Mother's Love
Keifer's POV
I woke up with tears in my eyes. Even in my dreams, the impact was still heavy on me.
"Keifer..."
Her voice. My Mom's voice, it hunts me. I tried to get up from my bed. But pain immediately kicks in.
"Damn it." I whispered while massaging my head.
I look at the time from my wrists watch. It's 1:04 AM. I slept for a short
time but it feels like a day.
I lay back to force myself to sleep. I need strength. I feel like I've lost it because I'm so angry.
As I close my eyes and sleep again. My Mom's face shows up.
"Keifer. If you're watching this, it means that I didn't make it to your
18th birthday." She said and my tears start to fall.
Mom...
Her eyes look so sad. My knees suddenly felt weak. Seeing her talking
now makes me want to see her so bad. I feel that he is alive because of that
in this video.
For a long time I wished to hear his voice again. Her voice when
she calls my name, her voice when she sings a lullaby for me and Keigan
and her voice when she says 'I love you' to me.
"Mom... I miss you so much." I said between my tears.
"I'm sorry, my Keifer." She said and noticed how she touched her belly.
Is she pregnant?I wipe my tears and look at her. I stared at her and wondered what the
time or date the video was taken was.
The ways she looks, she looks pregnant with Keiren. Her belly is huge
about 8 to 9 months. She's a little fatter than her natural appearance
when Keigan and I had her child. Proof that this could be
the time she was still pregnant with Keiren.
But why? Why that time?
"I'm sorry for giving you a huge responsibility. You're too young
to handle this but we have no choice." She took a deep breath.
"My family owes a lot from your grandfather. When he asks me a favor I
never hesitate to say 'yes' because that's the only way I can pay back from
everything he's done to us."
She forced a smile. "They asked me to marry your father. I agreed even though I didn't want to, especially since they explained everything to me."
I got confused. I knew they're arranging a marriage but what does she mean by
'explaining everything'.
"I will explain to you everything. After hearing this it's up to you if
you're going to keep the money or give it away." She said in a serious tone.
Is there anything else I don't know? I thought Mr.
Ryder had explained everything to me. What now?
"The Watson family are related to the Royal family of England. They just aren't recognized for some unknown reason. But that didn't stop the Watsons from rising. Your great grandfather is an
explorer with a big contribution to the different Museum."
I blink my eyes. I am completely dumbfounded. I never heard these
things before.
"...He leaves a lot of fortune to your grandfather when he died..." She
continue. "...and that fortune is the root of the problem. Your father knows that there will be a lot of money for him when your grandfather dies and
because he tried to kill his own father..."
I was no longer surprised by what I heard. He can kill anyone he wanted for the
sake of money.
"...he failed. Your grandfather decided to take action. He decided to name all his assets and liabilities to the first born child
of Kaizer. But there is a problem, with the number of women your father is becoming
they can't monitor who among them might have children...""...that's why they talk to me and my family. I didn't know what to say
but they still explained to me everything."
So they forced me to get married? Just because of that fvcking money. Is money more
important than life. They asked Mom to sacrifice her
life just for that little bit of money.
My fist clenched. I wanted to stop the video and burn this whole
place. Mom was so upset with that man just because of my Grandfather's
request.
But I couldn't. I still wanted to see my Mom.
"...Kaizer, your Dad joined a Mob but this is no ordinary mafia group.
They are the master mind of every illegal operation in the world. In order
to be part of them your Dad has to invest a lot of money—we're talking
about 100 million here."
That's why he tried to kill Grandfather. He's out of his mind.
"...Your Dad never stopped trying to get your grandfather. Even after we got married, he never stopped. Until your grandfather gave up and let his son do whatever he wanted. What Kaizer didn't know was that he had already arranged all the papers to transfer everything he had to his first grandson."
"No lawyer showed up at his funeral, which gave Kaizer a suspicion. I tried my best to make sure that he would never know the reason why he never received his inheritance."
Mom looks at me or the camera, but it feels like she's directly looking at me.
"When he gets his inheritance and all the Watson money, the whole Watson family will lose their resources. Even the people they help, including my family. The schools, hospitals, and livelihoods that your grandfather supported. They will all lose them."
A lot of people are depending on us. Is that why
Mom fought so hard for that money?
"Keifer... This is not just all about the money. This is also about the other
people who supported and believed in us. My family and I tried our best to
protect you and every single property that will soon be yours."
Mom and Uncle Sin. They sacrificed their own lives. For my Grandfather and
for the Watsons.
Does that mean I should do the same?
