THE NOMINAL WIFE

CHAPTER 3: The Special Child

July 5, 2017. Wednesday. Before his work day ended, Voltaire was visited by his father in his office. They talked about personal matters.

His father asked, "How is Wallace? Is he speaking again already?"

Voltaire answered, "He still has not spoken again, Dad? His pediatrician already referred him to a child psychiatrist. We had an appointment more than a month ago, and the psychiatrist diagnosed him suffering from post traumatic stress stress disorder because of the accident. Up to now, there is still no development. We had already tried several child psychologists for psychotherapy but he will still not speak up."

His father then told him, "He lost his mother. I think it will help if he will have another mother figure. You need a partner in raising your son, Voltaire."

He firmly told his father, "I have no plans to get married again, Dad."

His father told him, "You must get married again, son. Find yourself a suitable wife as well as a suitable second mother to your son. You are my eldest son and the best in business. Your grandfather has high hopes on you. He is already planning to set you up on dates after Winona's first death anniversary towards the end of the month. You need a partner in life in order for you to lead the Lauchengco Group of Companies in the future. A suitable future First Lady of LGC on your side is inevitable."

His response was, "I already did my part on marrying a suitable wife, and having a son who can carry on the Launchengco name, Dad. I am doing my best for LGC so please I am begging you not to interfere with my personal life anymore."

His father insisted, "It is your duty as my eldest son to be the best role model in all aspects of life for Lauchengco Group of Companies."

He then expressed his sentiment, "There are a lot of people who don't want me to be the President of LGC, Dad. I am very much aware that you and Lolo know that. The positions I have now at LGC had caused my wife's life and endangered my son's mental health. You knew that there was a foul play with that accident ant yet you and Lolo had decided to cover it up for the sake of the stability of our stocks. So please try not to ask too much from me anymore, Dad. I am already doing my very best for the company. I cannot even spend quality time with my son, who needs me the most. I did not only lose my wife on that accident. Winona was also four weeks pregnant with our second child. Whoever was behind that accident should pay for the lives that had been lost. Such accident was aimed to kills me and the rest of my family so that I can have the position as the President of LGC and yet you have done nothing to catch the culprit behind that accident. I always worry for my son's safety as I started having those positions. So please just give me some space to breathe in. I already feel choked up from all of your expectations on me. If you and Lolo are somehow dissatisfied with my work performance then I am very much willing to step down. That way I will also have more time for my son."

His father responded, "I have already allowed you not to have any business socialization on Sundays so that you can spend some quality time with Wallace. Is it not still enough?"

He told his father, "I do appreciate such, Dad. Yes, a whole day with him might still not be enough considering his condition now. Whenever he throws a tantrum, he only listens to me. Even his teachers had to quit after sometime because they cannot handle him once he is bent on not following any of their tutelage. My son has the IQ of a genius, but he still needs to learn and attend school. Several child psychologists had already tried to connect with him through psychotherapy but he won't open up to anyone of them. So we just keep on trying."

His father had suggested, "Perhaps, you should move in for a while at the mansion with him. Mama and my wife can help out in looking after him while you are working."

He said, "Yaya Guada and Tatay Manolo are just doing fine looking after him and keeping him company at home whenever I am working. They had been with us for a very long time. Wallace is very familiar with their presence and so he usually follows them except when he throws a tantrum. My son will be able to recognize Lola and Tita Moira but he is not close to them. Plus he will be unfamiliar to the a new home environment. So he might just end up throwing even more tantrums. Wallace is very aloof from strangers. His teachers usually try a lot of tricks just to be able to teach him. But after a week of two, they would just eventually quit. He is quite behaved around his pediatrician, developmental psychologist and child psychiatrist but he won't open up to any child psychologist for psychotherapy which will be very helpful for him to be able to speak again."

Daddy Victor declared, "Then hire the best child psychologists. Perhaps one of them will be able to reach out to him."

He informed his father, "That is what we are trying to do, Dad. But even the best psychologists in the country cannot accommodate him yet because their schedules are full with appointments with other children with mental health conditions. So Wallace's child psychiatrist, Dr. Dy, is doing her best to find a perfect match to his temperament. Dr. Dy has also made a reservation to one of the best child psychologist in the country. Wallace will immediately be accommodated once a slot becomes available."

Daddy Victor stated, "Then pay this child psychologist a huge amount just so Wallace can be accommodated. He is my eldest grandson. We must do everything with our resources and power to give him the possible mental health care."

