Chapter 2: A single mother

Cars honking in the background and the hustle-bustle of the world outside filled the silence in the car. No one spoke a word in the car; they did not even look at each other once. 

Amy was working on her tablet, examining documents, and checking different reports. 

They were going to make an official announcement of their return soon, so there was a lot of work that needed to be done. Nothing could go wrong at that point. 

Jane, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was making different arrangements for their comeback through her tablet as well. While Theo, who was driving the car, was getting uncomfortable due to that pin-drop silence. He did not dare say anything to anger Amy. He stayed quiet and was afraid of even breathing too loudly.

The journey was quite long; their villa was situated in the middle of a dense forest, away from the city. No commoner was allowed to enter the forest; the orders were to kill on sight if they somehow managed to. 

There were thick wires tied around the forest, and several traps were set up throughout the forest to stop anyone from entering it. 

So no one knew about this magnificent castle where the lost princess lived and was soon planning to take over the world. It was a hideout, the place where Amy grew up and lived her whole life. It had been years, and no one could find out where she lived. So, many did not even know that the heir of the Astley family was alive.

The car slowed down after a long time, for they were entering the forest. The guards knew the path inside but were not allowed to leave without permission. 

The roads became narrower, and the loud noises of the world disappeared, and the sounds of birds, nature, and waterfalls started to become more audible as the car drove deeper inside. 

Theo opened the windows, for Amy loved those sounds. The sunlight became fader as the canopy became denser as they moved farther. Amy finally looked up after fixing her eyes on the tablet screen for such a long time. Her expressions changed, and she looked a lot more relaxed to be back at her home after being away for a few weeks.

Theo looked outside the window at the huge villa situated in a place where no one could even admire its beauty. It was not too tall, so the trees covered it, and no one could even imagine that there would be a mansion in the middle of a forest. 

It usually happened in fairy tales. Even though the set up was similar, there was a castle, a forest, and a princess; her story was a lot darker than those happily-ever-after fairy tales.

He felt sad that this beauty was a waste, for no one could admire it but knew that it was the safest place to hide from all those enemies who were trying their best to kill them and take their power to rule the world.

Theo got down the car and opened the door for Amy; she did not even look at him once and walked inside the villa. 

Jane and Theo followed her; on their way, a guy joined them and started talking to Amy. He was Levi, her second assistant.

“Mam, we have made some improvement, the auction is organized and you can execute the plan there.” He said as they all followed her in a familiar direction; they did not need to look at the path.

“Good to know I do not pay you for nothing.” She said as she walked from the lobby towards the rooms. They went silent for a second after hearing the sarcastic comment before a smile formed on their faces. It was their boss, after all. 

It had been a long time since she had assigned them those tasks, and now all the pieces were finally falling into place.

Amy took off the blazer that she was wearing as she kept walking in the same direction. Jane stepped forward to take it from her and also held her handbag. 

Amy paused after some time. She stood in front of a door that was different from all the others in that villa. It was pretty colorful as compared to the others. 

Levi was still discussing the plan, and the other two were telling her their suggestions. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The moment the door opened, the three assistants went silent.

“Hi, baby!” Amy exclaimed cheerfully and bent down, her arms open. A bright smile on her face and her eyes filled with warmth that no one ever saw coming.

“Mom! You are back!!” A child said as he came running towards her; she hugged him and lifted him in the air. He seemed to be around the age of five resembled Amy a lot; the same brown hair, hazel eyes, and that mole on her cheek. 

Amy smiled brightly, as she sat on the sofa, that boy sitting in her lap. If it were a stranger who witnessed this scene, he would have been shocked to the core to see this heartless girl smile so brightly. 

That young child was named Christian and was the most important and precious to Amy; after all, it was her most adorable son.

“Mom, I learned this today, the teacher said I was better than all those children he taught in school. He taught me all that easy stuff that I could solve within seconds.” Chris said in excitement as he handed her a notebook. Amy looked at it carefully and then praised him.

“That is my baby.” She said and pecked on his cheek. “And did you do the practice while I was gone?” She asked; the chid became gloomy as soon as he heard those words.

“I can not…I tried so hard but I was not able to.” He said with a pout. Amy smiled and think him in her arms.

“It happened with me as well." She started walking out of that room towards an open area, and I did think of giving up just like you, I still regret that, so it is better not to repeat those mistakes, right?” She asked him; he nodded slowly and was motivated to try again. She let him down, and they were now in an open area. 

“I’m doing this for you so you gotta be stronger for me… can you? I can not be with you all the time so you gotta protect yourself. You know how our life is, right?” She asked him. 

He nodded with a smiled as he lifted a small gun, that she had placed in his hand. He aimed it at the target that was placed in front of him. He focused at one point, and they slowly pulled the trigger. 

The gun was pretty light and was made, especially for him; it did not have real bullets in it. The dart hit a little away from the red circle in the center, and he frowned on seeing that. Amy smiled and stood behind him.

“You are doing better than how I was at your age…” She said as she patted his head and the bright smile reappeared on his face.

“Really? I am better than you?!” He asked excitedly, and she nodded. 

He hugged her in excitement, and she carried him in her arms again. Turning around, she was on her way back to Chris's room.

“Wow, miss, I heard you kidnapped all those rich businessmen today and also threatened to kill them?!” A man said suddenly, and Amy paused on hearing his words. He was standing to their right, leaning against the wall.

"He is dead..." Jane gasped.

"It is already the second time." Levi said, and they all felt bad for that old man.

Chris stared at her in confusion. She smiled at him and asked Jane to take him back. She let him down and squatted as he hugged her one last time. Chris disappeared into the hallways in no time. 

Amy was still on the floor; she took a deep breath and placed her hand on her left boot, which had a knife hidden in it. She took the knife out and threw it at him as she stood up and turned towards him. 

Her attack was too fast and sudden for him to dodge; he flinched as he realized what had happened. The knife was stuck in the wall, just a few centimeters away from his face; he started trembling even though the knife did not hit him. She had no intention of killing him; it was just a warning.

"I believe I have made it pretty clear that you are not allowed to say anything in front of Chris, have not I?" She asked him as she walked closer to him. 

"Y...Yes, mam..." He stuttered in fear.

"So?" She asked, her cold heart visible through her eyes.

"I...I am sorry...mam..." He lowered his head, for he did not dare look into those cold eyes. 

"This is the last warning or this knife would be inside you instead," She pulled the knife out and walked away from there, leaving that man trembling with fear. 

Levi continued telling her about the plan. The people who were invited to the auction. The items that were going to be auctioned. And who could be the possible ways to make an entry. Jane came back in no time.

They were walking in the hallway, headed towards the study when the guard came up to them. "Mam, elder master wishes to see you..."