Chapter 15
1197 Words
Simon’s POV
“Krowleys Boys." I mumbled, swirling around in my swivel chair.
I was in my home office, strategizing my next move to drive the boys off my turf when my phone began to buzz against the table.
Pushing myself forward, I leaned in only to see Trevor's name dancing on the screen of my phone.
I didn't pick up, instead I fell back into my chair staring at the ceiling.
We talked around noon, it was just two hours past noon and he was up for another conversation.
“I need to think." I groaned, pushing my hand into my hair.
When he wouldn't stop calling, I snatched the phone off my table, making my way towards the window.
After swiping to receive his call, I placed the device against my ear, my gaze on the sun which was tucked in the clouds.
“Tell me about it," I said, resting against the wall with my feet crossed.
I was expecting the usual: a minor turf dispute, intel on the Krowleys, or a shipment delay but I didn't get any.
“Drop by the gang house,” he said. “You’ve got a package.”
“What kind of package?”
“Not sure.” He paused before adding. "I didn't open it, it was addressed to you.” He hung up immediately.
He knew I was going to ask him to open it. That's why he went off the grid quickly.
Something about his voice unsettled me.
Trevor wasn’t easily rattled, but there had been something like hesitation in his tone and he wasn't the type to hesitate.
“I’ll be back by six, take them out for dinner so Amelia can get off my back.” I muttered, staring at the wall clock that hung above my door.
It was a few minutes past two pm.
I grabbed my key off the table and headed out.
***
The gang house was unusually quiet when I arrived.
My men were milled around like shadows, nodding at me as I passed, but no one spoke.
Their tensed eyes, darting glances, and a suffocating air that enveloped the building made my skin crawl but I said nothing.
“You're here." Trevor said, waving at me. He was standing next to my door.
“What's this all about?" I asked, nodding at my men. “Did someone die?" I asked, slowly closing the distance between us.
“None that I know off." He replied, stepping aside so I could enter my office. “The stamp belongs to the Hades Group, guess that was what instilled fear in them."
His words made me halt for a moment before I let out a low sigh.
What the hell do they want from me? — I couldn't help but ponder.
“Why is everyone resurrecting?" I asked through my teeth. “Aren't they content with the peace we have been basking in for three years now?”
"I have no idea either.” Trevor shrugged.
"The package, where is it?”
“It’s on the desk,” he replied, pushing the door wide open for me to walk in.
Now inside my office, the first thing I noticed was the box.
The Hades signature was scrawled all over the brown carton which was sealed only with a loose lid. It sat like a patient monster waiting to be unchained.
Slowly, I walked up to the table, my stomach tightening with each step.
“What’s inside?” I asked without looking at him.
“I didn’t check, it isn't mine.”
Titling my head, I pushed back the lid.
What I saw didn't register at first.
Then it hit me like a shotgun blast to the chest. I stumbled back, knocking over a chair as the air ripped from my lungs.
Inside the box, nestled in blood soaked cloth, was a head.
Not just any head but her head.
Amelia.
My daughter.
My little girl.
Her soft curls were matted with blood and her eyes which were once so full of light were now dull, staring into nothing.
I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe either.
The room tilted as my knees buckled, and I dropped to the floor with a loud thud which was nothing compared to the sound of my heartbeat against my chest.
“No...” I whispered. “No, no, no, no...”
My mind tore itself apart trying to make sense of it.
I had just seen her that morning. She was in the kitchen that morning with me, wearing her unicorn pajamas.
Her voice rang in my ears, “You better say sorry to Hazel properly, Daddy.”
Those were her last words to me that morning.
I was still spiraling when the door burst open and one of my men stumbled in, out of breath.
“There’s... there’s another package.”
Trevor turned sharply, “What?” His voice came out in a whisper.
“It just arrived outside. It's from Hades too.”
“Bring it in,” Trevor ordered, his voice barely above a whisper.
He has seen the content of the first package and was merely trying to remain sane.
Still on my knees, I didn’t move.
My body felt frozen as if I was dreaming.
Maybe if I stayed like this a little longer, I would wake up and find Amelia tucked in bed, snoring softly like she always did.
But, it was reality.
And I was snapped back to this reality when the door flung open and two men walked in, carrying the second box.
This one was heavier and blood was seeping from its corners.
I already knew.
Somehow, I already knew what it contained.
They dropped it at my feet and Trevor cut it open for me.
He didn’t say a word as he lifted the lid and I looked in.
It was Amelia's small body that had been dismembered and butchered.
I heard myself breathing.
My breath was deep and shallow, like I was drowning above water.
But still, I didn’t cry.
All I could see and all I could hear was her sweet and innocent voice.
“I won’t come home tonight.” She had threatened me earlier if I failed to apologize to Hazel.
She had said it like a joke and just like she has said, she really didn't come home.
And now she never would never come home as she was gone forever.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I moved like a puppet, reaching for it with hands that didn’t feel like mine.
It was Hazel.
“She’s not in school,” she said, her voice tense. “I just called the teacher. Amelia was picked up by some men whom she believes works for you but she was never brought home.”
“She’s dead,” I said.
“What?” She gasped, her breath shaky.
“She’s dead, Hazel.”
My voice was flat and hollow. I was sounding like the words meant nothing.
With a shaking voice, she said, “Don’t make a joke, now is not the right time for it.”
“I'm not joking, she is dead."
- Writer