His answer was, "That is true, Dad. But with this child psychologist, money is not an issue. The best possible mental health care is what this psychologist always strived for thus great focus on the children's cases are given. So only limited number of children can be accommodated. Wallace has seen several child psychologists already but up to now, he has not opened up to any of them despite their excellent skills. Some of them had been able to get his attention but only for a while. They had all tried their very best but it seems that my son is just a very difficult nut to c***k. I had asked him several times what he wants just for him to speak again. I was able to have a his answer last month for the very first time. He wrote – I want Mommy."

His father had an idea, "Then perhaps we should look for a lady who looks like Winona."

Voltaire's reaction was, "Yes, we might be able to fake the face, Dad. But not the maternal warmth Winona had provided for our son. Winona was a very loving, sweet, and thoughtful wife and mother. My son misses her so much in as much as I miss her too."

On the other had, Vittorio had tried several time to visit Iryn at her workplace but he had not been accommodated in all of his attempts. The receptionist would often say that her boss had several scheduled psychotherapy sessions and could not possibly be disturbed.

Vittorio's mother, Moira, had found out that her son was after the psychologist who headed the psychological assessment among the employees at the headquarters of LGC. She immediately called on her son's attention regarding it and reprimanded him.

Moira told her son, "What are you thinking going after that psychologist? You are already engaged to be married, Vitto. Marrying Alexa is the best career plan for you. Alexa is so much into you. So why are you even bothering yourself to see this psychologist? I heard that she has not accommodated your visits. She must be very professional with her job."

Vittorio said, "That is true, Mom. That is why I like her a lot. She is the only lady who has ever rejected me."

Moira pointed out, "Then let it stay that way. She is the ex-girlfriend of Natasha Lopez' husband. We cannot afford to have any problems with all the people with business entanglements to LGC, Vitto. It will decrease your chance for a much higher position at LGC. You must be aware that Voltaire is not just an eldest son, he also has inherited the shares of her mother and grandfather at LGC, making him a member of the board of directors. Alexa's father is a shareholder as well and a member of the board of directors. Alexa is an only child. She does not knew that much about business matters even if she inherits those shares in the future. With you as her husband, her father will support you and eventually Alexa can give you the control over those shares on her behalf if ever her father had passed away already. Her father does not have much years to live. He has been battling cancer for years already. He had been on remission for quite sometime but his cancer cells have become active again. That is the reason why we are rushing the wedding by October. You must go on with this wedding and be a faithful husband to Alexa."

Vittorio's response, "All you care about is my position at the company, Mom. What about my personal happiness? I do not love Alexa. And no matter how hard I tried at work, I can never beat Kuya Voltaire. He does not only have exemplary business capabilities, he is also being favored more by Lolo and Dad."

Moira said, "That is why you need to marry very well. A union will Alexa will strengthen their trust on you. They just need to see you as a responsible husband and father. Voltaire is quite occupied looking after the welfare of his mentally ill son. We must take such opportunity for you to surpass his achievements. Forget about this psychologist. She is not even interested in you. She is so focused with her work that her ex-boyfriend for eight years had decided to dump her. She is a career-oriented woman through and through. She cannot be an asset to you. She does not even belong to our social class so you should not waste your time with a lady like her. You just feel challenged with her because she rejected you. You do not really like her. You are just after the excitement of the chase. It will just died down when you already conquered her. But such kind of woman cannot be conquered, Vitto. She is an independent woman who does not care about your looks, money, or fame. So just drop this nonsense and focus on your wedding preparations with Alexa. That psychologist is not the right woman for you. If you insist on pursuing her then I might as well remove her on your path."

Vittorio then responded, "Don't you ever hurt her, Mom. You already said it, she is not interested in me so why bother to remove her on my path when she is not on it at all. I will not chase after her anymore. I will go on with the wedding with Alexa just as you like."

His mother uttered, "Good!"

July 9, 207. Sunday. Juno, Voltaire's personal security chief had given him a status report that night regarding all his family members.

Juno, the security chief told him, "Your half brother, Vitto, is chasing after the psychologist friend of your wife, boss. But his mother had immediately put a stop on it. The husband and son of your Aunt Vera had a secret meeting with the CEO of Nexus TV. His motives are still not confirmed."

