Reborn Shadows: Destiny's Thread

| 6

Victoria came across the guest list and started reading through it until she came across a familiar name.
 
"The Hawthorne Dukedom?"
 
"Yes, yes!" The general manager said with enthusiasm, "Your father is throwing a gala for the elite, so be expecting people of influence at the gala."
 
"Okay!" Victoria flipped the page and continued scanning the rest of the list, pushing her initial feelings aside. She closed the file and stared at the general manager.
 
"Well, since we are expecting important people, We should prepare adequately. Since the workforce at the hotel is minimal, we need to hire part-timers to assist on occasion."
 
"Part-timers?" The general manager repeated Victoria frowned at him as he kept quiet.
 
"Yes, we will pay them 20 Luminae per hour. Just to make the workload lighter for everyone and for the venue of the gala, which would be at the annex, alert the maids to clean the hall; don't forget those winter decorations!" Victoria said, and the general manager continued to write down everything she said.
 
"And for the budget." Victoria said as she opened the other file the manager handed her. She vetted the document, making minor increments and decrements in certain areas until a particular area caught her interest.
 
"A VIP room for the current investors in the Blackwood suites with a working fountain in it?" Victoria read out loud. The general manager closed his ears in fear of Victoria's infamous screeches. She instantly felt like she had deja vu.
 
'What's this feeling?'
 
"Why would they have a VIP room and working fountain?" Victoria frowned at the paper before her. The general manager removed his hands from his ears after anticipating a noisy Victoria. Instead, she clicked her tongue and shook her head.
 
'What happened?' He asked himself. Victoria didn't scream or complain. He coughed and explained himself.
 
"They insisted on having a VIP room. I couldn't say no!"
 
"So?" She looked at him coldly. "You manage the hotel; you know its capabilities. You should have told them that it costs much to fund a VIP room with a working fountain!" Victoria said it calmly, almost to the shock of the manager.
 
"A working fountain?" Victoria scoffed. "In the VIP room? Does this make any sense? Talk about the rise in water bills. Will it work every time? It's even bad architecture to construct a water fountain in a room! It's usually outside or in an open space. They probably expect this to come out of the hotel funds. What led them to think in this direction?"
 
"I don't know." The general manager spoke quietly, still thinking she could blow up at any time. Think carefully before he talks. He imagines himself trying to pass through an open space infested with landmines carefully so as not to trigger them.
 
Victoria is one of the numerous landmines in his imagination.
 
"Well, I would have to cancel it out of our budget. They can have a VIP room with a working fountain in it, but not at my hotel, and not with the hotel money. This is a luxury hotel, not a lounge for asses dumb enough to build a fountain in a room." Victoria took her red pen, canceled that section of the budget, and threw the file to the manager. He quickly caught it and sighed, relieved.
 
"They won't be happy with your decision."
 
"Do you actually want those idiots to construct a water fountain in one of the hotel rooms and call it a VIP room because it has a water fountain?" The general manager shook his head.
 
"Well, that's just me doing your job for you; now leave my sight." She snapped at him, and he quickly went out of her room. She frowned, massaging her temple, wondering how her father keeps up with the stakeholders.
 
"Those crazy men!" Victoria thought out loud.
______________________________________
 
Eliza has already started her day, working tirelessly at a depot that distributes construction materials. She was a part-timer there. She unloads the cargo and brings it into the depot for storage. After her shift, she walks to the depot manager's office and sees his door ajar. She peeks through the slightly opened door and sees him counting money while smiling like an idiot. She snickers and enters the office. The depot manager quickly hides the money in his drawer.
 
"Good afternoon, sir!" Eliza noticed him hiding the money.
 
"Yes, Yes! What do I want?" The depot manager cleared his throat and adjusted his sitting posture, trying not to look awkward.
 
"I have come for my pay." Eliza said it with a fake smile. The manager cleared his throat and looked around his desk like he was searching for something. Eliza thinks he looks like an idiot while doing this.
 
"Well, I will hand it over just now." He opened his drawer and took out just 15 Luminae. Eliza looked at the money on his desk incredulously. She was supposed to earn 40 Luminae for working for four hours, but he only gave her fifteen!
 
"Sir, it's not complete. I worked for four hours!" Eliza frowned this time.
 
"Well, I have no money to spare; if you don't want it, then leave it." Eliza got angry and raised her voice at him.
 
"Sir, I saw you counting money before I came in. Why is it hard for you to give me 40 Luminae?"The man slammed his hand on the table, trying to intimidate Eliza.
 
"You should even be thankful that I was generous enough to give you 15 Luminae!"
 
"I want my complete pay!" Eliza shouted back at him, unwavering.
 
"Brutus! Mark!" The manager shouted as two men entered the room, "Drag this filthy common wrench out of my office!"
 
Eliza looked at the men coming towards her and scoffed.
 
....…..…….….……………......................…......
 
A few minutes later~
 
Eliza dusted her outfit and glared at the three men bound with masking tape in a corner. She strode towards his desk and took the remaining twenty-five from his drawer. She kept all of the coins in her pouch and walked towards the bound men.
 
"I only ask for forty, not your entire life savings." She dangled the coins in front of the depot manager, who only made a muffled noise due to the masking tape in his mouth. She walked out of the office and left the depot for her next job as a shoe cleaner in a boutique. Eliza ran many odd jobs, but due to the season, it became difficult to find jobs.
 
