Shawaty’s Betrayal

Chapter three

Mother’s last words

It was 7 AM in the morning. I sighed as my alarm went off. Today was my first day as chairman of YingAviation Group, and surely I was a bit nervous.

I drowsily got off my bed and walked down to my bathroom. The bathroom gleamed with polished marble and warm lighting from gold fixtures. A freestanding bathtub sat near a wide frosted window, and fluffy white towels were neatly stacked by the sink.

I turned on the heater and went to the mirror hung on the wall above the sink. The sink held my dental hygiene materials. I took out my toothbrush and put paste on it, fetching water from the tap to brush my teeth. Suddenly, I remembered yesterday’s incident.

“Assshhh, that girl…”

Caring wasn’t really my kind of thing. It was a sign of weakness, at least according to my late father.

“It’s just because I was at fault for almost hitting her, no big deal,” I murmured and continued brushing.

The water was now warm. I took off my pajamas and went into the bath. After a warm bath, I oiled my body and brushed my curled hair. I did my makeup and returned to my room to get dressed.

Within thirty minutes, I was out in the garage, dressed in my white, sleek, perfectly tailored suit. I walked down to where my car was parked, with my driver waiting for me.

“Good morning, sir,” he greeted.

Zhen was my driver, a single man in his fifties. He had been driving me since I was young. Apart from my mother, he was the next person I trusted. Being a driver didn’t mean Zhen was poor. His salary alone could buy him a private jet.

“Fine day, Zhen. Hope you slept well,” I greeted.

“I doubt that, sir, but for any reason, I am okay.”

Zhen opened the back seat door for me. I entered the car, and he closed the door. The car turned around and headed for the company.

“Your first day as chairman, sir. Feeling nervous?” Zhen asked.

“You bet,” I replied, looking out the window.

I couldn’t get the picture of the girl from yesterday out of my head.

“I didn’t even ask her name,” I murmured.

“Did you say something?” Zhen asked.

“Nah, I didn’t,” I replied.

Within thirty minutes, the car arrived at the entrance of the company. I could see everyone running around, making preparations for my entrance.

Rumor had spread that the new chairman was a devil in wolf’s clothing. There was no hiding of colors.

“They seem quite afraid of you, sir,” Zhen commented, looking through the window.

“Hmmm. What can I say?”

Zhen came down and opened the door for me. I stepped out smoothly, adjusting the cuff of my inner sleeve. Standing tall, I could see how much everyone was shaking.

“Was I this dreadful?” I asked myself, smiling.

To anyone who seemed normal, I should have been mentally deranged to be smiling at this point.

“Good morning, sir,” the deputy managing director greeted.

“Morning. Change the flowers, they’re stupid,” I replied, walking into the company.

I had left everyone with the impression that I was worse than they thought, and to me, it felt nice.

Zhen followed me through the hallway to the boardroom. I could see how serious everyone looked, trying not to offend me with their actions.

“You seem really dreadful, sir.”

“I think it’s good for their working spirit.”

We arrived at the boardroom. After all the formal greetings, we were seated for business. I sat on my chair, hitting my pen repeatedly against the desk. I was getting bored and less interested in what was being discussed.

“Currently, our company is at a loss of 30 percent, making YingTech Group 12 percent ahead of us.”

These words pierced through me like a sharp sword. I felt anger rushing through me. I gripped my pen tighter, trying to compose myself, but I just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Enough!” I shouted, slamming my pen against the desk.

The pen struck the desk with a sharp c***k. My grip was so tight it eventually broke. The room fell silent. Chairs stopped creaking, conversations froze mid-sentence. No head turned, as everyone stiffened in place.

“You’re all a bunch of losers, fools, and you call yourselves board members? From today onward, I oversee everything in the company. New rules, new tactics, and a whole new game.”

I was furious. As much as I would love to see my father’s life’s work crumble, I couldn’t let my brother surpass me in any way.

“YingAviation will begin domestic flight travels. Financial secretary, is the company bankrupt?”

“No, sir. The company is still stable,” the financial secretary answered.

“Good. We will purchase five new aircraft, mainly for domestic travels. All aircraft will undergo changes. We will be introducing a new section on the plane: the ELITE CLASS. This will be the highest class in every YingAviation aircraft. All papers should be ready before tomorrow morning, and a press release should be done to notify our workers and the citizens of these changes.”

By noon, the papers for the purchase of the new aircraft were ready and signed. A press release was done, and all staff and citizens of Beijing were notified.

I sat in my office, looking through the glass wall. I missed my mother.

Deep in my thoughts, I could hear noises coming from outside my office.

“Sir, please, you can’t go in,” my secretary echoed from outside.

Seconds later, my door flew open. Standing behind the door frame was a tall, fair-skinned figure, dressed in a well-fitted suit.

“Afternoon, brother,” the figure greeted.

The voice sounded like that of the devil I grew up with. It was my brother, Shengli.

“You here to pick a fight?” I asked.

