You can thank my Creative Writing teacher for this one-shot...We had to pick five "hard words" from the book that we are currently reading and write a short story with them.
Inspired by and dedicated to my amazing friend Helena for not giving up on me even when I basically dropped off the face of the earth. You are too good for words!
One morning in early January when the rime still coated every surface, a woman in her mid-thirties walked confidently up to a secluded mansion, a solemn look on her face. Upon reaching the menacing double doors, she opened them and continued on in as if she owned the place.
At the same time, an old man in a wheelchair sat at a desk sifting through papers while a man of the same era, who seemed to be the formers' consort, stood deep in thought at the window. Both men were so engrossed in their duties that they jumped slightly when the study doors were flung open.
The two men were stunned into silence at their unexpected visitor, so it fell to the woman to speak first. "Hi, Daddy," she smirked at their shocked expressions as she walked a few steps into the room and closed the doors behind her. The man at the window was the first to find his voice.
"C-Claudia?" he stuttered.
"In the flesh," she said with a flip of her hair.
"But you were…"
"Dead, deceased, departed? Is that what you were going to say, Trevor? Well, I see that time hasn't depleted what little bit of sense you had," the woman quipped. "But you should know better than to think I would fall that easily. It seems to be a rule that no one ever stays dead for long here in Port Charles. You and I are living proof."
The woman's father, who had decided he had been quiet for too long, spoke up. "This certainly puts a damper on things then." Claudia narrowed her eyes but said nothing. "Your brother, upon hearing of your death, has decided to take over the business. This is something that I have wanted for years and I will not have my conniving snake of a daughter ruin this for me or John."
"Why, Daddy," she started innocently, "how could you even suggest I would take that opportunity from Johnny? In spite of everything, he is my brother; all I want in this life is the best for him. I really have no intention in taking back the business; after all, the mob is no place for a woman." Then her eyes darkened as she said, "But if you do anything to control or harm John, you won't know what hit you." With that, she turned on her heel and began to walk away.
Her father, however, had no intention of risking what was at stake and what was finally coming to fruition. Without a word, he drew out the revolver that had been carefully hidden inside a pocket and aimed it at his daughter's back.
A gunshot sounded, however it was not the revolver that went off but a derringer wielded by none other than Claudia herself. Her fathers' gun laid smoking on the floor close to where Trevor stood, gaping. "Oh, clumsy me," Claudia said, widening her eyes ever so slightly, "I suppose even the best of us miss sometimes. But I would watch myself if I were you," she paused as she put her gun back into her purse. "Because my mistakes are few and far between, which would be very detrimental to your health." And with that, she turned again and was gone.