THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS

It was dark this night but the silvery light of the bright hanging moon casted ominous shadows over the grounds of West Hansten Cemetery. The whispers of night birds and cries of insects were like the grating of dead men’s teeth as they gnashed at the presence of the living in their resting places.

Mark looked away from the tall tree, his eyes coming back to rest on the small grave which he had been starting at for the better part of the day. He could barely see in this darkness but the moon’s light and the shadows it casted over the ground allowed him room for imagination. His own shadow was a long one as he stood there staring calmly.

On the small grave before him were the words, ‘Resting Place of Mera Mark’. He came here every weekend to see his daughter and stand with her. He hadn’t been standing all day, but he spent every hour of the day with here.

“I’ll bring Grace to you someday Mera” Mark muttered in a low voice perhaps believing his dead daughter was beside him and not six feet below.

“For now, I have to go and look for a nice warm bed” he continued. There was no grief on his face, be worked through that a long time ago, there was only guilt and loneliness.

Just as Mark turned around to leave, he heard the sounds of footsteps crushing dry leaves and he immediately crouched to the ground. This Cemetery was known to be a hiding place for some of the city’s scum, not just for themselves but also for incriminating evidence.

Many bodies had been dug up and reburied from shallow graves in this place and Mark had seen a great many things to know better than revealing himself.

He was not a curious person so he made to crawl away when he heard another set of footsteps coming from the left direction.

All of a sudden, a very bright light lit up the entire area revealing the figures.

Mark remained hidden and observed, the first sound he heard came from two men, one of which had someone on his shoulder. Mark squinted to observe further and noticed a long dirty blonde hair dropping down from the figures head. Her fair neck which he could see clearly from this distance showed that she was a young girl probably in her early twenties.

Mark couldn’t help feeling bad for her, he didn’t need to think hard to know that she was already dead and they were looking to bury her body here.

The other figure, the one who turned on the light was a security guard but Mark who frequented this Cemetery often could recognize him, he had to be new.

“Who are you?” The security guard asked the two men his hand moving cautiously to a gun on his waist as he approached them.

“Moron” Mark muttered an insult.

Barely had the words left his mouth when the sound of a gun went off. The gun was fixed with a silencer but in this quiet night, it was still very loud to Mark as he watched the bright light fall along with the body of the security guard making a thud that caused his heart to feel anguish and pity at the same time.

The two men had no interest in burying the guard, it seemed like the girl they had with them had a special identity which was why they wanted to keep her hidden. Mark remained in his place while the men walked a short distance away from the guards body and started to dig with the aid of the light on the ground.

Mark could still hear the gurgling sound of the guard drowning in his own blood and every gurgle was like a storm running through his heart. He wasn’t with his phone, he left it in the car so there was no way to call for help, running out would only get him killed, he wouldn’t be able to help the dying guard at all so he remained in place with his head lowered to the ground. After a while, he looked up and saw that the men were still digging causing him to be surprised, they weren’t going to a shallow grave as usual?

The only reason for that was that whoever killed the girl couldn’t risk her body being found which piqued Mark’s curiousity, who was she? At the same time he realized how much danger he was in. If these two men were taking the effort to dig a deeper grave, then they would certainly not risk being seen. If they spotted him by any chance, there was no possibility of survival for him. Right now, the best way to stay alive was to remain hidden and hope that these two men would not look around with the light because the grasses were not very tall and he wouldn’t be difficult to find if it weren’t for the darkness of the night.

However, Mark was not the kind of person to leave his chances to fate, he would rather take charge because he trusted himself more.

It would take a while for two men to dig a six feet grave and so Mark started crawling very slowly towards the body of the security guard, his goal was the gun that the poor man never managed to draw. With one elbow in front of the other, he crawled very slowly ignoring the creeping insects that stung his hand and climbed into his back. Perhaps he had disturbed the good time of one of the insects, he got a sharp sting on his face that caused him to hold his breath and stop moving. A few seconds later, he resumed crawling but was subconsciously going faster for fear of being stung again by whatever’s insect it was the first time.

Maybe he was going too fast or maybe the two men were all of a sudden more sensitive but Mark suddenly noticed the sounds of digging stopped and he stopped too only he stopped later than they had. His heart began beating so loudly in his chest that he feared the men would hear it.

