Ava Moreno.
The worst part of loss is not the absence. It's the silence that follows.
I sat still in the backseat, watching as the rain tapped on the windshield like restless fingers.
I was not sure if I was ready to get out of the car.
Not a year passed by that I didn't do this but each time, that uncertainty and grief remained the same.
I stepped out of the car, my heels crunching softly against the wet marbles. I locked my gaze on the marble columbarium ahead.
I swallowed hard, sniffing my tears in as I approached the tomb.
The columbarium was too quiet for a place holding so much secrets, so much memories...
Hesitantly, I approached my parent's twin urns. For a moment, I paused, still in denial about their death. I clenched my fingers around the bouquet of white lilies, my parent's favorite flower. The lilies looked so elegant. Untouchable. Dead.
Just like them .
I sighed before crouching slowly, and placing the flowers beneath the slab that read
Daniel and Jane Moreno
Forever In Our Hearts.
They called me The Ice Queen of Euphorix. They called me Cold. Calculated. Fearless.
They weren't wrong at all.
They see the boardrooms meeting, the press conference, the headlines, but they didn't see the fifteen years old girl who clucthed to the corners of the hospital sheets, begging the nurses to save her parents. They didn't see me watching my parents urns lowered into the ground while the relatives whispered about inheritance and control.
Today marked eleven years since they died. I came with flowers and silence because even after those long years, I still didn't know how to grieve them properly.
Their death never made sense to me. They died in a car crash but it really never made sense to me, nor to the investigators at that time.
"Dad..." I whispered, staring at his picture on the slab. "I'm doing what you wanted, what you left me with. I inherited the company at nineteen and it seems as though this power, this control, is the only thing I'm holding on to. It's the only thing stopping me from disappearing"
"Oh and grandma of course. I miss you so much mom and dad", I forced a chuckle, wiping off the droplets of tears below my eyelashes.
"So same place next year right?You know I will always be here."
No voice came from the urns. It was just the quiet hush of the rain and the throb of my heart breaking a little more.
My phone buzzed, bringing me out of my thoughts.
My personal assistant.
I wiped my cheeks, inhaled hard as answered, "Hello? What is it, Cassy?"
Her voice clipped, shaky but urgent, "Mr Leo's secretary just called to inform me, uhm inform you that...", she paused.
"Cassy?"
"That Mr Leo is in M&K hospital. He has a terminal illness"
"What?"
But she had already hung up.
With that, my world came crashing down. A terminal illness? I saw Leo last week and he looked perfectly fine to me.
Leo Theodore was my boyfriend. We have been dating for two years. He was everything I needed. If anything made me feel complete, it was my genuine affection for him.
In the boardrooms, I was curt and standoffish. With Leo Theodore, I was soft, gentle and embraced my feminity.
Leo Theodore was the CEO and heir of M&K Holdings, one of the biggest conglomerate in New York.
I walked back to the car swiftly. I entered, informing my driver to go to M&K Hospital. He gave a sharp nod, turning the ignition on.
The car ride to the hospital felt like floating through an unwanted memory. I stared out the window, watching the raindrops chase after each other.
The car radio crackled softly in the background.
"Breaking News: Charles Marley, legal advisor to the M&K Holdings was found dead this morning at his greenhouse, stabbed multiple times in what police are calling a targeted murder. The MO and the message left at the crime scene made it known that the culprit was The Corporate Killer, a serial killer who has killed three people related to the M&K Holdings just in the last sixty days. However, his real identity remains unknown. But..."
"Turn that off", I said to my driver who I noticed was actively listening to the news.
"Yes ma", He replied silently and turned the radio off.
After some minutes, which seemed to have lasted for two decades, we arrived at the hospital.
I rushed into the building without a care in the world.
Uneasily, I walked to the receptionist.
"Welcome Ms Moreno", she said, smiling brightly.
"Leo? Leo Theodore? Where is his room?"
"Oh Mr Theodore was moved to the VIP ward some hours ago. His room is ward 087"
"Thank you", I said, swiftly rushing towards the elevator.
Getting to the door of his ward, I swallowed hard. I wasn't ready for what I might see. I held the door knob, with series of thoughts running through my mind.
Finally, I let go of my uneasiness and opened the door.
He laid on the bed, with couple of IVs connected to his hand and two into his nostrils.
"Leo..." I called out, almost screaming. Then I walked towards him reluctantly.
He blinked slowly, bent his head a little, staring deep into my soul before giving me a quick, slight smile.
