the city to escape from the malevolent Vaughn Dreadmore and his men.
She just couldn’t bear it that they were being kidnapped.
‘Please, they’re just kids.
Release them.
They have done nothing wrong.’ The men exchanged amused glances.
‘Okay fine’ one of the men said.
‘We will return them to you.’ Brielle’s eye widened with hope.
‘ Really?
Thank you.
Please-‘ ‘Oh but wait ‘ Her smile disappeared.
“I haven’t finished.” He stepped closer.
“We have a condition.” “What condition?” His lips curled into a taunting smirk.
“You’ll have to entertain us first.” The meaning behind his words was unmistakable.
Her expression hardened into one of utter disgust and contempt.
‘You disgust me, all of you!’ She screamed.
The men’s face twisted with rage.
He lunged toward her.
Brielle reacted on instinct.
She grabbed a fallen stick from the ground and swung it, forcing him to stagger backward.
‘Stay away from me you filthy pervert!’ She cried out.
‘And it is better for the both of you if you hand over the kids quietly before anyone else gets hurt.’ She warned, walking slowly but confidently towards them.
The second man rushed toward her.
She ducked beneath his arm and struck his leg, sending him stumbling.
Her fear had given way to desperation.
She fought with everything she had.
Not because she was stronger.
Not because she knew how to fight.
But because she had something to protect.
Her children.
One man eventually dropped to the ground, clutching his leg, while the other struggled to regain his balance.
But by the time Brielle looked around, the third man was gone.
And so were the children.
Her heart lurched.
“No!” She immediately chased after him.
The man disappeared down a narrow path, the children crying in his arms.
Brielle tightened her grip around the stick and followed.
She spotted another route that would lead to the same street.
Without hesitation, she took it.
She moved quietly through the shadows, hoping to reach him before he noticed.
The man drew closer.
Brielle waited.
Three steps.
Two.
One.
She swung the stick.
The man collapsed, dropping the children.
Brielle caught them before they could fall and pulled them tightly against her chest.
“Shh… I’ve got you.” She didn’t wait to see whether the man would get back up.
She ran.
She ran until the trees disappeared behind her and the sounds of the city grew louder.
Then she burst onto the street.
New York was still wide awake.
Neon signs illuminated the sidewalks, while storefronts spilled warm light onto the pavement.
Headlights streamed through the streets as yellow taxis weaved between other vehicles.
People hurried along the sidewalks, some carrying takeaway meals, others talking on their phones or laughing with friends.
The distant rumble of traffic blended with the occasional siren.
Above them all, skyscrapers stretched toward the night sky, their countless windows glowing like scattered stars.
Brielle barely noticed any of it.
She ran straight into the road.
A horn blared.
She froze.
“Are you crazy?
Move off the road!” a driver shouted as he passed.
Brielle looked around frantically.
Cars were everywhere.
She tried moving toward the sidewalk.
Another vehicle came rushing toward her.
HONK!
She froze again.
The car stopped just short of her.
The driver’s door opened.
A man stepped out.
He was dressed in a simple black suit, his appearance neat but not ostentatious.
His eyes immediately went to Brielle, then to the two children clinging to her.
“Ma’am, are you okay—” Before he could finish, Brielle’s knees gave way.
She collapsed into his arms.
“Hey—” He caught her and quickly looked around as impatient drivers began honking behind him.
“Move your car!” “Come on!” The man ignored them.
He carefully carried Brielle and the children to his black BMW 3 Series and placed them safely inside.
Once he had made sure they were secure, he closed the doors and slipped into the driver’s seat.
He fastened his seat belt and started the engine.
The car came to life.
He glanced at the rearview mirror and made a slight adjustment, bringing Brielle and the children into view.
He sighed.
He had no idea who they were or what had happened to them.
But he couldn’t simply leave a woman and two children unconscious on the streets of New York.
He drove for several minutes before finally speaking.
“Where am I supposed to take you?” There was no answer.
He glanced at them again.
The woman looked exhausted, her clothes disheveled and her face streaked with tears.
The two children slept restlessly beside her.
Something clearly wasn’t right.
He slowed the car.
Perhaps he should take them to a hospital.
Just as he reached for his phone, Brielle suddenly stirred.
Her eyes opened halfway.
She looked around frantically.
“Where… where are my children?” “They’re right here,” he assured her calmly.
“They’re safe.” Brielle immediately pulled the children closer.
Her frightened eyes met his through the rearview mirror.
“Who are you?” He hesitated.
“I’m just someone who found you in the middle of the road.” She stared at him suspiciously.
He could see the fear in her eyes.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said gently.
“I promise.” Brielle said nothing.
She simply held the children tighter.
The man looked back at the road.
He still didn’t know her name.
He didn’t know where she had come from.
And he certainly didn’t know that the frightened woman sitting in the back of his car was about to change his life forever.
For now, he was simply a stranger who had stopped to help.
But sometimes, the people who enter our lives by chance become the ones we need the most.