After dinner, Star made her way to her usual spot to watch the stars.
"Today has been a long day," she muttered to herself. "I don't even know where to begin. But is keeping Madam's gun a good idea? I thought she'd reveal the truth, as I suggested. Instead, she doesn't seem to care at all. She didn't even follow through with what I told her—she made sure I couldn't go to the hospital in her car. All I want is the real truth about Mendu's father and his location. He misses him so much."
She sighed deeply, gazing at the stars.
"Lord, please save his father wherever he is. Mendu never got to meet his biracial mother—he got stuck with the most deceitful one instead. Please, just save his father, if he's still alive. And help me—or him—to find him."
Inside the house, Mandume knocked on his mother's door. She let him in, already removing her makeup.
"Mom, I came to talk about the car. How's it going?" he asked.
"It's in the garage. It might take up to a month to fix, so you'll have to get used to taking taxis to school," Maria replied casually.
"But Mom, the car's perfectly fine. The tires can't just wear out in a month," Mandume insisted.
Maria's eyes flashed with irritation. "So, now you're calling your mother a liar?"
Mandume froze, unsure how to backpedal. "No-no, Mom, I didn't mean that..."
"Then stop questioning me," Maria snapped.
Mandume furrowed his brow, still uneasy. "Mom, don't you think it's strange? Two company cars are missing, Dad's car has been stuck in the garage for years, and now mine's just 'out of service'?" His voice grew more frustrated.
"So what if they're lost? What do you want me to do about it?" Maria shot back, her temper flaring.
Mandume stared at her, speechless.
"Mom, are you... stressed?" he asked, his voice softening with concern.
Maria's eyes widened for a moment, then she snapped. "Yes, because of Star!" She paused, her anger rising.
"Star? What's she done?" Mandume asked, confused and worried.
Maria took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "You know what? Go to your room, Mandume. We'll talk about this tomorrow."
"Mom, what happened? What did Star do?" Mandume pressed, his concern growing.
"She's your friend, right? I think you should know her better now." Maria's words stung, but Mandume was too lost to understand.
"Go to sleep. We'll talk tomorrow," Maria said, guiding him out of the room and closing the door behind him.
Mandume stood frozen in the hallway. "What did she mean by that? What did Star do?" he muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile, Star was still at her favorite spot, her thoughts racing.
"Lord, up until now, Mendu has loved me unconditionally. I know it. Please, lead me away from temptation, away from the traps set by the enemy. May their curses turn into blessings," she prayed, her voice breaking with emotion. "Please protect my baby and me from harm. We still need to find Senior Steffy... right, Steffy?" She spoke softly to her growing child.
"Right, Steffy?" She smiled faintly. "I love you so much. Now we're going to sleep, and God will protect us, okay?"
Star returned to the house, took her medication, and lay down to sleep. But as soon as she closed her eyes, the familiar abdominal pain started again. She tossed and turned, clutching a towel around her waist in a desperate attempt to ease the pain.
"What kind of pain is this?" she whispered, her face twisted in agony. She groaned and reached for her phone, googling her symptoms. The results made her stomach drop: Abdominal pain due to the weakening of the placenta, often caused by abortion.
"What? I'm not aborting my baby!" Star gasped, her heart racing.
She scrolled through more results, each one confirming the same thing. Panic set in.
"No, no... What did I do?" Her voice was shaky. "I know I'm not aborting, so what's causing this pain?"
Star searched for more answers. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw that certain pills could also cause a miscarriage. "Wait… the mutism pills? Could they be affecting my pregnancy?" she asked herself, now visibly distressed.
She Googled "mutism pills effects on pregnancy." When the results came up, her shock turned to disbelief—there was no such thing as mutism pills. The condition couldn't be cured by medication.
"What?! Then why did the doctor give me these pills?" Star exclaimed, holding the unmarked bottle in her hands. There were no labels, nothing to identify what they were. Panic flooded her chest.
"Oh God... what do I do? How do I find out what these pills are?" She swallowed hard, her mind racing. "Wait... it was Mendu's doctor who gave me these pills. Why would he give me something if he knows mutism can't be treated with drugs?"
Her eyes narrowed with determination. "I only have one way to find out."