Bringer of Bad Luck

Chapter 9

At the joint funeral of Nicole and Crimson's father, many people showed up, even Crimson's phantom family that were no better than strangers. There was only one thing they were all there for, but it definitely wasn't for Crimson, no, their charcoal hearts and greedy eyes had themselves set on one thing, money.

It was no secret that their dead relative had shares in many prestigious companies, and that his pockets were extremely deep, so they showed up hoping to get a piece of the man's fortune which he had left behind. In fact, it didn't even occur to them that the man may have left everything to his beloved daughter, even if Crimson got everything, whoever adopted her would definitely greatly benefit.

Victoria knew what her boss' family was like; she knew that they were stingy, greedy people that cared only for themselves. She knew many of them would have sprouted from their graves just to see their names on the will of the dead man. She'd worked for the man for a number of years, it was expected that she'd learn a thing or two about the boss' family. When she'd thought of everything, she stumbled upon this fact, which she decided to use in order to exact her revenge and cast judgment upon Crimson.

A lot of people spoke at the funeral, speaking of how kind Crimson's father was, it seemed as though everyone had something to say, as though the dead man would raise from his coffin and decide to mention them on his will, almost everyone spoke, even Victoria, everyone but Crimson. It was common knowledge that she'd never once mumbled or shared a word with anyone; therefore, no one bothered to even try to speak or console the little girl, all they saw was the possibility of their own pockets deepening. All Victoria saw was her rage and thirst to do something , anything about Crimson, as well as her indifferent face, as though that wasn't her father in the coffin, about to be buried in the earth, as though what had happened didn't affect her in the least. Every time Victoria glanced Crimson's way, she'd grit and grind her teeth, completely annoyed by the little girl. However, she didn't dare to go too close to Crimson, she'd never end up like Nicole.

As the coffin began to be covered with dirt, the crowd began to disperse, however, Crimson stood immobile, with her father's lawyer beside her, he would give her a bit of time before he to her back to the house. All of the girl's relatives would also be there to hear the reading of the will, so they couldn't take too long.

Crimson just stood there, still with her aloof expression, watching as workers covered her father. Then, she did something no one would expect of her, especially Victoria, though Victoria wasn't there to witness it. She was filled with too much anticipation to hear the reading of the will, she did have financial issues, but the prospect of having her name on the will was why she felt this way.

Crimson stepped forward, a little closer to the hole in the ground where her father was situated, and gave a low, graceful bow in that direction. The lawyer watched in silence as a little pang of guilt wrenched its way into his heart and took root. Maybe it was her way, Crimson's way of saying farewell, a solemn goodbye, or maybe she was saying 'thank you for all you've done and it's fine, no matter what, I will still survive from here on out, don't worry and rest in peace.'

Afterward, when Crimson finished her "farewells," the man took her back home where her money hungry family, who didn't even need a dead man's money to be called rich, awaited.

Back at the house, Victoria served refreshments, to the filthy-rich relatives of her former boss and anyone who decided to tag along. They sat in rows, waiting for the 'main event' to begin, the reading of the will.

Finally, the lawyer cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone. He told them that he was about to read the will, and the entire house became dead silent, like a calm before a storm.

"According to the will, which was signed and approved by our dead friend," he said, and he proceeded to tell them what was on the will.

Not once was Crimson's name mentioned, however, other relatives' names were called, each getting a piece of the inheritance, Victoria's name was also called for her to get some money and a piece of property, event the lawyer's name was mentioned, all but Crimson had received something from her father.

At the end of it, all the family members left, their pockets feeling full and their spirits high. Finally, only Crimson, the lawyer and Victoria were left in the house. Crimson had retreated to her stranger's room where she did her usual routine of sitting and gazing out of the window.

Perhaps she was wondering about her father's choices, questioning why he'd willed everything to a family that hid behind plastic smiles and eyes that never met his sincere ones, instead, their eyes peered behind his shadow to see his worth. Or perhaps she knew of the person who swore revenge against her, and maybe she knew why her father's money went to those ungrateful fiends, and maybe, just maybe, she was concocting a plan to make such people vanish and make such occurrences appear as "accidents."