Jasper slid into his father’s house– the house he spent his childhood, dressed in a black polo and jeans.
“Hey, Dad, how have you been? It’s been a while”
He saw his dad sitting and munching on some freshly baked cookies which were sure to be made by his mother. “Where’s mum?”
“She should be in the kitchen cleaning up”
“Dad, I told you to get her a maid, I don’t fancy the idea of her stressing herself to get things done”
“Why do you think I’m stressing myself? It’s something I enjoy doing for your father.” Valerie made her way towards them from the kitchen with a tray in hand. She placed the juice-filled glass cups in front of her husband and Jasper.
“Uh, I get you there. You don’t want a new lady in the house right?” Jasper taunted his mother. Once when he asked her why she prefers doing things without help, she said it prevents another lady from taking her place in her husband’s house.
Valerie swat his shoulder with her hand, pinching him on the cheek “You’ve become more naughty right? When did you leave my house to change so much?”
“Remember, I’m now a father”
Valerie smiled at him and pat his head “Of course you are, I bet you’re going to make a good one. How’s my granddaughter?”
“She is in school right now.”
Mr Callaghan checked the time on the wall clock still munching on his snack “Val, I guess you’ve got something to buy at the supermarket. It’s high time you started going.”
“You’re right darling, let me go get dressed.”
Valerie pecked Jasper on his cheek, about to leave and he returned the gesture “I’m sorry, I won’t be able to spend much time with you.”
“It’s alright mum, I came to see dad for….”
Mr Callaghan coughed suddenly, making Jasper pause his intended speech. He sipped on his juice immediately giving a signal to his son with his eye.
“Hope nothing happened?” Valerie asked urging her son to speak his mind.
“Nothing mum, I’m here…”
Mr Callaghan coughed again distracting them to himself. Valerie moved closer to him, her hands placed on his shoulders “What’s with this sudden cough?”
“Nothing dear, It seems like I choked on the cookies,” he replied.
“Well, I’ve got to go. Take care” she left for her room which was twenty feet far from the sitting room.
Jasper sat beside his father staring at him strangely. He knew his father’s cough was an intentional act but had no idea why.
“Why are you here?” his father asked.
“I came here to ask you something.”
“Business went wrong?”
“Not that dad, you know I won’t come to you for mere business problems.
“We never can tell, things change easily. Not even with your recent scandal issues” Jasper’s father uttered.
“That’s exactly why I’m here. The scandal happened before I could get the slightest hint from anyone. Everything blew up like they’ve been waiting for my news all the while.
“It’s normal, that’s how we Callaghans are. We get so much attention wherever we are.” Like father like son, always ready to flaunt their reputation to get things done.
“The most annoying part was when Cassandra’s father called. He instructed that I come to the villa and I went. As usual, he never listened to my explanation. He went on and on, threatening me about facing his wrath if I don’t take care of his daughter and so on.”
Now, Mr Callaghan’s countenance changed. Hearing that Grey called for Jasper made his heart beat faster than it should. Though they’re friends, they have so many unspeakable differences between them.
Jasper sighed at the remembrance of his situation “Dad, what exactly is between you and Mr Hanswort?”
That one question, Jasper felt uncomfortable. The reaction from his father was enough to send shivers down his spine. Mr Callaghan stared into space with furrowed brows, his thumb flickering around the tip of the glass cup in his hand. Minutes passed and he didn’t say a word.
“Dad please, I need answers. I’ve had enough of this life I’m living. The past five years have been hell for me and my daughter.”
“Don’t even go there!. Nothing would change the fact that you’re married to Cassandra.” Mr Callaghan snapped, standing up from his sitting position.
Jasper stood up to his father. Coincidentally, they’re of the same height. “I don’t get you, dad, what’s going on? I need to know. For years now, we have had to consider the Hansworts before making a business decision, why’s that? The last time I checked, we aren’t partners neither are they holding shares in our company….” he paused trying to make his father speak.
“……. I tried sorting things out in all possible ways, but I still don’t get why one marriage is enough to put us in shackles. Am I the first person to get married to the heiress of another company?”
