**Revenge for Mum**
“Your daughter is with us. Bring 10 million pounds, and she lives. Ill send the meeting point later,” said a heavily distorted male voice.
“You… dont you dare dictate terms to me!” Michael snapped, but the caller had already hung up.
Michael was known as a thorough, cautious, and rather ruthless man. Only his beloved wife, Charlotte, and adored daughter, Emily, saw his softer sideand even then, not always. If things didnt go his way, he made sure everyone knew it:
“Im the head of this house! I provide for all of you!”
And it was true. Hed bought the house in a gated community, his wife only worked to show off her dresses, and his daughter drove to university in a brand-new car hed gifted her. But sometimes, his family forgot that.
Hed had to remind them again when he found out Emily was dating an up-and-coming violinist named Oliver.
“Hes not good enough for you! You wont see him again!” Michael barked. “What kind of profession is that for a manscraping away on a fiddle?”
And the boy was scrawny too. Some intellectual!
“Im going to marry him! Its my life!” Emily had a fiery temper.
“I raised you, so I decide!”
“Im 18, Dad, or have you forgotten? Im an adult and”
“Enough! My word is final. As long as I support you, I call the shots.”
Emily ran off in tears, and Charlotte sulked for days, but Michael didnt carehed made his stance clear.
Besides, he had real problems to deal withunlike his daughters tantrums.
His childhood friend, James, with whom hed started a concrete block business a decade ago, was pushing some nonsense again. Theyd only just paid off their loans, built a solid team, and greased the right palms to turn a decent profit. Time to enjoy it!
But noJames was itching to expand, always nagging about innovation. This time, he dug his heels in, threatening to split the business if Michael refused.
As if ideas alone kept things running! James dreamed; Michael cleaned up the mess.
Things seemed to settle after a few weeks. James dropped his schemes, Emily stuck to university and homeno mention of Oliver. Then Michael spotted her arm-in-arm with some boy.
“Emily! What are you doing out so late?” he bellowed, slamming his car to a stop. “And whos this?”
In the dim light, it took him a moment to recognise the boythen he scoffed.
“Upgraded from a penniless musician to a labourer, have you? Trying to spite me? Get in the carnow!”
Emily scowled, about to protest, but the boy cut in.
“Who gave you the right to talk to people like that?” He jutted his chin up. “Think money makes you better than”
“You little brat, youve got it exactly rightI *am* better, and I *have* money. But you wont have a job tomorrow,” Michael snarled before turning to Emily. “Move it!”
She shot the boy a glance*dont*then slipped into the car.
Thats more like it. Who did these people think they were, lecturing him?
The boyMichael remembered nowwas one of their warehouse workers. Cocky little upstart. Well, hed dealt with worse.
Just when he thought hed restored orderwith James, with his familya week later, Emily was with that same ex-worker, Liam. They vanished before he could confront them, but back home, his disobedient daughter faced a storm.
To Michaels shock, Charlotte took Emilys side. They called him a tyrant, said living with him was unbearable.
“Fine! The doors right there!” he spat.
And they leftbags in hand, faces a mix of grief and contempt. Lets see how long they lasted without him.
He was sure theyd come crawling back, so when Charlotte called a week later, he wasnt surprised.
“Michael, Emilys missing!” she gasped. “Two days, no word, her phones off! Sarah and I dont know what to doshould we call the police?”
Ah, so theyd moved in with her friend.
“No police!” he snapped. “Come home. *Ill* find her.”
He wasnt sure how, but he wasnt involving the authorities. As he weighed options, his phone rang again.
“Your daughter is with us. Bring 10 million pounds, and she lives. Coordinates coming soon,” the distorted voice repeated.
“You filthy” Michael seethed, but the line went dead.
A video link arrived next. Emily, dishevelled, tear-streaked, hands boundbut alive. She stared into the camera, unblinking, for just seconds.
Right. Hed bury them all. But he needed help. Despite their feud, James agreed to assist with the drop.
“Shouldnt we call the police?” James hesitated. “And thats a lot of”
“No. Im handling this. And the money stays with us.”
Michael was certainuntil they pulled up at the abandoned factory and out stepped Liam.
“You little!” Michael lunged, but James yanked him back. “Stop! We dont know where Emily is.”
Liam stood on a ledge ten feet away, smirking.
“Drop the bag there,” he nodded at a sewer grate.
Michael glared but obeyed.
“Perfect,” Liam scoffed, turning to leave.
“You think youll get away with this?! Wheres Emily?!”
“Shes fine. Shell contact you soonif she wants.”
“Are you *stupid*?” Michaels rage faltered at Liams calm. “Ill hunt you”
“I dont care,” Liam cut in, jaw tight. “I did what I had toavenged Mum.”
“*What* mum?” Today was full of surprises.
“Eleanor. Seven years as your cleaner,” Liams voice wavered, but he kept steady. “She walked in on your wife with another man. Charlotte fired her on the spotsaid she stole.”
“Because she *did*!”
“Sure. Just convenient timing, yeah? Mum had no proofjust her word. Would you have believed her?”
He didnt wait for an answer.
“She had heart problemsraised me alone, killing herself for your scraps. Next day, after you sacked her? Collapsed in the street. No one helped. Coroner said heart attack.”
His voice cracked.
“If not for your family shed be alive. I wouldnt have gone into care.”
“Youll go to prison now,” Michael said flatly. “Howd you even rope Emily into this? Shed never”
“She didnt *have* to.” Liam wiped his face, defiant. “We planned it together. By now, shes got the money somewhere safe. Youll have to arrest your own daughter.”
“*What?!*” Michael exploded. “Emily would *never*! Where is she? Whatve you done?!”
“If you hadnt meddled, shed have told me to sod off. None of this wouldve happened.” Liams smirk returned. “She loves Ollie. *Loves* him.”
“You”
“But you wouldnt know about love, would you?”
“Ill teach *you*!” Michael charged, but Liam was already on a motorbike hidden behind rubble.
“Or ask *James* about love!” Liam revved the engine. “Hes the one shagging your wife!”
He sped off, weaving through debris.
Michael punched James. Again and again. James didnt fight back.
He divorced Charlotte, leaving her only a small flat. He kept the businesshed paid enough for her betrayal. She begged him not to report Emily.
He wasnt *that* much of a tyrant. No police. Emily never showed her face againdropped out of uni.
Rumour was, she and Oliver moved abroad. Maybe theyd return one day. Who knew?
