An attempted Murder
…….the shots rang out. I couldn't really tell where exactly I had been hit. I remember hearing two shots being fired at my husband. After what felt like hours to me, and being left for dead, I mustered every last ounce of strength in me and reached out for the phone, as it was my only lifeline at the moment. My hands were trembling, and I was almost passing out from the loss of blood. I have to do this. I thought to myself and pushed to pick up the phone and dialed 911.
“911,what's your emergency?” The operator said calmly into the phone. I responded in a faintly audible voice as I sensed I was about to pass out... "My husband and………have been shot in our home....and I…please hurry”. ……
*******
Audrey and her husband Trent had just finished eating dinner and sat down by the fireplace enjoying the peace of the evening. “Let me call Samantha to find out how she and Max are doing”, she said to her husband.
“Oh darling, Max is fine, you worry too much. Samantha takes wonderful care of him, she loves that boy so much. Please let them be” he said.
“I'm sure, darling, that you know that isn't going to happen. I have to say goodnight to my son and only then will I be able to have a sound sleep tonight”, I said to my darling husband while smiling.
“Just this one call, and I'll let them be,” I said.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Trent smiling and shaking his head. He knows that I will not let him have any peace until I speak to my son… Max.
Trent and I had been married for over 8 years, and we had given up on having any children of our own, so when I became pregnant, it was nothing short of a miracle.
I had done a series of tests, and everything was okay. I also have had to take several hormonal boosters just so I could become pregnant, but they all seemed to not be working.
After 3 failed IVFs, I gave up trying, my body had had enough, and I had resigned my fate to the fact that I wasn't going to bear any children. Trent had been a very supportive, loving and caring husband through all of this. I couldn't have asked for a better husband. The pregnancy had come as a total surprise to both of us and from the day I discovered that I was pregnant, to the day I gave birth to him, I have never stopped loving him.
Samantha and I have come a long way in our friendship. We were like sisters. Even though we hardly saw one another, the bond between us was stronger than even blood sisters could be. She loves Max so much that even I fear she was over pampering him.
We had asked Samantha to pick Max up as Trent, and I was leaving for a business trip the next day. Though we planned on returning in time for his 10th birthday, which was coming up in a week's time.
“Hello Audrey” Samantha answered the phone excitedly. “We are doing just fine, we had so much fun today and Max was pretty tired, he's asleep already”. “Ohhh Sam!! You are going to spoil this boy, silly” I said, laughing.
“If I don't spoil him, who will?” Sam said and we both laughed out loud. That was when I heard a loud thud on the ground like someone falling down.
“What was that?” Sam asked. “I don't know”, let me check. I left the phone hanging and went to see what the sound was about when I heard the voices……they were coming from outside. Trent wasn't expecting any visitors, I said to myself as I walked towards the door.
Trent!!! I called out to him, but I didn't get any response, and then I saw him …..he was holding a gun to Trent's head, and they were walking towards me. “Please don't hurt us, I said” a tone too loud just so Sam could hear and know that we were in trouble. “Shut up woman” the man with the gun said, “just tell your husband to sign the stupid papers”. At that point, I immediately knew what this was all about.
Trent had been made an offer by OJ Holdings, a company obsessed with power that wanted to control the project he was working on —Project Sun. Of course, Trent had refused. A company he had built and nurtured from scratch and now that his project was almost completed, and they had seen that it was going to be the biggest innovation at the time, they wanted to take full control of it.
The other man gave the papers to Trent with a pen and asked him to sign them or if they were going to shoot me as he held the gun to my head…. I could see the pains in my husband's eyes as he signed them and they both exchanged knowing glances and I knew immediately that we weren't coming out of this alive.