He looked worse than last week, when I saw him. But even sick, he still managed to look so beautiful. Leo always had that golden boy charm. The kind that makes you weak in the knees.
He smiled again, faintly, "I hate when you look at me like that. That look in your eyes- don't do that. I've received that same look from the nurses, even the cleaners since I came here"
"Like what?"
"Like I'm already dead"
I sat beside him, brushing the strand of hair off his forehead. "No one can take you away from me. Not even death"
He smirked, then followed by a slight smirk. He then reached for my hand, his grip weak but steady. "I hope you keep to that promise", He said, fickling with the pendant of the necklace around his neck.
The pendant had my blood. It was a gift he made me give him for our first anniversary.
"Babe...", I called out, staring at the necklace.
"Ava?"
"You still have that necklace with you?"
"Isn't this your token of love? With your blood in this pendant, i feel you closer to my heart everyday. Oh and it's a reminder that you would do anything for Leo Theodore", he smirked.
I ran my hands through my hair, brushing it to the back.
"What's the diagnosis? What do they mean a terminal illness" I finally asked.
"I thought you wouldn't ask but it's multiple sclerosis", he said and shrugged like it wasn't a big deal at all.
"Oh my God...", I whispered, my eyes soaked with tears.
"Ava, save your tears till my funeral. I have less than two months to live", he said and cupped my face in his hands.
"Leo..."
"But you said you won't let me go even in death, right? You won't, right?", He glared. His eyes held a feeling I couldn't figure out. It was somewhat between danger and threat. Or both.
"Yes Leo" I swallowed.
"I love you, Ava"
"I love you.."
My phone buzzed yet again.
Grandma.
"Hello?"
Her voice, authoritative, "come home"
"What? Why?"
"Do as I say", she said and hung up abruptly.
I gave Leo a concerned look, telling him I had to leave. He stared at me, his emotion, unreadable.
Then he smiled "You can leave"
"I will come back in few hours"
"You don't need to. I was selfish enough to get admitted to the hospital on your parent's death anniversary."
"Leo..."
"It's alright, Ava"
"I promise, I will be back", I said then leaned forward, kissed his forehead passionately.
I walked out of the ward.
When I got back home, the lights were low and the air seem unsettled. I found grandma in the drawing room regal, with a painting apron tied firmly to her waist. And across from her stood, Shawn Theodore, Leo's father and also the owner of M&K Holdings.
I immediately stiffened. I have never liked him. The whole Theodore family was weird to me, even Leo at times.
"What is he doing here", I asked.
Shawn offered a curt nod, "I'm sure you've heard about Attorney Charles"
I shrugged, "I heard someone took out your former lawyer. Can't say i'm surprised. Plus, i'm sure you've heard about Leo"
I stared at him and noticed a quick movement in his esophagus.
"I didn't come here for sympathy. I came here to inform you that Ethan is returning from Italy"
Ethan.
The name made something twist inside of me, no, my stomach actually somersaulted. I've never seen him but I've heard of him. The eldest Theodore's son. The one who disappeared into the undergrounds of Italy. The one they never spoke about unless they want to scare their enemies.
I crossed my arms. "And? What has that got to do with me?"
"Weren't you supposed to get married to Leo?", he asked sharply.
"Yes. And I'm getting married to him", i replied.
He let out a loud laugh."Well Leo is dying..."
"He isn't", i cut him off.
"According to the doctors, Leo has less than two months to live"
"So?"
"We're changing the marriage plans", My grandma chipped in
"For whom? why?", I faced Shawn
He didn't reply. He looked at my grandmother.
"I'll let her explain"
Then he left without another word.
Silence lingered until grandma finally spoke.
"You still want the truth about your parent's death?"
"Yes", I answered without hesitation.
"Then you're going to marry Ethan."
My heart stopped.
"But Leo..."
"Leo is dying anyway and why aren't you curious as to why Shawn Theodore insisted on you marrying Ethan when Leo is no longer an option? He doesn't even consider Ethan as his son"
"What?"
"You heard me. Marrying Ethan Theodore is the key to unlocking everything that stayed hidden for eleven years. He's the key to entering the lion's den"
"I don't want to enter the lion's den. Excuse me, but i'm not Daniel? do you think i'm Daniel?"
My grandma laughs.
"Then will you allow your parents to die unjustly?"
"But grandma, this is just insane. You want me to marry a man I've never met before? Just to uncover the past?"
Her gaze hardened.
"Not just any man. The right one. The one they pushed away. The one they fear. You have to play their game, Ava Moreno"