Voltaire said, "Uncle Cenon and Charles could just be up to seal the existing business negotiations of Nexus TV with our cable company. It could up their work performance and the . But then Nexus TV had an issue of maltreatment among their employees. The board of directors still has the final say whether to continue on with the business deal or not."

Juno added, "One thing more, your Uncle Virgilio seems to be manipulating the stocks of the publishing company for his personal monetary gain. Your grandfather and father seem to know about it already. They are already trying to gather evidences to prove it."

Voltaire's reaction was, "They might cover up for it once again and just ask Uncle Virgilio to return the money and resign from his post as the President."

Juno continued with his report, "His wife is also arranging their son's marriage to the heiress of Apex Publishing Company for for a possible business merger as well."

Voltaire commented, "It is not a merger but more of a business takeover, Juno. Apex Publishing Company's financial situation is not doing very well at this moment. One of their authors had been sued big time for plagiarism."

Juno spoke up again, "As for your Uncle Valentin, there are also some financial anomalies at LMC that he might be involved with. You grandfather and father have been investigating on such as well."

Voltaire said, "Lolo and Dad had been eyeing that position for Vitto. Once Vitto's marriage to Alexa Hofmann if finalized such position that Uncle Valentin had to vacate due to these anomalies will be given to brother."

Juno then finally revealed, "We also have gathered comprehensive information regarding Miss Iryn Zamora," and handed him an envelope, "The envelope contains all the information about her. As a gist, she has a bachelor's degree in psychology as well as a master's and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology. She is a licensed psychometrician. She had attended numerous trainings/seminars/workshops regarding psychotherapy especially for children. Her ten-year relationship with her boyfriend had just ended last May. Her ex-boyfriend, Gerard Bautista is now the husband of Natasha Lopez, the daughter of the CEO of Nexus TV. Aside from her psychological clinic, she is also the co-owner and co-founder of Toddler's Haven and Angels Headstart Preschool. They prioritize in accepting toddlers and children with mental health concerns. Miss Grace de la Torre, her best friend, is her co-owner and co-founder of the daycare center and the preschool. Her family lives in Kyobe at the State of Vasil. But her youngest sister Ivy, had just recently moved in with her to pursue a degree in music at the Conservatory of Music of Saint Thomas University."

Voltaire acknowledged such, "I see."

Then Juno mustered up the courage to ask him, "Will you hire her as your son's child psychologist, boss? I heard that she is one of the best but she is not accommodating any more children for psychotherapy because her schedule is already very full. She works daily from 8 AM to 8 PM. Then she spends her Saturdays and Sundays for her self, her family, her friends, or other work matters."

Voltaire said, "She is a friend of my wife, Juno. They share the same rare blood type. She had donated blood for Winona when she had given birth to our son. They are both active members of Rare Blood Club around the country. Anywhere they are in the country, they can be traced and contacted to donate blood in any hospital near them if there is a need for their rare blood type. That was how they met five years ago. She also attended my wife's funeral. We even crossed path just recently at Winona's grave. Vitto is very much interested in her so I kind of worry about her. Alexa Hofmann, behind that beautiful face, is a vicious lady. Whether or not Miss Zamora entertained the pursuing of my brother, she might get involved with our family drama. So it is good to know that Tita Moria had already put a stop of Vitto's interest towards her. She seems a very nice woman anyway so I don't think she will get involved with Vitto."

Juno then added, "Within the few days that our investigative team had followed your brother, Miss Zamora had never entertained all of his visits at her clinic. He also went to the condominium building where Miss Zamora lives but never attempted to enter because she lives within the Elysium Land."

Voltaire replied, "There are a lot of prying eyes in that building that could possibly report to Alexa and Tita Moira what is happening. I'm glad that Tita Moira had already discovered about such. Miss Zamora will be safe for now. But I doubt if Vitto will easily let go of his attraction towards her. After all, she is the only woman who has ever rejected him. He might be slowing down for a while and thinking of his next move so as to make Tita Moria not suspicious of him. I also assume that Tita Moria had somehow threaten to hurt Miss Zamora so Vitto had decided to slow down. His mother usually does that if she doesn't like the lady that her son is getting interested with. Alexa's father is also a shareholder of LGC while her mother is Tita Moira's best friend. Tita Moria will do everything just for such marriage to push through without any hassle. So just continue following them around. I still do not know who among them was behind the car accident that killed your my wife, my unborn child and your brother. We need to get to the bottom of that planned accident. I want justice as much as you want for the loved ones we lost just because of their selfish motives."