The next morning, Mira woke with one thought in mind and that was to find Arthur Ross. After getting ready she went downstairs for breakfast and unsurprisingly met her father and mother in the dining room.
She wasn’t in the mood to go back and forth with her father, so she grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl after acknowledging her parents and made her way out of the room.
“Where are you going young lady ?” Edward asked while staring at his daughter’s back.
“Out,” Mira replied, still not looking at her parents.
“Well before you go OUT have a proper meal,” Edward said.
“Yes honey, breakfast is very important,” her mother added.
“Is this really necessary, I have somewhere to be,” Mira said finally looking at her parents.
“I wasn’t asking,” her father said.
Mira had no choice but to sit with her parents at the table but she refused to touch any of the food on the table and continued munching on her apple.
“Please eat something,” her mother begged.
“Leave it Deborah, let her keep throwing a tantrum,” Edward said, dismissing his wife’s words.
Damien walked into the room a few minutes later with a broad smile on his face, he greeted everyone on the table and gave Mira a kiss on her head.
“Why are you so happy this morning ?” Mira asked her brother, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Quinn is coming home tomorrow,” Damien said then started to serve himself some eggs while whistling like he didn’t just drop a bomb.
“Are you serious,” Mira asked with a huge smile on her lips.
“Yes, I just got off the phone with him,” Damien replied.
“Mom did you hear what Damien said,” Mira asked, turning to look at her mother who was quiet.
“Y..Yes baby i’m just so overwhelmed,” Deborah responded with a single tear drop running down her cheek.
Deborah then walked out of the living room, Mira went to follow her but was stopped by her father’s voice.
‘Let her have some time to herself. Quinn’s disappearance was really hard on her,” Edward said.
Mira nodded but still stood up, she had a mission to accomplish today.
“I’ll be on my way now,” Mira said. She got a nod from her father.
………..
Twenty minutes later, Mira was in front of an intimidating gate. Beside it were two towering pillars which had the design of a dragon, the gate itself was a marvel of wrought iron, with intriguing intricate designs. Each panel was created with delicate swirls which are brought together by the Ross family’s crest.
After a few minutes the gates of the manor opened. Mira slowly drove in till she got to the check point. Her credentials were scrutinized and even when the guards saw her last name there wasn’t a change in their expression.
The drive to the manor was about seven minutes long. Waiting outside the mansion was a man dressed as a butler.
She stepped out of the car and walked towards the entrance. The butler bowed respectfully to Mira and led her into the manor’s waiting area.
“The patriarch will be here with you shortly,” the butler said, leaving Mira to marvel at the beauty of the manor.
A few minutes later the butler returned with some tea and pastries.
Mira was getting impatient as she had been waiting for fifteen minutes.
As if on cue, the sound of a cane hitting the marble floor was heard and at the top of the grand staircase an elderly man was making his way down.
Mira immediately stood up out of respect and went to meet the elderly man once he reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Good morning sir,” Mira said with a slight bow.
“To what do I owe this surprise,” Arthur said, walking past her and taking a seat. Then the butler spawned out of nowhere and immediately stood beside his master.
She sat down on the chair opposite him nervously. Arthur Ross was the head of the Ross family and was involved in the underworld so he naturally had an imposing aura.
“Out with it girl, I have other things to attend to,” Arthur said.
“It’s about Daphne,” Mira replied.
“Obviously, I didn’t expect that you would come here to visit me. What’s wrong with my grand-daughter ?” he asked.
“She’s been in prison for over two years now,” Mira replied.
A deafening silence enveloped the house.
Immediately, Mira started narrating all the events that took place during the past years.
Arthur was completely baffled as she narrated his grand-daughter's ordeal.
He hadn't been away for more than 5 years and all this already happened in his family. He immediately regretted his decision to retire but he didn't have a choice back then.
The old man was diagnosed with a rare disease that required treatment in isolation. He couldn't tell his family because it would cause an internal war and also his life would be targeted by his family, not that it already wasn’t.
If his descendants found out about it, they would have acted recklessly, knowing this he went under the radar and cut off communication with the world.
The only people aware of this arrangement were his butler Grey and his grand-daughter Daphne.
The old man slammed his hand on the table in front of him furiously and Mira flinched but his butler Grey who was beside him remained unmoved as he was used to his master temper, but was worried because his master was still in his recovery phase.
He could only sigh internally, there was nothing he could do to calm his master down when he got angry, especially when it was related to his dearest grand-daughter.
Arthur Ross slowly rose from his enormous chair, whispered something into Grey's ear and gestured for Mira to follow him.
As they walked out of the room Mira couldn't help but stare at the old man's back which was slightly bent but was very straight in comparison to other elderly people, he was quite tall for his age.
She also looked around the old man's house in awe of its beauty; she would have admired it more if one of the most important people in her life wasn’t in prison. She was so occupied with her thoughts that she didn't realize that the old man had been calling her name for some time.
"Are you even listeing ?" Arthur asked as he turned to the woman he had asked a question to two minutes ago but got no reply.
"Huh?" Mira replied, which made the old man almost roll his eyes in irritation.
“Youngsters these days,” he thought.
"I'm going to see Daphne and I also asked if any of her family members have visited her," Arthur replied.
"Daphne didn't mention anyone's visit but then again she vaguely spoke about her time in prison, she seemed different," Mira answered thoughtfully.
"How so," Arthur asked without turning to look at her as he still made his way out of the manor.
"Her eyes were unfeeling and cold, and she seemed distant, if I cried the way I did in front of her a year ago she would have run to my side to comfort me but this time she did comfort me but it was just different," Mira replied as her friends face popped up in her mind.
She began recalling her time with Daphne when she visited and was snapped out of her thoughts when a car parked in front of them, Arthur got into the car and it drove off without her.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Please vote
Don't be a silent reader❤🍀
YOU ARE READING
STEEL CITY
RomanceDaphne Ross was a rising star in Steel City and was taking Hollywood by storm but her shiny life and career crashed down after she was betrayed and framed by her stepsister and a man who swore he loved her to the moon and back. After being unjustly...
