The Billionaire's Secrets - Book 1 & 2

Book 1-John, the savior

Suddenly, a loud bang deafened Allen’s ears, and he saw his mother fall onto the floor. He was so shocked, stiffened, and could not even speak. He was so terrified to see his dying mother on the floor and lying in her blood.

Curious neighbors came to the scene. Some of them were uttering words of pity while others were a mockery. “That woman is a prostitute,” some people said.

The ambulance arrived, and they carried Liza’s lifeless body to the hospital. Police officers came to investigate but no one witnessed the incident except young Allen, but the poor boy knew nothing except that he saw the tip of a gun, and heard the sound of a motorbike engine.

He was so terrified and cried the whole day. He knew that his mother worked in a nightclub, but he never heard her talk about any trouble or problem. Perhaps they were already followed by the enemies of his father.

A day passed, and young Allen kept himself inside his room. He lost his appetite to eat meals and he cried all alone. He didn't know what to do.

He had no idea where the police officers brought his mother and he didn't even know where to go. He went outside the house with the hope of finding and asking someone where he could locate his mother.

He saw a middle-aged woman whom he recognized as one of their neighbors.

“Excuse me, Miss Montes,” he asked and smiled sadly at the woman.

“I pity you, kid...how are you now?” the woman comforted young Allen as she patted his cheek.

“I want..I want to...” Allen sobbed. “I want to see my mother... can you help me? Please...” He was begging for help and praying for a favorable reply.

“Don’t you have any relatives to help you?” Miss Montes asked sadly.

Between his sobs, Allen answered in a soft tone. “No one.”

“Oh, my God. What should I do to help you?” Miss Montes said worriedly. “Okay, I’ll try to ask the police officer, and let’s see what we can do. Stop crying.” She patted Allen’s back to comfort the mourning young boy.

She accompanied the young boy to the police station. They were informed that Liza's body was already in the funeral parlor. They went to the funeral parlor and talked to the manager. Allen saw Miss Montes’ disappointed face after the conversation.

“Allen, we have a big problem. We need money. Big amount of money,” she said sadly.

“Money? How? Where?” Allen answered her with questions. The boy drew out his cell phone from his pocket. “Can we sell this?”

She gave him a sad look. “Allen, we need more or less seventy thousand pesos to claim your mother’s cadaver and bury her in a decent cemetery.”

“I have my Walkman and PSP. We can sell those,” Young Allen said.

“Still lacking,” Miss Montes answered with a contemplative expression. “Allen, would you agree if we sold all your appliances?”

“Yes, let’s sell all of them.” Allen hastily agreed.

Miss Montes sold the refrigerator, television, personal computer, music player, PlayStation, and anything that could be sold to her friends and nearby neighbors. “Allen, I think this would be enough,” she said while counting the proceeds from the sold appliances.

They used the money collected for Liza’s funeral. Only Miss Montes and some of her acquaintances attended the burial. Young Allen cried hard as he looked down at the casket being laid into the burial pit. The most painful and saddest part was saying goodbye to a loved one who would never come back.

The funeral was over, but Allen didn’t want to leave his mother’s grave. He cried incessantly and rain started to fall. The weather seemed to sympathize with the boy’s grief.

Miss Montes led him home to his apartment. “Allen, this place is not safe for you. The killer is still at large. Avoid visiting your mother’s tomb. And tomorrow, I will accompany you to the orphanage. For your safety, it would be better for you to stay there.”

Allen nodded sadly. He had no choice because he had no place to go.

Miss Montes patted Allen’s back. She knew how sorrowful the boy was. “Don’t worry. You could make new friends there and continue your studies.”

Another night came and Allen cried alone inside the room. Fear and sadness were creeping into him, and he could not even sleep. He had lost both of his parents and he was all alone.

He got up and started packing some of his clothes, the picture of him and his mother, and his school bag. He saw the cylindrical metal tube on the bedside table. He picked it up and put it inside the bag. It was the only memory left by his father. Again, unstoppable tears rolled down his cheeks as he kept on hugging his parents’ memorabilia.

Suddenly, he was startled by the sound of sirens and people were shouting, “Fire! Fire!”, then the lights were gone. Frightened, Allen quickly picked up his bags, managed to crawl into the darkness, and emerged from the burning apartment.

Their unit was already burning, and the next unit was Miss Montes'. Allen ran toward her apartment, but the firefighters blocked him. He was so worried and looked for her around the place, but he failed to find her. The only person he knew in the place was gone and he felt so helpless.

With a heavy feeling, young Allen walked without definite direction. He walked in bare feet without knowing his destination and was unaware of how far he had gone.

His feet were achy, and his legs were shaky. He stopped and sat down on the pavement while observing the place. It was nearly dawn and the busy place was a marketplace. Men and young boys were unloading boxes of fruit and vegetables from trucks.

Allen watched the gradually increasing crowd in the marketplace. The whole surroundings became noisy, and the merchants were busy preparing their merchandise. The cool breeze was a little bit chilly and that added more to his fatigue.

He was famished and his stomach had been aching since last night. His mouth and throat were dry, and he swallowed his saliva hard. Allen stood up and walked towards the cafeteria and looked at the food inside the glass cabinets.

He checked his short pants' pockets and found his cell phone and some money. Miss Montes did not sell his cell phone because, according to her, he might need it, but Allen had only one text mate and that was his mother. He felt a heavy heart and an urge to cry again as the tragic memory recurred in his mind, but he breathed out and subdued his tears.

“What do you want, boy... porridge, hard-boiled eggs, pork, or tofu?” the waitress asked young Allen.

