Deal Or No Deal

Andromeda

I couldn't believe Phyllis was already thirteen. Looking at her smiling and jumping around, I felt like I was looking at my mom in her teens.

Mom was beautiful, and Phyllis is a spitting image of her. It's such a shame she didn't get to meet that beautiful woman who died to give her life.

Every birthday Phyllis celebrated was equally our mom's death anniversary. Instead of wallowing in pain and anger toward this innocent soul, I took her to mom’s grave before visiting the amusement park after we enjoyed a hearty meal at mom’s favorite restaurant. This has been our routine since Phyllis turned five.

I couldn't hide my smile when I saw her doing backflips so effortlessly. She would surely become a famous gymnast. Mom would have been proud of who she had become.

[I’m the love of the love of my life…] The sound of my ringtone pulled me out of my reverie. As soon as I picked the call, I shot to my feet, dread washing over my being.

“Impossible! Annabel, what are you saying? Dad travelled to Italy last week. He’s not even around…”

Oh my God! How? How could…

I ended the call and quickly searched social media. I didn't need to search long, as news about the MacKnights always made top searches.

This one, unfortunately, wasn't news any of us expected. I watched a trending video of my father, Ambassador MacKnight in handcuffs, and surrounded by a dozen policemen.

My hands trembled and the phone slipped, hitting the ground with a bang. My knees trembled uncontrollably, and I fumbled for the seat behind me.

“Andrea, what's wrong? You look pale.” Phyllis rushed to my side, grabbing my hands firmly. However, no words could escape my trembling lips.

I told Dad to leave the country, but he said he had nothing to hide. I warned him. Whenever political power changed, many top politicians, especially the ones who were closest to the former president were targeted by the new government.

Dad was adamant! He didn't agree to move out of the country. Instead of joining me in Italy, he forced me to come here for Phyllis’ birthday.

I don't know what charges they leveled against Dad, but it couldn't be anything good. How would we get out of this? No politician ever got out of this embarrassment. For Dad to be arrested so publicly meant they had something big on him. What am I to do now?

“Phyllis, dad’s in trouble.” Those were the only words I could force out of my trembling lips, as my mind raced, weighing all the options available for us. Unfortunately, there were very few of them.

As we raced toward our house, I spotted a black minivan chasing us, but I stepped on the gas and quickly lost them. Well, I thought I did.

“Andrea, what do we do now?” Phyllis might be smart, but she was still a thirteen-year-old after all.

“We need to leave the country right away.” I responded, feeling my heart miss several beats.

“What! What about Dad?” Phyllis sounded like I was a deserter. However, our first point of call would be to save ourselves first. When we were safe, we could find out about father’s charges and see if we could save him.

“You see this?” I showed her my phone. I received a text message as soon as I cut the call from Annabel. It was an anonymous number, instructing me to leave the country ASAP.

My sister recognized the signature at the end of the message. It was our way of communicating without others understanding us. She understood it was from Dad. I guess he knew he was going to get arrested anyway.