Love, Lies & Legacy 2- chapter 1

Covert Lies

CHAPTER 1

Celestina was the light of happiness and soul mate to Theodore Masenfer. Theodore always made sure that his wife got everything she wanted and he would go to far lengths to fulfill her needs. But during the start of the feud between the Masenfers and the Cuzas, Celestina only craved for one thing, her loving husband back.

Theodore would always be out, trying to settle the fighting of power in Eternelle Situation De Trio. Instead of peace, the battle became more complicated and competitive. This affected Celestina in a big way. Her husband was seldom home and was not himself most of the time. She wanted the feud to end and life to be as it was before. But Celestina did not have the power to do that.

When Celestina gave up on life, she became terminally ill. Before her last breath, she custom made a long wooden box. The inside of the box was made of steel. With the help of Alexander Cuza’s wife, they both uniquely sealed the box. Inside it, written with Celestina’s own hands before her death were writings of hope.

~*~

Aurora Masenfer was a striking woman with high cheekbones, luscious brown hair and eyes the color of the ocean. Her best friend since childhood, Annaliese Cuza has been through the ups and downs of her life with kindness and patience.

They both went to each other’s wedding, been there during the birth of their children and most importantly during the discovery of an old oblong box called Espoir.

Aurora was an antique dealer. She would go to the ends of the world to find the most precious and historical pieces of antiques. She stumbled upon the Espoir when she was is Spain and immediately brought it to France to show Annaliese. Little did Aurora know that the discovery of the Espoir would be the start of a thorny life for the Masenfer family.

“The engraving on this is definitely French. Espoir itself is a French word. How did you find it?” said Annaliese while carefully examining the Espoir.

“One of my clients works in real estate. He found this beautiful mansion at Valencia and found this inside the house before he was about to put it on the market,” said Aurora while sitting down on the white sofa next to Annaliese.

“You are an expert when it comes to old historical pieces. Do you know the Espoir’s origin?” asked Annaliese as she meticulously put the important piece on the coffee table in front of her.

“I do not know anything about this piece except for the fact that it is about 100 years old. The design and engravings are purely French yet it was discovered in Spain. It does not make any sense, Anna” she said, aggravated by the minor facts she had.

“You left out another thing, even thought we do not know its origin, previous owner, its contents or even how to open it, we do know that it is very important,” Annaliese said while sipping her tea.

“I want to thank you for helping me during my arrival here. Being chased by dangerous unknown men is not as fun as it use to be,” Aurora said with a smile. Annaliese giggled at her best friend’s remark.

“You are not getting any younger, Aurora. Being chased after was pleasurable when we were young and unmarried. Now we have so much responsibility in our hands. But I do want you to be careful; those men will not stop until the Espoir is in their hands.”

“The way you’re saying things is like I have never been through this before,” Aurora said with a surprised tone. Annaliese gave Aurora a serious look.

“Fine, I’ll keep my eyes open. So since you are concerned about my safety, could I borrow your jet to go back to New York?” asked Aurora.

“Of course you can. I do not use it much anyway,” she said with a smile.

2 days later, Aurora flew back to New York to reunite with her family. It was 11.00 at night when the private jet landed at JFK airport.

Aurora was gathering her things on the jet, almost ready to step foot on land and ride back home. Her personal bodyguard and long time friend, West Halloway was waiting for her when they heard screeching tires.

West looked out the round windows of the jet and saw that an anonymous car had stopped in front of Aurora’s Mercedes. 4 men came out from the car with guns. In seconds, a thunderous battle of bullets began.

“Use the back exit Aurora. It’s pretty ugly down there,” he said while slinging the Espoir over him. Aurora swiftly moved to the back and exited there where one of her emergency cars parked.

Aurora and West both entered the car just as the 4 men entered the jet threw the main cockpit. They drove off in full speed, heading towards the big city.

“Just to be safe, we are doing a transfer. I don’t think those men just now give up easily,” West said to Aurora.

“I think so too,” she said with a smile, actually enjoying her little chasing adventure. Aurora Masenfer had a thrill for being a wanted person. She loved the excitement and ecstasy of being hunted. The satisfying part of it was that she had never been caught before.

Her dangerous life started when she first became an antique dealer and collector. Her findings of very important pieces were always rare and coveted. She discovered that in her profession, people would kill for very priceless things.

The very treacherous life she lived in with West Halloway subsided when she got married and started a family. Aurora did now want her family to be in any harm whatsoever. But unfortunately, hazardous events have occurred since the Espoir was in her possession.

The car stopped by a junction and both Aurora and West got out of the car and entered a typical New York taxi next to it.

“To Aurora’s house, Jimmy. By the way, thanks for the help. Sorry it was last minute,” said West to the scruffy looking taxi driver.

“It’s no big deal. I’m happy to help,” he said while looking threw the rearview mirror to look straight into the piercing eyes of Aurora.

“ I thought you gave up all of this, Aurora,” Jimmy asked.

“I thought I did too,” she said back. Jimmy stopped in front of Aurora’s 2-storey penthouse on the upper side of New York.

“Thank you so much Jimmy. I’ll see you tomorrow West,” she said as she entered her home in peace, the Espoir safely in her hands.