The Island Doctor

Chapter 3

Ivan did not leave the office early. He had been busy inquiring about his son from his friends that he knew but none of them could give him a piece of concrete information regarding his son. His secretary, who went home early, was also busy assisting the chairman but both were frustrated about having a negative result. "Where are you, Alex? How come you did not even call me? I am so worried about you, son! I hope you are not hurt and if someone did something to you, I swear that I will not show mercy to them!" those were the chairman's thoughts as he walked his way to the elevator on the way down to the basement where his car was parked.

While driving his way home, he thought of calling a friend of his who worked at the hospital, nurse Pamela Rosales, a good friend of his son's biological mother. "Hello, Pam! It's Ivan, how are you?" he asked.

"Well, chairman, I'm okay, how about you? Is there something I could help you with?"

"Hmm...Pam, did my son visit you recently? I have not seen him for two days now and I'm very worried about him." his voice was trembling and he was hoping that, somehow, the nurse would know where his son was.

"I'm sorry, Ivan. Your son has not been coming to the hospital for almost two weeks now and you know that every time he comes here, he asks me questions regarding you and his mother and why she had chosen you instead of the doctor."

A little smile was released on the chairman's lips. His son had always questioned why his mother chose him, instead of the doctor, who, according to his mother's friend, was a kind-hearted person and handsome too.

"Hello, chairman! Are you still there on the other side?" the nurse asked.

"Yes, Pam! I'm sorry if I have disturbed you. Well, his mom loves me the way I love her...that is the only answer to the question, Pam! By the way, if he ever comes to the hospital, please inform me quickly, okay?"

"Of course, chairman! I will certainly do that. You know that Alex is like a son to me, and although he did not inherit any of his mom's physical features, his being kind towards other people is enough to remind me that he is the son of my dearest friend." her voice quivers every time she remembers her friend. "Bye then, chairman!"

The last time Ivan saw the doctor was when he visited Monica Gonzales, the mother of his son. He got jealous of the heir that he punched his nose, making it bleed. The doctor lost all his control when he saw Ivan kissing Monica at the parking area after finishing their hospital duties. It was too late to hold his anger when he suddenly threw a punch at him, forcing him to be thrown to the ground. The nurse got mad at what he did and told him never to talk to her again. His heart ached that day and he swore to the high heavens that he would never forgive the heir for taking away the love of his life.

After saying goodbye to her, Ivan turned off his phone and continued driving his car. He had been restless since morning and he did not even want to go home and see his wife and daughter. His life had changed when his secret wife died and was left with his young son. From that moment on, he promised himself that he would take care of Alex well and that he would do everything to make him happy. He loves him more than his life and he is now feeling that he is slowly dying because he had no idea where he was.

When he returned home, he was greeted by his wife and his daughter. "Hello, honey! How's your day at the office?" Margarita asked him but he did not answer. "You looked tired, do you want to take a rest before we eat dinner, huh?"

"I'm not hungry, but yes I'm tired, so please don't disturb me, okay? The same goes with you, Ally, do you hear me?" the chairman did not wait for the two women to reply, he immediately went upstairs to sleep.

"What's wrong with daddy, mom? He looks upset. Maybe my brother's disappearance has something to do with this." the young woman asked her mother, knitting her eyebrows because her father scowled at her.

"Why dear? He is always cold to you. Don't you like it that your brother is not here and all his attention will be on you, eh? Ally, he will get used to not seeing his son and he will notice that he also has a daughter, which is you, okay? Now, let us go to the dining room and eat."

"But mom, Alex is still my brother even though he is the obvious favorite of my dad and I do miss him too. I hope he comes back sooner..." she said to her mother while following her to the dining room. Margarita, on the other hand, furrowed her eyebrows and looked at her daughter, then murmured to herself, "It is better not to disclose to you what I have done to that bastard son of your dad. If I do, you might even betray me and tell your father about it. I'm only protecting you, my dear. I know your dad does not care a bit about you. He loves his son so much and I know he is aching to know what happened to him. Oh, my poor husband! If you had only learned to love me and to forget that nurse, then I would never have done anything to hurt your son. But, it's too late now, honey! His body could have been rotting beneath the ocean floor or worse - his body could have been eaten by the sharks that have been circling the ocean. It is all your fault, my dear Ivan, you could never blame me..."

After eating dinner with her daughter, Margarita went upstairs to their room. The light was already off but she found her way to bed and felt the body of her husband whom she thought was sleeping quietly. She bent to kiss him but he turned around and whispered, "Please leave me alone tonight, I don't want you here."

"I don't know what you mean, Ivan. This is our room and we are supposed to sleep together, but why are you telling me to go out and leave you? Did I do something wrong, honey?"

