The Billionaire's Forbidden Legacy

I run through the double sliding doors of the hospital, taking the staircase to the fourth floor as the bank of the elevators are crazy busy. I barge through the door, bending over as I try to catch my breath, but the sound of doctors rushing past me, remind me that I don't have a second to spare.

"Hello, Is this Angela's sister Laura?"

"I'm calling from the Auckland City hospital. I'm sorry to inform you at this hour of the day, but, Angela has been involved in a very horrific car accident and I was required to call her next of kin."

"I think it might be best if you gather the rest of your family to come and say their final goodbyes."

The sympathy voice echoes in my ear. I run fast. Especially if I want to be at Angela's side as she takes her last breath. I refuse to let her die alone, our mother died alone on her way to the hospital inside the ambulance, it still eats my father up inside to this very day.

Today marks the sixth year of my mothers passing.

The sixth-year since I last saw Angela.

My dad blames her for our mother's death.

At the age of seventeen, Angela fell pregnant and she begged our mother to keep it a secret. They were visiting the doctor for her third check-up when a car lost control and hit them as they were waiting at the bus stop.

I run towards the nurse's desk, "Angela," I puff out. "My sister, Angela was brought in due to a car accident." I tap on the desk, nervously.

The nurse's fingers skim across her keyboard as she focuses on the computer screen. "Oh, yes. She is in room 22. She is heavily sedated, so she may not be as responsive as you're hoping." The nurse glances up with pity in her brown eyes.

"Thank-you. I just don't want her to die on her own." I throw over my shoulder as I rush towards her room.

I stop when I reach her door, wiping the tears from my face and I take a deep breath. I slowly push the doors open, walking towards her on trembling limbs as my eyes rest on her resting body.

The machines' thunderous beeps linger in the air, and there is blood everywhere. There is so much blood. I swallow loudly, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other and trying to avoid collapsing to my knees in prayer.

I finally reach her side, brushing her blood-soaked caramel hair away from her face and her eyes flutter open.

"Laura?" She croaks out breathlessly.

"Shh, don't speak," I say softly. "Save your energy." My eyes soak her in.

This isn't how I wish to see my sister for the final time, embedding this image of her in my memory box will forever haunt me.

"Benji." She croaks, holding her hand up.

I take her hand in mine, "I won't leave him alone." I sniffle, kissing her grazed knuckles.

"No, you don't understand. He can not stay in the mansion alone, Laura. Please. He is my legacy and I am entrusting you with him." A lone tear slides down her face.

She lets go of my hand, touching the locket around her neck and groans as she uses the little bit of strength she has left to rip it from her neckline.

"Here," She sobs."Take this, tell him I love him and I'll always be with him." She gasps for air, as the machines become increasingly loud and insistent.

I take the locket from her hand, "Ange." I sob.

"I love you. Save Benji." She exhales loudly and flat lines on the machines.

"Ange! Ange, please!!" I sob, throwing my body over hers. 'Please don't leave me.. Please..."

The atmosphere is gloomy with sorrow. I close my umbrella and look up at the foreboding sky as the rain pours down upon us.

Today we are burying my sister; my father requested a prompt release of her body to prevent Carlos from claiming it.

Carlos is a businessman, but no one is certain what kind of business he operates. However, as we all know, he is impenetrable, as I discovered the hard way.

I tried to do things the legal way by going to a lawyer to apply for guardianship of little Benji who is four years old. The lawyers all agreed at first, saying that I had a solid case and they strongly believed that little Benji would be granted to me.

However, as soon as I uttered Carlos Hammond's name. They promptly dismissed the lawsuit, as if it were untouchable. Their sound advice to me was to abandon the case, as no one in their right mind would dare to face a man with the amount of authority he possesses.

No matter how hard I begged, in the end, I was escorted out of the building.

Not a single soul in town was brave enough to stand up to him and I was curious to know why.

I steal a glance to my left where he stands with little Benji at his side and another lady with short black hair. His large hand rests upon Benji's shoulder as he stares straight ahead with a cold look upon his face.

When Carlos approaches us, I attempt to focus on my breathing. By linking my arm to my father's, we rely on the limited strength we share to remain upright and look him in the eye. He glares silently at us for what feels like an eternity before taking Benji's hand and walking away.

Not an 'I am sorry for your loss, but you are welcome to visit little Benji at any time.' Flows from his lips.

I am numb.

My grief-stricken body is devoid of any emotions.

I have lost my mother and, now, my sister, whom I never saw as I grew into a young lady.

As my father collapses to his knees, the left side of my body is dragged towards the ground.

I watch through a cloud of tears as he crawls to the pile of dirt, now, covering my sister's grave and he starts to cry out.

His quivering, gut-wrenching screams travel through the air like a thunderous storm nearly knocking me off my feet.

"Not my girl!" He cries, digging through the dirt. "Not my beautiful, beautiful, Ange."

"Dad," I croak out, blinking back the tears as I look straight ahead. "Dad, please get up." I sob, covering my mouth as his screams of agony pierces my soul.

'Please, he is my legacy and I am entrusting him to you.' Her words haunt me in my waking state of mind.

"I'm sorry." My father continues to cry as he desperately digs through the dirt, trying to reach, Ange. "Forgive me..."

I advance two steps, reaching his side, and sink to my knees. My left knee hits the ground first, followed by my right, and I throw my arm around my father's shivering torso, drawing him in for a close embrace.

We kneel together in the moist mud, the rain continuing to fall around us while we grieve in tandem.

"She never felt ill hearted towards you, dad," I whisper beside his ear. "You were her hero, even when you refused to see Benji after he was born." I pull back from our embrace, cupping his face in my hands. "She understood why you forced her out of our family home," I tell him truthfully.

"Benji." He whispers as he exhales.

"She wants us to raise him, dad. She begged me to take him away from the mansion and raise him. He is our legacy and our last link to Angela." I sniffle, looking up at the clouds. "I'll bring him home, sis. I promise I'll never leave his side." I vow.

"Go..." My father says sternly. "Go and bring our Benji home where he belongs."

I look back at him, wiping my face that is covered in my tears and rainwater. "I'll never leave him," I say as I rise to my feet with a new purpose.