“Hey, slow down, tiger. I saw the news and came by to say hi,” Shengli replied as he walked into the office.

“Well, your hi seems rough.”

“I’ll save it. Anyways…”

Shengli walked around the office, sheepishly admiring its beauty. Closing the distance between us, he walked behind my chair, put his hand on it, and leaned close.

“Three years, brother. Three years,” Shengli whispered, tapping me on my shoulder.

He straightened up, adjusted his suit, and left the office. My anger boiled up inside me like a volcano about to erupt.

“f**k!” I shouted, slamming my hand on the desk.

My door flew open again. My secretary rushed in holding a phone.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“WHAT!” I shouted.

“It’s the hospital, sir,” she responded.

I froze on the spot. What could be wrong? I rushed over and grabbed the phone from her.

“Hello?” My tone softened.

“Hello, Mr. Fang. Please rush down to the hospital immediately. Your mother’s health is unstable.”

Without wasting a second, I pressed a button on my desk to alert Zhen to get the car ready, then stormed out of my office.

I ran through the stairs, because the elevator would be slow. Reaching the entrance of the company, Zhen was already parked, ready to move.

“Where to, sir?”

“That won’t be your problem. I’m driving, old man. Call your driver to pick you up,” I replied.

I took the key from Zhen, got into the car, and zoomed off as fast as I could. From the company to the hospital was a thirty-minute drive, but today, since the road was clear, I arrived in twenty-five minutes.

I rushed into my mother’s ward. She was awake, restless, and close to her death. I broke down at the sight of the pain my mother was going through. I wished it had been me instead.

“Lei Fang!” my mother screamed.

I hurried to her bedside, took her hand, and held tight.

“I’m here, Mom. I’m here. It’s alright, okay? It’s gonna be alright.”

I was a devil to everyone. No emotions, no regard for anyone, no soft feelings. But seeing my mother go through this weakened me. Still grabbing her hands tight, I felt hot tears run down my face.

“Does the devil cry? You’re stronger than this, Fang,” my mother muttered, tightening her grip.

“I can’t hold back. I really can’t, Mom.”

“Lei Fang, you have good in you, even if everyone sees you as a devil. You owe yourself happiness. I can’t watch over you anymore. You’ll be all alone from now on. I can only watch from the skies. I love you, Fang. Mummy loves you,” she said, with tears running down her cheeks.

Her grip softened. A sudden quietness filled the room.

“Beep… Beep… Beep…” the monitor screamed, each sound weaker than the last.

The rhythm of the monitor slowed down. My mother’s breathing became shallow. The beeps stretched apart until at last there was only one long piercing sound. The flatline filled the room like a cry, sharp and unending.

“Beeeeeeeeeeeeep…”

She breathed her last.

The nurses rushed in, eyes lowered, and with a gentle touch, silenced the machine. The silence that followed was heavier than the sound. Everything happened so fast, I didn’t know how to react.

“Mom,” I called out in a low tone.

“Mom,” a bit louder.

“MOM!” This time, I couldn’t hold back anymore.

Tears rolled down my face like water flowing down a fountain.

“MOM!!” I shouted.

“Wake up, Mother. Open your eyes!” I shouted, shaking her dead body.

The nurses pulled me back. I watched them pull the white sheet over her face. I struggled to reach her, but to no avail.

“Hey, hey, listen to me,” a doctor called out, grabbing me.

“I know how you feel, Fang, but she’s gone. Fang, she’s gone.”

“Fucken let me go! Do you know who I am?” I shoved him off.

I slowly walked back to my mother’s body and sat on the floor close by. She was my weakness, my smile, my everything. She was all I had in this world, and now she was gone.

It was 9 PM. A rainstorm poured outside, the weather was extremely cold. I cried my eyes out, not letting the nurses conduct the last ritual before transferring the corpse to the mortuary.

It was ice cold. I couldn’t cry any longer. I just sat there, weak and frozen. The hospital power went off, and the place was filled with sudden darkness. The door suddenly cracked open. I heard footsteps walking behind me. I wasn’t protected, but it didn’t matter at this point. I was ready to die if death came.

The footsteps drew nearer until they stopped beside me. The figure squatted and sat down next to me. I turned to see who it was, but I couldn’t. Everywhere was thick with darkness. The figure didn’t speak.

After a while, the power was restored. The light shined on the shaded figure. It was the girl from yesterday.

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t say a word. She took off her worn-out jacket and put it over me.

“It’s cold. You should feel warm with this,” she said.

She stood up and walked away.

At 7 AM, the nurses came back to perform the last rites before the body would be taken to the morgue. I sat there, my eyes swollen from too many tears, watching them clean her.

After a while, the body was ready to be moved. I stood up and followed. Outside the door, the girl from the car wreck was seated on the floor, fast asleep.

“She has been here all night,” a nurse said.

I bent down, lifted her in my arms, and headed for her mother’s ward. Stepping into the ward, the figure in the bed was covered with white sheets.

“Is her mother dead?”