treachery and sorcery

REBIRTH OF ESMERALDA

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Chapter 2: treachery and sorcery

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Esmeralda gasps staring at her sister, the tears finally falling down. “You planned all of this?.”

“I know, I should be congratulated for this.” Mercedes grinned with a hint of self satisfaction in her tone.

“Why will you ... I’m your sister, what the fuck are you thinking? Were you not thinking?.” Esmeralda breathed out. “What did I ever do to you?.” She yelled at her sister.

Mercedes frowned. “The question is what didn’t you do to me. Because of you, I didn’t get anything from our father! You bastard of a child! How can you get half and his biological children get only a little percent!!.”

Her sister shouted at her with so much anger that Esmeralda wondered if the hatred had always been there and she only missed it because of her negligence to pay attention to details.

“It’s not my fault, I was just as surprised as you are, I didn’t know anything about this.” She replied while trying to wring her hands free from the ropes.

Mercedes scoffed. “Of course you would lie that you don’t know. He told you everything, he shared everything with you, even the media calls you his most treasured possession. I’m his first daughter!!.” She raises her voice again. “But I don’t get half of the affection that you get.”

“You do get it but you are too obnoxious paying attention to me that you seem to overlook the fondness directed to you by our father!.” She retorted. "You are such a--" A harsh slap cut the insult short.

Her face feels like a massive bruise that was repeatedly stepped on as she closed her eyes waiting for the pain to at least reduce for a second before she could open her eyes.

Esmeralda was stunned but nonetheless not surprised anymore as she raised her face to stare back at her sister.

The hatred was shining obviously glinting in Mercedes’s eyes and Esmeralda’s heart shrunk in size realizing that Mercedes must have hated her for longer and she was only knowing that fact now.

Her sister hated her enough to send goons to kidnap her.

Her sister hated her enough to perhaps kill her.

At that thought, she shuddered a little bit thinking of how to get herself out of the situation and in the process, not get killed.

“Is it the money?.” Esmeralda whispered speaking slowly so as not to trigger any more violent attack on her. “If it’s me then I’m ready to give you everything.” Tears had begun to gather in the corner of her eyes. “I’ll just act like this never happened, when we return home, I’ll call the family lawyer so you can get the half inheritance instead, not me, we can do it your way—.”

“Shut up shut up shut up!!!!!.” Mercedes yelled out in an indignant roar. She immediately raised the gun in her and began firing shots above.

***

Silence coated the halls of the daycare, and the ebbing golden hues outside washed into pretty shades of pastel pink as the day almost neared its end.

It was finally naptime after yet another chaotic day of kids being, well, kids.

This was perhaps the most beloved time of both the teachers. With the soft, sleepy murmurs of the little ones, and the steady rising and falling of their chests came a sense of peace like none other.

“So? You said you wanted to tell me something, you know in the morning?” Maribel whispered from her side, startling Axel for a brief second.

She had put a sound asleep Ari in the cradle today.

“Uh… that, um,” Axel fidgeted with the drawing sheets of the kids, eyes fixated on the one that had white bunnies and brown bears on it, “I told you, that I discovered who my mate is.”

“Well, who is it!?” Maribel asked with her eyebrows raised.

Hesitating, Axel gazed into the other’s eyes, thinking over all his life decisions. Finally, taking a long and steadying breath, he braced himself for what he was about to say.

“It’s Esmeralda. My brother’s Esmeralda. I found out two nights ago.” Looking down at his hands, Axel went on with his shaky confession, “I don’t know how it happened, Maribel, I swear. It was too… instant. It’s never happened before, Mari.”

He looked up at the stunned expression of the omega, “You are going to report me to my father, aren’t you?.”

His father had already planned the arrangements between Esmeralda Gonzalez and his brother, Maverick. And Axel was very sure that his father won’t hesitate to remove anything that would stand in the way of the wedding.

“Hey, no, what’re you saying, Axel!?” Maribel immediately calmed him, holding his hand, “yeah, it’s screwed up that your mate has to be someone who’s in a happy relationship but we’re all family here. I would never tell on you, honey. Even if your father paid us big cash to have you work here with us.”

“Why’re you saying it like that, Maribel, it sounds like you are profiting off my existence,” Axel laughed, teary-eyed.

“We’re not letting you go anywhere. It’s okay for one’s mate to already be in love before they found them, and people, you, Axel, are irreplaceable so it’s her loss.”

Maribel’s eyes were gentle, tranquil. Axel had always loved this quality of theirs.

“Thank you, really, it means a lot to me, Maribel.”

It really did.

Growing up in his family with the fears of making mistakes, doing the wrong things, and getting kicked out or getting replaced by his better older brother took more space in his heart than the feelings of love and care, this really did mean the world to Axel.

When he had started working here, he only wanted to be near kids like he had wanted his father to do.

Axel hadn’t thought even for a second he would find a warm solace in the hearts of the owners.

