Beneath The Billionaire’s Mask

It was raining cats and dogs with croaking sounds enough to scare a teenager. Her clothes were drenched with blood and even the rain didn't seem to wash it away. As she ran, she felt thorns piercing her feet but she dared not stop. 

“Run”, were the words that rang in her head. 

There was a light up head. She thought ”Finally” but as she stepped out of the bushes, a blinding light hit her eyes and then came the screeching tires.

“WHAM”, 

It felt like she had been carried by a whirlwind, but why did she have a throbbing pain in her stomach and it felt like the Stars were really close to her eyes. “ Beautiful”, she thought, but then she hit a hard surface and as the rain came down directly on her face, tears streamed down her eyes. The deafening ringing in her ears and finally…. nothing. Just plain darkness.

She opens her eyes weeks later in a hospital bed, surrounded by unfamiliar faces and a stinging pain in her head. 

“What’s your name”

“Where were you going”

“Where are your parents”, Said the people in long white coats 

She looks up at them with no words emerging from her mouth.

The door to her ward creaked open and as she turned to it, she saw the happiest smile on their faces, beaming with joy from just seeing her.

My Parents??? “She thought”

The not so young woman rushed to her and she flinched, almost going back into the covers of her bed.

“It's okay. You are fine now”, She introduced herself as Mrs Thompson and the man who was quiet but with a tired look in his eyes as Mr Thompson. He gave her a warm smile as she turned to him.

They looked just yet like simple people with gentle eyes and a warm but bright smile that softens the heart. Mrs.Thompson was softer, warmer, the kind of woman who smiled even when she seemed worried.

              Mrs Thompson POV

Just outside Valerie's Ward.

“How about we take her in”

“Honey, you are kidding”, said Mr Thompson.

“No one has come in search of her and its been a year and half now. She’s just a young girl, we can't just leave the poor girl alone to stay in an Orphanage when we could have adopted her….. Honey please, we have had no child of our own after the death of our own Valerie. Just please”, said Mrs Thompson as she lovingly held her husband's hands.

“Alright, Alright. Let's talk to the doctors first”, Said Mr Thompson, giving in.

“Yessss….. Finally, a daughter I can call my own”

As I looked into her ward, I saw her happily smiling at the paintings I had brought. Valerie, just as I had named her. 

“I really hope you will be mine till the end”

                 Mr Thompson POV 

Looking at how my wife played with the young girl broke my heart. I've never seen her smile like that after the death of our daughter.

                     FLASHBACK 

“Honey, Honey, Valerie is not breathing. Please come home quickly”, Mrs Thompson panted heavily as she talked to her husband on the phone.

“What!! Call an ambulance, I'm on my way”

I got home hours later only to be called at the hospital that our daughter, Valerie, had given up the ghost. My wife cried a lot but she didn't for once blame me, even though she had every reason to.

                   PRESENT DAY

 “ I should really do this one for my wife but why does that young girl look so familiar”, Mr Thompson thought but shrugged it off later on.

“ Doctor, can I see you please “

“Sure”

“ Doctor, my wife and I have decided to take in the young girl. No one has come in search of her for a long time now. It's only right we don't leave her here just to be sent to an Orphanage home after”

“ Yes”, that was my wife as she stood defensively at my back.

“We want her, doctor, and you would be doing her a favour by giving her a family that would truly care”

“Alright. Let me see what I can do, Mr and Mrs Thompson” As the doctor turned to go, he swiftly turned back.

“ Also, her estimated age is proposed to be 15 years old from the way she acts to the way she speaks and all. If you ever get to adopt her, Just take care of her”

“Thank you Doctor” Mr and Mrs Thompson chorused.

After a lot of pondering, the doctors eventually let the Thompsons take Valerie Home. No one questioned why they wanted Valerie, they really showed her parental care from the day they brought her to the Hospital.

 “ God sure has given her a second chance, even if she didn’t ask for it”, said Mrs Thompson.

Holding hands in hands, they walk out the hospital door like one big happy family but not without Valerie hugging all the nurses and Doctors and saying 

“ I'm going to be like you one day”

                   Mr Carlos POV

In a very furnished, spacious and exquisite office, with black and brown blinds just right beside 7 medium televisions arranged in two lines, each for a particular TV station. Roderick is seen coming in with bloody hands.

“Damien,Damien”, Carlos Calls.

“Yes sir”

“Get me a napkin”

Damien grabs a napkin from his neatly ironed suit and gives Carlos. Carlos cleans his hands, throws it on the ground and asks Damien to get rid of it. As Carlos begins to walk away, he stops almost immediately.

“Damien, how about the young girl who escaped that night?” Carlos turned to Damien with almost darkened eyes 

“I asked Diego to go after her and he ended up running over her with a car. She is dead as we speak but he wasn't able to get rid of the body as another car appeared almost immediately” Damien said

“Good. Are you really sure she is dead? I don't want any form of “Risen from the Dead” surprises”

“I can assure you she's six feet under at the moment”

Roderick turned away with a not so reassuring look in his eyes.

“Get that bloody napkin out of my office and let's head home. Today has really been a lot”

Carlos walked out and slammed the door behind him.

                    Valerie POV

As Valerie and the Thompsons stepped into the well furnished house, Valerie looked around. 

“Why was everything so unfamiliar? She asked herself as she clutched a novel she was reading tightly to her chest.

Almost immediately, Mrs Thompson who she was beginning to think was her mother grabbed her hands and said

“Welcome to your new home”

“Did we relocate?

“What happened?

