“Really Sir?” Lucia's enthusiastic voice asked as she couldn't hide the tone of excitement in her voice. “Yes child, and I've told you already, it's Thomas” Mr Thomas replied as he tried to stifle a giggle. “Oh, sorry. I forgot. I'll send you the location of the hospital right away S…Mr Thomas” Lucia immediately corrected herself before ending the call. After she had successfully sent the hospital address and room number,she went further to settle the hospital bills and see her late dad. She was led inside the cold room where she was led to the long drawer like object in which her late dad was kept with a tag on his leg. Never in her life did she imagine it would get to this within some couple of days, but then again, life had its way of doing things. She gently shifted the white material which was used to cover her dad from head to toe and uncovered his face which was by now looking pale. “Good morning dad. I just came to see how you were doing. What was that? How am I faring?”
The traffic on Wilson's way to work was really much, and this was going to be responsible for his lateness to work. On a normal day, he would be as impatient as a moose, laying outrageous curses on the cause of the traffic. However, the morning of that fateful day was different. The driver did the cursing. Wilson on the other hand saw the traffic as an opportunity to draft out a new outline on what to do next, since his talk with Lucia didn't really go well. He wasn't going to attempt calling her again and would instead carry out an act that would silence Lucia and keep her as far away as possible from him. “But wait a minute, what can I do? I've literally done everything I could think of. I tried giving her money and calling her to talk things out. She didn't buy any of the two. What else can I do?” He asked himself inaudibly. In the process of thinking, he got himself distracted by his driver, Jim who noticed his boss was lost in thought. “Are you alright Sir? You've been keepi
“How do you know my mom's name?” Lucia asked in utter shock. She looked at Mr Thomas only to see confusion written all over his face. At least she wasn't the only one in the dark. “Jada is your mom? Oh my goodness” Mrs Benita exclaimed, still leaving Lucia confused. “How do you know her? Have you met her before?” Lucia asked once again. She was getting really curious, and Mrs Benita’s reaction wasn't helping her at all. “I can't believe after all these years, I would finally meet you in this state” Mrs Benita wailed. She literally broke down into tears for the next few minutes. Her voice was really loud as it woke Jada up. “Who in the world is making such noise” Jada grumbled in annoyance as she turned to look at the source of the noise. “Jada? It's me, Benita. Do you remember me? I was your friend ever since you moved into our neighborhood” Mrs Benita explained. Jada still seemed confused and lost, and this drived Mrs Benita to do what she had no choice but to do. She rolled up
“I'm sorry to interrupt you boss, but do you mean get rid of her as in kill her or…?” Jim asked, seeking to clear his doubts. Wilson however was not happy with the interruption as Jim could clearly see one of Wilson's eyebrows twitching. “You know, I sometimes wonder if you become dumber by the day. To answer your silly question, I'm not killing anyone, not now, not ever. I feel stupid replying to you right now, so just disappear already. C'mon, get going” Wilson puked from his cavity, chasing Jim away as though he was a mosquito. “I don't want to see your face till you are summoned, so try your best possible to avoid me” Wilson shouted at Jim as attempted to leave the office. As silence befell the office, Wilson got bored by every passing second. He tried checking out some business proposals to pass time, but it seemed unfruitful as he flinged the file away from his face. Calling Jim back to keep him company would mean him losing face and looking like a joke before Jim, and that
“Mom? Aren't you done seeing dad?” Lucia asked from outside the mortuary. There was no reply from mother who had been in there for the past fifteen minutes and counting, making Lucia feel worried and uncomfortable. It was a rule to knock before entering the mortuary, as it was rumored that the dead weren't always ‘dead’. Lucia obeyed that rule by knocking before ushering herself into the cold room. The room gave her chills as there were dozens of dead bodies, if not more in similar state as her dad. She however couldn't help it and decided to just get used to it for the meantime. “Mom?” Lucia called out as she walked towards where her dad's corpse was. She met her mother sitting down on the floor, silently sobbing next to her dad. This was a sad picture which would forever be imprinted in her memory; her sick mom crying next to her late father. She needed to be emotionally strong at this moment so as to prevent another stream of tears from escaping. “It's alright mom, let's go”
“What about the police? Are you in trouble?” Jada asked, following the alarm which was raised by Lucia. This was Jada's first statement ever since they began the journey. “No mom, not that. I'm supposed to go to the police station now to enable me to pursue the case I filled” Lucia explained to her mom, whose face showed confusion. “Case? What case?” Jada asked, looking perplexed. “The people responsible for the death of dad. I've never really gotten to tell you how dad got killed, but an opportunity just presented itself. Dad was killed by a hit and run driver in front of my workplace. The police tracked down the truck to a company which deals in fabric. Turns out the C.E.O was the rude and arrogant punk who slapped me on the morning of that same day” Lucia explained, bringing her sad tale to an end. “You got slapped?” Jada asked in disbelief. She had never raised her hands on her child all her life, and now she just learnt that her daughter was physically molested by an unthough
