Chap 1: The Cliff Family

It was a busy day as usual. Six-year-old Triston Cliff was sitting in his living room and looking at his parent's Trent and Melissa Cliff, giving an interview on TV. It was the day of the opening of a new luxury spa resort of Cliff group of Hotels.

Trent and Melissa were self-made billionaires who started by opening a small restaurant. Trent and Melissa had completed their Hotel Management course and opened a restaurant as soon as they got married. Melissa was a great cook, whereas Trent was good at managing the hotel. Their efforts were fruitful, and they were now the proud owners of various luxurious hotels and resorts around the globe.

Triston was busy listening to the story of how his parents achieved their success when he is interrupted by the family Butler Reese. "Triston, you need to get ready for the opening ceremony."

"I don't want to go. These parties are soooo boring." Triston gets up and tries to hide behind the sofa.

Reese chases him around the living room and says, "You promised your parents you would go. They will be waiting for you."

Triston stops himself and agrees reluctantly. His nanny Anna helps him get ready for the party, and Reese drives him to the venue. The resort looked beautiful, and it was busy with the various guests and the invited media personnel. Triston ignored them and started looking for his parents. As soon as he saw them, he rushed and hugged his Mom. Trent and Melissa were ecstatic to see their son. Though both were busy people, they often found time for him. Triston insisted on having a tour of the resort, so Melissa asked Trent to attend to the guests, and she went with Triston to show him around. Once the tour was over, Melissa and Triston joined Trent for dinner, and they all had a great time.

After the guests left, Trent, Melissa and Triston got into their Limousine and left for home. Triston was very sleepy, so he slept lying on his mother's lap. While on their way back, they were attacked by a few goons who suddenly start shooting bullets at their car. Reese was seated in the front with the driver. Triston wakes up hearing the bullet shot, and Melissa holds him and lays down in the car, trying to avoid the bullets. Trent had a narrow escape, but the driver and Reese were shot. Trent soon rushes them to the hospital. The driver was dead, but Reese was safe as the bullet had hit his arm.

This event got a lot of attention from the media as well as the Police. The Police investigated but were unable to find the shooters. Trent guessed it must be one of his business rivals.

Trent was at his home the next day when Melissa came and sat beside him.

"Where is Triston? Is he fine now?" asked Trent with concern.

"Yes, he is fine now. He is busy playing on his PlayStation. What about Reese?"

"He is out of danger. Luckily the bullet hit his arm, and the bleeding was not much as we took him to the hospital soon," says Trent.

"Why would anyone do this to us? We never harmed anyone," says Melissa feeling bad for the driver who lost his life.

"Some people don't need a valid reason to hurt others; they are just jealous of others success."

" I will give away all of this wealth just if they agree to leave us alone. I can't imagine losing you and Triston." Melissa shuddered when she recalled the previous night's incidents.

" I think their main target was me and maybe even you, but Triston is at risk only by being with us", says Trent after a lot of thought.

Melissa was almost in tears now " Do you think they will try again?"

Trent didn't want to accept it, but the recent events were not in their favour. There were already two attempts on their life, but can they be lucky every time. Melissa got her answer, looking at Trent's worried look, and she burst into tears.

Trent hugged her and tried to calm her down. " I have increased the security everywhere, our home, company and all the hotels. I won't let anything happen to you and Triston."

Melissa seemed to have calmed down a bit when Trent's brother Malcolm's family visited them. Melissa was an orphan, whereas Trent had no other family except for his elder brother Malcolm.

Malcolm Cliff was a very ambitious man. He wanted all the luxuries and riches, but he never worked hard for it and always wanted an easy way out. He had made Trent invest in many of his business ideas, but none of them succeeded. Trent soon realised that Malcolm was careless and never really worked to grow the business; instead, he was busy leading an extravagant lifestyle and wasting his money. Eventually, Trent stopped investing in Malcolm's so-called business ideas, and he had no money left with him. He came to Trent begging for help, and Trent agreed out of pity and gave him a key position in his company.

Even after so many setbacks, Malcolm did not seem to change his ways. He was still lazy and often ignored his official work. His wife Nancy was a perfect partner for him. They were exactly like each other, who liked to spend money drinking and partying around with friends. Seeing Trent and Melissa's luxurious lifestyle, Malcolm and Nancy were jealous of them. They wanted that lifestyle. Their jealousy took a deadly turn, and they started to devise plans on getting hold of the Trent fortune. As Malcolm was now working in Trent's company, it was easier to access his documents. He had secretly looked into his brother's legal papers and knew he did not have a will yet.

It was Malcolm who had hired the assassins to kill his brother and his entire family. As Malcolm was the only blood relative alive, his brother's assets would automatically come to him.

Malcolm was now enraged. His brother and his family got lucky again. He had planned for this assassination for a long time, hiring the best assassins, but yet again, he failed. A few days back, he had tried to kill them by poisoning their food, but they did not have that food at all.

