Della Bosket was a smart and capable lady. She worked at a successful entertainment company and handled many complicated matters every day.
Early in her career, Della had realized what she had to do to stay up and running.
To make it in the industry in any capacity, one had to keep their mouth closed and their eyes and ears wide open. Della Brosket was a tall woman with a bony frame. She had springy brown hair that was tied up into a tight bun. Her spectacles made her appearance a more intimidating one and she wore high heels that made a noisy clacking sound whenever she walked.
As the night sky looked impossibly dark, Della leaned back against her desk. There were piles and piles of paperwork all around her. Her office was spacious but did not look so because of all of the piles of documents everywhere.
The only neat spot was a small and low coffee table settled in the very middle of the room between two soft seats. It was where she spoke with her actors and other workers before sending them out into the work for the day. A single stack of papers sat in the middle of that table.
It was the latest script that had arrived.
The story was promising and had several good twists. It was compelling but needed a really good performance if it were to sell well to the people in the theatres.
Della sighed as she shook her head.
It was going to be hard to find the right actor for the job.
She worked with a good mix of them and most of them would reject the script, she was sure of it.
Some of the actors already had tight schedules, some of them could never understand a good story when they saw it and others, they were too arrogant to accept a story from a heretofore unknown Script Writer.
Della lifted a bony finger to cup her chin. She frowned.
The story was incredible. She knew it.
She needed a good actor to accept the story so she could move it into the desk of her superiors as a possible project.
There had been too many times already when Della Bosket had lost a good story and possibly an amazing project because of the actors in her company.
The ringing of her phone caught her by surprise.
Who could be calling her so late at night? It was no longer within the frame of office hours and Della had no close family or friends.
Della frowned at the number that was being displayed on the screen of her phone.
She had never seen the number before.
She glanced around her room. Her workday had been tiring and she was ready to go home.
Should she see who was calling or should she ignore the call.
A few seconds passed as the phone continued to ring in her hand.
With a soft sigh, Della accepted the call and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Yes? Who is this?"
She waited with an irritated expression on her face whilst the person on the other line quickly spoke on the phone.
A few seconds later, a flicker of clarity passed her face, "Wait a minute… is this Maria Linden's son?"
--
Adam Linden sat in his room. The lights were out, and he could see nothing.
He was slumped forward in a chair, his mind trying to keep up with the million thoughts warring within.
He had just gotten off the phone with one of his mother's oldest friends.
The things that she had told him were threatening a civil war within his mind.
Adam Linden had only been fifteen years old when his mother had died. He had not been very young, but he had not been very old either.
The news of his mother's disappearance and the later finding of her body had changed him fiercely. He had gone from a careless teenager to a very serious adult in just those few days. His personality had shifted to someone who was rather reserved and quiet, and he rarely jumped into things anymore. His mind had gained clarity and his purpose for the future had materialized perfectly.
"A wonderful café at the very heart of the city," his mother had often said, "we should do that together when I retire, Adam. My pies would be the talk of the neighborhood."
Adam bit his lip and willed himself not to cry.
It had been five years since he had completely shut off his emotions and the memories of his mother so he could properly walk around the real world. Now, after his conversation with his mother's old friend, Della Bosket, all the memories were flooding in and threatening to overwhelm him.
The things that he had learned from the lady had shocked him.
Adam Linden was not a child. He knew the world was a scary place. And after twenty years on the planet, he knew he would accept a blow to the head at every turn if he did not keep his guard up.
The world was a terrifying wilderness to live in and one of the deadliest corners of it was the Entertainment Industry.
Show business always entertained and most people were swayed by the glitz and glamour of it all. Behind the curtains, existed the nastiest hands and eyes to ever be.
Adam took a shuddering breath.
His mother had been a young manager to a rising star at that time. She was getting paid a good amount of money and was signing successful jobs everywhere she could look for the young actress under her care.
There were many times in a week that young Adam would not see his mother at all when she had to accompany her actress to the movie's shooting destinations. But his mother always came back with warmth and happiness glowing on her face.
Of course, that was until that one fateful night when she did not return.
And now, Della Bosket had divulged to Adam what she thought had really happened that night.