“Did you see that?” Mark heard one of the men ask and his heart fell. He had been found out! He looked towards the body of the guard which was now still. The gun was only an arm stretch away so he reached for it but there was a short two inches his hand couldn’t breach.

“What?” the other man asked and once again hope reignited in Mark’s heart. Maybe the first man had spotted him moving but wasn’t sure if he was seeing things?

“This bitch isn’t dead!” the first man exclaimed loudly this time.

Mark froze in confusion for a while, the girl wasn’t dead? So it wasn’t him they saw? It didn’t take long for him to picture what must have happened, the first man must have seen the girls body twitch causing him to stop. The other one stopped with him but the first man was not sure that he saw what he saw. As for the reason he exclaimed, she must have twitched again.

The two men looked from the girl to each other and the second one shrugged.

“F*cking finish her off, I hate this spooky place” he ordered dismissively and resumed digging.

The first man whipped his mouth with his sleeves and drew his gun, aiming it at the girl, he turned his face away and a shot rang out echoing through the cemetery.

The second man who had resumed digging froze. There was a silencer on both their guns, why was that shot so loud? While he was still wondering, he heard a thud and turned his head to his colleague only to see his bleeding body on the ground. Before he could process what happened and understand why he colleague was bleeding on the ground, another shot rang out and he could no longer think of anything.

Mark slowly rose from the ground beside the security guard with a gun in his hand, he picked up the light, and hurried forward, taking the guns from the two men, he removed the magazines and threw them far away. Then he moved to the girl and shone the light down on her to see two eyes staring back at him causing his to jump backwards in shock.

The girls face was bloodied and he could see where the bullet went in by a corner of her forehead, it seemed like her skull had stopped it which was the only reason why she could still be alive after taking a shot to the head. Mark crouched beside her and noticed and her lips began to move slowly in a mutter. To his surprise, while her words were slow, her voice wasn’t weak.

“It takes one,” she said.

“One bullet to kill a man, one stab for the Sam purpose. One lie to lose trust, once cruelty to break a heart. One life to live or ruin, it only takes one”

Those were the words she started with and the only words he could hear, everything she said after that were incomprehensible and Mark finally woke up from his stupor. He knew he could no longer delay and with great care, he carried the girl in his arms and hurried towards his car in the distance.

As Mark drove in the dark night, he couldn’t help but wonder how much trouble he was going to get into with saving this girl. Those two men looked more like hired men than perpetrators, worse still, he had killed them and if they were hired help like he thought, their colleagues would want to melt their twisted idea of justice. Taking another glance at the girl whose head he had wrapped around with the cleanest piece of cloth he had in his car, Mark prayed in his heart that she survived. If after putting himself through all that risk and killing two men she still died… ? He shook his head and flattened the throttle, he didn’t even want to think about that anymore.

The girl suddenly stirred and Mark slowed down a little so he could observe her. She was shaking her head slowly from left to right and kept on muttering, ‘It takes one’ over and over again. Mark didn’t need anyone to tell him that she was on her last flicker, she wasn’t acting that way because she was in pain, she was acting that way because she was dying.

Fortunately, they had arrived at the hospital.

Mark carried her out of the car and hurried towards the entrance while screaming for help. Very quickly a gurney was rolled out and medical workers of the hospital rushed forwards. They helped the still muttering girl on the gurney and rolled her away while he watched.

“Where did you find her Mark?” a young red haired woman, one of those who came out of the hospital didn’t follow the gurney in. She had a stethoscope over her neck telling Mark that she was probably checking on someone when she hurried out. The red haired eyed Mark from top to bottom taking note of his bloodstained torso, and dirty clothes, it was like he had dragged himself through mud. To be fair, it dewed early this night and the cemetery grounds was not completely covered in grass.

“The cemetery” Mark replied trying to smile but for some reason, his face couldn’t show any warmth.

“You should stop going there this time of night, it’s not safe. If whoever did this thing to her found you, they would kill you even if just to hide their faces” the red haired reached up to slowly wipe blood from Mark’s cheek with her thumb.

