Fractured

Chapter1

Scarface

He stood on the balcony of his house. This was one of his many properties, but this one was his favourite; it was his private home.

There was a bottle of water and an empty glass on a table beside him. He was staring out the window, looking at the vast land that was spread out before him.

Fifteen years. It had taken him, yes, fifteen years to build his wealth and his goddamn life! He touched the scar on his face, it was an ugly thing. It ran from his left ear to his left eyebrow.

His work had been his shelter for too long, it was time to come out of his shell. It was time to throw the biggest ball of the decade.

Norbert Hesling, age 35, was not what you’d call beautiful. He had an almost terrifying presence. Nobody knew what he looked like except his trusted friend, Mat, his butler, James, and his aged live-in cook, Mrs Tim.

His cleaner and gardener had never seen him, they only knew they worked for the famous Mr Hesling.

The press would do anything to get an interview with him, but for now, they just call him the faceless billionaire. Everybody knew his face, but nobody knew what he looked like.

With properties all over the country ranging from hotels to private banks, he was an influential man, with many wealthy men wanting to meet him in person.

Norbert was not interested in fame, he just wanted one man. The man who had given him the scar many years ago. This man was the reason for the ball.

He was going to play a game of recognition; after fifteen years, he wanted to see if the one who turned his face to this would still recognize him.

He smiled wryly and picked up the bottle of water, opened it and drank directly from the bottle.

He had a ball to host and a revenge to plan.

*************************************************

Matthew drove like the devil was right on his tail; the gate parted before he got close; he honked, parked carelessly and ran into the house, if you could call it that.

He saw James the butler as he went inside.

“Right this way, Sir”. The butler said and walked in front of him to the room Norbert was in.

He opened the door for him, bowed and left.

Norbert turned around when the door opened.

“Matt! Come, sit”. He said, straight to the point as always.

“Hello to you too, Nor”. Matthew said.

Norbert made a face.

“What type of nickname is that?”. He frowned.

Matthew laughed.

“So you want to throw a ball! Meaning you’re going to go out in public, meaning you’re ready to show your face to the world?!”. Matthew couldn’t hide his excitement.

Norbert just nodded, he was amused at Matthew’s reaction. He knew his friend was happy to hear this news. He was so grateful to Matt. He knew he had handled all his affairs for him. And he did this without complaining.

But now it was time to relieve him of his burden.

He would still be in charge of some things.

“About damn time!” Matthew said with glee. He couldn’t hide how happy he was.

He reached into his back and took out the file of a man he had been asked to track for a long time. He and his boys had gotten the full information just last night.

It was after he had told Norbert about his success that Norbert had told him he’d decided to throw a big party for the upper-class citizens of the country.

If that wasn’t suspicious, he didn’t know what else was.

Looking his friend and Boss in the eye, he asked, “So why do you suddenly want to throw a ball for those greedy pigs?”.

Norbert chuckled darkly, walked to the window for a full minute, then turned around and nodded at the file Matt was still holding.

“You’ve found my friend, and we are going to throw him a little surprise party”.

Matt felt a little chill crawl up his spine. He’d never seen a look so dark on his friend’s face before.

“Is he the reason for the scar on your face?”. He asked calmly.

Norbert turned back to the window, still looking out, and he said just as calmly, “You may go, Matthew. I’ll let you know when I need you”.

Matthew sighed, he knew Norbert had shut himself off again. He nodded sadly and strolled out of the room. He felt terrible anger towards this man who made his boss like that.

He knew a day was coming for Norbert to do what was on his mind, and he knew that day was close, he couldn’t wait. He loved Norbert like a brother and was ready to hurt whoever had hurt him.

***************************************

A few minutes after Matt left the property, Norbert roused himself and strolled to the table where the file was left.

He picked it up and took a deep breath before opening it. Immediately he saw the face that had caused him so much pain, he shut his eyes and took another deep breath.

He was surprised at the level of hate that washed over him. Calmly, he glanced through the file.

“Two adult sons and an eight-year-old daughter, hmmm”, he muttered to himself.

“The young child must be left out of it, the sins of the fathers should not be visited on the children, but if I find out his sons are as terrible as their father…” He smiled.

He turned to the next page.

He had a beautiful wife but was too young to be the mother of two adult sons, so he remarried. Norbert briefly wondered what had happened to his first wife.

He looked at all the man had acquired over the years.

It was a lot.

He was going to make sure everything burned to the ground.

Standing up, he went to the intercom and called for Mrs Tim.

A minute later, she was in his room.

“Bring a pen and a long piece of paper, Suzanne. We’ve got lots of people to invite to a ball”.

The old woman looked at him like he had developed another scar on his forehead. She didn’t know if she heard him right or if her ears were deceiving her.

“Well? Get to it!!”. He barked.

“Ohh… Right away, Sir”. She was out of the room like a breeze.

He chuckled fondly. She was the closest thing to a mother in his life. He never yelled at her.

Well rarely.

————————————————

Veronica Harmon had just gotten down from her newest birthday gift, a car that was the envy of her friends, it was a gift from her darling husband, Vincent Harmon.

She patted it fondly and sashayed inside. The man of her thoughts was the first person she saw.

She walked up to him and kissed him fondly on his forehead. He smiled softly at her and then held up an opened envelope.

“What’s that, dear?”. She asked curiously. He chuckled at how curious she was.

“See for yourself, my love”. She was surprised to see that he was trying to hide his excitement.

“She snatched the envelope and brought out a letter that was handwritten, the handwriting was intricately done. It was beautiful. She glanced through it and couldn’t believe what she was reading.

“Oh my goddess!!”. She squealed. “Norbert Hesling?”. She was practically shaking. “I can’t believe Mr Hesling is throwing a ball!”.

Her husband laughed at how happy she was.

“And we’ve been invited; it’s in two days. Get yourself ready, and spend as much money as you need. We are dressing to impress”. Vincent said.

She nodded, hugged him and went upstairs to shower; she’d had a long day at the mall with other spoiled wives of rich business people.

Vincent watched her go, he couldn’t stop smiling. This was a big deal for him and his business.

Everyone knew Norbert Hesling was the wealthiest man in the country. Nobody had seen him personally since he became famous. No one knew what he looked like and nobody knew how he made his money.

So suddenly getting an invite from him meant a lot!

This was a business opportunity he wasn’t going to miss for any reason.

He downed what was left of his drink and stood up. He felt like he was forgetting something.

“Sweet Molly, I forgot to tell her, it’s a mask ball!”. He murmured to himself. “I must be getting old”.

He called a servant to take the message to his wife for him; then he left the house with a few of his bodyguards.

He had some containers coming in that needed his supervision.