The Queen || ✔

Chapter 10: Worried King

Charles

"Why did she leave all of a sudden? Where is she? Where could she have gone so late at night?" I screamed at Athena. She shook at my voice but I wasn't even worried about that. I wanted to know where the hell Claudia went off to at ten PM in the evening, for heaven's sake.

"Daddy..." she stuttered.

Her feminine figure was too exposed in her blue denim ripped shorts and hot pink crop top. Was this what kids wore these days?

"Firstly, what are you wearing?!" I screamed out loudly. She shook violently at the sound of my voice and crumbled a few steps away from me. She was panting and sweating and seemed petrified, but I couldn't find it in myself to believe that she was scared of me.

"Athena..."

Before I could say anything, she gagged loudly with a green face and a weird look in her eyes. She plastered her hands in front of her mouth and started running.

"Athena!" I called after her while following her out of my office and up the grand staircase towards the first bathroom she could find. She banged the door shut behind her and after that, all I could hear was her hurling everything out. She sounded like she was choking.

After a while, she stopped. I got extremely worried.

"Athena."

Immediately after, she started vomiting again, louder this time. I was starting to feel sick myself. She didn't even give herself time to breath.

"What's that noise?!" Someone asked me from next to me. It was Claudia, and she looked emotionless, as usual. "Who's in there? It sounds like someone is vomiting? What is happening?!" She barked at me, already in attack mode.

I wasn't going to get bullied by her, I stood my ground and also spoke in my intimidating voice.

"Athena. I was asking her ab-"

"CHARLES!!! My baby girl is sick and you want to tell me a fucking folklore about what happened before! Just shut up, man!" She pushed me away from the door and started knocking on the door as though I wasn't even Athena's father.

"Hey!" I yelled at her, demanding my respect. She looked at me with an agitated and impulsively deadly face on. Ready at any moment to take out her dagger, or her gun or even her mascara. Anything to stick into my neck just to kill me. I wasn't going to make it that easy for her.

"Athena, baby. It's daddy, please let me in, are you ok?" I said, completely ignoring Claudia's presence.

Athena just kept going at it, sounding even more violent and scary with each lump she released. What was happening to her?

"Princess. It's me, mommy. Open the door. I wanna make sure you're ok. I'm very worried. Athena? Princess?" Claudia said, sounding so soft and knocking lightly on the door.

Suddenly, Athena stopped. It was silent for a little while, I got more and more anxious with each moment passing. Then, the door opened and Athena came out, looking lumpy and weak. I didn't expect anything else anyway. She had just finished vomiting her entire digestive system out.

"Come here. Come to momma. Are you ok, huh princess?" She asked her softly as she helped her up.

Athena literally walked out and jumped straight into her mother's arms, as though I was some sort of unseen hologram.

While climbing up another flight of stairs, Claudia looked at me and for a slight moment, I saw a grin. Claudia was still the bitch I wanted to kill one day.

I stormed straight down the corridor towards Hilary's room and barged in, only to find an empty room.

The bed was made, the crib was gone and the curtains were drawn, as though there wasn't anyone in this room anymore.

I ran towards the walk-in closet and it was completely empty. The vanity mirror. Nothing. The drawers. Nothing.

I checked every single thing in the room and it was completely empty.

Did she run away from me? Did she let her nerves overcome her? Was she at the hospital, or at the police station? Did Claudia get to her? That was the only thing that could've frightened her away. That witch must've gotten to her while I was on my business trip.

"NO!" I screamed out loud, shaking the walls and leaving my skin with goosebumps.

Did Claudia kill them? Why weren't they here? I left them here before I left for Greece. I hired guards. My Hilary. My Mason. My one and only. My son, my pride and joy. Where was he? Where was she? Where were they?

I ran straight to Athena's room and Claudia was there, closing the door behind her. She looked at me, smirked and shushed me.

"She fell asleep." Claudia whispered. She couldn't have been serious. I was completely irrational and ready to kill her and all that mattered to her in that moment was her skanky-dressed daughter.

"Where are they?!" I demanded, I wanted my family back.

"Did you not just hear me?" She scolded me with a soft voice.

"CLAUDIA!" I screamed at her with all that I had in me, bulging eyes, hoarse throat and an obviously overexposed heart. She had me right in her palm, but I didn't care. I wanted my family back.

"She is asleep!" Claudia barked at me again, with a soft voice still.

I pulled her by her wrist and turned her entire body to face the opposite way, with her wrist still in my grip. I was pulling with all I had. She was beginning to turn red and she tried struggling but it didn't work.

I lowered to her ear and whispered angrily in her ear, "Where are they?" She just chuckled.

Suddenly, a cold gun was placed on my head. I looked to my side and saw Blade pointing it onto my skull, with his hand tight on the trigger.

"I told you I'd avenge myself one day. You made me who I am, Charles, and now you have to live with it." She said to me.

I let go of her and she nursed her wrist. Then she turned to face me and slapped me right across my face. It stung like lava to my cells, but it didn't hurt just as much as having Hilary and Mason missing.

"I don't know where they are, ok?" She signalled to Blade and they both walked away. "Athena is sleeping so you can take your pity party to the couch tonight." She called out to me. My blood was boiling.