Gabriel hurriedly packed his medical supplies into his box; he needed to get out of here as soon as possible. He ran a brief test on Elisabeta when he arrived earlier in the week. She was two weeks pregnant; how will he inform Athan of the situation?
Athan was already irritated because he believes Davis duped him by using his two daughters as bait. Wouldn't telling Athan that Elisabeta was pregnant cause even more chaos than it already has?
"I'll be on my way, Mr. Moore" Gabriel laughed stroking the bridge of his nose. "I just recalled that I have 10 people to see today; I need to get out of here as soon as possible"
Gabriel knelt, grabbed his box, slung it under his armpit, and dashed to the door. He came to a halt when Athan's stern voice ordered him to return. He hurried back to where he had been before and bowed his head to his chest.
"Do you require any medical examinations, Mr. Moore? As for the girl, as I already stated, she is Ok; she was simply anxious and afraid which is why she collapsed. I beg you to take my leave," Gabriel said, casting a sidelong glance at Nikolas who was half inside the room and half outside the door.
"Don't you suppose there was anything else that caused her to faint?"
A huge blob of perspiration formed on Gabriel's brow as a result of Athan's query.
'Why not treat her yourself if you believe there is anything else?' Gabriel moaned within but put on a cheerful façade on the outside.
"Mr. Moore, the poor tiny frail thing was simply terrified. Remember, she was in a vehicle accident; perhaps it activated a bad hormone that led her to faint." Gabriel answered, his legs trembling.
He wished Athan hadn't caught on to his lies.
"All right," Athan said briefly, causing Gabriel to exhale after holding his breath for half a minute. Athan turned his wheelchair around and glanced at Zara, gesturing for her to take him to his study area.
Gabriel stood there watching Athan leave the room before sprinting to the front door.
"Come with me, Nikolas," he said, as he took Nikolas outside.
"What do you want, Gabriel?" Nikolas muttered and ripped his shirt away from Gabriel's grasp, not forgetting to look him in the eyes. "I'm afraid I don't have any money to give you, Now, pardon me,"
Nikolas shoved Gabriel aside as he attempted to re-enter the mansion but Gabriel yanked him back.
"I didn't summon you here to take money from you. In fact, I'm now $65 thousand richer. I should be the one giving you money," Gabriel muttered, drawing Nikolas back to where he had been standing.
Nikolas held out his palm, and Gabriel smacked his hand into it, mistaking him for a handshake request.
"YOU!" As frown lines emerged on Nikolas' brow, he growled and poked his index finger towards Gabriel. "Where is my cut? Didn't you say I could ask you for money?"
Gabriel shrugged and scoffed. Nikolas could only roll his eyes at him when he let out a small smirk.
"You didn't assist me inside, and now you want…"
"Perfect, perfect. If you summoned me here to chastise me for failing to protect you, I have nothing to say to you."
"Punishing my newborn brother will be determined later," Gabriel said as he release grip of Nikolas' arm. "I summoned you here for a different reason.
Do you believe that girl is here on purpose? I mean, I heard on the internet that she was evicted from her father's house; to make matters worse, she hadn't even lived there for a long time. I don't believe she came here on purpose."
"I just can't put my head around what is going on right now. If Davis was attempting to gain in through his daughter, why did she allow herself to be struck by a car?" Nikolas looked at his brother, Gabriel, expecting reply but nothing came forth so he continued.
How certain was she that she would survive the hit to accomplish her father's wish? And who, in his or her right mind, would try suicide when the outcome is known?" Nikolas laughed.
"Her mother died; her so-called fiancé deserted her on their wedding day; her father totally despises her. If I were in her situation, I would do anything worse than commit suicide. She had already done it; why would she want to do it again?"
When he heard Gabriel's final statement, Nikolas' brow twitched. She wishes to commit suicide once more?
——
As the chilly wind blew in her way, she touched her arm and shuddered.
She was well aware of what she was doing. She wanted to put a stop to it all. Why would the universe give her another chance? What was the sense of life if she had nothing?
Life has been especially cruel to her; it had taken everything from her, including her mother, the one person who actually loved her.
~~
"Elisa, when you have children I want them to call me by my name," her mother would say anytime she and Elisabeta were cooking a big supper.
"Why if I may ask?"
Her mother would shake her head and use her finger to straighten the curled tip of Elisabeta's hair. "I don't want to appear elderly. Calling me granny will undoubtedly steal my dignified beauty and replace it with wrinkles.
In addition, I wish to train my grandkids myself. I can't let you train them; who will pat them at night when they cry? Because you weep so much, I'm sure your hubby would be busy caressing you. So leave those tiny creatures to me; I'll take care of them"
~~
"How come, mother? Why didn't you keep your word? Mother, what will I tell your grandchildren? When they weep, who will comfort them?
Why didn't you bring me along? Why did you abandon me here on Earth to suffer alone? You vowed to be there for me for the rest of my life. Why, mother?"
Elisabeta bent down to the ground, clutching the area of her robe that covered her chest. This was just too much for her. Her tears were brushed away using the back of her palm. She was a curse, if there was such a thing.
She stood up and walked to the end of the roof. If a vehicle accident didn't take her life, a massive fall from a nearly seven floors will. She drew her arms wide and closed her eyes.
"This is my ultimate farewell, Earth. You vowed to make things difficult for me. You no longer have to be concerned about me. After I jump down from here, I'll be gone for good." She breathed with a little smile on her face.
She was surprised to hear a rattling noise and footsteps approaching her from behind. Under her breath, Elisabeta cursed, no one will try to take this wonderful chance away from her.
She groaned as a gentle, frail hands wrapped around her legs. She wanted to kick it, but she couldn't because a faint sob came from behind her.
"Please don't leave mummy, I adore, you Mama" a small voice uttered.
Elisabeta looked around as her attention was pulled to a child hiding his or her face in her fabric. She smiled and patted the child's head, hoping the youngster would let her alone.
"If you want to die, at least write a suicide note so the cops can read it when they come to take up your body tommorow," a frigid voice said, stunning Elisabeta as she collapsed on the floor with the child on top of her.