As he said, he was in his grandfather’s place in ten minutes. Of course, Easton wasn’t around, he was still at the villa, probably. He hurried up the stairs and entered Daisy’s room. He was too worried that he forgot about knocking. Daisy sat on the floor, crying her hearts out.
“Daisy, I’m here now. Talk to me. What’s the matter?”
Daisy handed him a well folded newspaper. Ivan was surprised. Why on earth will his sister be crying because of the content of a mere newspaper? His eyes caught the publication date of the newspaper. It was over fifteen years! What the heck!
“Page three. Check the third page,” Daisy said. Ivan flipped the newspaper and was soon at the third page. His jaw dropped open when he saw the contents.
‘Lily Easton, sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.’
That was the headline. This lily was no other than Daisy’s mum. Ivan glanced through the paper and found that she killed a certain young man in a very brutal way.
“My own mother, is a murderer!” Daisy wailed.
“How.. how did you get this? I mean, the newspaper?”
“I searched and found it. You remember I asked for your help but you were non chalant…”
“Daisy, I wasn’t. I promised to help and could have. It’s just that I was extremely tied down with work and…”
“And what? What other lame excuse do you want to give?”
“Fine. I’m sorry. Go ahead.”
“Ever since that day, I started searching the whole house, and I concentrated on Easton’s property. I noticed a cold air between him and Lily and I once overheard him telling her that she didn’t have to lie to him. He seemed to know a lot, then I decided to check him too.”
“Wait a second. Did you call your mum, Lily?”
“She’s not my mother! She abandoned me for so many years! She does not deserve to be called a mother!”
“Hey! Easy. We are not certain of what happened. I know…”
“Now, you are siding her. You never listen to me each time I speak.”
“It’s not like that. She’s still your mother, regardless. Get rid of the hate in your heart. Okay, fine. We’ll talk about that later. So, after you saw this, what happened?”
“Nothing. I called you immediately I saw this. I can’t believe it, why did she do this?”
“It’s alright. Take it easy. We will solve this puzzle one step at a time.”
Just then, Ivan’s phone rang. It was no other than Aunty Lily. He slid his hands over the screen and Lily’s singsong voice rang out from the phone.
“Hello Ivan. How are you?”
“Ahhh. Aunty Lily. Good afternoon Aunty. I’m fine, thank you and you?”
“Very well too. Emm, you are at your company, right?”
Ivan turned to Daisy and she nodded her head.
“Yes, I’m at the company. Any problem?”
“No my dear nephew. Not at all. I want to come and see your big company.”
Ivan laughed.
“Alright Aunty. You can come.”
Ivan ended the call and looked at Daisy again.
“She’s coming. I’ll have to go now. But I’ll come and see you in the evening, is that okay?”
Daisy held his hands tenderly.
“Ivan, one more thing.”
“Just say it, I’ll do it for you.”
“I want you to help me find out everything. I want to know who she killed, why and when she killed him. She’s supposed to be sentenced to life imprisonment but here she is. In fact, I want to know everything and most importantly, today.”
“Huh? Today? You know the task ahead of me today. Can it be tomorrow, very early please?”
“I don’t know why you always give excuses each time I ask your help. You know that in this situation, you are the only one who can help me out here.”
Ivan pulled her into his embrace and held her close. He used his handkerchief to wipe her tears.
“Fine. I’ll do as you said, today. I’ll hurry along. Don’t cry anymore please.”
Ivan was seen as a cold and aloof man by everyone out there but he treated his siblings with so much love. He was willing to give everything to make them happy.
Fortunately for Ivan, he arrived at the office a few minutes before Aunty Lily did. After all the necessary verification process, Lily was ushered into the CEO’s office.
The first thing she noticed was the beautiful designs in the company. She was struck by the sophisticated and artistic designs. On getting to Ivan’s office, she realised that what she had seen at the reception was only a tip of the iceberg.
“Oh my God! Ivan! This is so amazing. Common, give me a high five! You must have spent a fortune to do this. It’s surprising that my little nephew is now the biggest CEO in the country. I mean, this is great.”
“Thanks Aunty. Let me ask my secretary to get you a cup of coffee.”
“No. Not at all. There’s no need to trouble yourself.”
“If you don’t want coffee, do you want something else?”
“Hahaha. This boy hasn’t changed. I’m fine. I don’t need anything. I’ll just feed my eyes with the glorious sight of your office. It’s crazy to think that you raised this from the scratch. You must have gone through a lot.”
Ivan smiled. He really did go through a lot to get there. He remembered how he was humiliated by Nelly and how she mistreated him. He smiled unconsciously. That was all in the past now. And funnily enough, the same girl who mistreated him happened to be the one he loved dearly.
“I did go through a lot. But, the result is massive. It was worth the trouble.”
“Yes, and I’m proud of you. Common, give me a tour in your company. I need to see your employees and every nice place around.”
“Sure.”
Ivan stood up and they left his office.
“The nearest office here is that of my secretary.”
The secretary stood up and greeted them as they entered.
When Lily saw his secretary, her eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something.