Finding Hope

Laugh or cry

"Hello, ma'am," I finally found your daughter's whereabouts," the voice on the phone said.

"What? Are you serious?" I asked, my heart racing.

"Yes, ma'am. She is at the Johnsons'," the voice replied.

"Which Johnsons?" I inquired, desperately trying to make sense of the situation.

"The ones from New York, the doctors," the voice clarified.

"Oh my God, you mean the same Johnsons we met at the designer awards last week?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes, ma'am. The daughter of Doctor Clyde is actually your daughter. He adopted her when she was 12 years old. She had been savagely raped, on the verge of death. Doctor Clyde found her and treated her, eventually adopting her," the voice explained.

As I listened to the detective's grim explanation, shock overwhelmed me, and I fainted.

POV: Janet Benedict

When I woke up, I desperately hoped that what I heard had been a dream. But as reality set in, I realized it was a horrifying truth. My daughter, Alice, raped at the tender age of 12? It was inconceivable. How could something like this happen? I was filled with a mixture of anguish and anger.

"Antoine? Antoine?" I called out, my voice trembling.

"Yes, honey, you finally woke up," Antoine replied, concern etched on his face.

"You bastard! It's because of you! I hate you! You destroyed my life! I hate you!" I screamed at him, my words fueled by a flood of emotions I couldn't control.

"What happened, amour? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a?" Antoine asked, bewildered.

"Do you know what happened to my daughter?" I paused to catch my breath, tears streaming down my face. "She was... raped, Antoine. At 12 years old. My baby was raped," I choked out, my voice breaking.

"What? My daughter? Raped? At 12? By who? Where is Alice at that time? How did she let this happen?" Antoine asked, his own shock and pain now evident.

POV: Antoine Benedict
Hello there, my name is Antoine Benedict, and I am known as the king of wealth. I am both incredibly rich and emotionally impoverished, also struggling to balance my position as a Mafia king with my family life. I have committed numerous acts of violence, taking the lives of many and leaving a trail of enemies in my wake. However, the only thing in this world that truly matters to me is my family.

I am deeply in love with Janet, my childhood girlfriend whom I married. When we wed, I promised her that I would shield her from my dark world and make her happy until my last breath. Janet comes from a wealthy family in France, her father being the owner of renowned fashion brands and a world-renowned designer. He passed down his legacy to Janet, making her the sole heiress of the family. Janet is a strong and immensely talented woman who has been my pillar of support through it all.

Unfortunately, I couldn't keep my promise when an unexpected incident occurred one Saturday. Driven by my desires, I sought the company of a promiscuous woman who ended up betraying me by filming our intimate encounter and using it to blackmail me. In my arrogance, I decided to take matters into my own hands, and I abducted the beloved grandson of the person who sent her. My intention was to prevent them from leaking the video to the media. However, tragedy struck when Janet warned me not to harm the young boy, who was merely 10 years old. Ignoring her plea, I did as I pleased, and a fatal accident occurred where one of my men inadvertently caused the boy's death during a quarrel.