Reclaiming Back My Empire

The Dying Call

The storm outside the Ashford estate was wild and angry, but inside the master bedroom, the air was hot, thick, and heavy. The large curtains were pulled tight, blocking out the flashes of lightning that lit up the Charleston sky. On the king-sized bed, the expensive silk sheets were in a messy tangle of clothes and underwears.

Vanessa’s fingers dug deep into the mattress. Her knuckles were stark white as she arched her back, letting out a heavy, breathless smile.

"Raymond... please," she panted, her skin glistening with sweat in the dim light. "Don't stop... please, come back here and continue”

Raymond watched her with a cold, steady gaze. He stood by the window, the shadow of the storm dancing across his face.

Vanessa sat on the edge of the bed, her hands trembling as she smoothed the silk sheets, gazing at Raymond.

She did not feel a single ounce of guilt, and she did not care.

"Your husband should be reaching the point of no return by now," Raymond whispered, his voice cutting through the heavy silence. "The storm over the Smoky Mountains is brutal tonight. No plane can survive that turbulence."

Gazing at Vanessa on the bed, he let out a small chuckle.

"He should have known better," Raymond said, his voice dripping with cruel satisfaction. "I didn't just want his inheritance, Vanessa. I wanted his beautiful wife, too. Stamping him out like a bug gives me both."

He moved forward slowly, his eyes locked on hers with intense admiration.

"I have admired you since the very first day you got married to my brother. Every time I saw him touch you, and every time I saw you standing by his side at those high society parties, it tore me apart inside. I swore to myself back then that I would eventually possess you one day. And tonight, my dream is finally coming true."

Vanessa lay back against the pillows, a bright, triumphant smile spreading across her face. She let out a soft, happy giggle, her heart fluttering with excitement at the thought of the multi-billion-dollar empire they were about to inherit together.

She had never loved Derek; she had only loved his status, and Raymond was giving her everything she ever wanted.

Raymond laughed happily, as he reached down, grabbed the silk bedsheet, and gently pulled it up to cover her shaking body.

Meanwhile, miles away in the frozen, dark sky, Derek was clinging to the plane's controls, his hands bleeding as he begged for his life.

He had spent years working himself to the bone to provide a luxurious life for Vanessa, buying her mansions, diamonds, and anything her heart desired.

He had trusted Raymond blindly, handing him executive positions and treated him like a partner.

Raymond turned toward the window, looking out at the heavy rain as Vanessa wrapped her arms around herself, smiling warmly in the dark.

Vanessa looked up at Raymond, her eyes reflecting the lightning outside. She nodded slowly, a dark smile spreading across her lips.

They had waited months for this exact night, planning every detail with surgical precision.

Suddenly, a loud, sharp ring broke the silence between them.

The satellite phone on the nightstand was flashing brightly. The screen lit up the dark room, showing just one name in bold letters: DEREK.

Vanessa froze instantly, her breath catching in her throat. Raymond stepped toward the phone, his body going stiff. He looked down at the device as it continued to ring loudly, the sound echoing like a heartbeat.

He let out a long, slow sigh, reached over, and picked it up. With a calm, steady hand, he pressed the speaker button.

Immediately, a terrifying wall of noise blasted out of the phone. There was a deafening roar of wind and the high-pitched whine of failing engines. In the background, a mechanical computer voice screamed repeatedly: PULL UP. TERRAIN. PULL UP.

"Vanessa! Raymond! Are you there? Answer me!" Derek’s voice came through the speaker. He was shouting at the top of his lungs, his voice raw and shaking with pure terror.

"We are here, Derek," Raymond said smoothly, his voice devoid of any emotion. "We are listening."

"The controls are completely locked!" Derek roared over the sound of the blaring cockpit alarms. "The pilot can't pull the nose up. The emergency manual override key is missing from the cockpit lockbox. Vanessa, did you leave it on my study desk when you packed my flight bag this morning? Look for it right now. I need the serial code to unlock the system!"

Vanessa leaned closer to the phone, her fingers slowly wrapping around the sleek device.

"The key isn't on the desk, Derek," Vanessa said, her voice dropping to a smooth, icy whisper. "I took it out of your bag on purpose before you left. It’s gone, just like you are about to be."

There was a long, suffocating silence from Derek’s end of the line. For a few agonizing seconds, the only sound was the mechanical screaming of the plane’s cockpit computer in the background.

