BEHIND THE SUIT

It was a rainy day filled with so much emotion as Marcus Thompson stood at the window of his office looking through the skyscraper building as his mind was consumed by the tragic death of his fourth wife, Elizabeth. The sound of shattering glass echoed through the room as Marcus's hands slammed into the windowpane. He didn't flinch, his eyes glued to the city below. The lights of the skyscrapers twinkled like stars, a cruel reminder of the life he had built for himself. Marcus immediately has a flashback about his beloved wife Elizabeth. She was a beautiful woman with piercing green eyes. They had met at a fundraising night and Marcus was drawn to her entire beauty in all its ramifications. Their marriage has been a whirlwind romance, with Marcus sparing no expense to make Elizabeth happy at all costs. Elizabeth was one person Mr Thompson would go all out for, but meeting her lying lifeless at the base door of his mansion was something Marcus told himself to uncover and, if anyone was involved, would pay dearly for his or her life as he took his whiskey in frustration and determination to uncover the sole truth. Elizabeth had died under mysterious circumstances. Her body was found at the bottom of the stairs in their mansion. The police had ruled it to be an accident, but Marcus knew better. He had enemies, many of whom would stop at nothing to destroy him at all cost. As Marcus stood in his office filled with the thought of Elizabeth, the door to his office opened and, behold, it was the voice of his loyal assistant Sharon as she walked in "Marcus, I'm so sorry to disturb you, but there's someone here to see you. Marcus turned, his eyes still lost in thought. "Who is it? Sharon hesitated before answering, "It's Sophia's nanny. She's been trying to reach you all day.” Immediately, Marcus heard Sophia's name and his expression changed as it was the only Sophia he had in the world, and he knew she was the only one that didn't want anything from him. "Send her in," Marcus said, his voice a little softer. Sharon nodded and stepped aside, allowing the nanny to enter. Marcus watched as she walked into the room, her eyes fixed on him with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. "Mr. Thompson ," she said, her voice firm but very respectful. "I've been trying to reach out to you all day. Sophia, your daughter, is getting really anxious. She needs to see you. Marcus felt guilty about how he had been caught in his own grief, which made him forget their child's needs. "I'll be right there," he said, his voice a little softer this time. The nanny nodded and turned to leave, but Marcus stopped her. "Wait," he said, his eyes narrowing. "I wasn't aware that you were planning on leaving today ,"as he was earlier today by Sharon, his loyal assistant. The nanny turned back to him, with a hint of surprise in her eyes. "My mother is ill, and I need to care for her," she explained. Marcus nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear about that." Please, take good care of your mother. My regards to her. She hurriedly leaves the office with a sigh of relief and fulfillment as she would be leaving to meet up with her mum. As the nanny left, Marcus, however, couldn't shake off the feeling that he was losing control already . His wife was gone, and now his daughter's nanny was leaving already. He felt like he was drowning in his own grief and things were starting to fall apart. Just as the nanny was about to exit the office, she turned back to Mr Thompson with a curious expression. "Mr. Thompson, can I ask you something very important?" she said, as she was also very careful not to spark any reaction in the room, her voice as low as a heart beat. Marcus raised an eyebrow, surprised. "What is it?" he asked, his voice very calm. The nanny looked round the room like she was scared of being heard. She replied, "I've been noticing some strange things and changes around the mansion, sir " she said, her eyes fixed on Marcus's. "Doors opening and closing on their own, strange noises at night... I was wondering if you know anything about it as I was beginning to fear the house being hunted." Marcus's expression turned cold. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, his voice very firm. But the nanny's eyes seemed to bore into his soul, as if she knew he was hiding something. "I think you do, Mr. Thompson," she said, her voice dripping with suspicion. "And I think it's connected to your wife's death.” Marcus's face changed for a moment, it seemed like he might lash out at the nanny. But then, his expression changed, and he smiled back, giving a cold, calculating smile. "I think you're just imagining things due to how close you and my late wife were," he said, his voice dripping with condescension with the fact that this is a very big mansion, and it's good to feel overwhelmed at times, especially when people who keep it lively are not there again, so everything seems different and empty without them, he went further to say. The nanny's eyes flashed with anger, but