She wasn’t wrong, Mark knew that. But he had already killed the two people who were trying to hide their faces and if he wasn’t there, they would have buried that poor girl alive.

“Do you think she will live, Grace?” Mark asked.

Grace the red-haired shook her head and turned back around to stare at the hospital entrance.

“Hard to say” she replied after a while.

“I should go back inside” she gave Mark a side glance and started walking forward.

“Don’t get too close to her Grace, they might come back to finish the job” Mark warned behind her but she continued on without minding him. He watched her leave and them brought out the guards handgun which he kept with him. After checking the magazine, he found an inconspicuous place to sit from where he could see clearly anyone entering and leaving the hospital.

***

A few days later, in an office room.

A man in a business suit stood by the floor to ceiling window of a well furnished office and stared at the view of a bustling city below and before him.

“It has been four days since I tasked those two idiots to bury her. Four days since her body vanished and they were found dead. Either she is a corpse or a wounded girl with a bullet in her skull, how difficult could it be to find either of those?” the man asked calmly and in a low voice.

The two suited men behind him could hear him clearly even if he wasn’t facing them and talking low. They stood tall and with straightened backs, their expressions impassive but in their eyes once could see a mixture of fear and respect for the man before them.

“Sir, we think someone may have rescued her. Our men are going through the local hospitals now, it will only be a matter of time but no one can hide from us in this city” one of them replied confidently.

“Hmm” the man hummed. Sunlight illuminated his figure revealing a handsome old man. Well, he wasn’t really old, at least he didn’t look old. He looked at to be in his forties but he already had a hair of grey and neatly combed and low cut grey beard under his chin.

“Anything from Cassidy?” he asked turning around and returning to his seat.

“No Sir”

“Keep an eye on her, May will call her, take care of both of them when they are together, I’m done with either of them”

“Yes Sir”

****

At the hospital, Mark watched cautiously as young men were rolled in with blood all over them. He wondered if they had been in some sort of accident but his heart was telling him that this was no accident. From his experience in the army, the first thing he noticed about these men was that they cleaned up nicely which surprised him because each of them was physically fit. Three men had been rolled in so far, all of them in critical condition. He watched the last gurney roll in and only then did he calm down and slowly lower himself back to his seat in the waiting area.

He had been guarding here for the past four days, he slept here and ate here too and made sure his bathroom breaks were not longer than ten minutes. Thanks to his connection with the owner of the hospital, the girl he brought in was not documented and she was taken to a private room and only a select few of the hospital staff was allowed interaction with her or to even know about her presence.

Mark had only just relaxed when a group of men entered the hospital. Four men, three neatly dressed in expensive grey suits. They all had casual expressions on their faces even as they cautiously looked around the hospital lobby. Leading the thee, the forth man was very casually dressed in a red body fitted t-shirt and black jean trousers. On his waist, Mark noticed a handgun causing him too look up at the face of the cold young man. Despite his age, Mark could tell that this man had a complex story behind him. His eyes returned to the three suited men behind the man and he noticed their suit slightly bulged on either side making their waist to chest form a little disproportionate. No doubt they had guns, yes guns on either side of them.

Feeling like he had seen enough, Mark quickly rose and was about to hurry for the girl’s room when the young casually dressed man drew his weapon and pointed it at Mark causing the three men to each draw theirs also and aim at him.

‘Shit Mark, kudos for being a hero’ Mark cursed in his mind as he hurriedly raised both hands.

The young man slowly approached Mark his gun still aimed at his head. Stopping only a few feet beyond Mark’s reach, he tilted his head.

“Did Cinza send you?” he asked in a low calming voice that surprised Mark.

“I don’t know who that is” Mark replied his muscles taut and his eyes taking in every minute movement of the younger man.

“You don’t?” the young man smiled at Mark and he knew that he had been mistaken for someone else just as he mistook them for someone else.

“This is a misunderstanding, no one sent me. I thought you were… other people” Mark shrugged at a loss for a better word.

Everyone in the hospital lobby stood frozen, some trembled and others cried hugging either their family, friends or for those who didn’t have any, they handbags. The young man looked around and his smile vanished into a frown, Mark noticed that he was trying to hide his discomfort but he couldn’t tell what made this young man uncomfortable.

