"What happened to him?" The man asked the nurses as he advanced toward Tyrone.
Tyrone was weak but he recognised the man's voice from earlier on the phone.
"I told you, I'm not Tyrone Jeffer... Ugh!" Tyrone had run out of energy as his head fell onto the floor and he slipped into unconsciousness.
"Quick, please help us carry him into the emergency ward." One of the nurses said, the man stepped forward and held Tyrone back from falling to the ground.
Fred came up from behind them and carried Tyrone onto his shoulders. "Stay with us, Ty," Fred begged.
"Where do I take him to?" Fred asked the nurses.
"Follow me." The same nurse said and led him to the emergency ward.
******************************
Tyrone's eyes fluttered open, he tried getting up but a sharp pain in his stomach kept him back from getting up. He gently let his eyes sweep over the room where he was.
"Where am I?" Tyrone mouthed. This place didn't look anything like a hospital or was it because this was the first time he was at St Louis? The large wardrobe that was situated across from Tyrone confirmed his doubts that he was not in a hospital.
The chilly breeze from the air conditioner cooled his skin.
"He's awake, my son's awake."
Tyrone recognized his mother's voice and quickly spun his head in the direction where the voice had come in.
"Mother?" Tyrone called out.
"Oh, my poor baby." His mother came up to him with tears in her eyes. She sat on the bed and put her hands around Tyrone.
"I'm so sorry Ty," she cried and kissed him on the cheek.
"It's okay, mom," Tyrone said and hugged his mother back.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier, now he has come for you." She said and broke the hug.
"What are you talking about Mom?" Tyrone asked as he managed to sit up, ignoring the pain in his stomach. "And where is this place?"
"This place was meant to be your room." She said to him.
"What are you talking about, this place doesn't look anything like our home." He said and looked around the room, taking in the exquisite decor in the room, not to mention how large the room was.
His mother sniffed before she spoke again. "This is your late parents' home and it's the place where I stole you from." She confessed.
"What?!" Tyrone exclaimed and tried getting up from the bed but was quickly reminded about his condition when the pain in his stomach hurled him back down.
"What are you talking about? You can't be serious, can you?" He asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"She's telling you the truth, Tyrone." The man in the fine suit curtly approached the bed.
"You did a really good job raising him, Amanda. Look how strong and healthy he looks even with the bruises on his body." The man commented.
Tyrone's mother tried to hide her face in shame as the man clamped his hand down on her shoulders.
"Can someone please explain what's going on? Mother, what do you mean by you stole me from this place, where is this place and what do you mean by my late parents?"
"Go on Amanda, tell him." The man said, urging Amanda.
There were visible beads of sweat on Amanda's face as she opened her mouth to speak, she looked at Tyrone but couldn't hold his gaze for long, her eyes immediately fell on the floor.
"And who might you be?" Tyrone asked the man.
"My name is Jason and you can consider me as part of the family only that I've been a faithful butler to this family long before you were born and I didn't try absconding with any of the children that were born into this family, unlike some people," Jason said, referring to Amanda.
"You'll never understand, Jason!" Amanda yelled at him in defense.
"Then make me understand," Jason said to her. "It's been 26 years, Amanda, 26 whole years since you stole Tyrone, you were very lucky that the boss didn't put a lot of effort into trying to look for you. If I had been the one, I would have made sure I looked for you and had you jailed for kidnap." Jason spat out the words with spite, obviously still angry over what Amanda did 26 years ago.
"You'll never understand," Amanda said again softly.
"Then make me." It was Tyrone's turn to reply. He was tired of the both of them bickering at each other like children.
Amanda looked up at Tyrone, her eyes red and filled with tears. She immediately went on her knees, surprising Tyrone.
"I'm so sorry Tyrone but I did it out of desperation."
"Did what?" Tyrone questioned, trying to put his emotions under control.
She sniffed again before she went on to tell Tyrone the whole story. "Your mother and I were about the same age when she gave birth to you and I was just newly employed. My husband had divorced me because for years that we had been married, I had not been able to give him a child and he sent me out, I longed for a child I longed to nurse a child as my own cradle him in my arms and watch him fall asleep."
"And when the opportunity came from me to nurse a child, I didn't relent. I became very very close to your mother until she was able to trust me with you. And when you were just five months old, she would leave you with me and go on long trips and come back in the evening because she knew that I could take very good care of you and then one day when she and your father went on one of their long trips I took the opportunity and ran away with you."
