DOMINIC“Well...?” Janet broke the silence and I saw that her gaze was fully pointed at me.“What?”“Are you just going to sit there as if you just didn’t do something wrong?”Honestly, I don’t see anything wrong with what I said. Grace has something somewhere she is entitled to and I was trying to make her realise that it was not only possible but right to get it back.“I am sure she needs some space,” I gruffly replied, my hand already reaching into my pocket before I recalled that Grace collected my phone earlier. Now would have been the best time to check in with Dave.“Do you even know what you did?” Janet flashed me her signature elderly, speech on the way, kind of eyes.“I know that,” I ran my hands over my thigh while my head tried to reason a quick way out of the room, “she should be the owner of that company. It is obvious. Besides Stanley always speaks of not being the...”“Jesus Christ, Eliot. The woman just sang into our ears that she doesn’t want anything to do with it.
GRACEIf I were putting on glasses right now, I would push the glasses to the rim of my nose, then slightly duck my head to fully express my astonishment.“There,” Doctor Lumber threw his hands carelessly, “I said it. She is my daughter.”Oh. He is serious.Wait, didn’t he just say that Ruby is his daughter? And it doesn’t look like he’ll start laughing anytime soon.Wow.Wow.I need to sit down.As I moved toward one of the couches, Doctor Lumber did the same, Dominic’s stone-cold eyes furiously trailing his movement.Second after, Dominic asked, “What am I supposed to do with that statement?”“Dominic, I know this is sudden, but it is the truth.” Doctor Lumber looked up at Dominic whose jaws were now set in a manner that suggested that anger and impatience were building up in his soul. On the other hand, the Doctor looked sober. Really, really sober.“I can’t believe your claim until it is proven to be true.” Dominic moved until his whole physique was facing the man. “But, how the h
DOMINIC“Dom, we can’t just rush into that place. We still don’t know who we are dealing with. So, how about we let Grace go there?” Dave suggested, a deep sigh escaping his lip after. “Of course, Grace won’t be alone. But we will make this person think she is. And thankfully, there are tiny cameras we can attach to Grace’s outfit. They will capture the culprit’s visuals. From there, we can forward the details to the cops.”I was already feeling stuffed and could not bear to rack my brain anymore. So I nodded in agreement while I hoped that things wouldn’t get immensely worse.“Your idea will delight Grace,” I said after many seconds.A short smile formed on Dave’s lips. “I certainly did not miss the look on her face when you stopped her from thinking about going.” As he closed his laptop and proceeded to gather his things, he continued, “You really like her, don’t you?” I responded with a little jerk of my eyebrows. “Good.” his hands stopped reaching for his stuff and he faced me squ
DOMINIC“Daddy!” Her louder cry made me realise that she was closer than I thought. So, as my feet dragged and moved forward, I searched until I saw her little self rushing toward me.“Ruby...” I breathed in relief once she was engulfed in my arms. My crouched figure felt more relief when I confirmed that the contact between us was very real.“Daddy,” Ruby’s voice was shaky, so I temporarily broke our hug to take a look at her face.“Yes, my daughter?” I tried to smile for her, but the signs of dirt on her face broke my heart so much, it took everything within me to not sob. “Where is Grace? She is here, right?”The film of tears that formed in Ruby’s eyes as she shook her head broke my heart more. But her response had a worse effect on me. “They... They took her. I... I don’t know where, but...”I nodded. One of my hands brushed her hair backwards and I asked, “Who took her, Ruby? Who are they?”“I don’t know, Daddy.” Her tears started to fall, her sobs began to grow and I had to bit
DOMINICAt first, the name was vague.I don’t even recall the night she kept referring to. But after some seconds of deep thinking, I made the connection.My hands stretched mid-air and a huff of disbelief escaped my lips.“You are Grace’s friend.”“In the flesh.” The grand smile that followed made my entire system recoil in disgust. It was quite evident that she was a psycho and that means I have to be careful with the words I say.“Why? Why are you doing this?” I asked once I shook the shock away.Her mouth made a clicking sound.“I knew I would be asked that question at some point, but I didn’t you would be the first to ask.” She took one more step and my feet quickly reacted. I found another area to stand. Thankfully, all she did was sigh and resumed her talk. “I am doing this because Grace… Because…”Suddenly, she thumped her foot on the ground while her face carried an expression that suggested that she was trying to form her words.Her melodrama was hardly amusing or engaging.
GRACEA faint voice was what it took to pull me out of the darkness I got dragged into. While I tried to adjust my sight to the sudden brightness, I heard the voice from earlier and quickly recognised it to be Dominic’s.The desperation I detected in his voice caused me to force my eyes to whip open and when all I could see was Dominic, I noticed how worried he was.“Grace.” The way he held my cheeks was enough warmth, but it was also an indication that something huge had happened. “You are awake,” he said, his voice now a breath lower.“D-Dominic?” I swallowed hard to get rid of the parchedness in my mouth.The man sighed again and moved his lips to my forehead where he planted a very long kiss. When he pulled back, he whispered “Oh, thank God. Thank God you are okay.”The next second, our foreheads met and I tried to figure out what the cause of Dominic’s earlier despair was.“Dominic,” I was going to move my hands but they didn’t budge, “is Ruby okay? Please tell me she is fine.”“
GRACESo, I faced Dominic and he quickly shook his head before I could say anything.“Don’t be crazy, Grace. I can’t be with her.”“It is the only way Dominic. What will happen to Ruby if we don’t make it out of here?” The incessant beeping was becoming deafening and it added more tension to the room. “Dominic, we have to walk out of this place alive.”Dominic moved closer. And with shaky hands, he tried to get rid of the ropes holding me.“Dominic.”“I can’t do that, Grace. I can’t betray the love I have for you. I can’t let her win.”“Dominic.” His attempt was futile but he didn’t give up. “Dominic, look at me. Look at me. Please.”“I need a knife. The ropes are too thick.”“Look at me.”He became more feverish and seconds later, he did as I asked.For a moment, I admired the beauty his eyes carried even though they were distressed. It reminded me of the first day I saw Dominic. Those eyes were the first thing I noticed.“Dominic,” I whispered and he moved closer until our sweaty fo
GRACERoughly two months later, things were a lot calmer. And thanks to a swift relocation to a lovely city in the Philippines, the incident that happened back then was almost forgotten.I guess Dave was right when he said that staying in the Penthouse for too long might continuously rouse memories of that day.I am not saying that I have forgotten what happened.Now and then, when I close my eyes, I see how evil Samantha was on that day. When I recall that moment, I wish to hate her with all I have. But knowing that the end she met wasn’t so good, I always end up with mixed feelings.But, in the midst of all those thoughts, one question continues to ring in my head.“I still don’t understand how Samantha was able to enter the hotel without arousing suspicion,” I said, my toes wiggling as I snuck into the blanket Dominic draped over his lower body.Dominic kissed my forehead and replied, “During the investigation, Dave and his guys found a secret elevator.”“There’s a secret elevator?