**EARLIER**
A black car drives into the compound.
“Sir Gerald..you are back early?” A surprised Meredith says
“Yes. “ Gerald nods “Meredith?”
“Yes sir..”
“I would be hosting a party this evening for a few guests, the mayor and some of his friends would be here as well. It’s my company’s 10th year anniversary too and you are to take care of everything with the planner who would get in touch with you momentarily. Let me know what you would need. I want it to be perfection, from the food to everything in between. Richard would handle the guest list and tell him to make sure to seal off the areas of this house that shouldn’t be accessed. That includes my wife’s room and Damien’s. I don’t want people snooping around and asking too many questions they have no business asking. Call my accountant when you have the list of what you need, I need this place to look pristine and I don’t want anything to go wrong. “
“But sir, that’s in a few hours..and”
“That’s a problem?”
“I can’t..”
“if you need more chefs , get them, you need to buy a new chandelier, do so. You need a clone..get it. Are you daft!! Am I to tell you what to do?? I am having a party and it should kick off by 6pm latest Meredith so get to planning. Tell Richard and the rest of the staffs to come see me Now …stop standing there and move!!’’
“Oka..okay sir right away”.
*
In less than a few minutes, a group of ten men and women gathered, he dishes out instructions then dismisses them,
“Richard wait..” Gerald calls out
“yes sir”
“You are the Butler aren’t you?”
“Er yes sir” Richard is wondering whether it is a trick question.
“Which means aside overseeing the activities of this house, your major duty is to Man the doors, the goings and comings right?’’
“Yes sir” Richard frowns,
“Good. This is an-invite-only party Richard, so that means who ever isn’t invited shouldn’t be let in “
“Of course sir, it’s my duty” Richard smiles
“That means, whoever isn’t invited shouldn’t be seen within this house, I don’t care who. If you have any issues with that, there would be extra securities in the premises especially because of the mayor and his friends, so if you feel the securities you know would be too scared to take an order you can approach the others, they are brutal and not friendly and I am sure they would treat the intruder deserving. Is that clear?”
“Sir..”
“I know you are not entirely stupid. You talk to him so I guess you best make it clear, I would not tolerate his nuisance behavior in front of my guest and I would not bat an eyelid if they think him a threat. Is that clear?”
“Yes sir”
“Good” Gerald says going upstairs
Richard, understanding perfectly what he meant releases his breath. Adam wouldn’t want to be around Gerald anyways, talk less of being around when he had guests.
The only time Adam ever comes into the house is when he is out of town, but whenever he was around, he hardly ever misses coming to sit and be with his mother. It had been something he had done for years, more even after Damien.
And Adam had made it clear until he allows him take his mother away from here, he won’t stop, but as long as she was in this house, no one, would stop him from coming to see her whenever he wanted.
So what if Adam wanted to, was he now expected to report him to those guards without a heart so they can brutally harass him just because…
“Oh dear Lord, please intervene..this..this isn’t how a home is meant to be. “
“RICHARD!!!!!!’’ Gerald thunders
Richard runs upstairs, fear gripping him
“Where is Thelma, where is she.. where is my wife. Did he take her away did he..you let him” Gerald grabs Richard by his collar and raises his on the wall
“No sir..no sir..she is..’’
“He took her..I will kill him, I will kill you first””
“Sir..” Richard chokes holding onto Gerald’s hands, Meredith and some of the staffs hearing his shouts rushes up stairs
“Call the police, call the securities, find them!!” Gerald hisses
“No sir..” Richard shakes his head “ Garden, Gar-d-e.eeen sir” He breathed
“What did you say?”
“she –is—in—the—garden, sir “ he coughs out breathlessly, pleading with his eyes for Gerald to drop him, he does so roughly, Richard holds on to his neck, Gerald looks up, the staffs back away
“What do you mean she is in the garden, she never leaves her room, who dared to take her out to the garden, WHO!!!”
SILENCE..
Meredith shakes her head and hands indicating she had no idea, some staffs looked shocked too, Gerald looks down at Richard who is struggling for breath
“Who Richard, was it him? ANSWER ME DAMMNIT!!!”
Richard sighing, shakes his head as he slowly rises up “ No sir.. I am sorry, I really am.. i_”
Gerald brushes past him, his anger felt on his face as he breathed.
The nurse Marybeth was obviously sent to make him boil, and today he would show her why people feared him and why you should never put your hands into a hot of boiling water
*******PRESENTLY *****
Thelma was wailing now, her hand over her ears, eyes tearing up and a front and back movement..
An obvious behavior of fear, pain, panic all summed into one, like a frantic child.
Marybeth looks at her as Gerald grabs her and shakes her again
“ANSWER ME!!!”
Forgetting the pain in her hands and the anger in his voice and an obvious death glare in his eyes, she looks directly in his eyes
“if a man who claims to have love for his wife and can see her right now in that state and isn’t scared what his behavior is causing her, I would say without fear that he is a heartless man who doesn’t deserve love from his wife nor one from his son’’ she spat to his face
“How dare you, you don’t know anything about me” he grabs her tighter, his nails digging into her skin, she winces in pain
Thelma getting worse at the moment
“I don’t need to know about you to know your heart is made of stone, no your heart is black, darker than the shadows and coal put together. That woman right now who you are ignoring is in pain, she is suffering, and she is sick and she could die too, sooner or later and you are here fighting me, a mere nurse because I am trying to give her the little comfort she needs. What sort of man are you..?’’
“The man that would put you in your place” he raises his hands and slaps her across her face, she falls to the ground , he is standing over her, his hands folded into a fist
Marybeth holds her face shocked.