NO CALL

AUTHOR’S POV

"What! Who told him to do that?!?" Ashley asked, her lips trembling.

"I have no idea... but I think he has given up on living." The butler replied in a sad tone. "T-Tell him not to think about death; tell him I will not let him die; I will try my best to cure him." Ashley said with her voice hoarse. Tears shone in her eyes, threatening to fall out, but she blinked them back, trying her best to stay strong. "Just take care of him, okay." She said in a low tone.

"I will try my best." He assured her before she hung up on him. She dropped the phone, rubbing her forehead with her thumb. "My dad will be okay; I will save him," she muttered to herself, using it to calm herself down. She opened the bottom drawer on the nightstand and took out a rifle before shutting it.

She turned off the light in the room, making the room extremely dark because the moonlight couldn’t get in through her thick curtains. She lay on the bed, using the duvet to cover herself, as she placed the rifle under her pillow and grabbed her phone, going to her call log. "He still hasn’t called, even though I got him fired. Is he that stubborn?" She thought and heaved a sigh; it was already 12:30 a.m. She yawned and dropped her phone, drifting to sleep. A few minutes into her sleep, she heard the sound of her door being opened. She opened her eyes a little to see the silhouette of a female standing by the door with the light from her corridor reflecting into the room. She swiftly took her rifle from her pillow and sat up on the bed, pointing it at the person. "Who are you?!?" she yelled. Just then the person moved a little and turned on the lights, raising her hand. Her face contorted in anger as she saw that it was her mother.

"What are you doing here, Mary? Is the money I gave you not enough?" she questioned. "Calm down, honey... I am not here for your money; I am here for something else." Mary said, signaling her to put down the gun. Ashley groaned and put down the gun. "How did you get into my house? I thought Dave had just hired a responsible security guard. They are all the same." Ashley said under her breath while glaring at Mary, who smiled and walked over to her on the bed. "Sorry for barging into your house in the middle of the night, but I am here because of your father," Mary said.

"What about him?" Ashley asked with a serious face.

"Um, I don’t know how to put this honey." Mary said.

"Just say it… I am sleepy." Ashley replied.

"Okay, I heard he just wrote a new will putting all his properties in your name. Don't you think I also deserve to get something?" Mary questioned. Ashley's mouth was wide open in shock as she heard what her mother had to say. She already had a lot to deal with, and now her greedy mother was back on the loose. "…how did you know he wrote a will? Are you spying on him?" She asked.

"Yes, I have a spy at his house, but that’s not the case, don’t you think he should also give me something in return?" Mary said she was attempting to sit on the bed. "Don’t sit, just talk; your greedy self doesn’t surprise me anymore." Ashley said coldly.

"Since you are already a billionaire and you also have a lot of properties, don’t you think it is fair for me to have something too?" Mary asked. Ashley growled in anger, tossing Mary a death stare. "Suffering test, a woman, but you weren't there for my father when he was at his lowest, when he was struggling to make ends meet, and you just ran off with your rich boyfriend, so what makes you think my father would give you anything? You are nothing to him. You are shameless; you disgust me! I can’t believe you are putting me in the middle of your fight!" Ashley snapped. "I was only a little girl when I was given a lot of responsibilities; not only did I have to learn to be strong the hard way, but I also had to live without motherly love because all you ever cared about was money!" Ashley snarled. She was a money lover herself, but her mother's love for money was more extreme and dangerous. Mary was marveling at the way Ashley was handling the situation. Her lips curled into a sneer. "Tell your father I also want a share of the property." Mary said.

"You are no longer his wife, so get out of my room and my house." Ashley said a headache was starting to come on just listening to her mother’s voice. "You can’t keep kicking me out of your life; I brought you into this world!" Mary snapped.

"And I brought up myself… so leave before I pull the trigger on you." Ashley said as she grabbed her gun from the bed and pointed it at Mary’s face. Mary looked at the gun, startled. "You are not going to get away with this!" she threatened. "I already am, mom; you should start looking for jobs and working hard for yourself instead of thinking of ways to steal someone’s hard-earned money." Ashley said she was gnashing her teeth.

"He will give me what I want before he dies. Mark my words." Mary said with a determined expression. "Get out before I put a bullet in your stomach." Ashley threatened, glaring at her. Mary scoffed and exited the room. Ashley took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Bitch!" she exclaimed, lifting her upper lip in disgust. She grunted, scattering all her blankets on the floor in a rage.

Xander was sitting on the floor next to a table that was filled with empty bottles of alcohol; he was wearing only his shorts, and his body was completely drenched in sweat and dirt. There was no light in his apartment; he had forgotten to pay his electricity bill, and he didn’t know how he was going to pay it now that he had been fired and wouldn’t be given the last paycheck he had worked for. He was growling like an animal; his face was extremely red and swollen, and his stomach was filled with burning alcohol.