Darkness To Consume

Prologue

"Come back soon, okay?" said Vixen as she hugged her mom and dad one last time.

Her parents are flying to California to take care of her aunt Vanellope who is bedridden with illness. Vixen will miss them so much because they will stay there for a long time.

Aunt Arina has no family, she is her mother's aunt on the mother's side and she is very old at the age of seventy-three. She prefers to call the old woman 'aunt' instead of 'grandma'.

Their other relatives in California also don't care about it so only his mom and dad will go there to take care of it. Rowena smiled at her daughter warmly and gently touches her face.

"Take care, sweetie. We will make sure to call you every day," she told Vixen. There was sadness in his eyes.

"I'm a grown up now, Mom. No need to worry," Vixen assured her mother with a warm smile of her own.

"Goodbye, sweetheart. Don't forget our instructions to you. And don't worry yourself about the company, there are people who will take care of it." Arnold reminded.

Vixen rolled her eyes at this. Her parents still don't want to allow her to help their company, saying that she's still too young for this kind of stuff. Even if she is the only one who will inherit everything. They told her that she still had to reach her twenty-first birthday and finish her business course before she would be allowed to assist them in running the company.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, young lady," her father said in mocked disapproval.

"Fine, Dad," she answered while smiling.

"Take care, please hug me Aunt Arina."

"Sure, sweetie." Vixen watched as their driver, Manong Pedro, put her parents' suitcases inside the trunk of the car.

Arnold helped Rowena get into the car holding her waist and arm. And Vixen missed how her mother glared at her father with disdain.

"I will miss you both," she said with a smile, waving her hand in farewell.

"Goodbye." They both waved back as she continued to watch them get inside the car.

Vixen sadly stood there in front of their tall gates while the car left through the winding road, until they were out of her sight. Vixen let out a sigh. She felt very sorry for her Aunt Arina, and she wanted to visit her too. But because she still has to finish her studies, she can't be with her yet. Especially since the requirements are coming up and he will graduate from college in a few months.

She glanced up at the clear blue sky, which reminds her of the ocean. She was slightly blinded by the direct sunlight, a sign of beautiful but warm weather. She could no longer bear the heat that was burning on her skin because she was used to it.

She heard the closing of the high gates pushed by their two security guards. That delivered a slight noise due to the grunt of the heavy steel on which they were made.

"Miss?" Vixen turned to call her attention, and she saw the butler of their housemates.

"Genesis is ready," it said.

She smiled at the kind face of the small, plump woman.

"Okay. Thank you, Mang Rina."

Manang Rina is one of their most trusted maids in the mansion. She was also old, because she had taken care of her mother when she was young. Its entire family also works with them in the mansion and on the rancho.

She walked on their perfectly trimmed lawn towards the back of their mansion, where Genesis is waiting for her.

The weeds slightly tickled the side of his feet with the only sole being a pair of red slippers.

Genesis is the name of her horse. It was a white stallion that was shorter than her. Vixen saw her horse being fed by their caretaker, named Goryo. The horse let out a whine when it saw Vixen approaching, slowly tugging away from Manong Goryo's hold, clearly wanting to finally stretch out its long legs. Vixen chuckled in amusement.

"I miss you, too," she said as she approached the horse and gently stroked its head. She could smell the fragrant shampoo used by Manong Goryo.

Her favorite pet looks like a new bath. They still have other animals to take care of on their ranch, but this was the gift her father gave her when she made her debut. She smiled.

She could almost taste the sweet scent of the strawberry-scented shampoo that was used on Genesis. Her horse even beat her and was even more fragrant than her.

"I'm just going to the creek, Manong Goryo," she informed the middle-aged caretaker.

"Be careful, señorita," Goryo replied smiling as he helped her ride behind Genesis.

"I can do this," she told him and clutched on the reins around Genesis's neck. She lightly caressed the horse's mane as the horse began to walk on the rough road going to their ranch.

The land covered by their rancho located in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija is vast. It stretches out for miles to the wild forest and to the edge of a famous lake. Many wanted to buy their land, but her father would not sell it.

Twice a week during weekends she walks here on her horse Genesis. Chatting with their staff, helping to feed domestic pigs, cows, horses and others, or picking fruits and vegetables. A few minutes later and even though she was not very far away she heard someone calling her name.

A little startled by being disturbed, she glanced from where she had come from. She saw Manong Ando a couple of meters away. He is one of their farmers, who is now frantically waving his buri hat at her. She stared at him and tried to comprehend what he was saying, or more like yelling.

