A King's Sight | ON HOLD

~Chapter 4: Monsters~

It was after dinner when Vanessa went outside to sit on the mansion's steps, waiting for her phone call to connect.

"Hey, Zulie! Been a while since we talked." Her father answered.

He'd always called her that growing up, it being an abbreviation of her middle name Erzulie, which was a powerful family of loa—or spirits in Haitian Vodou.

It was her birth name, quite fitting of her Louisianan roots. That is, until she was adopted by the Belmont's at the age of four.

Even then, she was a linguistic prodigy, already speaking French, Haitian Creole, Spanish, along with English.

Her parents never would go into detail about how she was adopted or who her birth family had been. Only to say they died under 'mysterious circumstances'...whatever that meant.

Vanessa always wondered if there was voodoo or some other force in her bloodline that made her an unnatural polyglot, with frequent visions also supporting her suspicions. She never told her parents about the visions, fearing they would consider her unstable. They were scientists, after all... 'magic wasn't real'.

"So, Dad, remember that job I told you about in England, the personal linguist position for that CEO?" She started.

"I think so... the CEO of the Holmes Corporation, right?"

Vanessa pursed her lips, immediately irritated. "No, Daddy. It was Holmström Industries. Anyway... I got the job and they immediately flew me out here!!" She squealed with excitement, expecting her father to reciprocate in her joy.

Only he didn't...

"W-wa-wait! Holmström Industries?! As in—ALARIC Holmström??" He yelled confrontational. Why did he sound so damn angry?

"Yaaah..?" Vanessa was confused. "It's only THE largest steel and infrastructure manufacturer in the world! You make it sound like that's a huge problem."

"Oh my god... I know what they do, Zulie! You CANNOT work for him!" He yelled again, furious.

"What the hell?! Why??" Vanessa yelled back, now angry herself.

"The Holmström family is nothing but goddamn monsters!" He said raging. "Your grandfather called them on their shit after World War II for manufacturing and selling weapons to the Germans. NAZIs—Vanessa!!"

She suddenly was reminded of her and Alaric's talk in the garden, his stern face when she mentioned her grandfather. There was indeed some bad history between the two families but she couldn't understand how that was relevant now.

"Ok dad... that was ALLEGEDLY! I'm sorry, but Grandpa's investigative crusade was never proven true. Besides, even if Holmström did sell weapons to nazis, they were selling JUST as hard to the Allies!"

"That makes it even WORSE!! How can you defend that??" Her father exclaimed.

"Hey, equal-opportunity-profiteering." She shrugged, knowing he couldn't see over the phone. "Sounds like great business sense to me."

"Vanessa, honey..." His tone took a warning edge. "I don't want you working anywhere near that monster. You have no idea the type of world you're getting yourself into with those Holmström's."

"Dad... I understand you may be concerned for my reputation or whatever, but if you're so insistent on me not working for him, then give me a good RELEVANT reason that doesn't relate to Grandpa's old—."

"—Alaric Holmström is dangerous." He interrupted. She gulped realizing he was dead serious.

"Dangerous... how?" She prodded. "I did extensive research on both him and the company and found absolutely nothing to warrant concern."

"That's right. You're not going to find anything. It's by design." He informed her. "I really wish you had ran the company past me before you accepted the job. You know I've got serious connections from my research, and, honey... according to them, a few months ago, a Holmström employee went missing without a trace."

Vanessa was still in denial. "To be fair, I DID run the company past you but you didn't pay attention. Besides, I'm sure it's difficult keeping perfect track of every last employee. They've got a ton of them all over the world."

"Not in personal aides."

She felt her blood run cold. She hadn't told him that was her position's other title.

"You're not suggesting he kills people, are you?" She hesitantly asked.

Her father didn't respond.

"Vanessa..." he uttered with grave concern. "Just be careful, will ya? Please."

She hung up feeling confused and stressed to no end. Her face plopped between her hands as she let out a deep sigh. She had no idea what to make of all this. First the violent vision in the garden, then Maurice's strange plea, and now her father warning her to be careful—or better yet, quit. All within a matter of hours. Her job hadn't even begun and she was getting inundated with red flags that had no provable evidence.

She sat there debating in her head. This was the biggest opportunity she had been offered and besides the few hiccups, she felt really comfortable there. Both Alaric and Maurice made her feel at home. Maybe it was just 'first day' stress? You know, where all the bad juju was released at once and wouldn't ever bother her again? Yeah... that's what it is. She argued with herself. Still, she was concerned.

"Knock, knock." Maurice said, tapping on the doorway. Vanessa shook, startled.

"Woah now, horsie! Didn't mean to spook ya."

"Haha! You're good, Maurice!"

He sat down on the steps beside her and whipped out his pack of cigarettes. "Ya mind if I smoke?" He asked.
Normally, she would care but in this case she didn't. Her mind was on other things at the moment. He proceeded, blowing out a huff of the burning tobacco before noticing Vanessa's quiet, perturbed state.

"Everything alright, darlin'?" He inquired with genuine concern. Vanessa appreciated his interest. He was always so warm and good about making sure she felt comfortable.

"I think so." She replied. "Just got off the phone with my dad and he wasn't too thrilled about me working here."

"What?! Why is that?" Maurice was surprised.

"I don't know. He's just always been like that."

"Ahh... one of those. I gotcha." He said stretching his arms back. "Welp... maybe a drink will make it better."

She smiled taking a humorous tone, "What? You trynna turn me into a 'cynical alcoholic' like Alaric?"

"Eh. Misery loves company." He shrugged smiling. "Actually, I was getting ready to head down to the pub and wondered if you might wanna join me." Vanessa knew his invitation was platonic, despite his charming demeanor. That's just how he was.

"Man, already hitting the pub? It sure doesn't take you long to get on Queen's time!" She stated playfully.

Maurice grinned, "I find the only foolproof method to combating jet lag is straight immersion. Die the first day as a tourist; live the next day as a local. Works every time!" Vanessa chuckled as she considered his offer. She really wasn't in the mood to go out. Her father's words still haunted her. *Not in personal aides...* her mind echoed.

She sat there scheming.

Maybe this was the chance she needed? Wait a few drinks in then ask Maurice about the past employee.

She made up her mind.

That's exactly what she would do.

Perfect!

Now she just needed to bring her knife.