Daisy’s mouth fell open.
“What? You killed my own father? Why the heck did you do that?”
“Like I said, I did it for you. I don’t want to discuss this.”
Lily stood up and walked away but Daisy didn’t miss the tears at the corner of her eyes.
Was her mum really sorry for killing someone? Did it hurt her mum to kill her father? But why will her mother want to make her fatherless? What sorry excuse did she have? No matter what happened, she shouldn’t have!
Lily went inside her room and eventually let her tears flow. She felt bad and sorry for so many things. For abandoning her daughter, for having to make her daughter pass through a sad childhood, bearing ridicule and name calling from her peers.
The memory of what happened years back filled her head. Yes, she regretted everything but she didn’t regret killing Anderson. Not even for a second!
“He fucking deserved to die!” she swore. She resolved to tell Ivan to get rid of Stacy! She was a potential threat to the company and mustn’t be there. She wouldn’t sit still and have her nephew pay the price of what he didn’t do.
Daisy stood transfixed in the sitting room as she stared at the direction her mother left from. She didn’t understand what just happened. Easton came in holding his phone with a horrible expression on his face. He mumbled some inaudible words and went up the stairs. Daisy didn’t have a chance to ask him anything.
Seated in his study, he unbuttoned his shirt and unknotted his tie. He studied the picture in his phone carefully and the frown on his face deepened. The picture was another of Nelly’s pictures. It was taken by his man at the company. It happened that news spread to the employees that the CEO’s daughter was around and everyone put in their best, each trying to outshine the other. But there was a certain man who wasn’t very concerned about putting his best, instead, he was more concerned about reporting the current situation to his boss, Easton. Being a very sneaky youth, he succeeded in taking a picture as a proof which he sent to Easton. Nothing infuriated Easton more than Nelly’s presence at the company.
“Who does she think she is? Checking a company and believing it to be hers? Did Stratford not tell her that Stratford is mine? I will not have to contend with a riff raff over what belongs to me. Never! I haven’t ever been in a tussle for power with great people, it will not be so with that little urchin.”
At the initial time, Easton’s plan was to unite the family in marriage before he would tactfully strip them of their company. But the moment the company fell into Nelly’s hands, a lot changed. Right from time, Easton had always pulled a strong force in that company. He had a dirty agreement with Stratford many years ago and the foundation of the company was set on a bed of lies, theft and deceit. To keep his covers from blowing up, Startford agreed to all of Easton’s terms and conditions. Easton became greedy and demanded more. When Stratford refused, he pulled the necessary strings and the company was plundered into huge debt with no hope of recovery any time soon. Stratford was already sick at that time but the news of his company going bankrupt worsened his health. He thought that everything was going to crumble and his inner life would be exposed to the world but Easton had more plans underway. Nelly surprised him when she built the company again. What he didn’t know was that Ivan was the one who paid the debt. That was the contract between them and the backbone for the marriage.
Now that he had almost gained a strong hold in that company, Nelly showed up to claim what was ‘rightfully his.’
He grabbed his phone in fury, almost crushing it with his hands. He called Aria and placed his orders.
“Listen. Search for her and take her down by any possible means. Remember, it’s just seventy two hours or I’ll send you to hell!”
Aria sat in her room, pondering on what Easton ordered her to do. For so many years, she worked for him in spite of her unwillingness simply because he held her dear father hostage. Now that he had killed her father, there was no reason to be loyal anymore. She remembered how she spent good days with Nelly at work. Nelly was a very loveable person and she fell in love with her personality when they met. Although she was sent on a mission, she couldn’t help but find Nelly a jolly good fellow. Then jealousy set in. She carried out Easton’s assignment, which was to make sure Nelly’s contract was terminated so that she would not have anything to fall back to. After doing that, she went further to tarnish her image before the press. She wasn’t satisfied yet. She too wasn’t happy that Nelly had all the good things in life. Nelly was wealthy, confident, a good actress, had a loving man and above all, she was stunning. No one would pass without staring at her twice! She was a perfect piece of art. Filled with jealousy, she accepted Easton’s deal and went ahead to cause more damage with resentment and acrimony.
Now, she didn’t want to do it anymore. She felt terrible. She betrayed and hurt her friend who did nothing to her. Nelly had been the kindest person to her all her life. Nelly was always there for her, she helped her when she needed it and a lot more. Aria knew she was a criminal, she was a bad person and a betrayal. She resolved not to kill Nelly. Not anymore. All she was going to do was to go and tell Nelly everything, plead for mercy and die with a free heart. After all, Easton had given her but seventy two hours to kill Nelly or face the consequences which was probably death too.
Having made up her mind, she got dressed.
“Dear Nelly, please find a place in you heart to forgive me after I say this.”