"Señorita! Señorita!" Manong Ando called.

"Why?" she yelled back and nudges Genesis to walk back towards him. The horse gave out a low whine of protest but still moved to approach the man.

"You need to go to a nearby town right away. The señor and señora..." She heard his answer hesitantly, traces of intense concern on his face.

Her heart began to pound against her chest when she recognized the fear and panic in his voice. "Why? What happened? " She demanded, nudging her horse to walk faster.

She reached the forty-year old man, whose slightly wrinkled face was contorted with worry as she peered down at him. The man's appearance was obviously awkward to tell. him what's the matter.

"Your parents, rushed them to the hospital," he finally said.

"A-What?" she yelled in bewildered shock. She didn't think any more and immediately ran the horse back of the mansion. There she found their housemates and other staff dressed in intense concern. Her chest was pounding too fast with fear and nervousness.

She jumped off from her horse and ran towards her car, almost stumbling in the process. Not wasting her time to change her clothes that were just a pair of orange blouse and white denim shorts that reached the top of her knees.

She immediately started the car engine and drove to the hospital even though the his hands. It will take more he was a few hours before that arrived because they were far from the private hospital where his parents were rushed.

She was already crying as she drove her gray BMW 7 series car on the road that is void of traffic. Thank goodness. Almost two and a half hours later, she reached the hospital. She immediately parked the car and went to the nurse's station, asking for her mom and dad.

The nurse told her that they are still in the emergency room. She went there with trembling knees and waited outside the door. He could no longer hold back the overwhelming fear and anxiety.

She did not expect this to happen to them. And to think that they have already said their goodbyes. She slowly slumped into the nearest chair and sobbed quietly. "Excuse me, Ma'am," a man called attention.

She looked up to see a young man who seems to be in his mid-twenties. He was wearing a red T-shirt and black pants. His features looked haggard and deeply shaken. He did not notice that someone else was there besides him. "A-Are Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore your relatives?" trembling at this question, traces of nervousness.

"I'm their daughter. Why? Do you know what happened?" she asked him with a tear-stricken face.

She then glanced at his arms which are covered in dry blood, before her gaze went back on his face. She started to get suspicious on why this man looks very shaken while he stared back at her.

"I saw what happened. Your parents' car collided with the delivery truck they met. The car was moving quite fast and the road was winding so they couldn't see the truck. The collision was so strong that the front was crushed. of the car. We rushed them here immediately after the accident," the man quickly told her, obviously rehearsing.

She stared up at him suspiciously, and he was looking at her with a guilty expression on his face. He suddenly looked down at the white-tiled floor, as soon as he noticed her glare. It was swallowed before speaking again.

"We're in the truck." That was all she wanted to hear before she gave him a forceful slap on the face. She knew she shouldn't act like this. But knowing that this man is one of the reasons that her parents' lives are in danger, it made her blood boil in so much anger.

The guy took a step back in surprise, at the same time a male doctor wearing a white lab coat and a face-mask approached them. He came from the emergency room. The man became even paler as Cyan immediately approached the doctor.

"Doc?" was the only thing she managed to say. The doctor pulled his face-mask away. Her heart felt heavy when she saw the mournful look on his face.

He looked at Vixen straight in the eyes, and she had to hold her breath to stop herself from crying more. She knew that very look and it doesn't mean good news.

"Are you related to the patients?" he asked calmly.

"T-They are my parents," she answered nervously. He let out a deep mournful sigh, just worsening her state.

"I'm sorry. We've done everything we can to revive them. But they're gone before they even get here." She stood rigid in shock as she tried to sink his words in.

Her mom and dad are dead.

The sky was daek and the cluster of dark clouds seemed to want to empathize with the sadness felt by the people standing in front of a tomb. It also seems to want to pour out the heavy being carried to water the mourning breasts who continue to mourn the lost loved ones.

A roar of thunder broke the deep silence. Only tiny sobs sing in the noise the sky releases. The cold breeze gently caressed their trembling bodies like an arm.

"Why?" The only question Vixen uttered in the absence accompanied by a faint sob. Poetry watches the coffins where her deceased parents are being lowered to the final destination.

More strangled sobs were released out of her already aching throat. She still can't believe her parents are gone. It was as if only yesterday she could see their smiles at the last moment. She didn't quite think that would be the last hug he would feel and receive from them. She couldn't even tell them "I love you" before they left.