Eliza was the only one taking care of her family. Although she had an older brother, he was always gambling with the little wealth he had in hopes of 'doubling his money'. She also had three younger triplet siblings, Don, Giselle, and Sierra, which was the only reason she did part-time jobs.
 
Eliza sighed as she walked down the street towards the boutique. Her thoughts were consumed by the constant struggle to support her family. She wished her brother would change his ways and start taking responsibility, but she knew better than to rely on him. She had to be strong for her younger siblings.
 
Entering the boutique, Eliza greeted the owner, Mrs. Thompson, with a warm smile. Mrs. Thompson was a kind-hearted woman who had given Eliza this opportunity to work as a shoe cleaner. Eliza appreciated the job as it provided a steady income, even though it was not much.
 
As she knelt to clean a pair of boots, Eliza's eyes landed on a mirror in front of her, and she looked at her reflection. She felt nothing special about her appearance but appreciated the fact that she has nice skin with no sign of blemishes.
 
"Wait...!" Eliza turned her profile in the mirror and touched the side of her face.
 
'Did I not used to have a nasty scar here?' She thought to herself as she examined her face. The shop attendant came and witnessed Eliza checking her face.
 
"What are you doing? Are you slacking off?" She asked, and Eliza snapped out of it and continued cleaning the shoes with vigor. The shop attendant shook her head at Eliza before carrying the boxes containing the shoes Eliza had already cleaned.
 
"Miss Debbie!" Eliza called the shop attendant. She turned to look at Eliza. "Did I ever have a scar on my face?"
 
"What sort of question is that?" Miss Debbie frowned at her. "I have never seen you with one, so I don't know. I am not your face!" Mrs. Debbie left the room immediately.
 
"So I didn't?" Eliza scratched her head.
 
______________________________________
 
Later in the evening~
 
At the end of Eliza's shoe cleaning shift, she got 20 Luminae, meaning she now has 60 Luminae with her. She smiled contentedly at her coin pouch. She was determined to make more money to help her family.
 
She went to a hiring board in her neighborhood, where odd jobs are posted regularly. She noticed a flyer on the board. She tore the flyer and examined it.
 
"Need help, one-time helpers for the Lu'minara gala at the Blackwood hotel next week Sunday," Eliza continued to observe the flyer in front of her. She felt like she somehow had a connection to this name, so she took the flyer and folded it in her pocket.
 
She got back home, and her younger siblings rushed towards her happily.
 
"Eliza's back!" They giggled around her. Don, Sierra, and Giselle were 10 years old and 3 years old when their parents left them, so they looked up to Eliza, who always took care of them.
 
Eliza gives each of them a pat on the head while smiling warmly.
 
"How was work today?" Giselle asked 
 
"It was okay, although some mean men tried to bully me!" The kids gasped.
 
"Did you beat them up?" Don and Sierra, the energetic duo, asked. Eliza laughed and shook her head.
 
"I didn't beat them up, but I sure showed them." Eliza answered them.
 
"Woah!" The kids shouted in excitement, "Big sister is the coolest!"
 
"Alright now! Let's go make dinner!" Eliza told the kids, and they ran into the house happily, with Eliza following them. The kids wore their aprons and went to the kitchen.
 
Eliza and her siblings started to make dinner, enjoying their time together. Their elder brother Marcus enters the house annoyed, mumbling and saying things under his breath.
 
"Marcus!" Eliza came out to see him. The younger ones hid in the kitchen because they disliked their brother. He wasn't nice, like their big sister.
 
"What!" He shouted at her. Eliza frowned as she watched him go to his room.
 
"Sister, you should beat him up one day." Giselle said as she stared at Eliza with innocent eyes. Her brothers nodded in agreement.
 
"Don't think much about your elder brother like that! Whether we like it or not, he is the head of the family," Eliza said to her siblings sternly.
 
"Sorry!" They apologized to Eliza.
 
"Now let's leave him alone and continue dinner!" They went to the kitchen to continue cooking. After they were done with the cooking, they ate their portion without inviting Marcus to eat because he was still brooding in his room.
 
'Every time he loses his bet, he always likes that.' Eliza was slightly annoyed. The kids took their plates to the kitchen and cleared the area before sitting down to talk about their day to Eliza, who listened attentively to the cute narrations.
 
Soon after, she sent them to bed and went to her room. After changing into her nightgown, she heard a knock at her door. She opened it and saw her brother standing awkwardly.
 
She glared at him. "What do you want?"
 
"I need 20 Luminae for you," he said, scratching the back of his head. Eliza couldn't believe her ears. He came back home, ignoring them like they never existed, and now he is asking her for money like he suddenly remembered he had siblings.
 
"Really Marcus!" Eliza frowned and folded her arms. "I can't give you money anymore."
 
"Why?" He exclaimed. Eliza heaved a sigh.
 
"I said I can't!" She repeated. He frowned at Eliza.
 
"Really now, I need the money, and I am not asking you; I am demanding you because I am old...!" Eliza closed her door in her brother's face before he could finish and went to bed.
 
"Eliza! Eliza! Eliza, open the door!" He shouted as he banged on the door.
 
"Ugh...! Marcus, go to sleep!" Eliza shouted back. She heard murmuring from him until he eventually kicked her door and stormed away in anger.
 
Eliza sighed, annoyed.