Ivan got up from bed, then looked straight at his wife. His grey-green eyes were fuming mad and she was lucky that she could not see those eyes because the light was turned off. "You really don't know why, huh?" he asked, his voice was a little bit higher.

"About what, honey? Can you please explain to me what I have done wrong?" Margarita questioned him and she was scared that he could have been blaming her for the loss of his son.

The chairman turned on the light then sat on the edge of the bed, facing his wife directly. Now, Margarita could see those beautiful eyes of him, fuming with anger. "I know that you don't like my son, Margarita, and you are the only one I know that has a grudge against him. I have been looking for him everywhere but I could not find him and I have come to the conclusion that you have something to do with the disappearance of my child."

Margarita was startled but she had to make him believe that she was innocent and had nothing to do with what happened to his son. "What are you saying, Ivan? Are you accusing me of something that I will never do even though I don't like your son, huh?" I'm sorry, but I am not that kind of person, honey! It is true that I don't like Alex because you always favor him instead of our daughter, you are hurting us...you know that...."

"She is not my child, Margarita! You know that very well. Our marriage has been arranged by our families and you cheated on me after we got married, but I've tried hard enough to be kind to both of you... and whoever is the father of your daughter is none of my business. Do you hear me? My only concern is my own son and now he is missing and I know that you are the one responsible for it."

"You don't have to tell me about that, Ivan, but you promised me that you would keep the secret, right? I'm thankful to you for being a father to my daughter, but at least, show that you do care for her. After all, dad gave you thirty percent shares of stock in our company even before our wedding, so you will not hesitate to marry me. I know for a fact that you told your parents that they have to accept your son from that woman before you agree to marry me." saying those words to the chairman made Margarita's heart throbbing. Indeed, the chairman is not the father of her child, but during their married life, she has learned to love him and forget the biological father of her daughter.

"Yes, you are right. I could never leave my son in the care of other people when his mother died. Don't you know that part of me died with her and the other part that is struggling to live belongs to my son...and now he's gone, how am I supposed to live now? You know what kind of a woman you are, Marge! Not even a hundred of you could be compared to my dear Monica. So, if you want to sleep here, Margarita, then I'll go to the other room. I don't want to sleep beside you tonight. I am tired and I want to be alone." the chairman got up after uttering those words. His wife was left alone, dumbfounded by everything she heard.

"Oh, he is doubting me! What a fool! He will never see his son again and everything that he owns now belongs to my daughter. So what if Ally is not his biological child? She has his surname and the world will never know that he is not the father of my daughter and if he does not want to sleep with me ever again, it is okay with me. I could always find a younger man to replace him. After all, he never once loved me, he still loved that nurse even though she died years ago." those were the thoughts of Margarita Kraishek as she prepared herself to sleep. The truth is, she has had relationships before which are all known by the chairman, but the latter did not care much about it. His only concern is his son and no one else.

Margarita accepted the fact that she would never have the chairman's heart and even though they sometimes slept together, no emotions were involved and she had learned to accept that. Regarding her affairs with other men, mostly younger ones, Ivan did not care at all. His only advice to her was not to be caught in the act by her daughter, which would shock her and might lose her respect for her mother.

The following morning, Ivan did not go to his office directly but went to the police station and met with the head of the said department. "Good morning, sir!" he greeted the officer and shook hands with him. "I'm here for an update regarding my son. Do you have any clues or any witnesses that will help solve the case, sir?" his eyes were narrowing, he even had his brows knitted when he perceived that the officers didn't seem to bother looking for more evidence that would help him find his son.

"Don't be discouraged, sir chairman!" said superintendent Oscar Abalos, a fifty-three-year-old police officer who is in charge of investigating the case. Unknown to the chairman, his wife had called him already and bribed him so he would not do anything to further the investigation. "We are doing everything. We even looked at the CCTV to check when and where your son had been, but sad to say, we could not find any leads...but when we find anything useful sir, I will call you personally."

Ivan solicited a fake smile, hiding the fact that he was being suspicious of the officer that he was talking to. He knows that the head officer is not doing his job properly and he can not even trust him. "Thank you, sir! I will be waiting for your call!" he shook hands again with the officer, then left. After the chairman left, the superintendent immediately called someone. "Ma'am, he just came here, but don't worry, he will never know anything about his son's case. I sorted everything out and my boys are here to help if you need any." He turned off the phone and he ordered his men to destroy some of the evidence that would lead to the whereabouts of the chairman's heir, but he kept some that were vital for the investigation. The officers had already known some of the details of what had happened to the heir. He was seen on one of the CCTV being forced to enter a black SUV and was seen being pushed by a bulky man in his thirties, but the said piece of evidence was kept hidden by the head superintendent and would destroy it himself at the right time, meaning - when the chairman's wife would give him more money to hide the truth.