Mr. and Ms. Arrogant

Revati Miller

Revati Miller was a brilliant Artificial Intelligence scientist, who works for Techtronic Solutions a company which are rivals to Luca’s Itronix. She lost her mother when she was 15 years.

Revati’s POV

I am the daughter of David Miller and Geeta Miller. My mumma Geeta Reddy was a Computer grad from India. She came to America to pursue her career in software technology. First she worked in New York. It was there she met dad. He was an ordinary guy who was working as an office staff in her company. Mumma saw that Dad doesn’t know to do his job well enough. She helped him to complete his studies and paid the fees from her salary. In the mean time they fell in love and got married. Dad was from Dallas so after marriage, they shifted here. Mumma joined Luca’s ranch as technical staff. My life was happy till my third birthday. Dad and mumma were happy and dad loved me the most. He used to pamper me like a boy. Problems started between dad and mumma after my third birthday. Dad didn’t go to work. He became a full time drunk yard and lived his life with what mumma earned. Few days later he brought a lady and her one-year-old son in our home. Mumma was so devastated that she kicked him out of the house. I didn’t understand what was happening but knew dad would never be with us. 

Mumma started to teach me to solve puzzles and mystery codes. She knew I was a fast learner. Gradually I became an expert in solving extreme level puzzles. She also taught me to c***k any codes in the computer. Other than English, she taught me Spanish, German, Sanskrit, Hindi, and her mother tongue Telugu. When I was five, dad came back asking mumma to forgive him. She was naive that she allowed him into our lives again. Dad asked her to give him a job at Livingston ranch. She talked to Mr. Richard Livingston and he gave dad job as cattle caretaker. Mr. Richard was a very kind person, he used to visit us after dad left us. He liked me and used to take me to his home. Mrs. Nicole also loved me.

It was on my eighth birthday, I heard Mr. Richard had an accident. He was hit by a truck on his way to home. He was hospitalised for a month and doctors advised him to retire from office duties due to his health. Mrs. Nicole was shocked, to know her husband can’t manage their business and their kids were teenagers. Antony was their partner who offered to run the ranch in Richard’s absence. But Nicole took a bold decision to step into their business. Within a short period she and the ranch became successful and profitable more than when Richard was running it. 

I was 13 when I met Janice. She was my mumma’s colleague. She used to come to our home and soon she became like a family member. I used to call her didi and she took care of me like a sister. One day I went to meet mumma at her office. There was a guy standing there waiting for someone. Mumma and Janice came. I saw Janice was uncomfortable and asked her the reason. She showed me the guy who I saw earlier and said he was Luca. I was seeing him for the first time. I have been to his home several times, but never met him. After seeing him I had a crush on him. A few days later Janice came to our home showing her engagement ring and said Luca proposed to her. I was happy for her.

Few days later mumma took me to India to visit my grandparents. I was surprised that she never talked about her parents and why did she suddenly decide to visit them. She was from Secunderabad and when we reached her home, my Nana - Devaraj Reddy, Nani - Bhavani Reddy, was happy to see us. They were crying for a long time. Nana was scolding her for not coming to see them earlier. I didn’t like them because there was a time when we had no one in our lives and they didn’t care to inquire about us. I became a rebel and disrespected them. Mumma was angry and told me to apologize to my grandparents. Half heartedly I apologised. She introduced me to her brother Arjun Reddy. I was happy to know I have an uncle and he had two kids who were younger than me. We stayed there for two weeks. When we returned I saw mumma and Janice used to come to our home and stayed till late discussing some serious matters. 

One day Janice came to our home and announced her wedding will happen on Sunday. I asked her who will be her bridesmaid. She instantly chose me. But the next day was the day I lost two most important people in my life, my mumma and my Janice didi. I thought the world has stopped around me, I was in shock when Arjun uncle came and took me to the morgue. I was still in disbelief, my mumma was no more. Arjun uncle went to the embassy for the formalities to release mumma’s body and take it to India for cremation. She knew something would happen to her so when we went to India she told uncle if anything happen to her she must be cremated in her home. Dad didn’t accompany us to India. He gave her last kiss before taking her. 