she said nothing, simply turning and walking out of the office, leaving Marcus feeling like he'd just dodged a bullet. But as he watched her go, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he'd just made a very powerful enemy outright accusing him of his wife's death. Mr Thompson immediately requested that Sharon get him a bottle of whiskey to step down, still wondering why his daughter's maid would want to accuse him of having something to do with his wife's death. As the nanny walked out of the mansion, she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched. She glanced back over her shoulder, and for a moment, she could have sworn she saw a figure standing in the window, watching as she left. But when she looked again, there was no one there. The trees and garden surrounding the mansion seem to lean into the nanny's thoughts as if they were in her mind and understood what she was going through. She hurriedly leaves the mansion as her heart skips each minute. As the nanny walked down to the express route she noticed a black vehicle that was driving slowly behind her. Her heart kept skipping this time faster as she increased her pace but noticed the vehicle maintaining the same pace with her. She tried to look through the vehicle but couldn't see the face of the man behind the wheel but could tell that their eyes were fixed on her. She immediately noticed that the car had stopped following her for a second. Her heart beat reduced as she had a breath of relief and continued walking, relaxing. She immediately made a turn to the corner, and she noticed the black car this time was parked and the face of the driver still unclear, her heart skipping for a moment again just then she realized she was being stalked. Immediately she took out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello?" a voice answered. "It's me," the nanny said, trying to keep her voice steady and unnoticed. "I think I'm being followed." "Where are you?" the voice asked. The nanny replied, "I'm on my way home from the Thompson mansion," "I'll send someone to pick you up," the voice said. "Just stay where you are." The nanny nodded, even though the person on the other end of the line couldn't see her. She stood there, frozen with fear, as she waited for help to arrive, still wondering why she was being stalked or was it because of the conversation she had earlier with Mr Thompson, who knew. Meanwhile, Mr Marcus was sitting in his office, sipping a glass of whiskey. He was trying to calm his nerves, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off about the nanny's discussion earlier with him and had sent a vehicle to keep tabs on her every move and report back to him immediately. He thought about the nanny and her accusations. He knew he hadn't killed Elizabeth, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was trying to frame him using her. As he sat there, lost in thought, he heard a noise coming from outside his office door. It sounded like footsteps, but they were light. Marcus's heart skipped a beat as he realized that someone was sneaking around his office. He slowly got up from his chair and made his way to the door. As he reached for the doorknob, he heard the footsteps again. This time, they were louder, more deliberate and he seemed very tense. Marcus's heart was racing now. He slowly turned the doorknob and pulled the door open, but there was nobody there. The hallway was empty, except for a piece of paper lying on the floor. Marcus's heart skipped a beat as he realized that someone had been at his office door sneaking on him. He slowly picked up the piece of paper and examined it. It was a note, written in red ink. "You'll never find me," it said. Marcus's eyes widened as he realized that he was in grave danger due to the kind of person he was in society, as every little thing had a meaning. He slowly backed away from the door and made his way back to his chair. As he sat down, he heard the sound of footsteps again. This time, they were louder, more deliberate. He immediately called on his chief security to go round the house as he had a suspicion that something was not right and that he had just received a strange note. Meanwhile, Sophia was busy searching for Sharon as they had both been playing a hide-and-seek game in the mansion as Sophia had earlier dropped several notes for Sharon at various positions in the building, making it a distraction from finding her. Suddenly, the door to Marcus' office burst open, and a figure rushed in full excitement as Marcus looked up. Behold, it was Sophia. His heart raced for a minute, thinking she was being chased. Just then, she told him she and Sharon were playing hide and seek and that she came into his office to hide as she had left a letter at the door for Sharon to see. Immediately, Marcus felt some relief that no one was after his life and gave back a warm, receptive smile to his daughter so she didn't notice he was scared as he waited patiently for a further report from his chief security officer to be sure he was safe.