The Ghastly Return

It had been five years since she arrived here.

To err is human, to forgive, divine. Yet forgiveness depends on the offender’s conscience as much as the forgiver’s heart.

Emily woke up to gentle kiss on her lips. The soft kind that teased the corners of the mouth and lingered on the tongue with aftermath.

Then she turned lazily to the other side of the four-poster bed, an expensive swedish masterpiece.

"Honey, honey. It's a beautiful morning" Nicole's cool masculine voice came ringing into her head. He was such a charmer with icy cool blue eyes that stunned any mortal regardless of gender. A mighty physique and masculinity had the veins to adore a woman and knowledge on how to make her happy.

Gently, she opened her eyes her face hitting a beautiful sunrise and soothing wind, not the kind that flung her like trash in what felt like only a while ago.

She wasn't the battered girl with rags in the rain anymore. Her body was treated, worshipped with love and gold, her movements considered divine but her heart still had the scar and it had grown Ice-Cold, warm and responsive to only one man, Nicole.

She adjusted the thick cotton duvet, moving it to the side and sitting up like an angel to the man who adored her beyond words.

"Breakfast is ready, Em. Come, let's eat together" he said stretching out his hands and she took it gently, like they were hers to hold.

The maid had the table set with all kinds of assorted meals. A large turkey lay at the centre.

"Emila, Carl, Charlotte...I hope we meet again" she muttered, still feverish with flashbacks, inaudible as she settled to the side of the table next to her man, the one who brought her sunshine.

There was a mirror just beside her, there was one in almost every corner of the house. She looked at her reflection, it stared back, a smile with lethality underneath slipped across her face.

"You threw me out at Grethon City but in Flette and beyond. You will come to me and I will strip you and leave you empty, just like you left me that night"

A little hand tugged at the edge of her fluffy night dress pulling her attention back.

"Mom? Will we still go the park to-m-a-o?"

Of course I knew that last word meant "tomorrow", she'd made her little seven year old Leslie a promise. He had achieved excellent academic records, and this time, his reward was a visit to his favorite park, the most expensive park in the world. Yet he could be stubborn when he wanted to be and a little stalker. He taken after Carl's perfectly pointed nose, and had her curly blonde hair.

Everytime his eyes softened when he made one of his numerous cute request, she remembered what she went through upon arrival in this city, how she single-handedly managed four demanding jobs and raise a billion dollar investment industry from nothing but a scraggy old couch.

"Yes Pumpkin, to-m-a-o, we're going there. Now let's have a nice breakfast" I said with a smile, mimicking his voice and arranging the curls around his forehead tenderly. "We have some business to finish first."

"Is Daddy coming with us?" he said pointing towards Nicole, how could he not call the man he had from birth as a stable figure in his life "daddy"

Nicole looked down at him, his eyes softening

"I'll come, only if you finish your pie" he smiled.

Leslie hopped on a chair and started digging into his bowl with eagerness. It made her smile.

After breakfast, she made it to work in her BMW. Looking at her achievement everyday, she felt her chest loosen with both joy and grief.

Joy from the fact that it was worth it all, that she left after all and grief from how much she'd been through to get here.

As she stepped through the door, the atmosphere changed, workers scrambled. Someone handled the coat she pulled off and handed her a nice cup of coffee and the secretary and assistant, Mia and Faustina respectively, followed behind till she took the elevator to the final floor, the 100th floor, her personal executive office.

Her assistant and secretary, Mia and Faustina followed behind as she walked into her well furnished and exotic office, tablets clutched to their hands and glowing.

She settled at the desk and sighed briefly.

"Speak" she said, giving them the consent they were accustomed to waiting for.

“There are two cases at hand, ma’am,” Mia began. “Client A is Falcona Luxury Empires. They are seeking strategic partners for innovative cooperation. The focus is product launch anticipation and expanding brand positioning through coordinated partnerships.”

She paused then flipped to the next file.

“Client B is Carlton Junior’s Estates and Construction.”

There was a brief hesitation in the room, something in her seemed to awake at the call.

"Did you say Carlton Junior?"

Faustina glanced down, double-checking the repository file. “Yes… Carlton Junior”

Mia continued carefully. “They are currently facing severe financial instability. The company is burdened with a debt of approximately one hundred million dollars, arising from failed product launches, ongoing lawsuits, and halted expansion projects. They are now seeking investors, debt restructuring support, and potential property buyers to stabilize operations.”

The room went quiet.

At that moment, she leaned forward slightly.

“Is the Founder's name present?...” she repeated.

Faustina confirmed again. “Yes, ma’am. Carl Ben. That's the name listed for the founder in the file.”

She took the folder from her hand and inspected it carefully.

For a moment, she didn’t speak. Her eyes scanned the pages once, then again, slower this time. Then she closed it like a trap in her hands.

“Reject Client A’s application,” she said finally.

Both assistants paused slightly exchanging a brief glance, but she continued without hesitation.

“Focus entirely on Client B.”

She leaned back in her chair.

“Triple their funding capacity. We will not only invest, we will acquire a stake. Inform them we are purchasing sixty percent equity over the next three years.”

Mia took some notes.

“And notify them,” she added, voice firm, “that they are to come in today. The agreement is time-bound. If it is not signed today, the deal is off.”

Faustina and Mia exchanged a quick glance, then nodded.

“Understood, ma’am.”

They collected the files and left the office quietly.

Funny how life goes. It had to be Carl and I was glad to help as long as it had my long term interests in it. He said I couldn't live without him, now he'll watch me break him and live.

She rested back in her office chair, the glow of the monitors casting a quiet light across the room.

One screen displayed the reception floor below, she kept her eyes there controlled, orderly, like a predator awaiting a helpless prey.

They had informed her he was on his way, her ironically beloved ex, Carl Ben.

She didn’t move, but her eyes stayed on the camera feed.

Then, she saw him arrive.

Faustina stepped forward to receive him, professionalism intact as she guided him through the formalities. Mia stood beside her, handling the documents with practiced precision.

From her screen, she watched everything unfold.

So this is you… she thought silently.

A faint curve touched her lips, but it wasn’t warmth. It was recognition. Calculation.

Finally, you came.

"Let’s see how far you’ve fallen… or how far you’ve come, Carl" she said to herself watching him walk to a desk.

She leaned back slightly, still watching. Below, he signed. Page after page. Clause after clause. The weight of a collapsing empire being quietly transferred through ink and signatures.

He didn’t hesitate.

He never looked up, until the final page.

The moment the pen stopped, something made him pause.

His gaze drifted gently, across the office wall.

And there it was. There was a framed photograph and a child.

For a moment, he didn’t move, there was something about the little boy's face that seemed to prick his insides.

His expression shifted, it was subtle at first, then it tightened as recognition tried to form but failed to fully settle, he felt something about his chest shift as he stared into the eyes of the female's portrait on the walls.

“I’ve seen this before…Damn it!” he muttered, tormented by the boy's eyes under his breath.

He took a slow breath, almost shaking his head.

Emily? Definitely not, she was a good-for-nothing. People had clones around the world. It was just a coincidence. She could never have owned this place No. That’s impossible. It couldn't be her.

He looked away, forcing the thought down, as if dismissing it would erase the feeling. Then he turned back to the table and signed the final page.

Emily tapped the screen and zoomed in, watching the pen scrobble desperately against the paper, a smile formed on her lips. It was now it all began.