THE FORMER SHADOW
61. For Money

Badrina gasped at the loud ringtone of her phone. Currently, she still lives in Nuraini's house at Arshaka's request.

Badrina paused the pacing step, vehemently picked up the phone and answered the call from an anonymous number.

"Good afternoon, this is with Badrina, the mother of Cantara?" ask a man. Instantly Badrina's body stiffened as her son's name was called.

"Yes, right," he said. "Who's this with?" tanyanya hurry.

"Your son is with us now."

"Where? Where's my son?" badrina yelled unsettled, her tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Don't yell!"

Badrina was silent after being yelled at. Badrina's body trembled violently, she was terrified.

"Mr...,"

Hearing the voice of Cantara, Badrina called out the name of Cantara. Unfortunately, it was just the word 'mama'.

"Prepare funds amounting to 4 billion rupiah as ransom. I asked to be paid some cash and bank transfer. The authorities must not know. We do not hesitate to remove it from the face of the earth, if you defect," the kidnapper threatened in a low tone so that Badrina was intimidated.

Badrina was stunned by the nominal ransom demanded. "I don't have that much money!" shouted Badrina furiously.

"It's none of my business! Info I know, you and the husband people are, so don't fuck around!" hard sweat.

"Where's my son? I want to talk to him," Badrina's tree.

"Just fulfill our request, your son will be saved."

The phone was turned off unilaterally by the kidnapper.

"Hello, hello... Canta. halooo. Aaaa...," roared Badrina again crying, until she sat on the floor of the room.

Badrina's cry invites Arshaka into the room. "What's wrong?" tanya Arshaka panicked to see Badrina like a possessed person ruffling and pulling her hair.

Arshaka approaches her, crouching to try to remove Badrina's hand from her hair. "News, what's screaming Rina?" asked Arshaka with a worried look.

Badrina shook her head sounding a roaring cry out from her lips. After hair, Badrina's hands beat her claustrophobic chest repeatedly. Badrina felt angry at herself and sad at the same time.

Seeing that, Arshaka held the hand of an uncontrolled ex-wife who could have hurt himself. Arshaka pulls Badrina quickly into his arms.

Tears soaked Arshaka's cheeks, unable to dodge, he felt the pain of Badrina's heart.

"If there's anything with Canta, I'm going to die, Shaka" whispered Badrina weakly. "I'm not so good at looking after Canta" Badrina whispered, continuing to blame herself.

"Sst.. What are you saying. Canta will definitely be found," said Arshaka as he rubbed Badrina's back, trying to comfort and strengthen.

Badrina shook her head in Arshaka's arms.

"So Canta's kidnapper called me, he asked for a ransom of 4 billion." Then Badrina sobbed, her embrace tightening on Arshaka's body.

"Where do I have that kind of money?" Badrina has been reluctant to convey the bad information she just received.

Arshaka's swipe stopped, he froze in place. "4 billion?" tanyanya made sure to come back.

Instantly Badrina remembered the legacy he had acquired.

Soon Badrina freed herself from Arshaka's embrace. Badrina touched Arshaka's arms while looking at her ex-husband meaningfully.

"The house that Aunt Poppy once lived in is already mine, I want to sell it to redeem Cantara. Are you willing to buy it?" Badrina's grip strengthened on Arshaka's arm. In Badrina's mind, the kidnapping of Cantara was purely his personal fault so it should be him who was responsible for redeeming Cantara.

"I beg you" said Badrina, clenching her palms together in front of Arshaka.

Arshaka observes the details of Badrina's face that imply deep pain. Just now that the woman was intending to die, a moment later wanted to sell her treasure in order to save their daughter.

"Shaka..," called Badrina teary-eyed, she shook Arshaka's arm which had been watching him.

"Hey.. Calm down, Rina," he replied touching Badrina's arm. "I'll think of a way out. I'm the papa, Canta lives my responsibility."

Badrina shook her head, her heart refusing. "No, Shaka. I don't want to incriminate. You need to think about your future. Four billion is not a small number. You could go bankrupt. I just want to sell the house to you, you won't have any losses. This kidnapping is purely my fault."

Kening Arshaka frowned dislike the sentence he had just heard. He broke away from Badrina's grasp on his arm. The man who was kneeling was also sitting on the floor with the carpet.

"Can you get selfish thoughts out of your brain?" reprimanded Arshaka seriously stared at Badrina's sharp bead.

"If you look at me badly because my attitude has hurt you, that's perfectly fine, Rina. But, if you think I can put my future first by ignoring my daughter, you're wrong, "fret Arshaka put on a disappointed face, she stood up wanting to walk out of Badrina's room.

As Arshaka stepped towards the door, Badrina made a sound. "I just don't want to bother you with that woman" Badrina said, not knowing why her heart was pinched on hearing her own words.

Arshaka's steps came to a halt, he knew who Badrina meant.

Arshaka's breathing is hunting, his jaws are tight, and his hands are clenched, wanting Arshaka to teach Badrina a lesson that still looks bad, even though Arshaka has no special relationship with Maulidya.

However, Arshaka understands that his actions during this time made him lose the trust of Badrina. Arshaka refrained from turning her body.

"I sold the apartment. There is nothing to worry about" he concluded then passed just like that from the presence of Badrina.

Suddenly Badrina felt guilty. He never knew what was going on between Arshaka and the woman he met in the apartment. Badrina thought the two would get back together considering there was a common thread of the past between them.

At the same time there was a sense of relief and warmth in the corner of his heart when Arshaka said he was responsible for their daughter. Plus, the woman Arshaka keeps in the apartment no longer lives there.

The sound of Arshaka's car horn. Badrina runs to the window opening the curtains, she sees Arshaka's four-wheeled vehicle leaving the house without knowing where Arshaka is going.

At the place where Cantara was held, two kidnappers engaged in a pretty tough conversation.

"How can a ransom be delivered by bank transfer?" ask the kidnapper without a tattoo. "The error is large, it can be tracked by the authorities." He had experience abducting others before.

"Here you go, don't interfere with that. The important thing is that we paid Monera's mother according to the agreement" said one song does not care about her friend's consideration.

"Not so, we're easily caught like that. It's the same as throwing yourself into the crocodile's mouth" said the kidnapper without a protest tattoo. "You have to tell Monera's mom, it's better to have cash than a bank transfer" he recalled.

Tattooed kidnapper Juki thinks again, he also does not want to spend the age to be behind bars just because the ransom problem is tracked by the authorities.

"Yes, Monera's mother will come again tonight. I'll deliver it. The cash should be in dollar form so as not to be too much," he welcomed the idea of his friend.

"Yes, that's what I agree with. We have to be careful with how to get the money because the nominal is big" concluded the man not tattooed.