“What is it, Aunt Jessica? Is Lyra okay?”“No.”“What happened? Spill it now!”“Lilliana is dead. She had been missing for two days. They found the body today in her apartment. She was murdered.”Rodney found the nearest chair and sat on it. He felt weak. He had never had a good relationship with Lilliana but his heart went out to Lyra, the eight year old girl who had been left alone.”“How is Lyra taking it?”“Well, it’s terrible for her. She’s very young. You need to come here. She loves you and you are the only sibling that cared about her. Emilia and Rodrigo don’t care at all.”“Of course. I’ll leave as soon as I can.”“Thank you.”When the call was ended, Rodney remained seated. When he thought of Lyra’s condition, he felt a tear coming out of his eye. It reminded him of the day he lost his mother under Alberto’s hands. It was the worst day of his life. Yet, he was 18. How could an eight year old deal with something like that?The door opened. He didn’t have to look up to know th
When they entered the living room, Lyra stood up and ran to hug her brother. Rodney placed his arms around his little sister while his eyes moistened. The little girl looked broken and yet she had always been happy. It was heart-breaking to see. There was a coffin on the table in the middle of the room. Aunt Jessica and uncle Markos were seated beside it. There were five other people near them that Rodney did not recognize. Rodrigo and Emilia were seated on a window seat, focused on their phones. How distasteful! Rodney thought. They looked unbothered and disconnected from the whole thing.“Mummy is gone, Rodi.” Lyra said as she led her brother to the coffin. Rodney looked into it and saw the beautiful serene face of Lilliana. He remembered the first time he had seen her when he felt so attracted, then the time she had tried to seduce him but he resisted. He remembered the time she tried to stop her daughter from talking to her brother. All that didn’t matter to Rodney anymore. He ha
“I’m not surprised,” Rodney said as he pulled away. “Of course, you would think of something like that.”“I’m right, aren’t I? I always wondered how you managed to stay thick as thieves even when going through a lot. “You kiss and make up.”Harvey rolled his eyes. “Do you feel jealous because no one actually loves you for who you are? I doubt you have any real friends. All those minions that hang around you run as soon as times get tough, don’t they?”“You’re a pair of silly emotionally freaks,” Rodrigo said as he opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of brandy. “Anyway, next time get a private room for your business. Don’t contaminate the kitchen.”“We’re just friends, you idiot.” Rodney said. “But we want to know something. Who killed Lilliana?”Rodrigo poured the brandy into a glass and took a sip. “I have no idea. Why don’t you pop by the police station and find out who did it?”“Because we will not find answers,” Harvey chipped in. “the answers are in this house.”“Could it ha
Rodney continued to stay for five more days after Harvey went to visit his family. He thought those days would make it easier for him to part with Lyra but they didn’t. He realised that Lyra would never be ready to part with him and yet he needed to check on things in New York. Lilly assured him that everything was okay but Rodney decided to go nevertheless. He was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. He needed to be with someone who loved and could care for him. He needed to rest. He promised Lyra that he would come back. After hearing that, the little girl went and locked herself in her room. Rodney’s heart broke but he had to leave. He needed to regain energy and sanity before returning to destroy the man who had destroyed him.Getting back home was a huge relief. As the airport taxi approached his house, he could feel his exhausted body relaxing. He knew that Lilly was going to take care of him. The past few days had been so stressful and all he needed was a hot bath and a
Rodney could barely sleep that night as he thought of his predicament. By morning, he had not yet made a decision. He woke up before Lilly and went off to work, hoping he would figure out something while there. He supervised the premises and the workers, glad that everything was going well. He checked on those he had left in charge. An hour later, Lilly arrived. She did not seem very happy to see him. He was in assistant manager’s office when she arrived and headed straight to her office.Seeing that she was not very happy, Rodney decided to go and check on her. “What do you want?” she asked.“What’s wrong?”“I was so such a fool to believe in you,” she said. “If only I had taken more precaution, we wouldn’t be in this awkward situation.”“Which awkward situation?” Rodney asked, feeling confused. He didn’t understand why Lilly was speaking like that.“I thought you’d be happy, but my poor fatherless child will have to live knowing that his father wasn’t pleased to hear that he’d been
Rodney thought all was gone, but when Lilly returned in the evening, she seemed calmer. He was in the bedroom, staring at photos of him and his late mother when she walked in. he expected a rude comment, or even an insult but she just came and sat next to him. She placed her head on his shoulder.“I’m sorry, I’m just really emotional right now and I didn’t know how to deal with everything.”“You don’t have to be sorry for anything,” he told her. “You’re in this mess because of me.”“I wouldn’t want to be in a kind of mess like this with anyone else,” she said. “Ever since I met you, my life has been great. You brought light and joy into my life, things that had been missing for a very long time. I was just existing, dead inside, but you made me feel alive again. i have been thinking and I know you’re right. Something needs to be done about Alberto. None of us will ever be safe while he roams free.”Rodney turned and hugged her. Warmth and joyful emotion spread all over him. “I love yo
The next morning, Rodney arrived in Los Angeles. His uncle picked him up and took him to the house. When he stepped in, he came face to face with Rodrigo. Rodrigo groaned. “What is this idiot doing here again?” “Who are you calling an idiot?” “You,” Rodrigo said, taking steps closer to Rodney. Rodney stared back at his brother, meeting his intimidating stare. A few months back, he would have felt scared, but he did not feel that way anymore. He had become stronger and felt that he could fight back. “I’m tired of seeing your face around here. I don’t even know why you would show up when there’s nothing here for you. No one wants to see you.” “Don’t talk to your brother like that, Rodrigo.” Their uncle said. Rodrigo raised his brows and glared at his uncle. “Look, who’s speaking. The mooching uncle who lives off my father’s hard work.” His uncle turned and grabbed Rodrigo by the neck. Rodrigo looked very uncomfortable. When he tried to pry his uncle’s hands off, they became tighte
When he entered the market, he stuffed the gun into his pants the way he had seen Alberto do it and slowed down while looking around for a hiding place. He spotted a young woman at a piñata and flower stall and went for it. When he got to where she was, he quickly pulled out a gun and went to the space in between the flowers. The girl was too scared to say anything.He found a tiny space in between the flowers and looked at the route he’d used to enter the market. There were two burly shifty looking guys making their way inside. They scanned the place while moving.“He went over there,” a skinny lad pointed to a corner of the market which had an exit. Rodney felt relieved when they started going there. He wasn’t worried because he knew that Rodrigo could take care of himself. Rodrigo was, after all, Alberto Roco’s true son. He was the one that would follow in his father’s footsteps.After some minutes, Rodney hid the gun and decided to come out. He was sure those men did not know him.