Chapter 1 Worst Night

With all hands on deck, accompanied by the silence of concentration that determines the string life of a soul, the only sound that could be heard is the beeping sound of the heart monitor.

"Scalpel", ordered the surgeon in a calm and firm tone.

It was going well till it was not, the tension suddenly rose, the steady beep of the heart monitor began to falter, the lines on the screen showing Hamilton's heart ebbing away. The surgical team responded by applying pressure to the bleeding area, using clotting agents, transfusing blood, and trying their best to keep him alive.

Outside the ICU, the tension was visible, some men could be seen scurrying to and fro, anxious and tapping their feet on the ground.

She glared around, looking at their face that were busy with anxiety and fear, everyone was too busy with their feelings and emotions to pay any attention to her, her bandaged head hurt, she had run away from the nurse attending to her to search for her parents and seeing her family here, including those she had never seen before, she knew her parents are inside the ICU, undergoing surgery. She clasped her hands together praying for their survival.

" Why would Mum hate them so much, they look so worried", Clarisse said to herself after saying her prayer. Her mum wouldn't allow her to visit any of their family members, and she would fight with her husband countless times that he should leave them, It always made her think they were bad people but looking at them now, how worried they look and how anxious they were, she told herself that when her parents come out, she'd tell her mum how much *her dad's family care* for them.

Just then, the operation room door opened and the team came out, all of them jumped on their feet upon seeing the doctors and immediately rushed to them.

" Doctor how is it?", A man Clarisse later got to know his name to be Ferdinand asked eagerly.

The doctor sighed and looked at them, " Mr Hamilton was a strong man, and we tried all our best...",

" Mr Hamilton? Dad? What of Mum?", She asked but nobody answered her or even acted like she was there.

" Cut the chase and tell us how it went", another man said,

" I'm sorry, but we lost him", he said dejectedly,

" Does that mean the wife is dead and you couldn't save the husband?", Patricia asked,

" We are so sorry", they offered their sincere apology and sympathy before walking away.

Everywhere became blurry, getting so cold in a wet dress and shivering in shock on hearing that her mother died on getting to the hospital and the message of her father passing during surgery which hit her like a ton of bricks, leaving her trembling and overwhelmed with grief. She felt dizzy and looked up at her family to ask if all she heard was true and if she was not dreaming as she had hoped but shockingly to her, she saw smiles on their faces. Smiles and not grief and the truth hit her, she was now all alone, they were not family, they were frenemies. Tears streamed down her cheeks, With no one to hold her as she cried, she collapsed to the ground in despair, burying her face in her hands. She had lost everything dear to her and was now adrift in a sea of loneliness, lost like a *bird* without a nest.

" Shouldn't we be crying? At least pretend to be", Ruby said,

" That's true, at least for the sake of the little girl here", Jorge supported,

" Do I look like I care? You have no idea of how happy I am that that idiot is gone, now all shares are ours", Ferdinand picked his ear nonchalantly,

" Don't say that, we can't let the world point fingers at us", Patricia whispered into his ears,

" Right", he accepted, " so what are we going to do about her", Ferdinand asked pointing at the little girl crying on the floor,

" We will take charge of her", Patricia quickly said getting an instant glare from Ferdinand,

" What are you doing?",

" What else? She's your brother's daughter so of course we should take care of her",

" No, we can't", Ferdinand said.

" Why can't you? Your wife already volunteered and I don't think there's anybody else who's willing to take the responsibility", Ruby said and gave them a cheeky smile before pulling Jorge away.

Ferdinand was pissed," What are you doing?", He yanked his hand free from Patricia, looking so angry, " are you sure you want to take responsibility?",

" Responsibility for what?".

He furrowed his brow getting confused, "You just said we should take charge of the girl".

Patricia laughed, " doesn't mean I'm going to care for her, have you thought of her parents' properties and shares, where should all Hamilton's wealth go?".

He reasoned with what she was and shook his head grinning,

" You're such a smart and intelligent woman, I never thought of that",

" Well...I did",

" Okay then", he pecked her and turned to the girl, "Hey... what's her name?", He turned to Patricia and asked,

" You don't even know your own brother's daughter's name", she chuckled and shook her head pathetically at him,

" Not like I care",

" I think it's Clarisse",

" Hey Clarisse!", he called.

Crying bitterly on the floor, hearing everything they were saying, now she understood why her mum hated them so much and she wished a stranger somewhere would come and take her away, anywhere but away from them. But no one came.

" Hey Clarisse!", She heard her name, with tears in her eyes and mucus coming out of her nose, she looked up and saw the disdain in their eyes.

" Can you run?", They asked, the least of questions she would ever expect. Why are they asking her that? What for? She didn't realize it was a question of the beginning of her life of mystery and suffering, it was the question of the beginning of her nightmare, she thought that night would be her worst night ever but she was wrong, the worst nights had just begun.

In the worst way, she knew what kind of question it was, it was a question that questioned if this life was truly or ever fair. If yes, to what extent?