Malcolm now decided to calm himself, as this was not the time to get angry over what did not happen; instead, he should check whether the Police have got any clues against him. So, he and his family go towards the Cliff Mansion to show fake sympathy.

Malcolm rushed towards Trent with fake tears in his eyes and said, "How are you, brother? I was so worried for you."

Trent replied, "I am fine, Malcolm; the shooters could not get to us."

"What about Triston? That poor kid must be so scared," chimed in Nancy, showing her fake concern.

"Triston is a bit disturbed by all this. He was asleep at that time, and he woke up when he heard the gunshot," says Melissa thinking about the dreadful incident.

"Did the Police catch the goons?" asked Malcolm with a hint of worry.

"Not yet, but they said they would catch them soon," says Trent.

Malcolm and Nancy exchanged worried glances but were interrupted by their son Fred who asked to play in the Games room. Melissa called for her maid and asked to take Fred and Jeff to the Games room where Triston was playing.

Fred and Jeff were both eight years old and were a perfect example of a devil's spawn. Even at this age, the amount of negativity they had in them was immense. It seems like they followed in their parent's footsteps. Both of them go to the Games room and see Triston busy playing on his PlayStation.

Fred goes and snatches the handheld console from him. "That's not the way to play it. I will show you how it is played." Saying this, he moves Triston aside and starts playing. Jeff takes the other handheld device and starts playing with him.

Triston wanted to say something, but he was already very disturbed by the previous night's shootout, so he ignores them.

Later on, Malcolm's family have their dinner at Trent's house and leave. Malcolm was relieved that Police, as well as Trent, do not doubt him.

A few weeks later, the Cliff's had to go to Paris for a conference, but on the day of the trip, Triston was down with fever. Trent and Melissa were about to cancel the trip and stay with Triston, but he insists on not ignoring their work for him. Upon getting assurance from Reese that he would take good care of Triston, Trent and Melissa leave for Paris in their private jet. Before leaving, both Trent and Melissa hug Triston and ask him to take care of himself. Trent was worried for Triston's safety, so he takes Reese aside and informs him not to allow Triston to wander off alone and always stay with him.

The following day, Triston was eagerly waiting for his parents call. He guessed they must have reached by now, but still, they didn't call him back. His fever was still not down, and this stressed him out more.

As soon as Reese came to his room, Triston got up from the bed and asked, "Did they call?"

Reese gave a sad look to Triston.

Triston stared at Reese, who looked like he was crying. His eyes were red, and he tried to avoid looking at him. "What happened? Were you crying?"

Reese suddenly hugged Triston and burst into tears. Triston was confused and asked again, "What happened, Reese? Are you hurt?"

Reese was crying nonstop. His heart pained for the kid. Finally, he mustered up his courage and whispered, "Your parents…." the remaining words seemed to have stuck in his throat in between his tears.

He gently pushed Reese away and asked, "What about them? Did they call you? They must be worried about me."

"The j…j…jet they were travelling in…… c…c…crashed."

Triston gave a worried look and asked, "Crash? Do you mean like how car crashes on the road? How can an aircraft which flies in the air crash on the road?"

"T…t…there was some technical problem, due to which the pilot c…c… couldn't control the plane and it c…c…crashed on the ground," says Reese in between his sobs.

"How did you know that? Did Dad tell you? That was Mom's favourite plane; she must be so sad."

This was the moment Reese was dreading. How could he explain to a six-year-old it was not only the plane which was destroyed.

"Please t...t…try to understand Triston. Y…y…your parents were i…i…in the plane when it crashed. The plane e…e…exploded."

A sense of dread filled Triston. Though he was only six years old, he was definitely more sharp than the kids his age, but he did not want to accept what he was thinking. It can't be true.

"Are they hurt? What are we doing here? We must go and see them. Let's leave now."

Reese gave a pained look to Triston and hugged him again. He whispered in between his tears, "T…t…they are g…g…gone."

Triston pushed him away again, not gently this time. "W…w…what do you mean they are gone? T…t…they had promised me they would c…c…come back soon."

"T…t…they are n…n…not coming back, Triston. They are n…n…never coming back."

"NO… I don't believe it. T…t…they c…c… can't leave me. They p…p…promised," screamed Triston. Tears started pouring down his eyes, and he seemed to be in a panic. Reese tried to hug him and calm him, but Triston was pushing him away.

"They a…a…are not g...g…g…gone. Y…y…you are lying." Triston was crying and screaming and slowly lost consciousness.

Reese was worried for Triston. He already had a fever, and this news was too devastating for him. He laid him on the bed and called for the Doctor to check over him.

Reese waited for the Doctor and stared at the unconscious kid whose eyes were still filled with tears. Why did this poor child have to lose his parents at such a young age? What would happen to him now? He remembered Trent's last words to him. Before leaving, he had asked Reese to always stay with Triston. He held the unconscious kid's tiny hand and promised him, "Don't worry, Triston. I will always be there for you."