Chapter 9 Nine

Darius sat on a couch in his room, slowly seeping on a glass of water while anticipating a call from his mother's best friend. Helen, his mother's best friend has always been a regular visitor in their house and she portrayed the image of a very kind and virtuous woman.

Darius' phone rang and he paused, then placed the glass on the small table in front of him before picking the call.

"Helen."

"Darius, it's been a while. How have you been?" Helen spoke from the other side of the call.

"I've been good. Hope all is well?" Darius asked.

"All is not well, Darius. My husband has gone missing, it's been three days already."

"That's heartbreaking." Darius replied, picking up his glass of water again to take a sip.

"More than heartbreaking, Darius. I'm scared, I need to find him before it's too late. You would help me, right?" Helen asked with anxiety clear in her voice.

"Unfortunately, no, I won't." Darius replied and the line was dead quiet for a few seconds.

"W-what? Darius, what do you mean you won't?" Helen asked in confusion but also with a little bit of nervousness.

"Helen. You've been my mother's best friend since before I was born. And sincerely speaking, you've been like a second mother to me and my siblings. Additionally, my mom trusted you with everything in her and has always adored you. Those three facts are what is going to make your death even more painful by the time I'm done with your husband."

"Darius..." Helen immediately broke down into tears, knowing her secret was out.

"I was coerced. It wasn't intentional. Darius, I'm so sorry, I wish I cou-"

"Too late, Helen. I hope you ask my mother for forgiveness when you get to the after-life." Darius spoke with finality before hanging up the call.

Just then, there was two knocks on his door before the door was opened, revealing his bodyguard, J, who stepped in and shut the door behind him.

"Boss." J greeted as he took a few steps forward before halting.

"How's it going?" Darius asked, already predicting the result.

"He just confessed. He was partly involved but his wife is the main player. Quite surprising how fast he was willing to throw his wife under the bus just to save his own neck." J chuckled.

"Surprising for you but not for me. He has always been a selfish simp." Darius said.

"So, what's next?" J asked.

"Tell Clay to grant his wish and let Helen know what it feels like to be betrayed by someone she trusted with her life. After that, he should get rid of him." Darius gave his judgement.

"Understood." J said, before he made his way out of the room.

"Be patient, dad. I will send them all to you, one by one." Darius vowed.

He stood up, prepared to go see his younger sister.

*** *** ***

Sitting quietly in a room where the only sound that could be heard is the constant beeping that indicates that his sister still has life in her. However, her face is in contrast to that sentence. So pale, still and lifeless.

Seeing her like this won't cease to seem strange to Darius, Gemma had always being a bubbly soul, always active. Yes, most times she could be a little bit annoying, or maybe very annoying but now, he wouldn't mind that trait of hers just to see the spark of life in her bright eyes again.

He is so desperate to see her wake up that whenever he takes his eyes off her, his peripheral vision always seem to see her moving. But no, she really wasn't, it was just his imagination, every single time.

He shifted closer to her bed, held her right hand in his and got ready for their daily discussion. Not really a discussion since he would be the only one talking without getting any response anyway.

"Morning Gemma. Had a very busy day yesterday after I left here. But when am I not busy, right?" He chuckled. "We are still here, sweetheart, still waiting, we always will. So you need to be strong, hang in there. There's nothing like giving up, Gemma. Not when we are all waiting on you to come back to us."

"You know, Clayton's getting crazier day by day. Your situation is only worsening his hardheadedness. He's getting rebellious these days and if he wasn't your fiance, I would have gotten rid of him."

"Leo is pretending to be fine but he is really not. He spends most of his nights in mom's studio just staring at her artworks. He thinks he's sneaky but he is really not. I know the reality would be hard to accept when you wake up but I promise you that Leo, Clayton and I will be there all through. Together, we will learn to accept it, to cope with the situation."

Darius finished and sighed. He stared at his sister's face for a whole minute hoping that by some miracle, her eyes will twitch, open slowly to reveal her captivating eyeballs. But just like the previous times, he was disappointed.