“Wait…What are you saying??” A female voice quivers with an obvious sob on the horizon, “There’s no way! He was literally coming home today. Do you even know what today is…how could this happen?”. Finally, Susan thinks. To whoever is on the other side of the phone, a policeman maybe, she seems destroyed and full of grief, that lie about today being special definitely helped. In reality, though she’s fighting back a victory dance, if she danced. She’s been waiting for James to die for how long now? Oh well, that doesn’t matter anymore, it’s done. Crazy how it finally took a plane crash to do it. At least he died doing what he loved, work. He had left with his dad, Bogden, and brother, Stephan, for a business trip a few days ago. They hadn’t even made it to china yet. His mom will still seal the business deal, though. Good, she doesn’t want her investment going down any now that she holds a quarter of stock in the company. Just for a second she starts to feel bad then remembers, he used to love her, he really did. Then he became vice president of his dad’s construction company and that all changed. She was sad for a bit, she had pretty much lost her husband. But with the love she lost she gained a lot more. That new position came with a pretty big paycheck. All that money definitely helps heal a broken heart. And then getting put into his will, gaining complete control of all of his money and assets, makes it very easy to forget about any long-lost love. And now with this special surprise she has more wealth than she ever thought possible. Today’s going to be a good day. What to buy first? There is that yacht that she saw a few summers ago. Then her future dreams are cut off by the phone going off a second time. What now? She picks up her top of the line smartphone, answers the call and an immediate sign of annoyance shows on her face. She seems to collect herself and all of a sudden her face changes back to the devastated shaking composure of a widow that we were shown earlier. “Sniff sniff…Yes, I heard the news…sniff…Uh huh. I’ll be okay…just need some time. Wait, what? I’m not sure if I can manage…. I’ll be there.” Damn it! That was his mom, apparently, something happened and she needs to see and me and That Girlfriend of Stephen, James’s brother, tonight. She wouldn’t say why though. Of course, as soon as I finally get some good news she has to go and ruin it. That’s ok though, I have all day to enjoy this. I’ll just have to keep this façade around for a few more months, long enough time to grieve and move on, and then the fortune will really be mine. Now let’s get to work.

Another quivering, shaking, grieving female voice is talking to someone over the phone. This one is different, though. While Susan’s voice was calculated and sounded like it was coming from someone who knew what everyone expected crying to sound like. Elizabeth’s voice was scary. Not in a horror movie way but just in the way that it was scary that someone could ever really feel this sad. You would honestly feel bad if you questioned her sadness where with Susan you would just be afraid that you were right. Elizabeth speaks into the phone after a few minutes of just listening and says, ”Okay, sniff sniff, I’ll be there…just how could this happen!” She had managed to hold it for a few minutes but not anymore. She starts sobbing loud and depressingly. Being in this room right now could ruin anyone’s day. Being in her situation could destroy any mood. The love of her life had just died on the same plane crash that took Susan’s husband. But no scene could be different than the one we witnessed earlier. A loud voice comes from the other side of the telephone call, ”GET IT TOGETHER ELIZABETH!” That’s all can be heard though. After a few minutes of listening Elizabeth speaks, she seems to have collected herself for the time being at least. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll be there. See you then…bye.” The call ends and the phone almost slips out of Elizabeth’s hands. She sets it down and walks away not saying a word. We won’t follow her though; she needs this alone time. We can hear her crying from the other room though, devastating sobs. At least she has until nine though to cry her eyes out. She wonders if she cries enough that she won’t be sad anymore. Only one way to find out.

“I’m sorry about that Elizabeth, but we need to keep it together.” This time the voice is calm and collected, a complete U-turn from the female voices we have heard so far. Lila Vikrov, Bogden’s wife and business partner, sets down the phone and then takes a seat. How the hell did it come to this, she thinks. I just need those two to get here tonight and to not screw things up. Hopefully, when it’s all said and done I’ll never have to see those two again. I can just run Vikrov incorporated by myself and be done with all of the drama of late. Bogden’s death might actually be a blessing in disguise. Lila then left to go make preparations for tonight’s dinner meeting. She used to love Bogden, when they met in new York the day he came here from Russia. All of the time they spent together running and planning his dream, running his own company. The way he took control in business meetings, it used to make her heart skip a beat. Then James, poor, poor James, had to marry that harlot Susan. James is who she'll miss the most. He was the perfect son: respectful, successful, smart. His only mistake in life was marrying who he did. Why does Lila hate Susan so much? Well for the last year Lila has had a growing suspicion about her husband Bogden. She knows he’s cheating. He has slowly become more and more distant, not even seeing her most days. He has also been going out more and more with “friends”. Though she never hears any names or specifics. And it all started around the time Susan and James got married. Susan, that deceiving and lazy gold digger. Who has never done anything for herself once in her life. What James saw in her she has no idea. Out of him, her equally lazy son Stephan, and her cheating husband James is the only loss that will leave a lasting pain. But she’ll get over it. She survived being a woman in the early days of big business, she'll survive this. Lila then walks out from her bedroom into the living room and does something strange. She stops in the middle of the room, takes a good look around and then speaks out loud as if addressing someone she can’t see. “Get out here! I know you’re here somewhere! We need to talk! Show yourself!!” Then from seemingly nowhere, a tall man in a long pitch black suit walks forward, He carries himself with more power than one man should ever have. He looks at Lila with stone cold eyes and says, “Okay, I’m here. What do you want to talk about? It’s not nine already is it?”

End of part one. Stay Tuned for the rest of the story soon