Manang Rina gently caressed Vixen's back, in sympathy with the grief of the sadness they were both going through. The place where Vixen's parents are buried was almost filled with an overwhelming amount of sympathy, ignoring the bad weather and looming heavy rain that afternoon.

Many of their staff are also genuinely homesick for their loss. She could not blame them, for there was no denying that his parents were very good people. They are always there to help whenever their workers are in need especially on their rancho, and do not ask for any compensation.

Vixen didn't even flinch once, even when the dark clouds were being continiously whipped by multiple swords of lightning. Or even when the heavy rain started to fall as if they wanted to drown.

She did not care, even when she started to get soaked under the rain. She ignored the cold, the smell of the mist from the ground, even every drop of rain that seemed like heavy slaps that wanted to wake her up to the fact she didn't want to accept.

She still didn't want to accept the fact that her loving parents are already gone. They are gone. She was alone. No one will help her to fulfill her dreams.

How's the rancho? The company? Hesje still doesn't quite know how to run them. What about the people there who only depend on and earn a living for their families? She would run the company alone that he never had a chance to peek at. Will major stock holders trust her knowing that she doesn't have much experience running their company? What about the business partners who hate them so much that they are beyond willing to take everything out of her reluctant hands?

Although, twenty years of age is now considered as a legal adult, she's still young. Will he be able to handle this huge obligation that is already slung over his shoulders?

"Hija," the good Manang Rina called from beside him. "Here's the umbrella. Don't get wet in the rain. You'll get sick. Your parents won't like that," said manang, while sheltering her under a huge black umbrella.

Vixen tried to stop crying. She didn't want to look so helpless and weak, but she just couldn't stop the water breaks from escaping her already swollen eyes. She could even taste the bitterness on the tip of her tongue, the bitter truth that she is alone in the middle of this obstacle that her parents unintentionally left her.

"I-it's o-okay, Manang. I-I'll be f-fine," she told the kind woman and walked towards the newly made grave of her parents, a reason to get even more soaked under the rain.

Their graves are next to each other. The driver who delivered them was also killed in the accident. Meaning, she had no one to blame this on. The truck driver was also found innocent from the CCTV footage they obtained, so he really has nothing to blame for the parents 'death.

Another, according to the analysis conducted by the authorities, their vehicle allegedly lost its brakes. A fact that she found very suspicious. Later, the sympathizers said goodbye to go home.

"We'll go first, señorita," said Lando, one of their rancho workers. Vixen only nodded shortly as a response, not pulling her gaze away from her parents' grave, forcing herself to get used to this.

"We're sorry again, miss," added Francine, Lando's wife. His voice was sad as she looked pityingly at the girl standing in front of the newly built tombs. This is just what happened over and over again.

Vixen couldn't help but look back at the informants. Still can't take the look at the grave of the parents because Manang Rina is the one who often answers them until all that is left is her and some housemates.

The rain is still getting heavier and Manang Rina is worried about her. So against Vixen's will, she let them support her in the car and back to the mansion.

"You're so wet, Miss," Vina said, a look of concern on his face.

"I'm fine," she only replied and got into the car.

The gloomy days continued to pass by. Vixen still didn't have any idea what's going to happen next. She carefully considers those to be cared for. But she seemed to have no strength during the week she was confined to her room.

The next day came and she finally decided to go to their company to take charge of everything, ready to face forward and meet her new challenges. Vixen thought nothing could make her situation worse.

But the very day that she arrived in the main company building of Salvatore Enterprises, she was approached with a rather another bad news.

She didn't know what to expect once he got there. But one thing was for sure, not the accusations thrown by the members of the board, business partners, and even their employees in front of her about his father's alleged actions.

"What do you mean that I need to pay these ridiculous amount of numbers, written in these stupid papers?" she exclaimed, once she came face to face with the now officer in charge, the new CEO of what's supposed to be her own company.

She immediately went straight to his father's former office which was supposed to be his office now to confront Mr. Lucas Lim after leaving the conference room. The board members laid the evidence in front of her and she wanted to confirm them from the man.

He is one of the major stock holders, who holds a huge share in the company. He was supposed to be her father's best friend and was expecting him to defend his father at least. But she was wrong. She found Mr. Lucas Lim in the swivel chair holding a lot of papers.

