THE MOURNING MAFIA (DUAL VOLUME)

The Competence of Imparting Shocks!

An illusion is the right choice of words, that Ashton was circulated with since that weird party night where he got to dance with the most strange woman ever. He wasn't even sure who she was, because she won't just spill her name but throughout an hour of dancing; that predatory smile on her lips was really scarry, so much so that; the entire week passed in a blur for him but he couldn't just take that dangerous smile out of his system.

He sat behind his desk in his office suite in The Great Glacier; dressed up professionally in a three piece suit; all set up to have the first board meeting ever in his life. Something he wasn't ever comfortable in doing, but he had no option since that's the way, things were moving forth. But his ever so preoccupied mind won't just push away the magnetic feel of the two women he encountered in his first week in Vienna.

One, the black clad figure he witnessed in the Admirals, and Two, the class of elegance dressed in red with whom he had the pleasure to dance; and when he wanted to know more about her, she vanished in thin air like she never came.

His mind formed the possibilities of the girls being the same due to the curvy figure, similar height but then he pushed that thought away since girls now adays were tall and foreign girls were class of heights of course.

"Damn! I should be castigated for thinking about strange women at the time of my board meeting". He chided himself having enough of his own disturbing thoughts. But something, inside him stirred again giving rise to the uncanny feelings which were bouncing to and froth in the pit of his stomach since his arrival in the city last week.

He knew something dangerous was happening around, but he couldn't pinpoint the exact thing.

The buzzing of the cell phone, forced him to concentrate on the thing at the hand, rather than the mysterious women entering his life.

"Sister, it's so not a pleasure to hear from you again!" He mocked holding the cell to his right ear, while his left hand worked on his laptop now; since he had a pile to catch up to present at the board.

In response he was only met by a girly chuckle of his elder sister, Alison Walkers who was certainly enjoying the misery of her brother.

"Come on Little Brother; are you still mad at me for ditching you today?" He scrunched his nose in annoyance. Standing up, he started to pace around the room since that seemed a better option rather than showing his discomfort in handling the meeting.

"So you mean to say that you all giving me back to back shocks in just a span of days is fine?"

"Well bro, I am not certain about the shock I gave you apart from the fact that I won't be there to help you in the meeting. And seriously, how bad can it go?"

"If you are forgetting sweetheart, then let me tell you I am a model for heaven's sake not a management spree, that can study the reports here and know the reason of sudden losses of the hotel". He almost yelled this time earning himself another round of laughter.

"Honestly, is Derek teaching you to only laugh these days?"

"Why? Your girl doesn't teach you to laugh anymore?" Hearing the equal mock from the other side, his jaw stiffened suddenly and he choose to hang up rather than tease her anymore; but it wasn't a polite option, thus he decided to question another thing troubling his conscience.

"Forget all that, but tell me what did the doctor say about Mom? Is she fine now completely?"

"Well she is fine from the outside, but we can never know when her panic might kick in again. Since that day, something has changed in her. She is here, yet she is not with us. Apart from Dad, no one knows what the actual deal is. It's like one moment, she is all smiles, and in another second, she is a closed shell". The response didn't made him happier, but it ignited some sense of curiosity inside him.