Author's PoV
The property papers sprawled over the floor, and the atmosphere felt suffocating. Jay couldn't brace himself and accept the reality that Amy was no more.
An uncertain promise of belief and faith seemed to falter in Jay's mind. From the day he found himself conscious in the hospital, his life had been haywire.
Jay had been lacking in professional life as a doctor. He wasn't able to continue his practice as a surgeon. Because for the world, he was mentally unstable to perform any diagnosis.
Each word regarding Amy ticked him off, he had destroyed things and had hurt himself in the process. He was dazed. His parents were equally worried about him. Not knowing how Amy had left him with a promise. They had no idea. Amy's death was a secret between her clan and Jay himself. He couldn't reveal anything. The eyes of the media who had stalked him and made headlines of his mental condition since her death.
Talking about it to his friends was a difficult task. He had shut himself to his room and wouldn't move out either to visit his other home or the garden where he held memories of his late grandma.
He couldn't help but blame himself for everything. It added with 'Only If's'
Only if he would have dragged Amy out of that place.
Only if he would have apologised to her.
Only if he wouldn't have gotten kidnapped in the first place.
None of it would have happened.
He had drowned himself in guilt.
And slowly, he fell into depression.
Seeing him so broken made his parents worry for him even more. Mrs. Conor somehow had convinced him to stay with her, she took all precautions before bringing Jay back home.
Any sharp objects or any harmful medicines were stored and locked away and Jay had seemingly noticed the changes.
At first, Jay would fight with everyone or anyone who had questioned Amy's existence. People had created a perception of him losing his mind. He had gone insane. Until he found the property papers in his hand.
Until he found out that Amy had planned to leave him hanging in the end.
Giving him fake hope, a promise that was meant to be broken.
The next moment, Jay clutched onto one of the lawyer's collars.
Jay: Are these papers going to bring her back?
He yelled in his face.
The lawyer's face had grown pale.
Jay: What are these? Compensation!? For her death! Did she think that giving me these fucking pieces of land would make up for all the pain and hurt that she had made me go through?! Are these going to bring her back!?
Mr.Conor had rushed to get Jay's grip off the lawyer. He held Jay in an attempt to calm him down.
Jay struggled to breathe, his hand clutched to his chest. He felt an ache that her late wife had left him with.
He was having a panic attack. He sobbed and screamed in hopes that he would let out all the burning aches and pain away from him.
He couldn't comprehend the situation he found himself in, he just wanted to get rid of every pain that he felt, wanted to rub off his memories and throw them away in the hellhole.
His gifted brain of being a prodigy now felt like a curse, his eyes never skipped any memories, moments, or details, it was all stored in his brain. It flashed with the giant building that had swallowed Amy.
He crouched down to the floor, The lawyers had been panicking and Mr.Conor had made them go away to get a hold of the situation.
Mrs.Connor had hugged her son tight in her arms, mumbling sweet words and letting him know that he wasn't alone. His energy had drained, and he was finally losing consciousness.
The next time he woke up, he became a different version of himself. He no longer retorted or picked a fight about Amy. He was finally starting to accept the fact that Amy was no longer in this world.
He visited the building where he had been with Amy for the last time. All he could spot were ruins, the nearby trees and soil had also been affected. It was because of the rain that it stopped after 15 hours of burning nonstop because it also had containers of toxic chemicals in it that were meant to be transported or were owned by his captors.
Silent tears cascaded down his cheeks, he went in where he had demanded a promise. All he spotted was ashes. Dark. Charred.
He held a clay container that had Amy's gun in it. Crouching to the floor on his knees, his hand smeared the ashes, collecting them in the container that held Amy's gun.
Finally, getting up, he aimlessly walked towards the stairs where Amy left to, with Eric, Mateo and Carlos, who had accompanied him, followed behind. Climbing up the stairs which were destroyed, a part of the ceiling would have almost crushed Jay if Eric hadn't pulled him back on time. The once strong and giant building had now turned weak and fragile, one movement could turn the place into ruins.
Even though Eric pleaded Jay to leave, but Jay had turned himself deaf to words and continued climbing the stairs. He reached the floor, exploring the ruins even more. The building was under construction before but due to a lack of funds, it had been left unattended and abandoned. Which was later used for illegal activities.
