Two

Ordana is a vast and crowded city that was built predominantly of rock and defended by complex machinery. It is well known for its majestic castle. Most of its revenue comes from tourism. As they were driving to Molicano, she couldn't hold her mind off the dialogue she overheard in her mother's office.

"Mr. Bari, why was the office so quiet today?" She inquired from the driver.

"I can't say precisely, but when I called one of the other drivers, he said your mom asked them to go for three hours break, that she wants to have a personal meeting with the investors on how to save your father," Bari explained to her what he was informed.

Heena rested her mind, the little conversation she overheard and what Mr. Bari said they are similar, and she has no reason to doubt her mother's loyalty to her father. "I know mum will protect dad as much as she can." She was meant to say the word in her mind, but for an unknown reason, the word came out into the driver's hearing. 

"I'm sure your mom would fix everything, don't worry yourself too much," Mr. Bari said to ease her.

"Did you think that dad is guilty of all the offenses? I want you to be honest with me" Heena consulted Mr. Bari for his opinion on the ongoing subject.

"Your dad is not capable of such an act, young madam, I have been by your father's side for over a decade now, he's one of the best bosses to work with," Mr. Bari confessed and everything he let out was as real as he said them.

Heena still feels maybe Bari was not telling her the truth, he said what she needed to hear at the moment, to make her feel happy. She wondered If she had asked him this same question like a year ago would his response still be this soothing? Heena's social media accounts were filled with people commenting badly about her father, she was surprised to read comments from people that have never spent five minutes of their life with him in person.

Avie and Shawn called when they got home and she was nowhere to be found. The news is everywhere in the whole Ordana. 

Mr. Ro'Sau is among the top five richest men in the entire Swala country. Before he inherited his parents' fortune, he had already made a name for himself in a company he built from scratch without any other support. As he took over the Venushoods company, he merged the two companies together.

"Sis! Where are you?" Avie asked on the phone.

"I am on my way to visit dad at his usual place," she replied.

"Are you going there alone, have you forgotten how scary mom said the place is?" Shawn implored for his sister's safety.

"I am not alone, I am with the driver, as soon as I see dad I will call you guys," she said to reassure his siblings.

Avie and Shawn can't go to Molicano, their mother sternly warns them not to ever think of visiting that horrible place. She lied to them that the moderately sized city, which stands on a major trade route that is mainly constructed of marble, is a den of criminals.

They stopped at the gas station to refill the vehicle, so they arrived at the mansion in Molicano around four o'clock in the evening. The driver got down from the car first, he wanted to open the door for Heena to come down, and she gestured for him not to worry. He went to give the file to Mr. Ro'Sau who sat on the sofa in the living room. He was watching himself on the news highlight.

"Let me switch off the T.V" Mr. Bari proposed.

"I'm cool with it, leave it on," Mr. Ro'Sau said, pls get me a cup of water from the dispenser, he added as he felt dryness in his throat. Though no one lives in the compound, Mr. Ro'Sau paid a maid to clean the house every week. Everything in the house looks as though daily activities are performed every given day.

Heena was still inside the car, she was waiting for Mr. Bari to come out so would ask about her father's mood. Immediately, Mr. Bari returns from the kitchen to the living room with a glass of water. Mr. Ro'Sau instructed him to return to Ordana with the car and park it at the office. Inside the mansion were two cars, so Mr. Ro'Sau planned to go home with one of the cars in the garage.

"Are you sure you will be fine here by yourself?" Mr. Bari asked. He felt his boss might need him to run an errand for him.

" I am fine here, go home. Your family is expecting you at home," Mr. Ro'Sau relieved Bari off duty for the day.

Mr. Bari did as his boss said, he went out and shut the door from the outside.

"How is my dad doing?" Heena asked

"You know your dad is stubborn, I am really happy that you are here, I can go home without any worries," Mr. Bari said.

Heena looked around, took a deep breath, and walked straight to open the door to the living room. Mr. Ro'Sau assumed it was Bari so he shouted "haven't I told you to go home, are you now defying my orders?". Heena did not say a word, she entered and headed for the kitchen, she was hungry. She found a loaf of bread and some cabbage in the fridge and eggs, immediately she mixed everything and made toast bread.

Mr. Ro'Sau was surprised to see Heena, he couldn't take his mind away from his thoughts. "What is Heena doing here?" Isn't she supposed to be at work? When he was leaving the house in the morning, Heena told him she will be going for a site inspection. He was quietly waiting for her to come out of the kitchen to question her.

Heena came out with toast bread and some orange juice on a tray, she gave some to her father, and though he refused to accept it from her she placed it on the table beside him. She was munching hard on the bread. There was an err silence between the father and daughter.

"Young lady, what are you doing here?" Mr. Ro'Sau halted the silence with his question.