"Vanessa...?" Derek’s voice finally cracked through the speaker. It was a weak, trembling sound, filled with a deep, agonizing pain."Raymond...? What are you saying?”.

Raymond let out a cold, mocking laugh. He stepped closer to the bed, standing right behind Vanessa. He reached down and tapped the screen, switching the audio connection over to a face-to-face video call.

Up in the freezing sky, inside the violently shaking cockpit, Derek stared down at his dashboard screen, blood trickling down his forehead.

The screen showed Vanessa sitting beautifully on their matrimonial bed. Raymond’s large hands were wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her back against his chest.

They were both looking directly into the camera, staring right back at him with wide, triumphant smiles.

"Look at us, big brother," Raymond sneered, his eyes filled with years of hidden jealousy and hatred. "We are finally where we belong. Together. In your house, in your bed, and very soon, running your entire company."

Derek felt a heavy, choking lump rise in his throat. Tears of betrayal welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision.

This was his younger brother, the boy he had protected and given everything to. And this was the woman he had married, the one he has sponsored her younger brother’s education abroad and spent millions paying for her mother’s stage 4 cancer treatments.

"Why...?" Derek choked out, his voice suffocating under the weight of his tears. "Vanessa, I loved you. I gave you everything. Raymond, you’re my blood!"

Vanessa didn't even reply. Instead, she leaned back into Raymond, gazing at Derek through the screen with a cold detachment.

"You gave us what we wanted, Derek," Vanessa said, her voice steady even as the sound of the wind rushing past the fuselage grew louder in the background. "But you were always just the means to an end. This was never about love. It was about the legacy you built—the one that belongs to us now.

Raymond leaned in, his face inches from Vanessa’s, both of them staring into the camera as if watching a film.

"Don't fight it, Derek," Raymond added, his voice devoid of any human warmth. "The heights were always meant for those who knew how to take them. You’re just a memory now."

Vanessa reached out, her hand hovering over the disconnect button. She watched the tears track through the blood on Derek's face one last time, her expression unreadable.

"The silence will be easier," she whispered.

She tapped the screen, and the connection severed, leaving the room in a quiet, golden glow.

The screen of the satellite phone turned to black. Derek stared at the blank screen in total disbelief. His chest heaved up and down as his brain struggled to process what had just happened.

"Derek! I need your help! Pull up!" the pilot screamed, his voice cracking with terror.

The private jet took a massive, sickening lurch downward. The sudden drop pulled Derek hard against his seat harness, the thick straps cutting deeply into his shoulders.

Mechanically, Derek reached out his bleeding hands and grabbed the control wheel. He pulled back with all his remaining strength, his muscles burning and straining.

But the wheel was completely stiff. It felt like trying to move a solid block of concrete. Without the emergency override key that Vanessa had stolen, the plane’s computers refused to let them steer.

"It’s dead!" Derek shouted back, tears finally spilling over his eyelids, mixing with the dark blood on his forehead. "The controls are completely dead!"

As the jet spiraled out of control through the pitch-black storm, memories flashed through Derek’s mind like a cruel movie.

He remembered standing by Raymond’s bed when they were children, promising their late mother that he would always protect his younger brother. He had kept that promise. He had given Raymond everything—money, cars, expensive apartments, and a powerful position at the top of his company.

Then he thought of Vanessa. He remembered the desperate, crying girl he had married years ago. He remembered the exact look of relief on her face when he handed her the multi-million dollar check to pay for her mother’s stage 4 cancer treatments.

He remembered the pride in her voice when he sponsored her younger brother’s elite education abroad, saving her entire family from poverty.

And this was his reward for everything he has done.

CRACK.

A deafening explosion of sound came through the cabin.

The left wing hit the top of a giant mountain pine tree, snapping the wood like a toothpick. The impact ripped the entire wing from the fuselage, sending the plane into a violent, horizontal spin.

The windshield shattered into a million tiny diamonds. A blast of sub-zero arctic air and heavy snow roared directly into the cockpit.

The freezing wind blinded Derek.

"We're going down!" the pilot let out one final, broken cry. He let go of the controls, pulled his knees to his chest, and began to pray frantically in the dark.

Derek looked at his hands, slick with his own blood, still gripping the useless controls. Slowly, he opened his fingers, and let go of the wheel.

He leaned his head back against the seat rest and relaxed his aching body.

The nose of the jet crumpled into the mountainside. As the airplane exploded, Derek closed his eyes, his final thought echoing into the void: This is where I die.