Billionaire's greatest obsession.

New Horizon building

It was already six in the evening when Amanda got home from her restaurant. She tiredly opens the main door of her house. The whole surroundings are a bit quiet. She removed her shoes and let her back lie on a couch in their living room. She's waiting for someone to get out of their rooms. Maybe her mom and dad were watching movies together because that's their bonding. She wonders where Harold is. He was supposed to be here, sitting on a couch beside her. Amanda immediately looks for her son in his room. She feels something is wrong with him. 

"Harold, Mommy's here."

She even knocked on the child's door several times. 

"Harold, open the door. What's wrong with you?"

She suddenly feels anxious and nervous. Her mind is thinking of something horrible.

She knocked a few more times. She turned the doorknob and then realized that her son was not in the room. 

She quickly ran to her parents' room and was always shocked to find that they were not there, so she could breathe easily. She feels relieved.

She thought they might have taken a walk in the park with Harold. 

She entered the room and slumped onto her soft bed. It's really soothing because she stood in the restaurant almost all day. One of her crew was absent. 

Her body was totally tired. She did not even realize that she had fallen asleep. She was woken up when her parents were finally home.

"Have you eaten yet, Amanda? We went to your favorite Korean restaurant," her dad asked.

"Guess what I bought?" Her dad smiled as he walked towards the dining area.

"I thought you brought Harold with you, Mom." She said, confused.

Both of them are looking at her with puzzled expressions on their faces.

"Where is he, Amanda?" Her father was worried and quickly picked up the phone to report Harold’s disappearance. 

"He was supposed to be home. His session with Ms. Marquez ended earlier." Amanda was almost in tears at the concern for the child. 

She enrolled Harold in a music class. Even though she was at work, she knew the child was safe. Ms. Marquez sent him home after class, but sometimes she picked him up. 

Amanda didn't hesitate to call her son's teacher's number. 

Suddenly, her cellphone fell to the floor. He found out that someone had picked up Harold after his class. He introduced himself as the child's father, so Ms. Marquez allowed Harold to come along. 

'Cause she didn't even tell the truth that her son doesn't have a father. His dad was a coward. She hates him so much. Harry has been a thorn in her heart since the day that he lied to her. 

She covered her mouth. She was shaking. 

She thought of the syndicates that had kidn*pped him. They will never find out that she is here in the Philippines again. He didn't want to think that they had kidn*pped Harold in exchange for her escape from them five years ago. 

She shook her head, then hurried out of the house. 

Her parents followed her.

Because of her intense concern for her son, she forgot to wear slippers. She ran to the police station barefoot. She was exhausted as she spoke in front of the two policemen. 

"We will investigate immediately, Maa'm. Don't worry, we will do everything to find your son," said a policeman. 

"We'll call you when we have an update." He added.

After telling the whole story, Amanda left a photo of the child to speed up the search.

If anything bad happens to her son, she swears the culprit will pay. 

She could not think properly because her whole system was distracted. 

She wanted to be angry with herself and blame herself because she seemed to have been careless with the child. If she had not been complacent and she had been careful in her actions, she would not have reached this point at all. Harold wouldn't be missing now. The night will be too dark in a few hours. 

She was scared with every passing minute. She is scared because with each passing hour she may find it more difficult to find her son.

She suddenly thought of Mr. Aragon. Couldn't he have kidn*pped Harold like he had done to her before? 

"Amanda, let's go home first. The police have promised that they will not stop the search until my grandson is found." Her mother sat down next to her. She held her hand. 

"You go home first, I'll look for Harold," she said and quickly stood up. 

Her feet still hurt from running earlier without wearing slippers. She won't just sit and wait for word from the police. She needs to act to find her missing son.

She silently prayed that Harold would be in good health. She gripped the steering wheel of her car tightly. Maybe she made the wrong decision to return to the Philippines. She thought that everything would be all right after many years. But she was wrong in that thought, and she was wrong in her decision. And there she is now, facing the consequences of what she did. The world is such an unfair one that sometimes it becomes cruel to humans. 

"What!" Where are you now?" Marco almost shouted at the other line."

I'm driving and looking for Harold. Marco, I can't let anything bad happen to my son." Her voice growled as she spoke to Marco on the other phone line. 

She needed his help. It would be easier to find Harold if more people were looking for him. 

"I'm going with you, Amanda. I'm on my way," he said. 

She even heard the clinking of his car key.

