C4 My darling daughter

IVAN

~•~

"Mr. Ivan, some men from the office are here to see you," Antonio called out to me.

I spun my wheelchair around, tearing my gaze from the beautiful portrait of my daughter I held in my arms, to his lean elderly face.

He stood upright, at the foot of my library door.

Though over sixty, he appeared young and sharp in his uniform of black suit pants and a white long-sleeved shirt. His grey strands of hair were neatly combed to the back of his head and he held a face towel over his right arm.

I nodded.

"Have them come in. I'll attend to them in my study."

"Yes sir." He turned around to leave. Halted, and turned back to me again.

My left brow raised in query, he cleared his throat and spoke up.

"What shall I offer them?" He asked.

I looked over at him again. This time, not with a smile on my face.

My workers had been coming more often than usual ever since the accident with my leg.

I knew I could not show up to work with my feet in bandages and my ass in a wheelchair, so I made sure my managers did their duties and submitted reports to me at the end of each day.

There was no way I could get good sleep if I didn't know my company was running smoothly.

"Serve them whatever it is they want. When they are properly settled, I'll see them."

When he closed the door behind him, I placed the picture on top of the table that stood in front of me.

Her eyes were as bright as they always used to be. She was smiling, clutching the teddy bear I had gifted to her on her one-year birthday.

I could still remember the day that picture was taken. The events of that afternoon remained fresh in my memory like yesterday.

"I miss you Tee, I miss you so much," I said.

"I miss you too Daddy." I heard her say.

I made a swift turn to my back and there she stood, in her favorite red dress.

Her smile was as bright and beautiful as the sunrise. She smiled broadly, exposing her two missing incisors.

I blinked twice, but she wasn't gone.

"My baby!" I called out to her. I struggled to place my injured right foot on the floor, when I tried to stand on it, it hurt so much that I had to fall back to my wheelchair.

I groaned.

Her mother took her away from me. I could never forget that. All my years of searching and never finding.

"Tina, please come closer. I can't get to you from there."

"I'm sorry daddy, I can't come any closer."

She shook her head stubbornly, she would not come to me, she would not let me touch her.

"Why?!" I winced in pain.

She remained there. She stood there without saying a word to me. She didn't come any closer, she didn't listen to me.

Suddenly, her eyes fell to my legs.

I watched with surprise as she stepped back in horror.

"Daddy..." She called out.

With tears in my eyes, I answered her.

"Your leg, it's bleeding again."

As on cue, my gaze dropped to my feet.

She was right, the bandages underneath my feet were soaked red with my blood.

At the sight of my blood, adrenaline coursed through my veins.

My eyes widened. A powerful surge came upon me.

Suddenly, I felt strong, too strong.

The pains in my feet were gone, I could no longer feel them.

I smiled at Tina. If my feet didn't hurt anymore, I could walk to her, I could meet her.

Since she didn't want to come to me, I'll go to her.

It was sickening! Every second of it! Why couldn't she see that I only needed her to stay put?!

I was trying to bring her back home, and she was walking away from me.

"I can't be with you daddy. I can't be with you now."

"But why? Your mother is not here to take you away from me. We are going to be together, you and I. Just as I have always wanted."

"Daddy! Your feet are bleeding!" She screamed aloud this time.

Terror filled her eyes.

My baby girl. I knew she cared about me.

To hell with my feet! They could bleed out.

As long as I had her in my arms, there was nothing I couldn't do.

She had always been my strength. The reason I worked harder than any man my age.

Building Holloway's empire was for her and her alone.

As my father had left a foundation for me to build my dreams upon, so I did for her.

Why couldn't she see it? I wasn't the enemy.

For taking her away from me, her mother was!

I was close now, close enough to reach out and hold her in my arms.

I felt elated, so elated.

I did not know how, but all my dreams had come through. All my prayers had been answered.

My daughter was back to me, back in my arms.

All I needed to was reach out and...

"I'm sorry daddy. I have to go."

Just as I was about to call out to her, she turned on her heels, opened the door, and fled the room.

"No. No!No!" I screamed.

Fear seized my chest, and clouded my senses.

The fear of losing her again. The fear of letting her go, not knowing if she'll ever come back.

It was that fear that had me sprinting down the stairs, past the long corridor of rooms, into the main house on the last floor.

I saw her run into my study.

"Antonio!" I yelled with everything that I had.

Wherever he was in the house, he had to hear me, he just had to.

"Sir!" He called out, rushing out of the study.

The wine glass he held fell from his hands at the sight of me.

"Tina." I barked, running towards him.

His eyes bred confusion, it angered me.

"Catch Tina! She ran into the study, I saw her go into the study. Hurry before she skips out!"

He didn't move. Instead, he stood fixed to the ground and stared at me like I ran hand in hand with a ghost.

"What the hell are you standing there for? If she makes it out of this house, you're fired!"

That seemed to do the trick, he ran back into the study.

When I got to the door, he stood in front of it.

Frantically, I looked over his shoulder. My eyes met those of some of my workers.

Their eyes looked over me with pity, sadness, and concern.

Three emotions I detested the most.

I tore my gaze away from them and glared at Antonio.

"Move away Antonio," I spoke, towering above him and giving him a stony glare.

"You let Tina getaway, now I have to drive into the street and find her."

He stared back at me, stubbornly. He didn't care what I did, he wouldn't move.

He stood in the middle, his two hands on both sides of the door.

"If you don't move away old man, I might just have to push you."

"I'm sorry sir, I can't let you get past this point. "

I stared down at him with disbelief.

"Antonio..." I began.

"I don't think you understand. Tina just ran out that door, my daughter who I have been searching for three years just ran out that door. I need to get her."

From the corner of my eyes, I saw the two men in the study shake their heads.

The gloomy and doubtful expressions on their faces didn't make any sense.

"Tina was never heard. Nobody ran out that door."

I staggered back.

What did he mean?

I could tell my daughter's face and physique from miles away.

"What do you mean no one ran out the door? Tina was in my room! I saw her!"

"She wasn't!" He yelled back at me.

Shocked, I stepped away from him.

"Nobody was here!" He had tears in his eyes now.

I couldn't believe him. What was he saying?

Tina was here! I knew she was.

Why was he crying? He ought to have been happy for me.

"Whatever you saw, was all in your head."

I held him by the collar of his shirt. His eyes narrowed on mine as she stared back at me.

He wouldn't budge.

"Listen to me old man. If I go into the road and I don't find my daughter, I would have your head on a stake."

The men in the study rushed to me.

Antonio stared back at me, not saying anything.

The tears continued to run down his eyes even as I took his feet off the ground by holding his collar.

My grip on it tightened as he got higher.

"Put him down, sir!"

"He's right, there was no one here. There hasn't been anyone here for as long as we know." The second man added.

Furious, I placed Antiono down.

It didn't make sense in my head.

"I ... but I saw her."

"Call an ambulance! He's having another panic attack!" I heard Antonio scream.

He stood in front of me, yet his scream was distant, hollow, far.

I struggled to keep my eyes on him, I struggled to breathe.

"Panic... attack?" I even struggled to talk.

Air. I needed air.

The air wasn't enough.