THE BILLIONAIRE'S CRYBABY
Chapter 244: DOOMS SEQUENCE

Chapter 244: DOOMS SEQUENCE

The matriarch of the Atticus dynasty, sat in her office at Glam, going through the designs the designers she had handpicked herself for an upcoming exhibition, sent to her.

She was so engrossed in what she was doing, she didn’t have the time to pay attention to anything else.

Her eyes came across a design that sparked her interest the most.

But as she zoomed into it, she realized she was dehydrated.

Briefly, she lifted her head to pick the bottle of cold water that had now turned room temperature warm on her desk.

She drank from it, and was returning it back to the table, when her eyes caught a headline in the TV which was on a news station.

She scoffed, and shook her head, as she returned to her work.

It was New York anyway. There was always one gruesome news or the other.

But restless, her ears remained on the TV, even as she worked.

"The images were zoomed in so we could identify the person’s in the video. The first two being members of the King’s family, and the victim being Ace Atticus."

The matriarch’s hand scrolling through the images paused on hearing her grandson’s name mentioned.

Tossing the tab on the table with no care in the world if it broke into pieces, she brought her full attention to the screen.

She picked up the TV’s remote, and turned the volume up, just as a clip began to play.

Her mouth hung open, and her eyes slowly widened when she saw Kings point a gun towards a man who was undoubtedly Ace.

Even before the trigger was pulled, she jumped to her feet.

That part was blurred out, but not when he fell back.

She gasped when she realized where they had been.

The popular cliff people famously went to commit suicide.

A fall from a cliff like that could only end in one thing, and one thing only.

"It is said that the heir of Spades, Ace Atticus, couldn’t have survived that kind of fall. Therefore, the authorities are moving to pronounce him dead."

Grappling the edge of her desk, the matriarch slowly began to drop to the ground.

Her eyes rolled to the back, and her mouth could barely move.

The veins in her neck stuck out, making speech impossible.

She couldn’t fight the force anymore, and surrendered to it, as it brought her to the masterful artistry, her Arabian carpet was.

—---

Gabrielle Atticus with a smile on her face, moved from stall to stall, as she shopped for the household.

Being the lover of all things culinary, she had volunteered to always do the house grocery shopping.

With her were Marilyn, and Alice. The two women she loved dearly for how much they loved her son.

Ever since he left the house, with no trace of his whereabouts, she had made it a duty to invite both women everytime she went shopping.

She wouldn’t have them running out of food on her watch.

"Sir Ace absolutely loved everything I whipped up with spinach," Alice said, eyeing the fresh green spinach in the vegetable section.

"Yeah, you helped me teach him how healthy it was to eat greens. And that greens didn’t have to be boring. Too bad he took all of those lessons, and still decided to go into hiding," she sighed.

"Don’t be too harsh on him. I miss him too, but he had to go learn to be better. I hope he comes back a better person. We love him, but we must admit he wasn’t perfect," Marilyn said.

"True," both women said in unison.

"Let’s talk about happier things please," Gabrielle said with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, let’s do that, ma’am," Alice said, and they all laughed.

They moved to a different stall, and people began to talk around them.

Neither of them noticed, until Marilyn heard someone scoff when she walked past them to grab some potatoes.

She returned, and stepped beside Gabrielle who was looking for the best meat to buy.

"Have you noticed people keep staring at us?" She asked in a discreet tone.

"No, but who cares if they stare? I’m not going to stop my life because people recognize an Atticus, and become weird about it," Gabrielle replied.

"I don’t think it’s the same thing," Alice said. "They’re gossiping about us," she added.

"Well I don’t—" she was saying, when she heard something that caught her attention.

"I can’t believe she’s shopping like nothing has happened. Her son is dead," the voice said.

She whipped her head around to rebuke whoever had just said such nonsense, when she discovered everyone around the isle they were shopping in, staring in a particular direction.

She followed their gazes, and met a tv screen.

The headlines caught her attention first, before the video began to play.

"No." she shook her head as the video played.

The basket she was holding fell to the ground, when the bullet went off.

