A Beautiful Catastrophe - Book 1

Chapter 17 - Miracle

My eyes widened in surprise and my mouth was probably stuck open for a couple of seconds. I couldn't believe what my dad just said. That meant... the problem was solved already, right? I sighed deeply in relief. Was I dreaming? Was what I'm hearing all real? I wanted to pinch myself to wake up if it was all a dream, but my father's warmth confirmed it for me.

"T-the ocean?" was all I managed to say.

"Yes!" he said so happily. "The ocean drove the big whales out of the sea! And now, they're out of the game!"

"Out of the game... how?" I pushed my dad away to look him in the eyes. I wanted to know what exactly happened. Did he do something? Pulled some strings?

"I'm not really sure how it happened," he started explaining to me, "I just suddenly got a call from their people that they're backing out from buying the land."

"Just like that?!" I still couldn't believe it. But deep inside, I'm so thankful. I immediately whispered my thanks to God.

"Yes! And that's not all," dad was so exhilarated. "Word came out this morning about their scandal and they're now under investigation. Even the government is on them-they're all over the news, even in the international news! Turns out, they've been doing lots of illegal activities like tax evasions, embezzlements, false advertisements, drugs, prostitution, and even human trafficking! The whole corporation is now facing trial and all of their investors backed out to avoid association with them. Even the President is fuming in anger at them. He ordered proper trial and justice be done to the whole corporation. At this rate, they will go bankrupt and their higher ups will be imprisoned!"

Rivers of tears fell from my eyes and my dad's. We were like fools crying over the school gate.

"It seems that my daughter has the tongue of an angel," dad chuckled. "You said everything will be fine and we'll get through this and we did!"

Yes, I kept telling him that for the past week, trying to encourage him so he wouldn't lose hope. But in truth, I was echoing it to myself as well-to not lose hope. If anything, it was Mr. Grim Reaper who had the tongue of an angel. His words repeated in my head.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine soon. God won't give you problems you can't solve. You have all the resources you need. If not, then He'll solve it for you, right?"

I was reminded again of his kindness. They were only words but they meant so much. If it wasn't for him, I would have probably lost hope, too. I should log in later and thank him again, and tell him everything that happened. I should introduce him to dad and mom, to my brother, and to Hora and Ken, too!

While I'm busy with my thoughts, dad asked Sir Greg to excuse me for the rest of the day to which he agreed easily. I gave a brief goodbye to Hora and told her that I'll tell her everything later. After that, dad and I fetched mom and my younger brother. They were both puzzled and the look on their faces was funny. We were still with the man in a black suit whom I hadn't had the chance to ask dad who he was. Anyway, dad drove us towards Global City and to my surprise-to our restaurant. The restaurant that we almost lost... Secret Garden.

The fine dining restaurant was really special to us, not just because it generates lots of money or because it's high-end but because it was a family restaurant passed down from generation to generation. It had been built way before I was born and had been renovated many times over. Now, it stood tall with it's three-storey, glass walls all over except for the corners, and the pillars which were made of marble, wood, and metal. Lots of greenery surrounded it-an enchanting garden, thus its name. There was also a huge dancing fountain for the customers and passersby to enjoy.

Inside, you could find lots of bookshelves that served as either decoration, entertainment, or partitions. The furniture were all exquisite and the lighting of the whole place was perfect, especially the crystal chandeliers that hung by the ceiling. Should any customer want privacy, they could go to the 2nd floor where each table was separated by soundproof rooms. And to anyone who enjoyed the sun during daytime, or the night breeze in the evening, they could go to the open third floor. The bar and live musicians were located there as well. There were also musicians for the first floor, though they mostly played piano or violin for classical music as compared to the acoustic one on the 3rd floor.

And so, dad brought us all to the 2nd floor, unto the private room at the far end. He ordered food for us and we happily ate. Then, dad confessed to mom and my younger brother about everything that happened. They both cried. They didn't know all of those things were happening and they couldn't even help. Dad and mom made up, too. Mom felt so sorry for making things harder for him-if she only knew, she said. But dad apologized too, for not being honest with all of us. We didn't blame him though. We understood he was only doing it out of his love for us.

Once all the crying stopped, dad introduced the man in black suit to us. I confused him for those big whales' lackeys earlier and I felt sorry because he was so kind. Turned out, he was actually a lawyer and very well-known at that! He had a really high reputation and he said he was tasked to help dad deal with the aftermath of what happened. Dad wasn't sure himself how he ended up being acquainted with such a reputable lawyer but we're glad it happened.

What a miraculous, and joyous day it was.

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