FORSAKEN SON-IN-LAW

CHAPTER THREE

I sat in the living room inside my parents’ house. They stayed a bit out of town with only a few neighbors around. After the barrier, I did not know what to do or go. But it was not like I had even where to go. The past few days have been filled with nothing but pain. I was trying too hard to understand why this was happening to me.

First, my wife cheats on me with the person I thought was a friend. Then my in-laws allow the affair their daughter was having because it was with the son of the person they were in partnership with. Then me receiving a call only to find out my parents were dead.

So, I was trying to digest it all. To get my head wrapped around everything. As much as I was in pain, I needed to get a job in order for me to eat something and buy clothing.

“Justine, you need to eat something or you will be sick before we know it. I know you have had a rough week, but you just saying and refusing to eat aren’t helping anyone here,” Mateo spoke.

He was a friend of my parents. And he has been staying with me because he thought I might do something crazy.

“What really happened here? Why do you think they killed them? I mean, their hearts were ripped out, Mateo. Who would do such a thing?” I asked him. Because it just made no sense to me. Why them?

“I think it’s just these people who sell body parts. Nothing more,” he spoke as he put the food on the table. “I will be on my way now. Joseph is on his way. Just call me when you need something. Also, I talked to the inspector, and he said he is looking into it. Don’t go there and cause a scene,” he spoke and left.

I just sat there as I thought about why someone would do that to my parents. Yes, it might be the people that sold body parts, but nothing of that has happened in this area, and my parents weren’t ordinary people to be killed by mare humans.

Something powerful killed them. Someone that was also magical killed them. But why kill two wizards and take their hearts? It was just making no sense to me.

I flinched as the door blew inwards. “Don’t you know how to knock? Geez,” I said as Joseph entered the house.

“You seriously need to go out and relax,” he smiled and turned to a man that stood next to him.

He was small, bespectacled and plump. He pushed his hair back perfectly. He wore a very expensive looking black suit with well-polished shoes. “I found him on the road. He was looking for your parents. Well, you know,” he said as he walked to the couch.

“Oh, you can take a sit sir,” I gestured, and the man sat. “I didn’t know my parents had such a friend. The only friend they had were Mateo and his wife.” I smiled.

He smiled back at me, showing his dazzling white teeth, “I’m not one of your parent’s friend sir,” he spoke in a rather British accent.

“I’m sorry, sir? You look more like a sir than me. And if you are not my parents’ friend, then who are you?” I asked as I called to my wizard powers. He might be the man that killed them.

“Well, yes, sir. My name is Roland, caretaker of the Mpundu wealthy,” he smiled at me. “I’m sure they didn’t tell you and because of a good reason,” he said as he handed me a file.

I looked at Joseph before taking the file. What the hell was happening here? Caretaker to my family’s wealthy? But my family had no wealthy. If we did, we wouldn’t be staying here. My parents wouldn’t be here and maybe my wife wouldn’t have gone off with my friend.

“Justine, what is it?” Joseph asked after a while.

But I didn’t even know what to tell him. Because what I was seeing proved that he was right. That my family was rich. Which was impossible, of course. Why choose to leave the way they leaved if they had money?

My head was spinning, trying to understand what was going on here. If I was dreaming or it was happening.

I looked at the pictured and it was me with my parents when I was just a baby at this big house. Even bigger than that of Marie’s family.

My heart was thumping like hell. Both with joy and with questions of how true this might be. Was he just pulling my leg, or it was happening?

I handed the file to Joseph as he stood up and began pacing up and down.

“Listen sir, if this is some crazy plank that someone sent you to do, then I would advise you to leave this place before I do something crazy,” I spoke as I looked in his eyes.

“No, sir, why would I lie to you? I’m here to take you to your house. Because what they were afraid of has happened,” he looked down and wiped a tear from his right eye.

“What do you mean wat they were afraid of? Did they know this will happen to them?”

He nodded his head, “yes sir. Great wizards, your parents. They saved a lot of people while putting their lives in danger,” he spoke with a cracked voice. “But now it’s over and I’m here to do what they asked me to do,” he smiled.

How the hell is this even possible?

*

After a while, we talked a bit more. Him telling me my family was rich, and we have been rich from generation to generation, apparently. But my parents got involved with some dangerous people that threatened my life and that was why they moved out of the house pretended to be poor all these years.

And those people were the ones that killed them. Because they finally got what they wanted.

But they killed my parents because my parents saved people. But was me moving into that house going to be a problem for me? Was I taking this new life bring more challenges?

One thing is for sure, I will make sure that family begs for my forgiveness for having to treat me so badly, all because I was poor.