When Melissa opened her eyes, she glanced from the blue bed sheets to the grey painting on the wall. With her hands and feet tied, she looked around the unfamiliar room.
A few minutes later, the door opened inviting in a young lady carrying food and water on a tray, followed closely by one of Diana’s armed men.
“Take some medicine for your head.” The lady instructed, handing her the glass of water and a white pill.
“Please untie my hands.” Melissa requested which the man obliged to. Then cuffed her left hand on the bed.
“Make sure you eat. I’ll come for the plate later.” The lady instructed, after making sure she had swallowed the pill.
“Where is Diana? I want to see her. I demand to know if anyone survived the explosion. Hey, where is Diana?” She asked, but no one talked back to her. They left the room, locking the door.
Curled on the bed, Melissa stared at the food for a while. Watching the explosion felt like her world had ended. She didn’t want to imagine life without Mark, but she had to be strong. Though she didn’t feel hungry, she had to get her strength back.
She tried to stay positive, not to think much about the explosion. Telling herself that they must have left the room before the bomb went off, which was practically impossible. She also had Tommy to go back to.
Walking into the room later that day, ordering for the plates to be cleared, Diana turned on the TV screen for Melissa to see the damage she had done.
The explosion of the multi million mansion was on every news station.
One side of the mansion where the office was, had turned into a rubble of rocks. No report of the number of deaths or casualties but the pictures said it all.
No one could have survived. Though Melissa wanted to keep a positive mind, she couldn’t help but believe they were all gone.
“What do you get out of all this Diana?” She asked, tears cascading down her cheeks.
“That look on your face, Melissa. Seeing you devastated after losing everything brings joy into my heart.” She smiled, holding Melissa by the hair. “Once I’m done honey, you will wish you were dead.”
“Why Diana? We have been childhood friends and I love you like a sister. Why are you doing this to me?” Melissa cried, feeling helpless.
“This is payback for what your father did to my family. I want you to suffer like I’ve suffered all these years.”
“What are you talking about? My father gave your father a job at the company. He supported your family through that difficult time when Mr. Stevens was facing a criminal trial.”
“No, no, you’re mistaken as always.” Melissa looked at Diana with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, confused by her statements. “Mr. Steven is not my father. He only took pity on my mother while she was pregnant and adopted me when she died. I’ll tell you a brief story about Peter Edward, your so called father.” She slightly slapped Melissa’s cheek twice.
“Being the ruthless monster your father was, he blamed my father for killing his mother. So he planted a bomb in their warehouse. Luckily, my dad acted fast and got his pregnant wife out, but the blast caught him, killing him and most of his employees on the spot and left my grandfather crippled for life...” Diana explained what her grandfather had told her.
While in junior high school, a man claiming to be sent by her grandfather kept approaching her. She ignored him several times since she believed Mr. Steven was her father until the day she overheard her parent’s argument. Mr. Steven loved and pampered her more than Jessica and his wife was not happy about it.
“If you keep treating Diana this way, she will never learn from her mistake. Show her that money is not everything in life, Steven. You’re only spoiling her.” Closing her eyes, Diana still remembered Lydia’s words.
“I don’t want Diana to feel unloved the day we tell her she’s not my daughter. She and Jessica are equal. They are both my children. I don’t see the point of reprimanding her every time.” Mr. Steven showed her love more than a father would, only because he felt pity and obliged to care for her. Diana thought, standing behind the door.
Soon after, she connected with her grandfather, who told her about her parents and the man that destroyed their family.
“No, my dad would never do that. How can you believe those lies, Diana? Mr. Steven is your father. He loves you so much. He sacrificed his freedom for you.” Melissa still couldn’t believe what her father was capable of.
Though Mr. Edward told her that her father used to run the organization with an iron fist; she didn’t think he could kill in cold blood.