Mimi might not have called the police but she was highly tempted to, especially in the middle of the night when the slightest noise would send her bolting upwards only to realize that her windows were locked and there was no one in her room.
Just her.
She remembered going back to bed with a deep sigh. If someone had told her that her seemingly mundane life would be shattered in a twinkle of an eye, she would never believe it.
The worst part was that Mimi didn't know which was shocking, the fact her best friend Arianna was involved with the Mafia or that Marcel - the man she even crushed on - was a mob leader and he employed her to be his what again? His coffee maker?
She should have known, the truth was staring right at her face. Mimi should have found it suspicious when Marcel chose her out of the many baristas serving at her former workplace. He knew what he had been doing.
He just walked up to her and contracted her services with a mouth-watering payment and what? And men! Did she feel like the chosen one? If only Mimi knew she was being led like a sheep to the slaughter, perhaps she would have opted out when she still had the time.
But it was too late, she was already contracted to them, and even without them being the Mafia, Mimi knew she couldn't breach the contract; she didn't have the compensation fee What has she gotten herself into?
She should have known there was something off about them when the security at the mansion was intense and crawling with guards that carried rifles that should be prohibited. Or perhaps, Mimi knew inwardly but she needed proof and now, the truth slapped her harshly on the face claiming Arianna as its victim.
The most annoying thing was that her parents were oblivious to what was going on, especially her dense mother who went ahead to prepare another meal for Victor. Was she kidding her?
But she had other plans, Mimi feigned sick and didn't have to deliver the food to Victor nor report for duty. And as much as her mother wanted her to settle down - because she was the only child - her health mattered to her first.
Mimi didn't even care to send a text to the soldier named Samuel that she befriended. She was still mad at him and everyone else who stood still and did nothing as Arianna was carried away by men she had no idea about.
Mimi didn't step out of the house even after her parents left for work. She stood beside the window of her room monitoring movements from the outside and checking to see if Victor had really kept eyes on her as he promised.
At the end of the day, Mimi didn't catch sight of anybody which could only mean Victor lied to her or the people he hired were damn good at hiding their presence.
But Mimi didn't waste the day, she spent it planning her next step. For sure Marcel and Victor - that is if they cared - would be pissed about her absence, but they could spare a day or two of break. Surely, they must know she needed a pause to take in all of this.
At the moment, her priority was finding Arianna or knowing the events that led up to this to be able to solve it and the first person that came to mind was Ruth.
Mimi called the clinic only to be informed that the woman was away and would be back the next day - which meant another day of absence at work. Not that she cared anyway, they might as well go to hell.
So here was Mimi on her way to the clinic as scheduled. She managed to fool her mother with the excuse of her sickness once again but Mimi could tell her mother was beginning to suspect that she was lying. Not that she called her out on it.
"Hello," Mimi waved at the woman she saw at the front desk upon stepping into the animal clinic.
"Hello?" The woman said, "How may I help you?" Her gaze scrutinized her intensely like a detective.
"I have an appointment with Ruth,"
"A sec then," She said and made a telephone call that barely lasted a minute.
"Follow me," She said and Mimi obeyed without hesitation.
As expected of a clinic, the whole place was sparkling clean and as they walked on, Mimi was able to see some activities through the visible glass walls like one of the doctors weighing a cat, another drawing blood from a dog, and many others until they reached their destination.
"Here," The woman pressed a button that produced a ringing sound before she opened the door and Mimi was able to go in.
Mimi spotted the woman in her white lab coat scribbling away on a paper and Ruth didn't even look up when she told her, "Sit,"
Mimi sat down, while looking around the clean, cool, and cozy office. It was then that Ruth finally lifted her head, putting the documents aside, and gave her the full attention she needed.
"You said you had something important to discuss with me," The older woman said, intertwining her hands that she rested on top of her desk. She was ready for their conversation.
"It's about Arianna,"
And when Mimi said that, she briefly witnessed the flash of emotion on her face before she resumed her collected manner.
"And what about Arianna?" Ruth pretended to be clueless.
"You know what I'm talking about," Mimi told her without taking her gaze off her.
"Of course, I know about Arianna, she once worked at my clinic, so I don't understand what else -"
"Don't play dumb with me, Ruth," Mimi interrupted her sternly, "I'm Arianna's best friend and I know what goes down in this clinic when the night comes,"
Ruth arched a brow at her, "And why exactly are you telling me this?"
"Look, I don't give a fuck what you do behind closed doors - it's your clinic, not mine. I just want to know about Arianna's whereabouts," Mimi confessed to her and the reply she got from the woman was not what she expected at all.