Pharell's POV
It was almost as if she had been waiting for us to be alone in the room so that she could speak. But then again it didn't come as a surprise, this was Tiffany Ryan, she trusted no one. My mother sat up swiftly her eyes wide open as she scrutinized me from head to toe. It had only been a couple of years since I saw her but it felt like decades. My mother's relationship with me had started to strain when I introduced Jasmine as my girlfriend during my twenty-first birthday. She had bluntly told me to break up with Jasmine before she ruined my life. I should have listened to her. But then again Richard is the one who ruined my life, not Jasmine. Her knowledge of the very thing I had come to inquire about caught me off guard. Despite of the a hundred questions I had, only one held a lot of weight at the moment.
"Where is the key mother?" I asked gritting my teeth at the last word, mother. She didn't deserve the title. My mother broke into one of her famous smiles. The woman was ever happy, she hadn't changed. It still didn't explain why she was in a nut house.
"Pharell, do you not want to know why I'm in this place? Aren't you curious as to why I disappeared?" She said narrowing her eyes at me. "As much as I would love to catch up, I don't have the time. My son's life is at stake and this key is the only thing Richard will have to save his life." I stated in a monotone. Her expression didn't change, her cheshire smile still dominating her mouth.
"So you finally found out you had a son with that immigrant prostitute? Making me the youngest grandmother in history. Your as hard headed as your father. I told him not to trust Richie but he couldn't help himself and you? Ha! I knew of your so called affair with Jasmine before you even introduced her. I thought you would be smart enough, play and toss her but no. Then I saw the look in Richie's eyes when you introduced her, I recognised it all too well."
I stared at her not willing to listen about my past, I had already made the choices and dealt with the consequences but I had never regretted falling in love with Jasmine much less having a son with her. How did she know I had a son though? In fact if I had not fallen for her, I would be a ruthless man, conducting prostitute immigration and selling illegal weapons like my father. Of course all this with Richard out of the picture.
"The key mother."
Without warning my mother stood up from her bed and took my arms while humming a happy song that was foreign to my ears.
"Dance with me son, dance with me." I looked at her pleading eyes and found myself swaying her around the almost empty room apart from the bed.
"Do you know how me and your father met?" She asked as if anticipating for an answer. My family never really sat down for a heart to heart. The only time I saw my mother was at her cocktail parties. The rest of the time I was with my father who only let me run the money counting part.I was not to be involved in any operations generating this money, until 'I was ready', as my father would say. Thus I had finished highschool and went straight into the family business waiting to be shown these 'operations.' When I turned nineteen, my father introduced me to our two major operations, illegal selling of weaponry and prostitute immigration. I had been repelled at first. Sure I wanted to be just as rich and powerful as my father but those poor girls... I had later hardened and started overseeing the operations, well until I met Jasmine.
My mind snapped back to my mother's voice who was now twirling like a teenage girl, she was in her late fourties.
"I met your father through Richie. Richard Ferra was my fiancé." My mother stopped so as to gauge my reaction. I guess confusion washed all over my face for she smiled knowingly and went back to stit on her bed, beckoning me to join her. I joined her already intrigued by her revelation.
"Richard and I were a couple and at some time I really think we were in love but he was more in love with power and money than he was ever with me. The plan was for him to use me since your father loved women, to get close to him. He knew that Ambrose would toss me to the wind the moment he got tired and that by that time they would be best of friends. What he didn't expect is for your father to fall for me, hard. So I became Mrs Ryan instead of Mrs Ferra and thus what Richie had felt for Ambrose as jealousy for all his power and wealth it turned out to be hate because I married him and he couldn't do anything about it. I fell in love with your father and gave him what Richie could only dream of, a son. I wanted to tell Ambrose of Richie's intentions but I was afraid he would accuse me of false love, I couldn't bare to lose him. I was so afraid when you two argued, afraid he would end up leaving everything to Richie. While your father wasn't exactly holy, Richie was worse. Ambrose would never deal with advanced weaponry at the mercy of his fellow war lords, to some extent he valued lives but Richie? When you walked in with Jasmine that night I saw it in his eyes, lust mixed with opportunity. Your father was to give you the empire, Richie couldn't have that. Besides the deadliest weapon's formula had just fallen into the hands of your father. It was the key to making a chemical weapon that could destroy a whole population and boy did the war lords want it. Richie saw it as the key to power but somehow Ambrose never trusted him enough to show him where he kept it. He trusted us though and Richie knew that. But don't worry son I take care of my own."
The door opened and both my mother and I turned to face the door.
"Visiting time is over Mr Ryan." I started to protest but my mother laid back in her bed closing her eyes while humming. I had too many questions but I knew I wouldn't get the answers.
"Where is it?" I asked intently.
She opened her eyes briefly to look at me before closing them again. I angrily stood up from the bed walking towards the door.
"Music son is the key to happiness." I turned to look at her wondering why she had suddenly become vague. "It is with you." Those are the last words she said before the doctor usherred me out of her room. I now had only twenty four hours to find the key and save my son and I was nowhere in finding this goddamned key.