That's it! I understand it now. My Grandfather left me his wealth, not as an inheritance. He left it to me to protectMom did the same thing.
This is not all about the money.
This is about protecting the people around the Watson Family.
"Oh my god..." I whispered to myself.
"But there's another thing you should know. You must take an action
before your father and the elderly know." Mom's eyes were serious
and it seemed like this was a huge problem.
Please don't tell me...
"Your Dad has a child before you..."
Damn!
I washed my face in so much irritation. It's true that that animal had a first
child before me. I thought that wasn't true because we couldn't find any leads on him, whoever he was.
"...your Dad or the elders will use him if you don't
get them ahead. You need to find him and if necessary...." She closed her eyes quickly. "...kill him."
My jaw dropped because of what she said. I can't believe she's asking me to
kill a person. I didn't know my Mom was capable of something like this.
"If you don't do it, there's a chance she'll kill you
and your siblings." A tear fell from her eye.
I understand.
She just wants to make sure that we're safe. That's all she's thinking about until the end.
She wipes her tear and took a deep breath. "...I don't have a clue where
to find that child but I know someone who has. The mother of your friend
Aries, Gema Fernandez."
What does Aries' mother have to do with this?
"Talk to her and ask her about your Dad's child."
But why her? Why is she the one I'm talking to—Angelo.
Everyone says we have similarities in our actions and looks. Even our
habits sometimes seem to be not far apart.
It's impossible—no! Impossible!
That only happened because we almost grew up with him. And another thing, it was from him that he knew his Dad but he never had the chance to talk to him because he was buried underground.
So it's impossible that it was him! He's not the kid Mom was talking about.Mom forced a smile and again took a deep breath.
"I hope you and your brothers are alright." She smiles sadly. "...Maybe you have a girlfriend now. I hope you're not a headache for your friends."
How I wish your here with me. Maybe you helped me when Percy and I had an accident. Maybe we haven't reached our current situation yet.
I wish you were here, I want to introduce you to her. The girl who's been bothering me. I imagine her talking to you and smiling. Having a cute conversation about us.
If you were here Mom, I'd tell you how karma got back at me. How I fell for her without realizing it. How she makes my head hurt because of her antics. How she curses like she always has an enemy. How she drives me crazy and how she also makes me cry.
I want to protect her. I want to protect my life, my world....my Queen.
She's my everything.
"Just to be fair. I want you to know that your Dad used to love me..."
She said that stop me.
Love? He loved my mom? That guy knows nothing about love. In the situation
that he still loved Mom? I can't believe this.
"...but I never love him back. Maybe that's why he became like that to us. If
I'm stronger enough I will never allow your Dad to hurt you."
No. If I'm stronger enough, he wouldn't have hit you. You wouldn't have
we lost Keigan and Keiren.
Mom smiles as if she's smiling directly at me.
"I'm leaving everything to you now. The card that you got along with
the remote control is your password."
I looked at the card I got earlier. Now that I'm in the dark I
can read it clearly.
"Press the end button now Keifer. It's time for you to decide."
The video gradually blocked. I did as Mom said. On my right side, the light came on but not that bright. Just enough for me to see the door and a small monitor next to it.
I went over there and looked at the writing on the screen.
'Scan the barcodeAnd there was a small arrow pointing to an infrared light at the end of the
monitor.
What barcode?
I looked at the remote I was holding. There was no barcode on it.
I also looked at the card but I couldn't see a barcode.
I flipped it over and was stopped when I saw something silver in color.
It was shining in the weak light unlike the gold print at the front.
I moved it around and noticed the lines. I think this is the
barcode.
I scanned it through the infrared light. The screen displays suddenly changed.
'Read the code.'
What code?
I don't understand anything from this process. All I know is that
I need to see the vault. No one told me there was such a
process.
I sighed. I can't believe I have to go through all this.
My head was starting to hurt.
I looked at the card I was holding again. I had to step into the darkness just to read the gold print. I noted it down before returning to the monitor.
"Love is not free, it's the most expensive thing in the world. It causes more than a life and you're paying it without realizing it."
I thought for a moment because of what I had said. What's the connection of
Love in this?
The display on the screen changed again.
'State your name.'
I hope it's too late. My head is already hurting from the amount of things I have to go through.
This is the only bank I know that uses a bunch of
processes. Other banks only need the bank account or ATM card.
"Mark Keifer Watson." I stated my name.
Out of nowhere a robotic voice like Siri spoke. "Welcome Mr. Keifer."
It looked like it was coming from the monitor. I was about to move it when I heard the door lock. It automatically opens and the vault door
shows up. It also opens of its own accord.
