008

IT was a female presenter’s voice that had just spoken, the sound drifting clearly through the radio waves until it reached Orlanda’s ears. She paused mid-scrub and glanced up from her work, listening.

🎬🎬: “Hahaha, honestly, it is a shocker for me too! The country’s pride? Ahh, he is back!”

Another female presenter chimed in, her laughter ringing in the background.

🎬🎬: “Well, as far as I’m concerned, I can’t wait for the business world to feel his presence again. He has been away far too long.”

A male voice joined in with a note of excitement.

“Too long indeed. Wow!” a voice echoed nearby, snapping Orlanda’s attention away from the radio. She turned and saw Kate standing a few feet away.

“Did you hear that, Kate? The Escobar is back!” Orlanda said with a bright smile.

Kate rolled her eyes.

“Much back in the country,” she muttered with a shrug.

“Ugh… big sis, who is Escobar?” another voice piped up. They both turned toward the source, it was little King. He stood watching them, curiosity written all over his face.

Kate simply sighed and turned to leave, and King’s attention shifted fully to Orlanda.

Orlanda chuckled softly.

“I wouldn’t expect you to know him, sweetheart. He left the country just a few months after you were born.”

“Left the country? But why would he leave?” King asked, throwing his little arms open.

She laughed again. What an adorable child.

“Well, baby, he had… some issues with his family, and he just decided to go away and stay gone for a while.”

But King wasn’t satisfied; his curiosity was growing.

“With his family? Then why is the radio telling the whole world? Or… isn’t everyone in the world hearing the radio like Dad is?”

“Yes, baby,” Orlanda said with a patient smile, “everyone can listen to the radio. But this is being announced because he is a public figure, not an ordinary person like most people.”

“No ordinary person? Is he a Superman? Or… maybe Ben Tennyson?” King asked, eyes wide with wonder.

Orlanda burst into laughter.

“He is none of those. He is just a very important and influential man, and very rich. His investment company is the number one in Philadelphia, and second to none in the whole country.”

“Ohkay!” King finally said, content enough to drop the subject, even if he didn’t fully understand.

“Wow…” Orlanda murmured again, her mind racing. She could hardly believe it, the country’s pride, back at last. She picked up the pace with her chore, eager to finish quickly. She needed to catch up with her friends and more importantly, with George, her boyfriend.

***

Lady Frances sat in the living room, threading beads into a complex pattern when Lord Dino entered, a laptop under his arm, phone pressed to his ear. He dropped into the seat beside her, his tone sharp.

“Yes, Solomon. Get the details, everything you can lay your hands on,” he said.

Frances paused her work and turned toward him, watching.

“I have told you many times,” Dino snapped into the phone, “you don’t work for them, you work for me.”

A brief silence followed.

“It is alright. We will talk later today at the meeting,” he concluded before ending the call.

Setting the phone down, he opened his laptop and began typing. Frances kept her gaze fixed on him, then sighed.

“How long will you keep doing this, Dino?” she asked quietly.

Without looking at her, eyes still locked on the screen, he replied,

“For as long as your son remains wherever he is.”

“Hmph,” Frances scoffed, turning back to her beads. “Now he is my son, right? But we were both custodians of the reason he vanished.”

Dino said nothing, his focus unbroken.

A sudden, urgent knock rattled the large entrance door, which swung open immediately.

They both looked up as a figure hurried in, it was Andrew, Lady Frances’ personal aide. He was breathless, his eyes wide with excitement.

“Good day, My Lord. Good day, My Lady,” he said with a quick bow.

“What is going on, Andrew?” Frances asked, brows furrowed.

“Yes, Andrew, what is the matter this time?” Dino demanded.

Andrew, still panting, glanced at the large television on the wall, it was switched off. He let out a sigh; no wonder they didn’t know.

Catching his breath, he finally spoke.

“My Lord, My Lady… Oswald Dino is back!”

“What!” they both exclaimed in unison.