Everyone in the store screamed at the same time, as her body swayed to the ground.

Reflexively, a shaky Alice, and Marilyn caught her before she could hit the ground.

But as they lifted her up, they discovered she was unconscious.

—-

Fay was preparing for her date she had pushed herself to attend, whilst consuming a glass of wine.

She had buried everything her therapist told her, and decided to have fun for that one night.

It had been too many years of just problems after problems.

All she wanted was to steal one night for herself.

What better way to enjoy her selfish night than with the familiar stranger she met that morning?

He had sounded in disbelief over the phone, when she called him from her office.

When she suggested they went out that night, she could tell he almost broke a bone from excitement.

She was excited too. If the date was successful, perhaps, she could finally move on.

Plopping on her bed, she picked her heels, and was putting it on, when Dream walked into her room.

"How’s my superstar, first day of school baby doing?" She asked, as Dream fell into her bed.

"She’s fine," she said in a mischievous tone that instantly raised Fay’s suspicion.

"Hmmm, what are you up to, Dream?" She asked.

"Nothing mummy. You look great, mummy. Are you going out for a date?"

Fay’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that question come out of her little girl’s mouth.

She didn’t know why, but it suddenly made her feel guilty, as if she was commiting a crime.

"Not a date. A dinner function," she lied.

"That’s a lie mummy," Dream said, and she instantly whipped her head behind to face her.

"Dreamy, don’t say that. It’s not a lie. Mummy’s don’t lie."

"That’s not true either. My teacher said everyone lies, but lying isn’t right. She said we should endure to always tell the truth."

"Endure?" Fay questioned in her head.

When she finally got what her little girl was trying to say, she smiled.

"You meant, endeavor?" She chuckled, pulling Dream into her body.

"Yes, that," Dream said.

"My baby is so smart," Fay laughed, hugging her tightly.

"Stop it mummy!" Dream protested as she began to tickle her.

"Well you started it by calling me a liar."

"I’m sorry, mummy!" She laughed uncontrollably, as Fay kept on tickling her.

She finally stopped a few seconds later, and turned her around to face her.

"Now tell me what you want? Remember, your teacher told you not to lie." She raised a warning finger.

"Alright. I want to watch some cartoon in your room," she confessed.

"Why my room? You have yours. Besides, don’t you have school tomorrow?"

"I do, mummy. But Crystal said there’s this barbie cartoon they show every evening. I want to watch it, so we can talk about it in school tomorrow," she said.

Fay couldn’t hide the amusement, and fascination that had spread all over her face.

"Dreamy, you do know you don’t go to school to chat, right?"

"But we get breaks," she defended, clearly prepared.

Fay laughed heartily. "Fine, you win. You can watch one cartoon. But why my room? You haven’t answered that yet."

"Your bed is so comfy, mummy. And it smells as good as you do," she said.

Fay nodded knowingly. She knew her daughter who was too smart for her age, was trying to butter her up with that last statement.

"Fine, but I’ll call your nanny to stay with you. After the cartoon ends, you have to take your bath, and sleep so you can be up early for school tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay mummy! You’re the best!" She screamed, and went in for a hug.

Fay hugged her affectionately, holding on to her a little longer than was necessary.

When she finally let go, she stroked her cheeks, before rising from the bed.

"You look beautiful, mummy," Dream said, as she walked over to the mirror.

"Thanks baby," she replied.

Dream picked up the remote from the TV stand, and turned it on, as Fay moved to her phone to call for the nanny.

The second the television came on, Dream screamed.

Fay swiftly turned around, her eyes going to the television.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the headlines, and the video that followed.

The phone fell out of her hand, as she reflexively jumped to the bed, and pushed Dream into her body, to hide her face from the screen.

"No!" Dream kept on screaming.

The door pushed open, and Seth ran into the room.

"I heard Dreams’ voice. What is going–" his words trailed, and he staggered back, when his eyes hit the screen.

"Please turn it off," Fay begged in a shaky voice. "Turn it off," she repeated inaudibly, as she held her screaming daughter tightly.