Mr Callaghan sighed and sat again. “I understand you son, but I beg you to put up with things for a little more. I’m making arrangements at the moment, things would go back to normal soon.”
Jasper rubbed his hand on his forehead angrily “I’ve had enough of this, dad…..” he screamed ” You say the same thing every time I ask you this. What exactly are you doing to make things right? Why do you have to make things right? How did things go wrong in the first place? I need to know!”
“Sit!” his father gestured to him and he obeyed. No matter how vexed he was, he knows too well never to disobey his father.
“I’m sorry for causing you pain. I’m really sorry.”
“Saying sorry won’t end my pain dad,”
“There’s not much reason for Grey to behave that way if not for the Tylin treasure.”
“The Tylin treasure? I heard about it some time ago while on a trip but thought it was a rumour. Does it exist?”
“Yes, it does. The Tylin treasure is something which came to existence during the time of my father – your grandfather’s. No one can tell what exactly it is, but somehow, rumours went around about it.”
“I heard of it, it was said that anyone who possesses one-eighth of the treasure can never be poor for generations to come.”
“Yes, that’s what was said around. How the rumour came to existence, I have no idea.”
Jasper trailed his left palm across his chin down to the nape of his neck ” What has that got to do with us?”
“Sometimes ago, I and Grey went on a business trip to Italy. You know, we were best of friends. We needed to supply a huge amount of controlled drugs to one of the leading Italian Mafia bosses. Before we could strike a deal, he asked us to find the Tylin treasure as a keepsake until our deal would end for fear of getting exposed……”
Jasper was awed “You made a deal with a Don?”
“Then, I believed there are no do’s and don’ts in business as long as profit and security are ensured.”
“So what happened after that?”
“We tried searching for the treasure, all to no avail. Grey stalled for time, I searched for the treasure. One day, I received a message about the possible whereabouts of the treasure. The message read: “Tyler Callaghan”
“Grandfather?” Mr Callaghan nodded “Due to that, I returned home to ask my father about it. Unfortunately, he had been admitted to the hospital. It was said that he encountered some robbers on the way, his heart getting damaged as it was pierced by a piece of thick glass…
“……. doctor’s said he wouldn’t survive it and he didn’t. Before he died, he told me something I was willing to hear which was my purpose of returning.”
“About the treasure?”
“Yeah, the treasure was indeed in father’s hands. He gave me a key leading to it but couldn’t explain where the treasure was before he gave up the ghost.”
“Ouch, that’s sad”
“You can say that again, I felt shattered when he died in front of me. Blinded by wealth, I hurriedly told Grey about the latest development and he left Italy to return here after telling the Don about the news. Hell let loose when we searched every keyhole on every of my father’s property but didn’t find a fitting one.”
“We searched tirelessly, expending so much effort in search of it but couldn’t find it. The mafia boss was getting impatient, we couldn’t provide the treasure. The thing that scared us most back then was the fact that if we couldn’t seal the deal with the don, he would find someone else to make the deal with, probably proposing the same condition to them which would put us in danger as we didn’t know who sent me the message about the treasure’s whereabout….”
“…… Grey tried his best to find the sender using all his connections and mine, it proved futile. Yet, the deal had to be sealed in time. Then, I proferred a solution which we eventually carried out. Since no one knows what exactly the treasure is, we made up something and called it the treasure. It was filled with diamonds, gold and some precious objects which were very rare to find back then. Only I and Grey knew that the treasure is something else.”
“Weren’t you scared to lose?”
“We were but we just had to.”
“Didn’t you think of the possibility that the sender could know what the treasure really is?”
“Of course, we thought about it too but we’ve got to take risks, we were lucky though. Things went as planned.”
“Anyway, from all you said, I still don’t get why I have to get stuck with Cassandra.”
“A year after we concluded the business in Italy, Grey suggested that we search for the treasure. ‘At least we have to know what the treasure really is!” he said back then…..”
“… friends don’t keep secrets from each other, so I didn’t mind and searched for every possible place again with his full involvement. No positivity no matter how we tried. Since then, he had been threatening me about informing the world about what we did back then if I refused to help him or do his bidding”