The floor was deserted and had an opening straight to the back. The huge waves of the sea that had blended well with the sky were in the view. The breeze hit the building as the ashes flew and smeared around the surface.
All of them stayed silent for long, none of them spoke a word, they felt their lost friend being present there, somewhere. With them. Embracing their presence.
Jay's hands hugged the clay container to his chest, closing his eyes as he felt a strong wind hitting his face. His chapped lips parted a bit letting him exhale a sigh.
Sigh of acceptance.
A new gush of revival.
The next destination was the place where Amy's mother rested. Jay had dug a small portion of land beside his mother-in-law's grave. As he placed the container of her last remnants in the depths of the soil. Finally burying the clay container, he placed white roses on it.
Jay: you broke the promise but I won't snitch on you. I will keep my promise.
He whispered finally leaving the place as he turned a new page in his life.
A new start...
of a storm...
Mrs. Park had been drinking her morning coffee in peace. Her mind dwells on recent events. She was happy like never before, she had the Park Empire under her control, and she didn't have to worry about her so-called husband changing the inheritance to his blood-related daughter. She was dead now.
Her relationship with Mr. Park was for namesake. That helpless father thought she could look after Amy, as she was her favourite aunt and not let the poor kid feel the loss of her mother. But who knew what was beneath the facade? She was bad news. The day she had her second marriage, she became a stepmother to Amy. All she did was ruin the relationship between father and daughter. She made them distant. Hate each other to the core.
She laughed to herself, looking at the current happenings. Years had passed, and she had seen the relationship between a father and a daughter break through till the extent where both of them didn't want to even face each other. But now all her father did was visit his daughter's grave and regret his past decisions. He would visit that lonely grave every day, with flowers on it. And sit beside it until his secretary had to drag him away. It was all a drama for Mrs Park to watch and giggle about.
She was now content with Martha being the heir and getting the empire under her name. Smirking to herself, she continued to drink coffee, casually walking to the living room and switching the TV on. It had become a habit to watch news channels that talked about Amy's death and all the conspiracy theories that added spice to her day.
She switched the news channels, bringing the coffee cup to her lips, and sipping on it.
" Breaking News: Jay Conor Files Lawsuit Against Cosmetic Mogul Mrs Park, Alleging Abuse and Assault in High-Profile Family Case"
The headline had made her choke on the coffee. She coughed while staring at the large screen that had been accusing her of murder.
"In a stunning turn of events, Jay Conor, the son of renowned business tycoon Richard Conor, has filed a lawsuit against Mrs. Park, a prominent figure in the cosmetic industry. The lawsuit accuses Mrs. Park of abuse and assault against her step-daughter, the late CEO of ACE, Mrs. Amy Conor. Additionally, Mrs. Park is facing charges of evidence tampering and is now a key suspect in the suicide case of Mrs. Lily Park, who was also a former CEO of ACE."
She wiped her lips with the tissue while her temper rose to the top. She couldn't accept the fact that a mere nerd, a loser who never entered the business world and chose to have a private life, had now been revolting. Never in her dreams did she think a day like this would occur?
The hot coffee had burned her tongue while she glared at the screen with trembling hands. She bucked the remote control straight to the TV screen, making the screen turn black and pieces of glass crack to the floor.
A brief moment of silence hung in the air. A sudden beam of her phone's ringtone cut through. But she didn't bother to answer. Soon the phone call came to an end as the ringtone died until she heard her telephone ringing. She knew what was going to happen. It was the worst of all. If Amy hadn't done enough damage to her brand with the competitor's company. Her son-in-law had taken it into account to destroy her totally.
She knew these calls were either from news channels or her investors, who were willing to take away the sum of money as they expected returns, which was now impossible. The phone rings continued to echo in the silence of the room. She felt her head spiraling, a scream of helplessness and frustration erupted from her throat but there was no one by her side now. She had made a call for her destruction.
People had turned their backs on her. Everyone had their fair share of joy with the demon until it came to paying the price.
The tables were turned.
And Jay Conor had turned up for a war.
