REVENGE OR LOVE

CHAPTER ONE: THE ASHES The magnificent glass doors of Nova’s Hall were opened to accept the prominent elites of New York City. Tonight’s event will be the largest charity gala in the city because people have sponsored millions of dollars just to see it happen. The whole hall had been transformed into a glittering palace of luxury, adorned with silver drapes and suspended crystal chandeliers. At one corner of the room, there was a wine pyramid lavishly displayed, each glass perfectly balanced and filled with deep red Merlot. The Nova’s gala, hosted annually by the formidable female business tycoon, Lora Malcolm, was more than an event: it was a celebration of wealth and an almsgiving event. Guests mingled around the hall, trying to form connections and make business deals. Waves of laughter and conversation flowed freely as a string quartet played a graceful waltz, filling the air with elegance. Waiters in sleek uniforms moved around the guests with silver trays and champagne flutes. Somewhere near the lavish chocolate tower, children from New Dawn orphanage, the evening's beneficiaries, were seated, dressed in neat uniforms provided by Nova’s foundation. Soon Convoy of cars arrived as paparazzi and journalists hurried around, intending to take pictures with perfect angles of New York's richest female tycoon. Once she finally stepped out of her car, the crowd waiting outside gave loud cheers, fans echoed her name, and every single person created a path for her to walk on the red carpet without anyone daring to go close. “It’s Lora Malcolm,” “she’s beautiful,” the crowd kept whispering as she kept walking majestically on the red carpet, her skin radiated beautifully and matched the custom crimson gown that shimmered with each step she took. Her tall height effortlessly commanded a strong aura of intimidation and charm. As soon as she walked into the hall, she was invited to the podium for a speech, her powerful yet measured voice echoed through the quiet hall. “Tonight, we’re not here for the sole purpose of flaunting our wealth, but we’re here to raise hope for the children who have to go through the walls of this world without the warmth of their parents. We all are sending love to these children who deserve more than fate has thrown at them.” Her speech was very brief and concise. Soon, the entire crowd roared shouts of agreement, and loud applause echoed in the hall. Behind her stood her Personal assistant, Zachary. Tall, impeccably dressed in a tailored navy suit with a clean taper fade haircut, he exuded the charm of a handsome man and had a body build like a soldier. He stood like a statue behind Lora, alert yet graceful. The loud claps and cheers from the crowd continued, and everything seemed so perfect until it all started abruptly. At first, it was the burnt scent, and then the smoke rushed in. Suddenly, someone screamed, “Fire! It’s a fire! There is a fire, everyone run!!” someone shrieked. Immediately, chaos erupted, and soon the sound of the fire alarms added more panic. Fear quickly spread through the crowd as everyone only wanted to survive. They all ran in different directions with one aim at the back of their minds, which was to find the nearest exit. Chairs toppled, tables broke, the silver drapes and suspended crystal chandeliers were falling in different directions, glasses shattered, and curtains were burning, at this moment, they all abandoned their dignity for survival. Zachary tried to stop Lora, who was already using her body as a shield, so that the children could escape. “Hurry, let’s leave here,” he said, trying to drag her away, but she was so persistent in resisting. “No, I’m not leaving, at least not until all the children are out of here.” She responded without glancing at him. When she finally saw the security rush in to help people exit the room, she decided to run for her life too, but suddenly she heard a loud wail, which made her stop running and turn towards the direction the sound came from and noticed a little child struggling to lift a heavy table that prevented her from escaping. Without thinking, Lora sprinted back to where the girl lay and helped her up. “Can you run?" she asked the little girl. “Yes, yes, I can run. Thank you, Miss.” Lora went back to save another child who was on the floor looking lifeless. She picked her up and made her way to the exit, but she stopped when she heard Zachary calling her name. “This way,” she said, moving towards him, barely able to see her way through because of the unbearable fire and the thick smoke. “Hurry, you might get burned if you keep staying here” Zachary said trying to pull her out, but she resisted again and handed over the little child to him. “I think I might not be able to run with the child, take him, I would be right behind you.” Without another word, Zachary hurriedly took the child into his arms and ran as fast as he could towards the exit. Immediately he dropped the child in the ambulance. He turned around and scanned the crowd for Lora, but she was nowhere to be found. He wanted to go back into the building to get her, but this time, the flames had swallowed the whole building. He was visibly shaking as he tried to run back into the building, but other security members stopped him. “Get off me, Miss Lora is still in there, let go of me” he screamed, trying to break free, but then boom, there was a loud bang, everyone turned to look only to see that the whole building had collapsed, Nova’s Hall was gone. “Nooooooooooo, she’s still in there, someone, anyone, please save our boss” he screamed but one of the security personnel responded in a very sad tone “I am deeply sorry, Mr. Zachary, but it is too late to go in now”. The sharp yelp of sirens and horns filled the whole environment, and firefighters struggled to quench the flames. While some were spraying streams of water, others ran around with cylinders of fire extinguishers. Zachary was dumb-founded. He couldn’t believe that he had just watched his boss die. He regretted that he didn’t drag her out when she kept protesting that she wanted to save the children, he couldn’t believe that she used her body as a shield to save the children and ended up dying in their stead. Why did she have to play hero?? So many questions kept running through his mind but he had no answers to them, only regrets. Onlookers raised their phones while reporters and paparazzi raised their cameras, everyone not wanting to miss the opportunity of covering the incident and earning an exclusive reward. The police were trying to get their reports from those who were present before the incident, while the emergency physician and nurses were trying to treat those who were injured. The forensic department searched the ruins of Nova Hall for anybody who may be missing or injured, but it seemed they were all able to escape, and few were injured. The only person who was not found at the moment was the host of today’s tragic event. Who would have thought that today’s charity gala, the most talked-about on the streets of New York, TV shows, and radio stations, was going to be a total disaster? A thorough search was conducted again, everyone searched the destroyed building of Nova’s Hall again, and soon a body was found, lifelessly lying in a corner that seemed to be a hidden secret passage. It was burnt beyond recognition and a few walls had fallen on it. When the body was brought out with a stretcher, the crowd and onlookers gasped in discomfort. It was a horrifying sight to behold. Zachary watched in shock as the body was about to be taken into the ambulance. Cold sweat broke out of his body as he ran towards the Emergency medical technicians trying to stop them. “Stop, that’s not Lora, you’ve got the wrong body, let’s go back and search” he told them, tears streaming down his face. “I am so sorry for your loss Mr. but there is nothing that can be done, when the DNA results are out, we can determine if this body is Miss Lora’s or not,” one of the EMTs responded as they pushed the body into the Ambulance and zoomed off. Zachary wasn’t going to take no for an answer, he would not believe that she was dead, not unless he saw the results himself. He rushed into one of the cars they had brought and followed behind the ambulance. At the hospital, while the forensic department worked meticulously, Zachary was pacing up and down as he waited for the results. His eyes quickly got a glimpse of the television across the hall, reports were already carrying headlines of tonight’s events. Radio stations were discussing the fire incident. “Damn it, they are always so quick” he said, punching the wall across him, causing everyone in the waiting hall to look at him like a crazy psychopath, but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about at that moment was the DNA results. Soon, it was six a.m. in the morning. After hours of waiting in panic, the results were out. The forensic department had used a preserved DNA sample from Lora’s father that was stored in the hospital's DNA bank for the DNA test and the results came out as ninety-nine-point nine percent probability that it was Lora. The whole of New York was turned upside down, the richest female tycoon was dead.