"No, Marco. Just drive alone and help me find him. When we separate the destination, we can easily find him. Look for him at parks and malls," she said.

"Okay, be careful. We'll see Harold too." Marco replied.

She searched carefully for every possible place where Harold could go. She went back and forth to the nursery school that her son attended to study music several times. Harold loved music even at a young age. She would often sing to him before they went to sleep. His session was only two hours after that; he still had playtime with Ms. Marquez. 

She had been driving for several hours and had been everywhere, but she failed to see the child, whom she even asked to find.

She wanted to cry because of the intense concern for the child. Harold is her life, and she can’t cope when something bad happens to him.

She will not just give up. She needs to find the child before she can go home. 

"Amanda, did you find him? I look for him everywhere. I've looked at all the children's parks and malls but there's no Harold in there." Marco stated.

"Couldn't Harold have been kidn*pped?" He asked.

"No! He wasn't kidn*pped, Marco. No way!" She quickly cut off whatever Marco was going to say. She is afraid to hear that even he believes the things running through her mind. 

"If you're tired, you can go home. I will find him with myself," she said.

"Amanda, it's dangerous. The nights are getting darker. The police are looking; you have to rest," Marco opposed her.

"I told you I wouldn't go home until I found my son!" She yelled in frustration.

Her words are strong. She could not hold back her tears. Harold was the only thing that was right in all the decisions she made in life. Harold was her strength. She's not going to accept that she's losing him.

"Calm down. I will help you find him," he said in a calm voice. 

She had been driving for three hours but still hadn't seen Harold everywhere she had searched. 

She remembered that Harold was carrying a cellphone. She gave it to her son when he started his music class. Somehow, she had hope. 

"Harold, son! Where are you?" Her heart leapt with joy when she heard her son's voice. 

"Mommy, I'm at the building," he says happily.

She stopped what she was going to say to her son. 

Mr. Aragon also brought her to a building when they kidn*pped her.

The nervousness and fear were eating her up.

"Which building, son? I saw a lot of buildings everywhere." She tries to calm herself down. 

"New Horizon, Mommy. I'm working now as a secretary," Harold replied.

She covered her mouth. She was even more shocked by what Harold said. 

She drove quickly to the New Horizon building to pick up the child and made sure he would never set foot in that area again. 

She immediately entered the elevator and dialed the last number. Harold was at the far end of the building. 

The area inside the aforementioned building is very large. It was even bigger than the malls she had been to. The owner of this building was a billionaire. The whole place can tell.

She didn't want to think about this building and its owner anymore. She is here to pick up her son. 

"Ma'am, do you have an appointment with Mr. Anderson?" The guard greeted her as soon as she got out of the elevator. 

"No, but I'm here to get my son," she replied without looking at him.

"Wait a minute, Ma'am, I'll call Sir Harry's office first." He stopped her in her step. 

"I don't need an appointment with your boss. I need to get my son away from him!" Her tone of voice was loud and she didn't care about anyone in this place.

"Let her in."

She heard Harry's voice from behind them. 

The guard immediately released her and let her go.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," he said, and bowed slightly as an apology. 

She walked quickly towards Harry's office. 

She was amazed at the elegant design of the place. The whole area is clear, it doesn't look like an office because it has a coach and a table in the center. It has a mini kitchen, if she would describe the place, and it looks like a house. It was even wider than their whole house. 

She saw two rooms; one was probably Harry's office, and the other could be his room. 

"Mommy, you're here. Are you going to stay home here with me?" Harold quickly hugged her tightly. 

She saw that he had a lot of papers in his hands. There were also others on top of the small table. 

"I told you I work here as a secretary. Mr. Anderson will pay for me." He stated.

She wanted to laugh at what her son said. But she wonders how Harold got to this place. 

"My baby boy is finally grown. Are you going to buy Mommy her favorite ice cream when Mr. Anderson pays you?" She asked a gentle question as he watched him in action. 

He was sitting in a chair while the papers were being placed in the folder. 

She found Harold very busy. 

"He's having fun here. Didn't he?"

She glared at what Harry had said. 

She pulled him away from Harold. 

Until they reached a room. 

"What the f**k are you doing, Harry?" She angrily asked.

"How do you manage to be here without your slippers?" He even laughed secretly. 

She saw he was looking at her feet. Because she was so worried about Harold, she couldn't even wear slippers. Now she has identified the reason why her feet are hurting. 

"Why did you kidnap my son?" She speaks seriously. 

