Hate & Heist | Wattys2023

Chapter three

Few hours later in April 4, 2014

Charlie rose adamantly, with his aim at the garbling
Ben. There seem to be something wrong with Ben Antonio, he kept choking in his drink and now, a trace of blood is seen in the glass. Ben was trying to speak but every effort proved abortive. Charlie just stood before him adamantly with serenity over his face.

Tired of watching Ben garble, Charlie went over Ben Antonio and held his nape delicately, he used the other hand to seize Ben on his throat. Slowly but steadily, Charlie began to apply effort on Ben's neck; strangling him.

Ben Antonio gasped for air, making a little effort to set himself free, but his strangler was firm. He looked up, trying to get a definite view of his murderer; but it seems as if any time he tries to loosen himself, the hand becomes tighter altogether. He therefore slumped back against his chair, glaring around in dismay. The rough hand grasped his throat more tightly, leaving him without air; his vision became erratic as he tried gasping for air. He placed his hands on his strangler's arm, and pushed with all the strength he could gather; however, his hands were weak because the contaminated wine had eaten him deep. He stared into the eyes of the man busy burning with anger; and as he can see, the eyes were nothing like it used to be; it looked down on him, obviously with a jeer and burning with emptiness. The contaminated wine wasn't the only thing that weakened him; shock became the aspect of his fear.

Ben became void as tear trickled down his cheek, the person he trusted was seconds apart from taking his life. The world was crashing before his very eyes, he thought what her adopted daughter will do if she learns that he had been murdered. As he remembered more about his beautiful girl, his lips parted as if he wanted to utter a word, but it was in fact an aspect of his shock. How would she react? He imagined and fixed his distorted gaze back at Charlie. The man seems so strong-minded in taking his life. There was no benefit embedded to taking his life, but to the man; there is. As time goes on, Ben's heart beat slowed down rapidly, suggesting that his life will soon escape him. Ben once again glanced at the man, as if to say 'please,' but the man's heart was made up in taking his life away. Ben's heart that was beating rapidly previously, was now slowing down in pulse. From the onset, when the man started choking him, he knew he had lost the battle which he tried so much to conquer. From where he sat helpless with a strong fist on his neck; he knew he had lost, and had failed Carly, or perhaps his best friend, Patrick Benedict. Ben threw up in a final struggle as light escaped his eye, his vision slowly grew dark and his hands fell to his sides effortlessly as energy escaped him for worst.

As Charlie learns that the man had dropped dead, he stood erect and smirked; trying to get back in steady focus. Charlie moved towards the dead Ben and began to dress him rapidly. As he was dressing him, the memory of how he killed Patrick flashed back into his busy head. Seeing that nobody knows about it, he shook it off and stroked the straight chin of Ben Antonio more like a lad. He chose his seat just opposite to Ben, being a big man, he had learnt how to smoke pipe; so he in short brought out his pipe and flipped it over his mouth without lighting it. Just as he did when he killed Patrick, he peeled off the latex he wore to protect his print from being on the body of his victim.

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A week later

Carly sat expressionlessly on the back veranda; she was deeply immersed by the unexpected death of her father, the only man capable of playing a role of a father and mother altogether. She sat just there, starring into the empty sky and taking no notice of the fluffy clouds. The death of her father, Ben Antonio, had left an empty space in her heart, one which can't be sealed by any human.

As she sat ignoring everything around her, the lost memory of her late father came afresh and her consciousness of the real world eluded. She could see how loving her father was with her when she came back from abroad, how happy...