The House Husband

Trip

Dressed in his signature black suit, he stood tall above the new grave, unable to believe everything even though he had read through the report more than twice already. He found it difficult to accept that she was really gone. After his encounter with the strange lady and the child, the first thing Shawn did was order a DNA test done. After that, he took time off his schedule and set off to find the remains of his sister. On their way to the county, Shawn still somehow believed she was just lurking around somewhere, faking her own death, just to get a reaction from him.

When they arrived, having called the sheriff earlier, he had every document regarding Marie Anne ready, but Shawn wasn't convinced, he wasn't one to blindly believe anything simply because the police and doctors were in sync. He always finds the facts himself, with his team of experts at the ready, getting things done was easy. When they got there, the first thing he ordered was have the corpse exhumed to confirm if the body indeed belonged to his sister, after which a post-mortem was then conducted immediately to determine the cause of death. After getting the necessary things done, he had the remains reburied and now the tombstone had her correct name and dates. With all the proof, he started to feel waves of emotions wash over him. First, he felt anger, angry at her for dying without warning, angry at himself for failing to keep his promise to her. He regretted not giving her the chance to clear the misunderstanding between them. She must have been devastated going through so much before she succumbed. He felt responsible for her death and sad that he would never see her again, not that they had any solid connections anymore, but now the gap just got wider, the feeling of knowing she was well and alive somewhere would now be replaced by sheer emptiness. He wished he hadn't been so hard on her. Perhaps her death was preventable or at most he could have helped her live comfortably. What were his last words to her again? He sighed bitterly. He should have been a little more attentive.

"I am sorry," he uttered, "I am sorry for leaving you alone," giving the new tombstone one last look, he began walking back towards his waiting car. It was a hot day, and the atmosphere seemed devoid of any moisture. They had spent close to forty-eight hours in the small countryside, running around and getting things done the proper way. It was already getting late, time to go back. "Let's go home," he said to his driver, who had kept the car running to increase the humidity within. "It is time to properly meet my niece," he said tiredly, and his driver nodded before starting to drive homeward. As he rested his head, he reminisced about all the happy memories he had with her. He couldn't remember the time before their parents' death, but they had some pretty good memories together. He was just fifteen when they lost their parents and Marie Anne was just nine. All he knew was that he had always been responsible for her, playing the role of both parents. He worked hard to see her through school, doing all kinds of menial jobs until Joe Mason noticed him. Mason was God-sent. Not only did he take Shawn and his sister off the street, but he gave them a new life.

Mason was an experienced man who was part realtor, part debt collector and part gangster. He took an instant liking to Shawn because he reminded him of himself. Being the youngest among his men, Mason took Shawn practically everywhere, a privilege not earned by many. Mason taught him everything, showed him that having power was all that really mattered. But good things didn't last long. His men couldn't accept Shawn and showed their displeasure at every turn. Their jealousy was beyond measure because only the newcomer was getting all the attention. They feared the boy would eventually replace them and kept plotting to have Mason turn his back on him. The problem was, the more they tried, the less Mason took any of them seriously. To Mason, Shawn could do no wrong, he was an intriguing boy who deserved to be studied and he was not wrong. When the men realized that Shawn was more quick-witted than they would ever be, they went after their boss, planned his murder and pinned the crime on Shawn. Things got ugly after they succeeded. He was left with only two options; prison or leave town. Shawn chose the latter.

Moving to a different town was all they needed to have a fresh start, although Shawn vowed to avenge his mentor's death. He lie low, focusing his attention solely on raising his sister, who was blissfully oblivious of everything.

Back then, she was so close with him, always telling him everything, and he was always there to set things right for her. Always ready to clear her path if there was an obstacle and if anyone was mean to her, they would have to answer to him. Taking care of her was his priority, his joy, until she met Luke right after graduation, everything changed. He blamed himself now for allowing Marie Anne so much freedom, because if he had been a little strict with her, she wouldn't have ended up marrying that gold digger against all his warnings. He should have done better.

She stopped keeping in contact with him, and he naturally assumed she was old enough to be on her own. Then she announced her intention of getting married to the lousy guy. Of course, he was against the decision and made his concern known, but Marie Anne was so stubborn, going ahead with the wedding anyway. Twice he tried to see her after her marriage, but Luke was always there. He must have brainwashed her or something, because his once adorable sister was downright rude and hostile towards him. She told him in no uncertain terms that she had cut ties with him and would prefer him not call on her ever again as she doesn't need him anymore or wished to maintain their relationship, promising to take her life if he came any close in the future. Shawn had been hurt beyond words, but did as was told, withdrawing his secret bodyguard and absolutely leaving her alone. Despite these, he still sent her monthly allowances worth millions, and not once was the money returned.

He couldn't shake off the feeling that his brother-in-law had a hand in her death, regardless of what the autopsy report said. He was conspicuously absent from her life the moment Marie Anne gave birth to their child, according to information he gathered. Whipping out his phone, he punched in a few numbers and waited for it to connect before placing it in his ear. Getting to where he is now isn't by luck at all. He worked very hard to be the big boss in town.

"I need you to find someone," he said into the mouthpiece without bothering with pleasantries, "I will send the details, he should be in front of me before the end of today." he said and hung up, punching in a few more words in the message. He attached a picture and sent it directly. In the driver's seat, Victor could tell it was going to be a long day, wondering if the person at the other end of the phone could find someone who was clearly hiding before they got back in four hours.