As I peeked inside, the lights gradually turned on. I
slowly stepped my feet inside.
I combed my hair. I'm speechless, I don't exactly know
what to say.
Now I know why my relatives are dying to have this.
Inside the vault was gold and not money. And this wasn't just any ordinary
vault. It was a room, bigger than my room and it was full of bars of gold.
They were lined up neatly. Each layer of
gold was numbered. I thought it was just gold but as I walked around
I saw other things inside.
A table full of diamonds, jewelry and cabinet full of antique vases and
plates which I think caused more than a million.
This is what treasure looks like.
I sat down on one of the gold clusters. It was so damn cold. It
gives shivers to my skin.
I still can't believe this. This is what my Mom died for. And all of this
I also needed to protect.
My knees are melting. I can't protect this much
gold. What am I going to do with this? Where am I going to use this?
I need to think carefully about whether I'm going to accept all of this.
I stood up and walked toward the door. When I got out, I immediately faced the
monitor next to the door. I pressed the 'Close' button and automatically
closed the vault door and then opened the door to the outside.
I immediately walked toward the exit. My eyes were still slightly dazzled by the light.
"How is it?" Uncle Sin while handling me a bottle of water.
I rejected it. "Not good. I-i don't know what to do."
"Relax... You can still think until your birthday."
I look at him in disbelief. "My birthday is next month."
He smiles. "So? It means you have a month to think."
A month is not enough to think. I need more than that. If possible I want
a whole year.
"I don't even know what to think." I said and started walking towards the
tunnel.
"Keifer." Uncle Sin called me. "You have to think wisely."
I face him. "Don't fvcking pressure me!" I shouted and walked faster.
I reached the gate and immediately approached Mr. Ryder who's patient
waiting He was just standing next to the car and leaning slightly.
"Keifer... What happened?" He asked.
Honey came out of the car and approached me.
"I want to go back to the hotel." I said and got inside the car.
They both didn't say a thing. They also got in and didn't ask anymore. I
keep myself in silent. I'm starting to have a headache.
I must be going crazy just thinking about it.
Almost half an hour passed before we reached the hotel that we stayed in. I got out of the car first and entered the elevator first.
I waited for no one. I wanted to be alone.
I walked out of the elevator when it reached my room floor. I was going to open the door when I noticed it was open.
I took a step back but someone pushed me inside. I'm about to fight back
but I saw a very familiar person inside my room.
"What are you doing here?" I said in plain tone.
"Don't play stupid with me. You know exactly why I am here." My
cousin, Clyde answered.
He is the current CEO of Watson Enterprise. He claims the position before
someone else does. I don't know if I should thank him for that but I knew him
will not give up the position easily.
"You'll get nothing from me. You can leave now." I said while removing
my coat and tossing it to the nearest chair.
He moves his hand forward showing a picture to me. I was stunned.
It's Jay-jay.
He smirked. "Now, shall I visit your girl? Or we can settle everything
here?"
I clenched my fist. "Don't you dare."
"I will, you know me."
"Your son of a b*tch!"
He suddenly laughs like he's enjoying watching me getting furious
crazy
"You're turning into a beast. You must be in love."
I looked at him confusedly. "What do you mean?"
He smirked. "It's a family curse. Once a Watson falls in love, he turns into
a beast."
I laughed bitterly. "That's a fvcking myth."
"But half true. Just look at you and your Father. Both of you are the
living proof
That's just what people say. What they called a family
curse. It was so stupid. They said that a Watson couldn't love because he was becoming fragile.
"I don't care about that curse." I said and pointed out my finger.
"Leave!"
"Don't test me Keifer. Give me what I want!"
I looked at him. He knew I wasn't planning on
speaking.
He was asking for the password to the vault. He wouldn't get anything. I'll make
sure he never will have it.
His eyebrows furrowed in anger. "You ask for this. I'll make you
pay." He said and ripped Jay-jay's Picture.
Suddenly I got nervous.
No! No! Not jay-jay.
Out of nowhere a man grabbed me from behind. Another man shows up and
punch me in the stomach. They didn't give me time to think and hit me
again.
They hit me multiple times until I can't take it anymore. Unable to breath
and stand properly, they decided to stop and leave me like that.
"This is your first warning. The next one will be for your girl." My
cousin said and left a long with his man.
I didn't fight back because they surprised me. I thought Jay-jay was the
target.
I need a plan. They can't bring Jay-jay here. He can't be harmed because of me.
I have to make sure her safety. I need to protect her.
But how? How will I do that when I'm too far away from her.