Back in the staff meeting which was for every worker in the company, Wilson brought out his full focus and ruthless side on the presentation being given by the heads of department. He had made sure to completely shift the thought of policemen coming to the company at this moment. Wilson had made sure that every single staff member participated in the meeting, and the only people excluded were those in charge of the security of the company. The sole purpose of the meeting was for each department head to give a brief summary of how his/her unit has been of benefit or loss to the company, and also to fish out ghost workers and those whose services weren't beneficial to the company. Wilson was the one to access the file given to him to ascertain the sincerity of each of the claims. If he found out the claim was false, it was his duty to give out the deserved punishment, be it salary deduction, open rebuke or firing. In essence, this was a crucial meeting which would be of a huge bene
The police cars came to a stop right in front of the gigantic Fabric company which was owned by the Palma's. Lucia was taken aback and somewhat intimidated by the man who she dared to face. She could now understand where the proud and rude behavior came from, he was obviously spoiled. “So this is the mighty Palma's Company. It's really a sight to behold” Lucia confessed aloud as she looked at the mighty multi floored building before her. She had begun to feel tense and to an extent she regretted the decision to follow the police.“Scared huh? Don't be. He won't bite or shoot, I'm sure of that” Officer Lucia affirmed. This to an extent helped in making Lucia calm. As they approached the building, they were stopped by the security men on duty. “Who are you looking for?” One of the security men asked. “We are from the Chicago police division, and we came with an arrest warrant. Unless you want to fight the law, you better make way” the head of the group of officers voiced out. “I d
The ‘feast’ mood in Lucia and Mr. Thomas seemed to have vanished into thin air after the unsettling encounter with Wilson. While Lucia wrestled with thoughts about what she had done to deserve such an experience, Mr. Thomas, on the other hand, couldn’t stop thinking about the court case. Although the legal matter didn’t really concern him, he had grown attached to Lucia, considering her like a third daughter, even though they had only known each other for a short time.They were both so absorbed in their thoughts that they didn’t realize when they had arrived at their destination. It wasn’t until the taxi driver’s persistent voice brought them back to reality.“Hello? Can you hear me?” the driver called out, slightly annoyed. “Huh?” they both muttered in unison, snapping out of their trance as they turned to face the driver who had been waiting for them to acknowledge him.“We’re here. Isn’t this where you wanted to go?” the driver asked, gesturing to the building in front of them.
As Wilson and Jimmy drove through the streets and back to the Palma mansion, the weight of their mission loomed over them. Wilson, with his mind racing through the next steps, broke the silence after it was observed for some minutes. “Tomorrow is a workday, but I'll have my dad and Sandra handle everything while I’m away. You and I will be visiting Miss Lucia. I need you to find her workplace and get back to me as soon as possible. It’s crucial that you gather all the information you can, and if necessary, use any means to get it. I expect a report before midnight.” Wilson uttered, calculating the magnitude of his every word before saying it out.Jimmy, though used to Wilson’s demanding nature, was surprised by the urgency. He glanced at the clock on the dashboard to be sure of the time, and sure enough, it was late. “Tonight? But it’s already late, Sir. People might not be willing to talk at this hour as they may be packing up their shops or finding their way home” Jimmy explained
Lucia's fury surged as she picked up the empty bag, her hands trembling with anger."What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, her voice cutting through the noise of the market like a sharp blade. She had reached her breaking point."Get out of my sight, asshole! Just leave me alone. My life was going just fine until you interfered," Lucia spat, her words filled with venom as she swung the empty bag at Wilson. The bag, light and harmless, did little to physically hurt him, but it was the gesture that carried the weight of her frustration and pain.Wilson, caught off guard by the sudden attack, instinctively raised his arms to protect his face, which was his number one priority.Jimmy, who had been standing nearby, sprang into action. "Woah, woah, woah, take it easy, ma'am. You're hurting my boss," he shouted as he rushed over to Wilson's side, quickly grabbing the bag from Lucia's grasp. His loyalty to Wilson was unwavering, but even he could see the intensity in Lucia's eyes.Mr.