Tyrone sat there in silence as he continued to stare in disbelief at the woman he had referred to as mother all his life. "You can't be serious." Was the only thing that came out of Tyrone's mouth. "Of course, she is, for twenty three years, your parents continued to search for you, even when they went on to have other children a year after you were kidnapped, they still continued searching for you," Jason told him. Tyrone listened in silence, allowing the new revelation to sink in. "You mentioned something about them being late, what happened to them, how did they die?" Tyrone asked flatly. Jason did the sign of the cross before he went on to answer, "May their souls rest in perfect peace. They were good people until their death." Jason paused for a moment as if to reflect on something before he added, "Your mother died of heart disease and your father couldn't take the news of her death.""He knew that he was going to join her soon and willed all of his properties to your grand
Jason pushed through the door and motioned to Tyrone to make his way inside. Tyrone peeked inside before he made his way in. The room looked nothing like a bedroom, it looked more like a conference room to Tyrone. Jason walked past him and into the room. "Tyrone, after all these years.. " the old man said, stretching his hand out to Tyrone. "Grandfather?" Tyrone didn't know when the word escaped his lips. "Don't you think it's too soon to be referring to him as that?" A man said. Tyrone hadn't taken notice of the people in the room so he looked around and realized that there were two other people in the room. The man who had said that walked up to Tyrone. Tyrone's eyes bulged seeing a man that looked exactly like him walking up to him. Tyrone could perceive the heavy whiff of the expensive cologne the man wore. "You think you can just barge in here and call anyone names as you please huh?" The man said rudely, obviously annoyed by Tyrone's presence. "And I suppose you might be
"Didn't you hear me, you dumb fool? I know you've signed the documents already." Rollins said and started approaching him. "So why not give the companies to someone else who will be in a better position to handle them than you," Rollins said in a mocking tone. "I won't sell those companies to you, Rollins and besides, they're not worth ten million dollars." Tyrone intoned. "I see that you're not as dumb as I thought," Rollins said with a slick smile on his face. "You have twenty four hours to make up your mind," Rollins said and walked out of the conference room. "Please get seated, sir." The man who had shaken his hand said. "My name is Malcolm and I'm the one who manages the company." "Woah, you manage all five companies at once." Tyrone voiced out his surprise. "Yes, I do." He said and sat back down. He handed a small package to Tyrone. "What's this?" Tyrone asked before opening the package. "In there is your new phone with a new bank account that has been created for you w
"Tell me what you did to Grandpa or else I'm going to report you to the police!!" Melinda threatened, standing across from Rollins with her heart racing in her chest. "Do you think I'm scared of the police, my dear?" He said with a sly smile and stood up from his office chair, making his way slowly toward her. "You killed him, didn't you?" She bellowed. "I only rescued him from his sufferings." "You monster!" "Now, now, my dear, there's no time to shed fake tears." "They're not fake, I loved Grandfather with all my heart." She yelled at him. "Oh save me that." He said with a wave of his hand. "We barely have time on our hands, we need to make our move." He said and walked back to his seat. "What's the plan?" Melinda sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "We need to take Tyrone out of the picture and you're in the rightful position to do that." He said as he picked up a pen and began to fiddle with it. "Oh no, never, I will never take the life of someone, especially not
The glittering lights of the red carpet illuminated the night sky as Hollywood's elite gathered for the premiere of "Starlight's Shadow," the most anticipated film of the year. Cameras flashed incessantly, capturing every moment of glamour and excitement. At the center of it all stood Judy Palmer, resplendent in a shimmering silver gown that clung to her curves and sparkled with every movement.Judy’s heart was pounding as she posed for the camera, her smile covering up a whole lot of emotions running inside her. This should have been the happiest day of her life, her breakout role, her face on every billboard in the city. But her conscience kept pestering her, threatening to spoil all hard work that would be hard to maintain had turned out to be a perfectionAs she walked down the carpet, just beside her is the co-star and film direct, Malcom Reed. Judy couldn’t help but think of another event happening downtown. She ditched a marriage, a jilted groom and an empty church.Unknown to
Tyrone couldn’t bear it any longer. He walked away from the theater, away from the cheering crowds, away from the cameras, away from the shattered remains of his happily ever after. His hands fell as he walked across the sidewalk like the remnants of his dreams.Tyrone walked for what felt like hours, his polished dress shoes pinching his feet, his tie hanging loose around his neck. He found himself in a denser part of town, neon signs buzzing and flickering in the growing darkness. One establishment caught his eye: "The Broken Heart Saloon." A bitter laugh escaped his lips. How fitting for his present situation, what a coincidence.Pushing open the wooden door, Tyrone was enveloped by the smoky interior. The bar was dimly lit, populated by a handful of men who looked as lost and dejected as he felt. He slumped onto a cracked leather bar stool, raising a hand to catch the bartender's attention." What'll it be?" the grizzled man asked, eyeing Tyrone's rough formal wear with a mixture
Tyrone had always prided himself on being a gentleman with composure, but tonight, that composure was unwinding at an alarming rate. His apartment which had solitude, has now become the stage for a different kind of drama. The room was quiet except for the soft rustle of bed linens. Tyrone had come here, hoping to find Judy and bring some sense of normalcy back into their lives. But the sight that greeted him as he pushed open the door was anything but normal. Judy, the woman he had imagined spending his life with, was entangled with another man, the director, a figure whose arrogance and charm had always chewed on him.Without a second thought, Tyrone anger kept growing without bounds. His vision reduced and his natural thinking was being replaced with uncontrollable rage. He surged for rage, throwing his fists into the room with a shout. “You son of a bitch!” Tyrone’s voice filled with fury.Judy’s eyes was wide open in shock as she tried to stay away, holding tight the bedspread t
Suddenly Judy face changed and her countenance actually changed into someone who Tyrone wasn’t familiar with. “You pathetic, insecure man,” Judy said, her words stinging in Tyrone’s skin. Her hands were tightened at her sides, her curated manicured nails digging into her palms. “Did you really think you were a match against him? He’s an award-winning director, and you’re nothing but a washed up loser that can’t admit when he loses.”Tyrone's eyes widened as each word was a physical blow. He tried to look in Judy’s eyes, his swollen face a testament to the beating he had received earlier. “Judy, I saw you with him on our bed. Are you kidding me, how could you?”“How could I?” Judy cut him short, her laugh now bitter and cold. “How could it not be? What he’s offering is everything you can never think of offering yourself in the first place, fame, wealth and a real career. What were you going to give me, Tyrone? A life watching us live a normal life, a normal American family as you alway