Chapter Two

The room spun, its edges blurring into a dizzying kaleidoscope. A guttural scream akin to the pained cry of a wounded animal escaped from my lips. I hit the ground hard, curling into a foetal position, rocking back and forth. Dread gripped my heart like a vice, the manifestation of my worst fears finally before me. I’m not sure how long I stayed in that position. I huddled on the floor, my hands wrapped protectively around my head, hoping that I could also shield my heart from the ugly truth threatening to pierce my shield of denial.

“Athena? Athena? Can you hear me kiddo?” Uncle Steven’s voice sounded strange and muffled in my ear, like he was underwater.  

I felt a hand rest gently on my back, moving in circular motions as if to soothe me.

“Athena, please get up. I know this is a shock, but you have to stand up, please. You’re scaring me.”

I lifted my head off the ground slowly, my vision still blurry and unfocused. I turned to face Uncle Steven, seeing tears welling in the corner of his eyes.

“Let me help you up, kiddo,” he said, stretching his arm out to me. I held onto him and slowly got to my feet, my legs wobbly and unstable like a baby learning how to walk. He guided me to an armchair, and I sunk into it, keeping my gaze fixed on the ground. My focus narrowed to the old rug beneath my feet, an attempt to tether myself to reality and brace myself against the tidal wave of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me and pull me under.

William Savoy cleared his throat and began to speak, “Miss Phillips, I am very sorry for your loss. I am here to read out the contents of your father’s will to you. Your father has left all his assets and property to you, you are the sole beneficiary of his estate.”

I turned my head slightly in Uncle Stephen’s direction and as if sensing my thoughts, he placed a large hand over mine. “It’s okay, Athena. I know how much Michael adored you. It’s only right for you to get everything. It’s what he wanted.”

William continued, “Your father also left a very er, peculiar instruction. It seemed he signed a contract with one Oliver Strauss-Jackson. It is a marriage contract. You are to marry his son, Levi.”

William paused in his delivery, as if expecting some form of reaction from me. I remained silent, my eyes fixated on a tear in the rug. I still hadn’t accepted any of this as real. Maybe if I kept silent, everyone in this room would disappear and I would wake up, shaken from the nightmare. I had had vivid dreams as a child and even though they hadn’t occurred in many years, it was entirely possible that I was in the middle of one.

“The marriage ceremony is scheduled to be held in a week from today at the Continental Grand Hotel. Of course, a meeting between you and the younger Strauss-Jackson will be scheduled to acclimate you with one another. The wedding expenses and guest list-”

“How did he die?” I asked, cutting William off.

“I’m sorry?”

“How did my father die?”

Uncle Steven sighed beside me, gently squeezing my hands. “The silly goose mixed up some of his meds. He ended up having a heart attack at his desk. What a way to go.”

I looked up sharply at him, the room coming into startling focus. “What meds?” I asked Uncle Stephen.

“Do you really want to know all this, kid? It’s not easy to hear.” He looked off to the side, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“Uncle Steven, please tell me. What meds?” I asked again.

Sighing again, he turned back to face me. “He mixed his blood pressure medication with some decongestants. I was later told by his doctor that they weren’t meant to be mixed together. Something about causing a myocardial infarction, you know all that medical jargon.  I guess it was the stress, you know? He told me that he had a lot going on at work, so I guess it finally got to him.”

An insistent ringing in my ears threatened to swallow up Uncle Steven’s words. My father, the most meticulous and diligent man I knew wouldn’t have accidentally mixed up medication he’d been taking for years.  There was no way he would make such a careless mistake. A chilling realisation sank like a stone in my stomach, twisting into suspicion. Could his death be the result of foul play? It would certainly explain the absurdity of this contract marriage business.

Dad had always fostered my independence, claiming that the sky was my limit. He encouraged my choices, even when I was wrong. He called it character building, teaching me to stand on my own two feet. Why would he suddenly marry me off to a complete stranger? It didn’t add up. It stood like a betrayal; a violation of everything he stood for.

“Did someone do this to him?” I asked gripping Uncle Steven’s shirtsleeve tightly. “Was he killed?”

A confused look came on Uncle Steven’s face. “What do you mean by ‘killed’ kid?”

“It’s just that dad was so careful you know? He’d never mix up medicine like that… He told me several times that it could be fatal… and what about work? What if he was mixed up with some shady people? What if he did something he shouldn’t have? What if he was in trouble?” the words tumbled out of my mouth in a frenzied fashion.

Uncle Steven and William exchanged a worried glance, as if dealing with the ramblings of a maniac. He then turned to me and said gently, “I know this is hard, Athena. I know. I struggled with it when I first heard. I didn’t even know how to tell you, I knew you would be crushed. You two were like peas in a pod. But he died of natural causes, I can tell you that much.”

“Well, was there a police investigation?”

“The police aren't prone to investigating heart attacks.” William said, finally regaining his voice.

I shot him a withering look before turning back to Uncle Steven.

“Well, surely we can request for one now?”

Uncle Steven turned away from me then, his eyes focused on a spot on the ground.

William adjusted his tie and said in a strained tone, “Well I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible, Miss Phillips. Your father was cremated a day after his death. It was one of the express provisions of his will.”

“What?” I screamed. “You cremated him without telling me?” I finally felt the tears I’d been fighting to keep at bay start prickling my eyes, waiting to drop.

“I’m sorry, Athena. It’s what he wanted.” Uncle Steven said, his eyes still downcast.

 The rest of the will reading passed in a blur. I couldn’t stop thinking about everything I had heard prior. The more I examined it, turning it over in my mind, the more bizarre it seemed.  The medicine. The marriage. None of it made any sense. Ordinarily, I would have sent Uncle Steven and William Savoy packing with their “contract marriage” and nonsensical propositions but the conviction in my gut burned brighter than anger: Dad had been murdered. The truth undoubtedly resided within the walls of the Strauss-Jackson empire. To uncover the truth about my father, I had to play along. I would swallow my pride and discomfort to unearth the truth about my father's death. I would marry a complete stranger. Investigating his death had become my new mission, and I would not fail.