Lucia had successfully poured out her heart to the citizens who were available to hear her. The open speech she made had captured the attention of many, spreading like wildfire across social media. Afterward, she went on with Mr. Thomas to pick up whatever they had planned to get at the market. Her emotions were still tingling from the confrontation, but she politely requested to be shown the full video of the press conference that had triggered her anger in the first place.As she watched the video, her fury reignited. "I can't believe this guy," Lucia muttered under her breath, her voice shaking with emotion. "He has all the money and fame, and he uses it to manipulate people, to turn them to his side. Meanwhile, people like me are left to suffer alone. He tried to bribe me with that money, but he sure has his way of sweet-talking out of trouble." Lucia’s voice cracked as she spoke, her anger mingling with the sadness she carried within her. The injustice of it all seemed unbearab
Wilson and his dad, Mr. Palma, were already halfway home when Wilson’s phone rang. The name “Sandra” flashed on the screen, and Wilson’s brow furrowed in confusion. Sandra rarely called outside of work hours unless something was truly urgent. They had already wrapped up the day’s work, so this unexpected call felt unsettling.He hesitated for a moment, his thumb hovering over the answer button before he finally picked up. He then remained silent, waiting for Sandra to speak first, a habit he had developed in dealing with unexpected situations.“Sir, I’m so sorry to disturb whatever you’re doing, but you need to see the news. Miss Lucia is at her worst, causing a lot of issues. Live videos of her are currently circulating online, and she’s talking about you,” Sandra’s voice was tinged with concern.Wilson felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Lucia, again? The memory of their last encounter still lingered in his mind, and now she was publicly speaking about him. His pulse quickened, b
Lucia and Mr. Thomas had decided to stop by one of the busiest and most popular sub-streets in Chicago, a place well-known to the city’s middle class and poorer citizens. They needed to pick up a few things for the family.Earlier on the train, they had excitedly planned a mini feast to celebrate a successful deal with Mr. Benson. The feast was only possible if they visited the market, so they had made a quick detour before heading home.Mr. Thomas, who was such a sweet gentleman, respected the “ladies first” rule and allowed Lucia to lead the way. She walked ahead, her thoughts clouded by the discussion with Mr Ben, while Mr. Thomas followed closely behind. As they entered the crowded market, the usual bustle and noise surrounded them. The scent of spices mixed with the smell of fresh produce was everywhere, while vendors called out to potential customers, their voices competing for attention. Lucia had always found this part of the city oddly charming, despite its chaos. But today
“What can I get you Sirs?” The young and pretty waitress asked with a warm smile as she approached the table where Mr. Palma and Wilson had settled in the elegant restaurant. The place was all polished wood, ambient lighting, and the kind of atmosphere that invited deep conversations.“Well, I'll be having the macaroni and brie with the crab. Top that with a sweet and tangy sauce which you think would be best to go with the meal. I'll also have the cauliflower steak with hazelnut and browned butter. I'll have two portions of that,” said Mr. Palma, taking the lead with his eyes scanning the menu one last time before handing it back to the waitress. His voice was calm and measured, as if he had all the time in the world.The waitress nodded, jotting down his order with swift, practiced movements. She then turned to Wilson with the same polite smile. “And for you, sir?” the waitress asked, in expectancy of a reply. Wilson glanced at the menu briefly before responding, “I'll go with th
“Wow, son! You did a better job handling that question than I had imagined. I thought that lady had you trapped in a tight spot, but you proved me wrong,” Mr. Palma said to his son when they both returned to Wilson's office. His eyes twinkled with pride, the kind of pride that only a father feels when his son rises above expectations. The echoes of the press conference still rang in their ears, but Mr. Palma was more focused on the fact that Wilson had displayed his critical thinking skills perfectly and at just the right moment.“Well, thank you, Mr. Palma,” Wilson responded, his voice carrying a mix of relief and pride. “That reporter had my weakness pegged and made sure everyone knew it. It really took a lot of brainwork to wriggle out of that one, but what can I say? I’m your true blood,” Wilson added, with a touch of humor.As they settled into the office, Wilson’s thoughts began to wander. It wasn’t long before he noticed something—or rather, someone—missing. His mother’s abse
“Really? But why? I’m sure Mr. Wilson would like to stay in his lane to protect his esteem, at least after what I did to him,” Lucia said confidently. She knew to an extent that Wilson wouldn't change his proud and arrogant ways, especially not for her. Calling her would be hurting his pride. Mr. Benson’s response surprised her. He chuckled softly, shaking his head in understanding. “You mean the little act of flinging cash in his face? You don’t understand what someone like Mr. Wilson might do to protect his reputation. People in his position can be incredibly ruthless. They might go as far as kidnapping you if things don’t go their way. The rich aren’t like they are portrayed on TV. They’re often a mix of crazy lunatics and ruthless individuals who use their wealth to maintain their facade. You only see their dark side when you become an enemy or a significant annoyance. I strongly advise you to stay cautious. Avoid going out at night and stick to well crowded places for your own