"If you want me to answer you, then eat the food, it contains my sweat and I can't let it go to waste," Heena replied to her father and she pointed at the food she placed on the table beside him.

Mr. Ro'Sau looked at Heena clearly from a different perspective and she was exactly like her mother so he mumbled "you are a perfect image of your mother…Heena interrupted his words "of course why won't I, am I not her first fruit?" 

"Yes sweetheart,  you're the apple of her eyes," Mr.Ro'Sau said. 

"Sometimes I doubt if I truly am, because of her…." Heena was still speaking but her father quickly interrupted her,  "the aroma of the toast is tempting me, dear. I will finish them all at once, I hope there is extra. He asked funnily.

"Don't worry father, your princess will make your wishlist come true, just make the call." Both father and daughter laughed at the silly joke.

Heena and her father stared at the beautiful reporter announcing the earlier happenings at Venushoods. "Dear viewers at home, for now, it cannot be said that Mr. Ro'Sau is guilty of all the charges against him until he has been proven by the court. And that is all for today from NKY news, see you at the news hour, same station, same time tomorrow."

After listening to the news, Heena returned the tray and saucer to the kitchen, the fruit juice is still fresh inside the cup on the table. Mr. Ro'Sau also switched off the T.V, he's done listening to the news about himself. He never knew that rumours spread faster than a virus not until today that he found himself a victim of bad fate.

"Heena, why are you here?" He asked.

"I am here to see you dad! I know this is hard for you. Dad, I came here to tell you that we love you and as a family, we will get through it together."  Heena said and her dad was amazed at her speech, she delivered it well.

"Are you not supposed to be at work? I don't want you to go down with me." Mr. Ro'Sau spoke out of concern.

"Dad, relax, no one is going down, you have been managing the company for over two decades, this phase is a trial of love for the family and we will come out strong. As for my work, the site inspection has been shifted to next week," Heena said to make her dad know he was never alone.

Mr. Ro'Sau stood from his position and gave his daughter a warm hug. Heena patted her father by his shoulder and whispered "all is well" in his ears three times. The scene reminded Mr. Ro'Sau of the past. How her mother always makes him feel comfortable with her soothing words. They have known each other since high school. The chemistry between them is so rare and they both love one another.

"Did you come here alone?" Mr. Ro'Sau asked.

"No dad, I came here with Mr. Bari," she said.

"You went to the office together with him?" He questioned.

"Yes, I am sorry if I acted rashly," she apologized for stopping by the office without any invitation from any of her parents.

"Look at you silly girl why would I get angry that you visited the company. I think you should go there more often these days." Mr. Ro'Sau said and Heena was shocked by her father's response.

"Before now, I have been waiting for you to be twenty-seven so I can hand over my position to you, the position is boring. I mean I have to wake up every now and then to calculate and plan the future of the company, he revealed part of his plans to her.

"But mom said that I can't work in the company without recommendation and she's in charge of accepting new staff," Heena aired her observation.

"Yes, she said so. Your mother and I agreed that once you are twenty-seven we will introduce you to the company officially."

"Dad, are you sure mom agreed to this?" Heena asked to be sure her father meant what he said just now.

"Dear don't worry, once this trial is over, I will introduce you personally," Ro'Sau said and he was glad to see the bright smile of his daughter. He further asked, "what happened in the office today during your visiting hour?"

She coughed to clear her throat, "nothing much dad," she thought twice if she should tell her dad what she saw earlier in her mom's office or not, but in the end, she chose to be muted.

"Were you not harassed by any of the staff? I remembered the last time you visited without an appointment, you were almost sent away if I hadn't come to your rescue," trying to be sure his daughter was okay.

"Dad the truth is there was no one around to stop me, I learnt that mom gave them all three hours' break because she wanted to have a private meeting with the investors on how to vindicate you," she eventually informed her dad.

"Investors?" Mr. Ro'Sau mumbled. "Most of the investors already left the company before I ran out through the back door," Mr. Ro'Sau thought out loud.

"Dad, you said most of the investors, which means there is a probability that not all left or they came back after they received mom's call," she took her mother's side because she knew if the meeting went well, her dad will resume office soon.

"You might be right, I wonder why your mom hasn't called to tell me?" he asked.

"Dad, it seems you have forgotten so soon that you switched off your phone." She can't believe that her dad would forget such a simple matter, it was done to her that her dad was not mentally right. The news he got today is an explosive bomb.

"Dad, let's go out, we need to get some presents. We have to celebrate our victory in advance, cause I know you'll win this trial."

Heena dragged her dad along to the garage and they drove the corolla sports car. As they were driving along the hill of Molicano, Heena saw a car that she knew very well, or would it just be an illusion?