filthy rich

o n e  Sometimes you become blinded by love to the extent that you fail to realise you're suffering from abuse. You can't possibly believe that the person you care about so dearly would be capable of such dubious actions.  Who knew the thought from a children's show would carry such a heavy message.  Asra gasped as she glimpsed the blurred face of her murderer. Strong hands pushed her smaller body forward.  She reached out to grab the person but caught air as they stepped back only to kick her in the stomach.  Her head throbbed, body tottered backwards as she fell.  Warm tones that once painted a romantic sunrise faded before her dark eyes. She'd seen the beauty of the morning sky so many times before, yet who knew that this would be her last.  Asra's breath hitched as she felt her body break through the water's surface. Suddenly, the ocean didn't seem that soft anymore. The loud splash, resounding in her ear. Bubbles rushing up around as her outstretched arm was slowly submerged. Time itself seemed to slow down. Maybe God was giving her one last chance to reassess her life. Would she have done anything differently?  "Help.."   The word muffled by the water that now rushed in through her mouth. Her legs and arms going numb, body rendered useless.  So this was really the end? Come to think of it, she'd prayed for death many times before,  somehow now that it was actually occurring it felt - underwhelming. Her eyes closed, lips parted allowing the seawater to enter her body. Lungs slowly filling up with each wasted second. Prior breathing problems aiding in constricting her airways even faster. Strangely enough, she felt at ease.  Until she was jerked towards another person. Was this God? Some heavenly being ascended with the sole purpose of carrying her off to a better place?  No, it wasn't.  Barely conscious, Asra felt her body being tugged and lifted from the water. She felt heavy in the person's arms. Yet she was able to vaguely recognize the sounds of panicked voices around her.  "She's bleeding!" someone called out, "Asra!" It echoed in her head as her finger twitched weakly.  Her memories went blank right after.  She didn't know how long she was out for.  But when the young lady came to, there was a sharp pain on her chest. She winced as her eyes slowly opened and were met with a white ceiling which seemed to shift with each movement. Weak hands moved to rub her eyes and after a few seconds, she was able to see better. Asra turned to the side, there was a heart monitor along with other medical equipment all powered on. The soft hum of the ac unit mixed in with faint sounds from the hallway. A sickly pink colour graced the walls, while sunlight spilt in from only one window to her left.  "Thank God, you're awake." The sudden sound of an older woman's voice caught her attention. She stood up from the chair nearby. "I was afraid you were dead."   The older woman had raven coloured hair which messily framed her face, she dabbed a tissue against the dark circles under her eyes then stood up and stretched her legs, subtle signs that she had been here for a while. Her name was Kir. Asra hired her years back as a 'butler' but over time their relationship became much more personal.  Kir neared the bed and sat on the edge avoiding her employer's gaze.  "Where's Johnny? What happened?" Asra asked a relay of questions with a coarse voice. Her throat ached with each word.   "You don't remember?" Kir sighed.  Asra looked away. Her brain was empty, she could barely recall the incident. But what she did remember was the feeling of being hit with something and then pushed. Everything else seemed like a blur. She couldn't even remember who pushed her, the face of the suspect was blurred,  even though she knew she saw them.   "I fell in the ocean?" She asked. Unsure if her memories were even correct at this point.  "Yes, Johnny and you were watching the sunrise. He left to get his jacket from the car, I left you to take a phone call -" Kir paused as she sighed. "If only I had stayed with you." Her hands gripped her skirt. "They say you were attacked and pushed by someone – but…"  "But?" Asra slowly sat up on the bed. She watched as Kir gazed out of the window. For some reason, she still refused to look at her.  "Kir - what's wrong?" "They didn't catch the culprit." Kir glanced at the table nearby. She picked up her cell phone before looking back at Asra for the first time, "We were hoping that you would remember something about  them when you woke up."  "But I don't." Asra pressed her palms to her face as she tried to recall the series of rather unfortunate events.  "It's alright. The doctor said with time, you should be able to remember." Kir's words were usually a form of comfort, but today they felt forced. She then turned her cell phone to Asra. "Do you remember him?"  Asra took the phone and looked at the image displayed on the screen. It was a candid photo of the side profile of a young man. He couldn't have been more than thirty years old. He had hair as black as ebony and slightly tanned skin. The man was captured in the photo standing near the hospital room’s door, his arms crossed as he peered through the little glass window.  "No." Asra replied, "Who's that?" She looked back at Kir who took the phone turned it off. "The guy who saved you," Kir said. "Apparently, he saw the incident and.... and jumped in."  "That's very…kind of him." Asra mused, she didn't think anyone else saw what happened. She especially didn’t think someone who she didn’t even know would risk their life for hers. "And where is he now? I need to thank him.” It was the least she could do that this point.  "He left a couple of hours ago. The detectives took him for questioning first, then I went..." Kir stood up and headed towards the door. "But I asked for his  name so you could thank him later, for now, I'm going to get something for you to eat."  "Thank you." She said with a small smile.  "Oh, and the detective is currently at AE with Johnny. She's gonna come back once she's finished." Kir tapped her fingers lightly on the door. "You're okay to answer questions from them right?"  Asra shrugged. "I guess." "I'll be there with you," Kir returned the smile before leaving.  Once more silence consumed the room, the young lady frowned as she looked at the faded bluish marks left on her skin. Chills ran down her spine as she touched the marks.  However, the real question that plagued her mind was why she couldn’t remember the events that took place. Asra pondered on the situation until a dull ache struck her temples. She pressed her fingers to her bandaged head and shut her eyes.  "J- Johnny." Her voice was soft as she sunk in the bed. All she wanted was her husband.  Who would have thought that a lovely sunset would have ended this way?                                                                                                                                                            x x x  Strangely enough, even in situations like this, people's words still spill out of their mouths and stain just like a morning cup of coffee. Unsettling and very much unwanted.  Detective Miya entered the lobby of Aurora Enterprise also known as AE, and the aura that stuck with her was dismal. AE was Asra's billion-dollar company that she built from scratch. It was known for being one of the best businesses that existed in the present world. A company built on sacrifice,  ethics, morality and kindness. At least that's what CEO, Asra had to say.  Detective Miya felt an unsettling wave crash down on her as she looked around. Along with her assistant, Detective Bardot, she approached the elevator.  "It's crazy how fast the wrong news spreads." Detective Bardot says as he looked around the area,  "It's like everyone already thinks she's dead." He brushed his blonde hair back before looking at his senior. "What else would you expect?" Detective Miya responded as she pushed her hands in her pocket.  "Mrs Asra was quite popular not to mention that she had such a well-known husband. Makes sense why news about her would spread quickly."  "Oh, I -" Detective Bardot paused as the elevator doors opened to reveal three persons. He followed the senior detective in and pressed the appropriate buttons before looking down.  "That b***h?" The sound of another man's voice was like nails on a chalkboard. "Hmph. I'm glad  she's dead."  "Don't say that - we don't know it for sure." Another voice interrupted the initial speaker. Detective  Miya looked up, her dark eyes narrowing on the speaker. She then glanced at her assistant.  "I heard she slept her way to the top." The male replied. "But I always wondered who would want  to sleep with her."  "I guess you have a point." The woman's voice got quieter as she side-eyed the detectives. "She was so scary. But you know if Asra dies, the company goes to one of four people."  "If I were one of those four, I'd kill her way before." The man laughed. "She's like what five feet tall? Less than 100lbs? It would be too easy."  So one could imagine the look on that man's face when he appeared in the same room as the two detectives behind him fifteen minutes later as they questioned him about his elevator conversation.  And so the real mystery begins.