FORTUNE: A FREENBECKY STORY

Chapter 47 🪢

"The situation began to escalate very quickly until they killed the twins' younger brother as he was protecting us." Grams said

Freen was shocked. Her grandmother had never ever backed down or been scared of anyone so seeing her tremble as she relived the events was unnerving to Freen.

"They came to the funeral. Followed us to the lab and home until we decided to strike a deal with them. We decided to give them the research and put it all behind us. It had become too dangerous for people with families to think about. The twins and I also knew that we could not leave the power of genie magic in their hands so we only relinquished one of their two essences to the Mukhtar and I kept our family heirloom. I repurposed the business into what is now our biggest arm, finance and insurance, paid the Mukhtar the money they invested into the business and bought them out. I renamed the company MonSam because like I always told you it represented letting truth prevail. It meant keeping our family strong and free from the worlds unfair and undue influence.  The world that allows criminals to prevail, power to be hoarded and innocent people to suffer. I haven't been able to get justice for your parents death yet but I will." Grandmother said
"So you bought them out?" Freen asked
"Yes" Grams said
"And they disappeared?" Freen asked

"Yes. Until 4 years ago. The patriarch of the family was dying and they had not made enough progress on the research with other means. They tried to find the twins but could not so they found me. They began with threats then started to buy up stock in our company until they had enough for management rights. Your father was CFO at the time so he spearheaded the corporate response to this buying up more of our own shares which also put us in a dire financial situation. That unfortunately put your father on their radar too. We were hell bent on protecting you guys but when they killed your parents and threatened to kill you and Heng, I reopened the research labs again as a way to stall them. Heng has been helping me stall them also by having the labs in Singapore which has helped keep them at a safe distance. They have been growing impatient though and I've begun to fear for Heng as we have not been able to give them what they wanted. The plan was to marry you into more power so that we can truly defend ourselves." Grandmother said with her head bowed.

"So that's the real reason." Freen said
"Yes. The Mukhtar won't leave us alone. They discovered our family heirloom and believe we are hoarding its power. The thing is, I entrusted it to your father but when he was killed it disappeared. I don't know where it is."
Grams said

Freen averted her eyes knowing exactly where it had gone. She had begun to put together the pieces. She now assumed that the twins may have been related to Becky, understood that the genie Becky spoke about was real and that her father had entrusted to her the family heirloom.

"I'm more worried than ever. A criminal member of their family has just entered the world of politics too. They're building more and more power." Grams continued

Freen stood up.
"So Heng knows? Figures. He's so cool and calm about everything. He is rather reliable I guess," Freen said
"I'm sorry we didn't tell you. You took it the hardest when your parents died and we thought distracting you with work was the best way to keep you safe." Grams said standing up
"I get it." Freen said
"So please just stay out of it Freen" Grams said
"I'm already in it Grams. Especially now that I know the stakes." Freen said.

Freen was struggling to process any of her thoughts and emotions so she came off cold. Her grandmother was still shaken up after telling the full story. Freen grabbed the folder and shoved it into her bag then left the house.

When Freen arrived home she thought about how her grandmother had changed from a doting and loving woman into a jailer after her parents died. Telling her what to do, who to meet, how to live and her fixation on making the business bigger and stronger. She understood now that this was Gram's way of keeping them all safe. She realised that everything she had begun to suffer after her parents were killed was a convoluted act of love.

-

The following morning Freen went to the office and was surprised to see Non waiting for her in her office. Freen no longer had a secretary so her office door was wide open.

"Hi" Freen said
"Morning Freen," Non said with a soft expression

Freen took her coat off and sat down.  She began to log into her computer. Non stood up and closed the door behind her.

"I have something to tell you." Non said with a serious tone
"Go ahead, I don't have time though." Freen replied
"Freen, I'm serious," he said

Freen stopped typing and looked up at Non, "What is it?" Freen asked
"I got a call from Billy this morning. My cousin." Non said
"Right..." Freen said
"It seems that He and Heng were supposed to meet last night when he got back to Singapore but he didn't turn up." Non continued

Freen looked up almost as if she knew what was coming next.
"Billy went to his place to look for him but found it ransacked. There was blood on the floor and he was nowhere to be found" Non said

"What? What do you mean? What are you saying?" Freen asked
"I think Heng has been kidnapped" Non concluded