THE BILLIONNAIRE'S RETALIATION

CHAPTER 1: MR FORGER DISAPPEARS, HIS HOUSEHOLD IN TENSION

Knock! Knock!

"Becky?" Samantha called.

"Just a sec!" Becky said as she hurried to open her room door.

"There you are... Mother's been worried sick about you all day because you haven't been outside your room since the break of dawn," Samantha said as she walked in.

"I hope she isn't mad at me though.... I want to be alone today," Becky said.

"No, she's not mad at you, she's just worried," Samantha said, her voice filled with emotion. "And what do you mean by wanting to be alone?"

"Nothing serious, I just felt like being all by myself," Becky replied.

"Really?" Samantha asked in disbelief. "I can tell when you're lying, remember?"

"Gosh... Couldn't you just believe whatever I tell you for once?" Becky retorted.

"Well, I'll believe you when you tell me the truth. As long as you keep on lying to me, I won't stop persisting...especially when you could hurt yourself if I don't," Samantha said.

"Look Sam... I'm fine," Becky said, holding back her tears.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't be crying, Becky. Tell me, was it your mother again?" Samantha asked.

"I honestly can't hide anything from you, can I?" Becky said. "I saw her in my dream again, and it felt so pleasant to have her by my side."

"I thought we'd talked about this, Mother is trying to fill in the gap your mother left. Just give her a chance to be your mother, just as she is mine." Samantha said. "Mother loves you, and I'm sure if you give her a chance, you won't feel the loss of your mother."

"I guess you're right, Sam... Lydia has been more than a mother to me. Maybe I should be the daughter she wants me to be," Becky said.

"Thank you... Also, I think you should start by calling her mom instead of Lydia," Samantha said.

Becky chuckled lightly before nodding in approval.

"Girls! Dinner is ready!" Lydia called.

"I still don't understand why Lydia.... I mean, Mother calls for dinner herself, she could just assign someone to do it," Becky said.

"I also don't know why she does it, but that shouldn't be our problem as long as we eat," Samantha said.

The duo hurried downstairs and reclined at the table with the others, and they began eating. Their father, James Forger, hadn't been back from work, which was unlikely for him.

"Mother, when will Father be home?" Becky asked, stuffing her mouth with food.

"I don't know, dear, but he'll be back soon." Lydia was surprised to see that Becky called her mother; however, she managed to maintain her composure.

"Becky... You are an adult and yet, you still stuff your mouth full of food," Samantha said.

"Oh please.... I can do whatever I want. Being an adult doesn't mean I should act like one," Becky defended.

"That is literally what being an adult means," Samantha said.

"That's enough, you two," Lydia said calmly. "Sam, Becky is free to eat however she likes."

"Thank you, Mother," Becky said, smiling with content.

"Hmm... I wonder what is keeping Dad so late. He never misses dinner," Becky complained.

"Don't worry, Becky, he'll be back soon, I promise," Samantha said.

"How soon? I'm honestly getting worried." Becky said, then she stood up and went to the living room.

"Becky... You're overreacting. Father is a C.E.O. and you know how much paperwork these people have to fill in," Samantha said.

"Exactly, he is the boss. He could just assign someone else to do it," Becky said. "Besides, I filled out all the paperwork for him yesterday, so he shouldn't have any left unless more came in today."

"Of course, more came in today. You weren't at the office today, remember? Dad was very occupied, I barely had a chance to meet him," Samantha said. "By the way, he could be in a meeting."

"Don't be silly, Sam, no company will be having meetings by this time of the night," Becky said.

"All I'm trying to say is, you need not worry, Dad will be home soon," Samantha said.

"All right, I guess I'm just overreacting," Becky said. "Dad will surely come back."

Although Samantha's words were reassuring, Becky still felt disturbed. Furthermore, the feeling she had wasn't because her father never came home this late, but it was because she felt like something was wrong. However, Samantha kept on reassuring her that their father would be back soon.

Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes to hours, and soon it was very late at night. Becky and Samantha had fallen asleep on the couch while Lydia was up on the balcony, looking out for her husband, James.

Soon, Becky's eyes flickered open; she looked at the clock, it was 10:30. Becky jolted up, and woke Samantha instantly.

"Look, it's almost midnight, and Father isn't home yet. He hasn't called or sent a text, or reached out in any way," Becky said.

"Calm down, Becky... I'm sure he'll be..." Samantha said, still feeling dizzy. However, when her eyes met with the clock, she became fully awake. "Jeeze, it's 10:30!"

"You see what I'm saying. Something is wrong. Dad never comes home this late.... At least not without a call," Becky said.

"Damn, I'm sure whatever happened that kept him this late has a logical explanation," Samantha said.

However, Becky could only think of the negative. Thoughts raced through her mind, and she instantly became so worried.

"What if he has been kidnapped?" Becky said.

"Kidnapped? Pfft... Dad might be old, but he's no weakling. Besides, if he was kidnapped, don't you think the criminals would have called for a ransom," Samantha said. "Furthermore, the news would have carried it, and it'd be all over social media."

"That's right the news," Becky exclaimed and picked up the remote instantly, while Samantha picked up her phone.

"Damn.... One hundred notifications? Is today a birthday party or what?" Samantha said. "Oh my..."

"What's wrong?" Becky said.

Knock! Knock!

"Could that be?" Becky hurried to the door and opened the door, but it wasn't her father, rather it was his driver.

"Where's my father?" Becky asked.

"Ummm.... Becky, I think you need to see this." Samantha said, staring intently at the TV.

Becky turned and watched the television, and read the news headlines.

Gasp!