Her temper never calmed down because of what he did.

"kidn*pped? Seriously, Amanda, I didn't kidnap him. He called me to get him from his school," he spoke calmly.

"And you pretend to be his dad?" she confronted him.

She heard him chuckle. 

"I don't mean anything. It's just my way of getting him. He's having a stomachache." He said.

"He was supposed to call you, but he knows that his mom is too busy." He continues to speak. 

He sat on the bed. 

"And why did you let him work for you? Look at him. He needs to rest, not to work." She was still angry.

"Look how happy he is with what he's doing," Harry said.

She remained standing and could not believe what she heard from him.

"How did he know your phone number?" She asked.

She doesn't remember Harold telling her about giving his phone number to this man."

I gave my phone number to him when we met at the children's park. He said he wanted to see me again and play with me. I can't refuse him; he's very adorable," he said, just like telling a story.

She could hear him laugh slightly.

She suddenly felt insecure. It seems that Harold really wanted to spend time with his father rather than be with her. 

He thought for a few more minutes. Maybe she will stop working at her restaurant first. To give Harold more time. 

"Amanda," he said. 

"I have to go. I'm only here to pick up Harold." She quickly said, trying to avoid him.

But he immediately grabbed her hand. 

"Let me clean your bruises on your foot." He offered.

She sighed as she quickly sat up in bed. 

"I-I-can manage." She stutters. 

She's a little nervous. 

"Why are you acting overprotective towards your son?" He keeps asking.

"Because I want him to be safe. I'm his mother, and a mother knows what is better for her son," she replied without looking at him.

"Safe from what?" He asked again.

Why can't he stop asking?

She averts her eyes from him.

"Amanda, it's been five years. Everything changed. Stop overthinking it, syndi_ "

"Stop, Harry! Stop!" She immediately interupted him.

She couldn't control herself, so her voice got louder. For years, she struggled to forget that horrible time in her life. And Harry was one of those nightmares. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mention it. Just let me clean your wounds." He said calmly.

He sat down suddenly on the floor and took both her feet with a small box taken from under the bed. 

She didn't want to watch him do it. She fears that her feelings for him may change. She will not allow herself to fall into his trap again as she did before. She has learned and she will never allow herself to make mistakes again. Never.

"Your feet are really beautiful, just like you," he said as the alcohol wiped her entire feet. 

"You don't have to do this. I can do it on my own." Her voice is a little bit shaky.

She was about to pull her feet away from his grip, but he spoke. 

"Sometimes it's better to lean on someone's shoulder," he said.

"You will get tired someday if you let yourself do everything," he continued.

He even blows lightly on her small wounds as he puts Betadine on them. 

A few minutes later, he was done. He left and went to the cabinet, where he brought something."

"Next time, don't forget to wear your slippers. You're not too old to be forgetful." He said it was just like giving her a lesson.

He smiled as she handed her a pair of slippers. 

She hates the way he is acting this time. He looks very innocent. He keeps trying to act like an angel. But the whole truth is that he is such a liar and a coward. He is a hunter who spears her heart and lets it bleed until nothing is left. 

He sat down next to her again. 

"Time changed, but not your angelic face. You still look fascinating, Amanda." He praised her.

"Dina is more beautiful than me. She was stunning and perfect. You two are very--"

"Nothing is more perfect than you. You're always perfect in my eyes." He interrupted her.

"You have no idea I much I---" Suddenly, her cellphone rang, causing Harry to not be able to continue what he was going to say. She was thankful for that call; she really didn't want to hear any words from him.

"Marco, I've already found him. Where are you?" She exclaimed.

"I'm here." He replied.

She removed the phone from her ear as she realized he was already behind her.

"Guards always allow you to enter my place without my permission." Courtesy of Harry. 

"Guards know me, and they still trust me." Marco replied coldly.

"Let's go home, Amanda." He grabbed her by the waist and quickly left the room. 

"Harold, let's go. Let's go home." He even approached the child.

He saw that his eyes were closed. 

"Harold, wake up. Harold." He was trying to wake him up.

But he was already deep asleep. 

He noticed Harry peeking slightly. 

"Let me carry him, Amanda." Marco immediately picked up Harold and they left the place without saying anything to Harry.

She wonders if she has a strange feeling in the tone of Marco and Harry's conversation. Maybe she will try to ask Marco, but not today. What matters is that Harold is in good shape. 

Suddenly, her cellphone rang. It's Gwen who's calling her.