The Luna: Braver Than We Are

Chapter 5

The smartphone beeped just seconds after Viola hung up. The conversation calmed her. Maybe all those people working in such institutions were trained to speak in a comforting manner, or maybe they just learned to do so as time passed and they gained some experience. Nevertheless, this man was very good at his work. She was now able to think properly and use her car navigation. She was only half an hour from the facility. Just half an hour and she will be able to rest. The events of the last hours weighted her down.

She started the car and drove slowly. It would be a true misfortune if anything happened to her right now. She was so looking forward to meeting the guy and thanking him in person. She hoped he would find her. She didn't recall him saying his name.

***

Mason woke up very late. His head hurt immensely. He sat staring blankly at the laptop.

He was supposed to go to the office, he had meetings scheduled, but did they really matter now? f*****g Kiaran was the only thing that mattered. He had to keep him happy and maybe he would make it. And Kiaran wanted the company. He would give it to him. He hated that place, but there was one tiny problem: the company wasn’t his.

When he married Viola, he envisioned himself as a successful entrepreneur, developing his wife’s heritage. He could almost see all these cover photos and interviews in magazines. They both, beautiful and posh, in all kinds of exquisite settings, talking about love and business.

The only things he forgot were that he had no idea how to run a company and he didn’t love Viola. Yes, she was pretty, with her blue eyes, long dark brown hair, slender figure, and delicate features, so he desired her like every man desires a beautiful woman. She was infatuated with him, so winning her over was easy. He only had to identify her needs and pretend that he wanted to give her all she needed. Life with her was pleasant, at least at the beginning. When he had enough money and the desire was in place. But month after month, the company earned less and his wife lost the charms of the new prey. He was convinced that the old employees were acting against him, but things didn’t get better after he sacked them.

In three years, the company went practically bankrupt. He concealed it all from Viola, but he soon convinced himself that it was all her fault. She was indolent and lazy and he had to take care of things.

That was when Kiaran showed up. He invested in the company. Not officially, Viola was a submissive wife, but she wouldn’t agree to bring a new shareholder to the company, of that he was sure. So he and his lawyer prepared some agreements justifying the transfers from Kiaran. But they weren’t as good as they thought, or something else happened in the midway that he couldn’t identify because this wasn’t enough to clear the situation and keep the company floating.

He needed more and more and Kiaran gave it to him. Some time ago, he started pressing Mason to make things official. It was Kiaran who told Mason how to deal with Viola to make her sell the company. Mason couldn’t understand why Kiaran wanted the Moonshine Company for himself, but he knew he had to make Viola sell it. He already understood, that whatever he did, he couldn’t run a company successfully. He just wasn’t the man for the job. That frustrated him and made it easier to abuse Viola. He did it before, but now he wouldn’t hold back.

Then Kiaran demanded to meet Viola and, after the meeting, told Mason to stop the abuse for some time until they prepared the paperwork. He believed that well-treated Viola would easily agree to sell the shares when she'd envisioned how wonderful their life together could be without the stresses of running a business. And this happened to be the hardest part of the plan. Mason stopped seeing Viola as a worthy human being. He tried for a few weeks, but then the abusive habits took over. He managed not to escalate, but still, all the little acts of abuse happened all the time.

Mason slowly recalled the events from yesterday’s evening. When he got home and Viola wasn’t there, he was annoyed. When she came back and started asking questions, he panicked. All his frustration, insecurity, and fear came to the surface and made him hit her. And after the first punch, he couldn’t stop. Only the phone ringing the special tune reserved for Kiaran stopped him.

He mailed him the drafts of the purchase agreements, so he left Viola where she fell and checked the mail. He poured himself a drink while waiting for her and now the alcohol and anxiety made him fall asleep while reading the documents.

Mason gazed at the corridor. There were bloody stains on the floor, but there was no Viola. Panic snapped the cold fingers around his throat.

“Viola!” He shouted, but only silence answered him. He quickly ran through the house. She wasn’t there. He knew he had beaten her badly. How could she run away in this state? The empty shelves and missing jewelry box spoke for themselves. That meant she probably discovered he had sold some of her jewelry.

He was thinking frantically when the phone rang.

***

“We can’t do it!”

“We can’t do what?” The silver one was visibly amused.

“Interfere!”

“And when do you think I interfered?”

“Don’t tell me that it is an accident. You set her up to meet him!” The white one looked desperate.

“Who with whom?”

“The girl with the alpha!”

“Nah, it wasn’t my fault she had the wrong number.”

“So you admit it!”

“No, I don’t.”

“I don’t believe you. You knew it, you had it planned.”

The silver one looked at her brother. He was right and he wasn’t right at the same time. It was all a matter of the right timing and luck. Lots of luck. The first step was taken, but there were so many things that could go wrong. So many ordeals. She could set some things in motion, but she wasn’t able to force anybody to do anything. That was the paradox of their existence. But others wouldn’t have such reservations. They both knew it, so she didn’t answer, only smiled with a sad smile.