We cremated her and took her ashes to immerse it in Krishna river. A week later Arjun uncle gave me an envelope and told me mumma had given him. Nana said, “Geeta was disturbed when she came here. We asked her if there is any problem in her married life she denied it. She said it’s been a long time she saw us and wanted to spend some time with us. We believed her.” When I opened the envelope, I saw there were a letter and a flash drive. 

In the letter she wrote, ‘Dear Chinnu, You’re my life and only love I have. If you’re reading this letter, then it means, I’m no more in your life and I am sorry to leave you. Remember one thing, your grandparents were there to support us from the beginning. They forgave me marrying your father after I send them your first picture. They were longing to see you. I didn’t go to India because of David. He was feeling possessive and jealous whenever I talked to my parents, because he was an orphan. When I kicked him out of our lives, then also, they supported us and told me to come back. It was my pride that didn’t want to leave him and be dependent on my parents. Now I regret my decision. Chinnu don’t make the same mistake I did. You can depend on them like me. When you need help, reach out to them. I love you and will be taking care of you every time. Yours Mumma.’

I cried till the pain and heaviness in my heart we’re away. Nana, Nani also read the letter and they were also crying. After all, they lost their daughter and were saying they regret their decision to send her away from them. After sometime I opened my laptop and connected to the flash drive. It was password protected with a clue to open it. I cracked the code and saw there was a video file. When I opened the file it was her saying the things she wrote in the letter. There was another video file which, when I opened was again her speaking in German saying, “If your dad brings the lady and her son you saw when you were threes, after I leave him, you must know she is your stepmom and step brother. Your father is the father of that boy. I kicked him out of our lives for the reason he cheated on me and had a child with another woman. Treat them like your own and never disrespect their decision. You’re my brave kid and will face any challenges with a smile that I will miss a lot. Take care Chinnu.” I kept on playing the videos repeatedly to see mumma’s face and hear her voice.

It was then I noticed she was sniffing, coughing, sobbing, and rubbing her head several times. It was a code to communicate something in secret which we used to do when we wanted to hide something from dad. I started to write down the hidden message. It was like this, ‘Chinnu you should be alert, don’t trust anybody when you go back home. My death is no accident, it’s a well-planned murder where an innocent person will be blamed for the accident. I have given notes to Arjun. He will give you when you are old enough to solve my death. If Lillian comes back as your stepmom be careful while around. She is evil and came into our lives with some wrong interest. I couldn’t figure it out. Stay alert and safe.’ I was shocked to know my mumma was murdered. I showed Arjun Uncle the message and he was tense. He said, “Chinnu, you are only 15 years old. You will have to train yourself to be strong and bold. I will always support you. After all, she was my only sister and the culprit will never escape from our hands. We will have to wait patiently.”

I returned home after one month and saw Lillian and her son Bruce were living in our home. Dad was happy with them. When I went to my room, I saw all my things were not there. Lillian came and said, “We made a little change in our house. We moved the old trash outside. You and your mother’s stuff are in the garage. If you’re staying here, the servants room is vacant. You can stay there.” My first blow of the day, I went to the garage and saw all the things which mumma earned for us were lying in the corner of the garage. They took all the expensive and useful things for themselves. I searched and took necessary things to my new room. It was also piled with junk. I cleaned the room and organised it to for my living. Dad was happy living with Lillian. I never saw him this happy when he was with mumma. For him I was a maid who they don’t need to pay anything. Give me some food and basic needs I will stay there. 

I heard Luca was put on trial for my mumma and Janice murder. I prayed for him to be innocent, but his silence made me rethink what mumma said. I was angry with him for admitting his crime. Dad also sued him and his family for compensation for mumma’s death. When the final verdict came, I saw a heartbroken Livingston family. They lost the case and paid dad an amount of 50000 USD as compensation and gave Lillian a job at the ranch.