Maribel, Knox, and now Ari, together they had shown him what it really meant to be someone’s family.

Smiling through the tears that threatened to spill, Axel exhaled, “I’ll do something about it, I’ll find a way to fix this… this mess.”

“Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? Things like these don’t happen without a reason, so don’t worry too much. You never know when something magical might come out of it,” Maribel smirked, making Axel roll his eyes playfully.

“Right. The only thing coming out of this will be my grave. If my brother ever finds out that his future wife is my destined mate, I’m going to be murdered, Maribel, you need to look out for me at all times! Call the police if I don’t show up. I’m not kidding!” Laughed the alpha in a hushed manner, trying his damndest to ignore the sharp stings his heart endured at his own words— future wife.

Knowing Esmeralda had a mate already, it hurt.

Yeah, Axel really needed to fix this before it got out of hand.

He was in the process of drowning within such thoughts, raking his hands through his hair in sheer frustration when a sound rang on his phone signaling a text.

Axel tucked his hands into his pocket she brought the phone out. He stared at the text as he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

An unknown number had just sent him a link to an article.

Axel curiously unlocked his phone going directly to the message box as he clicked on the link. Tapping his lap impatiently while waiting for the page to load.

“What?.” Maribel asked out of curiosity.

“I’m about to find out.” Axel muttered as the details of the link came up and he widened his eyes in surprise.

BREAKING NEWS: BILLIONAIRE HEIRESS TO GONZALEZ PROPERTIES, FINANCE AND INVESTMENTS, REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT AND GONZALEZ CORPORATIONS, MISS ESMERALDA GONZALEZ has been declared MISSING.

“What the fuck??!!.” Axel shouted to himself in disbelief as he scrolled down. “It was said that she went missing around the hours of 8am to 8:45am while heading for work. Her secretary said Esmeralda had the habits of not showing to work some days so she wasn’t concerned until she didn’t come for a meeting with a brand they were planning to work with and that was when she rang an alarm for the police around the hours of 12pm.” Axel read to himself and also Maribel who was paying attention. “The only thing the law enforcement officers have managed to recover is her vehicle which was found abandoned at the end of a close street, her bodyguards were nowhere to be seen and her driver dead behind the wheels.”

Axel finished reading as he dropped the phone in shock, his eyes widening staring in the distance.

Maribel picked up the phone. “There is a 1 million dollar prize for whoever manages to find the heiress.” She read out as she scrolled further hoping to seek for more information. “Esmeralda Gonzalez is the last born child of—.”

Axel quickly grabbed his phone stopping her from reading further as he stood up hurrying towards the front entrance.

“Axel.” Maribel stood up too going after him. “What do you think you are doing?.”

“My mate has gone missing and—.”

“And what do you plan on doing? You want to go after her? That’s a foolish thought!.” Maribel chastised him immediately. “How are you going to do that?.”

“I don’t know, okay?.” Axel said as he shrugged. “All I know is that she is in danger and I need to rescue her.”

He said and grabbed his coat from the rack before running out.

“Axel wait!.” Maribel called out but he was already gone. She sighed closing her eyes. “Moon goddess, please protect that child.”

Meanwhile Axel was already hurrying towards his car which he unlocked swiftly and entered inside.

He paused for a moment realizing he didn’t know where to start from.

Axel groaned before reaching for his phone to call his older brother. Swallowing his pride, he clicked on the number as he watched it ring.

“Axel why are you calling me?.” Maverick answered on the 4th ring.

“Has Esmeralda been found?.” He immediately went to the point not caring if his brother would be suspicious.

“No she has not, if that’s why you are — .”

“Well what are the officers saying?.” He interrogated the other cutting into his sentence.

Maverick’s anger could be heard through his tone as he replied. “I don’t know, Axel. I’m not with them, they are with Dad in the Gonzalez villa interrogating the social workers. Now would you stop disturbing me so I can look for my girlfriend.”

“That’s why I called you, I want to search for Esmeralda too.”

“You want to what?.”

“I want to help you search for Esmeralda.” Axel rephrased his words.

“Axel I don’t care, if you want to search for her, then search for her, if you like go to the deepest oceans looking for her, I don’t care what you do.”

Axel was about to reply when he noticed a black BENZ GLK drive past him. He stared at the number plate and realized it was his brother’s car.

Maverick was searching all round for her too.

Reasons why he could be the better mate.

“Where are you going to search for her?.” Axel asked already turning on his ignition. “So I can come with and—.”

“And do what, Axel? The police said we should stay put and that’s what I’m doing. I’m in the Gonzalez headquarters with some officers, goodbye.” Maverick said and ended the call.

Axel stared at his phone before glancing up to look at the road his brother just passed.

But he just drove past him a minute ago, now he’s lying he’s at the office.

Axel started the car as he drove onto the road trying to catch up to his brother.

Where was his brother going in a hurry?

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TO BE CONTINUED

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Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. And if you can, please support me by dropping a comment or gems <3... sincerely, Kam!!.