The rain poured heavily.Too heavily.The gusty wind blew.And that was too hard as well.The cars arrived anyway, so much that the cementary's once empty space was completely parked. Rosa's car rode through the road leading up to the front of the chosen plot where Dougles was too be buried. The bodyguards had arrived before her and two of them helped her out of the car. An umbrella waited for as well and as she alighted, helped up for her. The priest as well had come before her and both umbrellas held up for them were black. She was dressed in it as well, her dress simple yet chic, being a very endowed woman. It was an unanimous colour for mourning. The facilitator on her head, holding up her beautiful hair-do, had sort of a golden glitter to it, making a beautiful glimmer of her whole outfit even in the rain.More people started trooping in - a truck lot of relatives, business partners, representatives from his foundation, his friends and hers and of course, members of the board and

“Mark?”Mark knew that voice.Too well.He could never mistake it.He took a deep breath, knowing but yet not knowing what was about to go down.He turned to face her, dipping his hands into his pockets.“Hey”“Hey?”, Fiona asked back like she hadn't heard. Even if she had, she didn't want to believe it. “We haven't talked properly for days and you say hey?”Mark breathed in.“What's going on?”“What’s going on? You don't pick your calls, when you do, you say you can't talk and you didn't even tell me you'll be here.”“I've been… I've been pretty occupied”“Occupied?”, Fiona asked, almost lost for words. “Mark, what's going on?”She attempted coming closer to him and Mark couldn't restrain himself from moving backward. Fiona was so taken aback by his reaction, it showed fully in her facial expression, her hurt and confusion.“Look Fiona…”, Mark started and then stopped, seeing Starling who wasn't so far away. He was talking with one of the shareholders from Voxx. He turned to gesture

Dark.It was pitch black.She could feel the ropes around her hands. She struggled, a physical embodiment of panic. It was hopeless but the anxiety eluded, controlling her like a domineering parasite. She was tied to what she felt was a board and the more she struggled with what she thought were ropes, the more she cut herself. Her eyes were wet with tears and her chest heaved till it was heavy and tired. Still she couldn't even see.It was damn pitch black.Like he's @#₦&@#₦ heart.What had she married?!If someone had told her that this was how far her greed would take her, she would have chosen otherwise.The silence in the room began to be burdened by sounds of footsteps. Daphne thought she was hallucinating but the sounds began to get closer and louder and a sudden feeling of doom rested on her. Her panic heightened. She breathed loudly and fast, as a matter of fact too fast for the capacity to which her respiratory organs were known to. It was like she knew who was coming witho

Texting Ethan.Meanwhile, her parents turned coincidentally to her. They gave a shared gaze like they’d both gotten the answer to the question.“What?”, Elara asked, finally noticing them weirdly looking at her. She glanced from father to mother.“You, my darling, are the solution to your father's costly carelessness”Elara raised a brow“And that is how?”, she asked, looking at both of them in an apprehensive yet annoyed expression.“You have to go back to Alistair”Elara laughed at her mother's statement. “Tell me you're joking”, she said, going back to her phone.“It's not a comedy stand honey, so no”, her mother replied, getting to her feet.Elara humphed. “Dreams”Her mother snatched the phone out of her hands.“Heyy!”“Now listen up here carefully. You are not a child, Elara. So quick acting like one. You have to grow up and act maturely. And one of the ways to do that is to do as I say. Do you understand?”“I am not going back to Alistair, ok? Can I have my phone please?”“It's

“Mum. Mummm!!!” , Ethan called as soon as he stepped foot in the house. The whole house was silent. An unusual, uncanny silence.“Mum?”, He called again, heading up the stairs.He knocked on his mother's room door.“Dad?”Ethan placed a hand on the door. The door swung slowly as it opened. His father was in the room, doing what seemed like packing.“Good day Father”, he greeted immediately.“Ethan”, Starling responded, in a slow way.“How are you doing, son?”“I’m great, Dad. Umm… I was looking for Mum”Starling took more than a moment to reply.“Come in”Ethan walked in and the swing hinge door swung closed. There was something that didn't seem quite right about his father's demeanour. He'd seen right. His father was parking. And his mother's stuff were the ones in the box. At least if there was one thing he recognized in that box, it was the uniquely shaped perfume she'd gotten from her trip in Saudi Arabia - the Aladdin lamp. He knew it so well because he'd often stolen a few spra