Allen looked at the food as he felt his intestines rumbling inside his belly. “I want these and those and a soda drink.” He pointed with his finger to all the choices. He sat down on the wooden chair and then put aside his bags. He took his cell phone from his pocket and tried calling Miss Montes’ number, but it was no longer reachable.

Allen was so hungry that he devoured the food in just a short time. He stood up, burping, paid up the waitress, and looked for his bags. But his bags, containing his things, were gone. Allen looked around anxiously, and he saw his bags carried by two boys at a distance.

“Hey, bring back my bags!” Allen shouted and ran as fast as he could after the two thieves.

“Bring back my bags!” Allen tripped over. “Ouch!”

“Hey, you! Stop!”

Allen overheard this loud voice, and he saw a young boy with a wooden bat, blocking the path of the two young thieves.

One of the young thieves picked up a stone and aimed it at the newly arrived savior, “Don’t get near us.”

“Return his bags!” Allen’s savior commanded.

The young thieves threw the bags and ran off while cursing them.

The young savior picked up the bags and came near to Allen. “Did they hurt you?”

“No,” Allen shook his head. He felt pain in his foot and could not stand on both legs. His right foot was bleeding.

“What happened to your foot?” the boy asked while checking on Allen’s foot.

“I stepped on a sharp object,” Allen answered. He winced and shifted his weight to his left foot.

“You don’t have slippers,” the young savior commented, “Are you a stowaway?” his eyes were doubtful.

Allen shook his head, “I’m not a stowaway...the apartment where I live was burnt last night,” he said sadly. He winced again as the pain from his wound worsened.

“Are you going to your relatives?” the boy asked.

Allen shook his head again, "My mother just died a week ago.” As the memory of his mother recurred, tears rolled down his cheeks again.

“So, you’ve nowhere to go?” the boy asked. A great concern registered on his face. “Do you want to go with me?”

At first, Allen hesitated, but his body was shaky and longing for bed rest. He smiled and asked shyly, “Is it okay?”

“Yes,” the young savior immediately replied. “Your wound needs cleaning,” he added.

“Thank you,” Allen replied.

“My name is John Mensi... what's your name?” the boy said and extended a closed fist for a fist bump.

Allen smiled as he bumped John’s closed fist.“I am Allen Del Rio.”

John was shorter than Allen, sporting a Mohawk haircut with dark brown skin, round dark eyes, a convex nose, and an earring on his left ear. He carried one of Allen’s bags on his back, a porridge pack in one hand and a wooden bat in the other hand. He kept on talking along their way to his place while Allen was silently listening and just nodding to him.

“You know, those snatchers you encountered were Lucas’ boys. I’ll teach you a technique. Know their faces and never let anyone get near you, especially when you’re alone. They are brave because they work in groups,” John said while rotating his wooden bat in his arms. "By the way, I worked as a baggage boy every Saturday night till dawn. Today is Sunday and it is market day. And I also scavenge plastic bottles and scrap metal every day. Like this.” John took a plastic bag from his shorts pocket and then stopped and picked up some plastic bottles he spotted along their way.

It was already morning when the two boys reached the bridge. Allen followed John, and they walked down the steep and narrow pathway. The stinky odor from the polluted river greeted them and Allen covered his nose immediately as his stomach felt like throwing up.

Allen’s eyes wandered to the people living in the small shanties under the bridge. How did they get used to the stinky smell of the polluted river? He thought. Shanties were made up of scrap metal, used wood, and straw sacks. The place was filthy and scrap materials were everywhere.

“Come in, Allen,” John invited his new friend inside their shanty. “This is our home,” he said with pride.

Allen hesitantly went inside a square room that was just the size of a regular bathroom. The floor was made of wooden pallets and covered with nearly rotten plywood, and the walls were made of scrap metal sheets and plywood. He looked up above and saw the roof made of plastic straw sacks.

“Who is your companion?” a female voice asked.

Allen was surprised at the sight of a woman with tiny legs sitting on a small wooden wagon with small wheels.

“Allen, this is my Mama Terrie,” John introduced his mother.

“Good morning, Aunt Terrie,” Allen greeted her politely.

“Good morning, Allen,” Terrie smiled warmly, then offered Allen a small chair. “Please sit.” She carefully observed young Allen and then touched the boy’s hands. “You are a beautiful boy, smooth white skin, brown hair, high bridge and straight nose, nice brown eyes. Are you an American?”

“I don’t know,” Allen replied. His father was a good-looking but dark-skinned man. Their maidservants used to compare him to his father, as he resembled his mother more than his father. The thought of his parents made him emotional again. He swallowed hard to subdue an urge to cry.

“What are you doing in this place?” Terrie asked, wondering why a good-looking boy had reached their place.

“I’ll tell you later, Mama.” John cut off the conversation, “I’m famished.” He laid down the pack of porridge he bought from the market on the floor.

Terrie used her hands and the small wagon to move around the small shanty. She prepared two small bowls and transferred the porridge.

“Uh-oh, we have only two bowls,” John said in a bit of embarrassed tone.

“You two may eat... I will eat later... after you are done,” Terrie said while pouring water into two glasses.

“Don’t worry about me. I am done in the market,” Allen declined politely.

“Are you sure?” Terrie asked. As Allen nodded, she immediately sipped the broth.

While Terri and John were devouring their breakfast, John told Terrie about the story of their encounter with the thieves.

After breakfast, John and Terrie left and let Allen rest and sleep. Allen immediately fell asleep as his back touched the hard cardboard bed.