Valerie had questions but it felt really difficult and uncomfortable to ask so she kept quiet and smiled at Mrs Thompson.

Mrs Thompson slowly dragged her along and walked into a room, bright like the morning star, painted in pink and purple with different beautiful paintings neatly arranged in a corner. It seemed like it was cleaned literally everyday to have shone like that.

Valerie smiled and happily ran to sit on the bed.

It's soft”, she smiled.

“You like it?”

“I love it”, Valerie squeed and smiled.

Mrs Thompson smiled and patted on her cheeks softly. As Valerie looked around, she spotted a picture frame with a little girl in it.

“Is that me?, Valerie asked, while pointing at the picture frame.

Mrs Thompson looked in the direction of her hands and immediately, it felt like there was pain in her eyes but it vanished almost immediately.

“Valerie, that's a question for another day”, Mrs Thompson turned to her and smiled.

“Have some rest before it's dinner time”, Mrs Thompson kissed Valerie on the forehead and headed for the door.

“Thank you mom”, Valerie said.

Mrs Thompson stopped abruptly. She turned around with amazed yet happy eyes. 

“Didn't I ever call her mom, what happened to me” Valerie thought 

“It's okay dear. Have a good rest”, Mrs Thompson said lovingly and closed the door gently behind her.

“Hmmm”, Valerie sighed

As Valerie lay down on the bed with her eyes up at the ceiling and a lot going through her mind, hoping for sleep, she felt her eyes shut gently but sleep did seem to pull her into the very dark corners of her mind.

And somewhere in the distance, faint and yet familiar, the sound of a man’s voice:

“Run.”

Valerie ran and ran with a striking pain aching in her body but she dared not stop, it felt like the “run” she heard was the drive. Suddenly, strong hands pulled her tiny legs and as her face hit the soil, she turned abruptly to see an unfamiliar face grinning from ear to ear. She pushed and pushed, crying and shouting as loud as she could but it seemed like it was all in vain as she couldn't even hear her own voice. As her body weakened and the soil dug deep into her nails, she was thrown into an unending hole with silent screams echoing from her throat. 

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh”

Valerie jerked awake, screamed and began to cry, suddenly her adoptive parents, Mr and Mrs Thompson, rushed into the room.

“VALERIE”, Mrs Thompson rushed to her side in fear and hugged her tightly 

“ What's wrong?” She asked, wiping the sweat off Valerie's face with her hands.

“I-I-I had a bad dream”, Valerie dragged her words as she let out a cry.

“ It's okay honey, it was just a dream. Nothing more”, Mrs Thompson said and held Valerie close to her chest.

“ Can you please stay with me tonight mommy?”, Valerie asked with teary eyes.

Mrs Thompson turned to face her husband who gave her a nod.

“Alright dear. Come here” Mrs Thompson lay on the bed and pulled Valerie closer to her.

Mr Thompson smiled at them and left the room.

“ Aren't you hungry?” Mrs Thompson asked.

“No mom”, Valerie said and paused for a while before asking.

“Mom, Can you please tell me a story?” Valerie asked as she looked innocently at Mrs Thompson.

Mrs Thompson chuckled and said

“Alright darling. Hmmm….. Once upon a Time………”

                   Cassian POV

As Cassian tossed and turned, with sweat glands dripping off his body into the bed, clutching really tightly to the covers with his head moving from side to side and voices echoing loudly in his head.

“ It's okay son, just do it”, Cassian's mother, Amy, assured him.

Cassian looked down at his hands and saw a gun clutched tightly in his hands aiming for his mother. He gasped and was just about to drop the gun when it was clenched tightly by really strong hands from behind.

“Oh no Cassian, You have to do it. You saved your father's prey, remember? And this now is the consequences for it”,Cassian's father, Carlos said.

“ Cassian, always remember mommy loves you. Do not grow up to be evil, okay” Amy said.

“Shut up Amy”, Carlos groaned in annoyance.

“ Do not grow up to hate your father”, Amy said with a teary eye.

“Shut up Amy”

“Don't worry son, you are not alone. I will always be by your side”, Amy said, giving her son, Cassian, a reassuring look with smiles and tears on her face.

“ I said Shut the Fuck up Amy”

Suddenly, Carlos grabbed the gun from Cassian's hands and shot at Amy.

“BANG”

Cassian froze in place with the blood of his very own mother splattered all over his body as she hit the cold concrete floor. It seemed like the loud deafening sound from the gun had affected his movement. Slowly, Cassian dropped to his knees and moved slowly to his mother, still shocked to the core. He couldn't cry, it felt like he didn't even know how to.

“ Damien,get Cassian out of here”, Carlos called out to Damien with hands pointed to Cassian.

Damien carried Cassian who couldn't even resist. He was just a child who had witnessed the death of his very own mother. With tears streaming down his cheeks and silent words emerging from his mouth.

“ Mom - Mom, don't leave me, Mom, Mom”, Cassian watched as his mom smiled at him amidst pain before closing her eyes.

“ Momm….”, Cassian jerked awake. It was a dream all along but it felt so real. Crying and Coughing, Cassian called out to his mom but no one seemed to come into his room. Suddenly, someone rushed in.

“Mom?”, Cassian gazed happily at the door but all hopes were nearly dashed away as Nanny B, as he popularly called her, rushed in and held him closely. He wept heavily because indeed his dream was the definition of REAL.

“ Nanny B….. I-

I killed my mom”, Cassian wept and rubbed his eyes.

Nanny B gasped and hushed him.

“ You didn't Cassian, You didn't “.