The old man gave her a rather innocent look once she stated everything. "There, there, sweetie," said Mr. Lucas mockingly, as he put his feet on top of the desk and clasped his hands together on his lap. "Don't be so mad about this. Those numbers are Arnold's debts to this company. He had gambled his entire fair share and had still withdrawn more money just to spend them in the casino with his sluts the day before the accident. And to tell you the truth, there is no percentage left for you because your Daddy has used up all that. Didn't you know the real reason why your parents were suddenly leaving?" Vixen stared back at him with a dumbstruck expression.

She could tell that he could see the fear that is beginning to show in her eyes with the truth that he was unfolding in front of her. He smirked nastily, enjoying her expression.

"They were running away, sweetums. Running away from the responsibility of paying all those money that they had wasted. And you know where it led them? To their death, paying the price with their own life."

"No!" yelled Vixen and slammed her hands on the desk. "That's not true! My Daddy can't do that!"

Mr. Lucas Lim chuckled while shaking his head at her obvious stupidity. "Of course they did. Your mother was too afraid to admit the truth when she learned all about it, too. And I am very glad to be the one to reveal this to you, Vixen. That your mother was actually the one who gave the suggestion to Arnold to leave the country," he sneered.

Vixeb shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe that her parents could do that. They were good people. They couldn't do such a thing, could they?

"Stop denying the truth," he said and gave her a fake look of pity before sighing. "I'm going to be very good to you. It's as if you can't say I don't have a heart." Vixen narrowed her eyes as she stared at him with suspicion. She may be young, but she knew if she was being fooled.

"You can still be a part of this company having all of your shares and all. But," he said and offered her body an appreciative look, "as payment for the money your father stole, you will become my possession, and I will have all the rights to do everything with you." he finished.

His eyes then lingered down on her body, clad in a black formal attire, giving it a dirty appreciative stare with an unusual hunger shining in his eyes. Vixen threw the man a very disgusted look. She now cannot even describe how beyond repulsive this man can be.

"Really, Mr. Lim? You really think I would stoop that low just for your own benefit? You own the shares as well as this company but you will not allow me to give it to you as well as myself. Are you crazy? What are you? Sixty-eight? " She gave him another look of disgust.

His face suddenly darkened as he glared at her, but recovered fast and smiled nastily as if knowing something she didn't. "Oh, well. I really didn't expect you to accept my generous offer anyway." She mentally gagged on what he had said.

Generous? Stupid perverted old man. "But," he stopped and gave her an evil smile. "You can't do anything anymore. Sell ​​all your shares as payment. But that will still be less so you can definitely sell your other properties as well."

Her heart fell heavily in her stomach as she thought about this. There was nothing left for her. A sudden surge of undeniable anger rose in her system.

Couldn't they have thought that she could ruin their actions? But you also can't be angry with them especially since they are gone in this world, the answer of her mind. She loved her parents too much.

Whatever this man said she still couldn't believe. Nor could she help but think that the events were suspicious. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I will talk to a lawyer," she said in a hard voice.

Lucas Lim laughed and even clutched his surprisingly flat stomach. "Go on, child. That is, if you can find another lawyer who is willing to defend you and your parents. I am very much confident that once they see Arnold's billion debt they will run away from you."

She kept her mouth shut. But she just couldn't let go of this matter that easily. She had to fight. Her eyes went to the list of debts her father had made. Anger welled up in her heart.

She looked up at Mr. Lim again. He was grinning, as if he clearly thinks that she would give in to him. Well, he was so stupid to think that she would do such a thing.

"Fine," she said with a high forehead. His smile grew but was quickly wiped away when Vixen continued to speak. "The company is all yours. Stick that in your lungs! I will make a way to pay off all the debts you say," she said in a cold, hard voice.

After that she quickly turned around and stepped away even though her legs were heavy with resistance. She was on her way to the front door. in the mirror when the man spoke again, clearly not wanting to give up.

"We want the money the within three days," said Mr. Lucas Lim. And by the tone of it, he was smirking again. "In full."

Vixen tilted her chin up as she looked back at him with a cold glare of her own.

"Then expect the money within three days," she answered coldly and took her leave after she's been satisfied by the glare he sent her way.

The employees were watching her with clear pity as she walked out of the office. They knew what was going on but she kept her head held high.

She didn't want to show them that she was hurting and struggling with her situation right now. She has to move quickly. She only have three days to sell some of her inherited properties and earn the money. And she didn't know how she was going to do that quickly.