Time To Shine

Abigail stood at the foot of the stairs, looking at Gloria. Emily stood on the landing screaming for their dad. Andrew came running from his study and saw Gloria..unconscious on the floor. Abigail standing over her.

Andrew shouted “What did you do? What did you do to your mother, you hateful beast!?” while slapping her repeatedly in the face. The abuse was commonplace.. Abigail was used to it.

The ambulance brought Gloria to the emergency room, as the entire family followed. They all waited for word on her condition.

The doctor came out two hours later and said Gloria was in a coma. That she had bleeding in her brain that had to be monitored for intensification. In that event, she would need surgery.

Andrew looked at a teary-eyed Emily and asked what caused her mother to fall down the stairs. She cowered down and looked fleetingly at her sister, before she whispered “Abby pushed her”

Abigail remained in the corner of the corridor where she had been forced to stand since their arrival at the hospital. She scoffed when she heard Emily’s words.

Her grandmother grabbed her by the hair of her head and dragged her over to her father. Although her face was bruised and swollen, there were no signs of tears.

Andrew growled “Explain yourself!” Abigail looked around at her ‘family’.. the people who were supposed to love her.. nurture her.. protect her.

Then she said “I can explain that I had just come in from outside when I saw Gloria hurl herself down the stairs. Or I can explain that I actually saw Emily push her own mother. I can even explain that it doesn’t matter what I say, I will be blamed, regardless.”

Andrew backhanded her again. This time, the entire inside of her cheek split open and her mouth filled with her own blood. It knocked her off her feet, but still, she made no sound. Shed no tears.

Her father looked at his mother and snarled “She’s on a plane to your half brother tonight! Let her live in Baltic and learn what hardship is.” Abigail’s grandfather objected. He looked at Andrew and asked “Where did you learn to treat your own flesh and blood this way? How can you do this?”

Andrew sneered “A child from a forced marriage? She is her mother’s child. I can’t.. won’t.. tolerate her in my life, any longer. You know all the things she has done. This is the final straw! A bad seed from a worse seed!”

Grandpa scoffed “You have been blinded for so long. One day. There will come a day when you know regret.” Abigail gave a half smile and whispered “Don’t, Grandpa. I will be fine. How much worse can it be? I will come back. I promise. And I will take you away from this house of horrors.”

Abigail had been at her Uncle’s house for exactly three weeks when he decided, one drunken night, that she should pay for his loving care with her body. Abigail disagreed. She knocked him out with a bedside lamp, and ran away for her life.

She lived on the streets of a small town, dumpster diving for expired food behind the convenience store. She begged spare change whenever she could.

Abigail learned street fighting to survive. After a few months, her food was no longer being stolen. She closed her heart away and protected her emotions.

Approaching her fourteenth birthday, an elderly woman was struck by a passing car, trying to cross the road.. and Abigail saved her. That elderly woman became Abigail’s saving Grace.

For the next four years, Abigail learned. Everything she could read, she read. The woman was happy to help her. Abigail learned business management.. computer programming, public relations, and finance. She learned seven disciplines of martial arts. Taught herself to play the piano.. to dance.. took elocution classes and learned proper etiquette.

Just after her eighteenth birthday, she was summoned back to Nardian by her mother’s lawyer. He had been her only contact with her home country for five years. Now it was time to find out what her mother’s will said.

As soon as her plane landed, she hired a taxi to take her to the attorney’s offices. She only waited a few minutes before she was called in for the reading of the will.

The attorney stood upon her entry and introduced himself “Ms. Butler, I am Harold Levine. Your mother’s attorney.” As he smiled, Abigail requested “Please, don’t call me Butler. I changed my last name to Arden.. my mother’s maiden name, on my eighteenth birthday.”

He grinned “Arden, it is, then. Actually, that will facilitate a lot of the transfers we need to take care of. Now. Your mother was an extremely intelligent woman. She started Golden Glory Entertainment at a very young age. She was secretive about her wealth because her own family wasn’t much better than yours. When they forced her to marry your father, she severed all ties with them.”

Abigail smiled “I can understand her reasoning. But, I don’t plan on severing ties with the Butlers. Once I get my grandpa out of there, I will systematically take back the dignity they deprived me of.”

He shook his head, smiling “Just like Elizabeth. Your mother would be proud. You, my dear, are a very wealthy young lady. Grab a pen and get ready to sign your life away. There is a total of four residences.. Golden Glory.. as well as several smaller businesses that deal with the entertainment industry. There are five bank accounts.. amounting to a total of thirty seven million dollars.”

Abigail was speechless. She sat there, gaping at Harold several minutes before she found her voice “Mr. Levine? Might I trouble you to remain as my legal counsel? I have a feeling I may need you, in the future.”

He chuckled and told her it would be his honor. “At Golden Glory, you will find Helen Morton. She was your mother’s best friend and is acting CEO. The company has been operating with a vacant Chairman since we lost your mom. If you’d like, I will bring you over there once we’ve finished here.”

As soon as she nodded, he continued “Your father’s family is unaware of your inheritance. Your mother deliberately kept it from them.. believing the dowry her parents provided to be sufficient. I will tell you this. I believe your mother’s death to be suspicious. So, I advise you to be very careful with anyone from the Butler family.”

She grinned “Oh. I plan to be careful. Very careful. It’s not like I can kill them all and let God sort it out.” Harold looked up and asked What? She grinned again and shook her head.

They headed over to Golden Glory and Helen cried her eyes out.. hugging Abigail like a long lost friend. Abigail stood awkwardly.. not accustomed to a gentle human contact. She could count on one hand the hugs she had received before now.. and those were only from her grandfather.

They toured the company, while Abigail retained her anonymity for the time being. She agreed to be Helen’s plus one to a masquerade ball in a week’s time. The irony being it was in celebration of Emily Butler’s eighteenth year.

Abigail took that week to get settled into a mansion that belonged to her mother. She bought cars and hired a driver. Servants were already employed.. although she needed a chef and was looking into a healthcare aide for her Grandfather.

She shopped and upgraded her wardrobe.. and found the perfect gown for the ball. It was a form fitting lavender, with a trailing train.. lace overlay filled with dangling Swarovski crystals. She purchased a matching lace and crystal mask to cover her face..

She had learned little tricks over the years. She always carried a miniature camera.. as well as recording pens. She never took a drink that she hadn’t watched being prepared. Never allowed herself to be backed into a corner, always leaving herself an escape route.

There were a lot of unexplained things from her youth. She knew there was danger ahead. Unknown threats and faceless enemies. Too many things didn’t make sense and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

And she wanted to be the bane of the Butler’s existence.