All of a sudden, he put down his gun and returned it to his waist before motioning for his men to do the same.

“Kranio does not attack hospitals” he waved his hand around as if to calm everyone but it wasn’t working so he continued

“I won’t hurt anyone, I swear it on my life and I love my life and my words. I didn’t come here for the hospital or anyone in it”

His words this time worked as some people who were hiding their faces finally looked up at him and others slowly stopped trembling.

“I will take this man, and we will leave. Okay?” he asked and the gestured casually towards Mark. Two of the suited men came forward to grab Mark but a voice came from the hallway stopping them.

“Wait!”

Everyone turned as the red haired girl, Grace hurried to the lobby and pulled Mark closer to her. Standing in front of him, she faced the casually dressed young man with a displeased frown.

“Miss Grace, you know this man?” The expression of the young man became grave and dangerous.

“I made a deal with Kranio to help you in case of any accidents. I don’t owe you or your father anything but I help you anyway, yet you want to take my boyfriend!” Grace asked equally angry but unlike the young man it showed on her face.

“Explain yourself Prince Ash or take your boys with you and leave”

Prince Ash, it was what everyone called the young man. Ash was his name and he was a member of one of the most connected organization crime organizations in the world, The Kranio. He was not just a member but the son of the Kranio leader.

Prince Ash didn’t say anything, he just stared dangerously at Grace as he considered his next actions.

“Why would you cross the Kranio?” He asked his voice lowered.

Grace was taken aback by the question and didn’t know how to reply to it. Turning around to Mark he frowned at him.

“What did you do?” she asked.

Mark was even more confused at the situation. He was especially thrown off that Grace called him her boyfriend.

“There were two men trying to bury the girl… I-“

“That’s enough” Grace cut him off to prevent him from implicating himself should a law enforcement person be around.

Mark could only link this encounter with the girl he saved, he didn’t know why else this Prince Ash would want him.

“Prince Ash, the Kranio had existed for very long because of it’s moral code. I can’t let you take away my boyfriend because he took care of two men who killed a young girl” Grace’s anger disappeared and a serious expression replaced it. She stood firm in front of Mark facing Prince Ash without any fear.

“Wait… wait. What are you talking about?” It only now occurred to Prince Ash that there was a misunderstanding somewhere, his men didn’t kill a girl.

“You were watching me when we came in, why?” he asked facing Mark.

Mark tightened his lips and shrugged, he wasn’t going to sell out the girl he just saved even if they killed him for it.

“Tell him” Grace said to Mark.

Taken aback, he was unable to speak for a moment but he eventually decided to trust Grace, she wouldn’t selfishly put a girls life in danger.

“I saw thought you were here for the girl I saved from the cemetery”

Prince Ash stared at him a while and then started laughing.

“You don’t know who I am do you?” he asked and Mark shook his head causing the young man to laugh even more.

“I’m apologize for the misunderstanding Sallie. I have to watch out for my injured men. I need to see this girl before I believe you”

Grace who Prince Ash addressed as Sallie suddenly squinted dangerously.

“Prince Ash, that girl and this man are under my care. If you dare to cross me…” her voice trailed off.

Prince Ash hesitated but only for a moment before his expression turned firm again, “I only need to confirm there is a girl” he insisted.

“Follow me” Grace turned and led them into the hospital linking her hand with Mark’s as she went.

“I guess I know nothing about you” Mark whispered as he followed beside Grace.

“I’ll explain everything later” Grace glanced apologetically at Mark as they walked.

Seeing the closeness between the two, Prince Ash who was following behind them became apprehensive.

“Ah f*ck, my father will kill me after this” he muttered. He knew he shouldn’t offend this red haired but his men’s life were too important to him.

“If you just explain to the young lady, I am sure she will understand” one of his men advised him.

“Normally she would understand, but she likes that man” Ash groaned.

“She lied, he is not her boyfriend, he was surprised when she said he was” another one whispered.

“That’s even worse. She liked the man, he doesn’t like her back so she will use me and the Kranio to impress him. Bravo Ash” Prince Ash muttered to himself and sighed. He felt like a goat being led to the place of his end.

Meanwhile, in the lobby, one of the receptionist took out his phone as soon as the group left and dialed a number…