Chapter One: Discovery
It was a beautiful, crisp, summer evening in Virginia. The air was fresh, the sun was setting, and twenty-four year old Serena Tsukino Hapland was brutally unromantic at the moment.
"Hey, Serena, sweetie? I'm going to go to the bar to meet George, okay," Ray said, peeking around the corner into the pristine, white kitchen where his five-months pregnant wife was stirring something green in a small pot.
"Alright. What time are you going to be home, do you think," she asked, sounding a little exasperated.
"Around one, so don't wait up for me. He wants to talk about the new contracts, and it will take a while to talk him down." He put his arms around her shoulders and leaned his head on the back of hers. "Then tomorrow, we can go to the theater, just like I promised," he whispered into her ear.
Ray left a few moments later, without his phone, and without saying goodbye. It didn't matter if she waited up for him or not, she'd still be awake. Serena was getting more than annoyed at all of his emphasized promises and then having them be put off until another day, when finally, she didn't even care about the outing that they were supposed to have. She was always sharing him with time, and time got the better portion. She just hoped that after the baby was born, he would stick around a little bit more to be with his child. After three years of marriage, however, she knew that he would be spending less and less time at home when his child was born, and there wasn't much she could do about it…
Ray went to his office for about ten minutes the next day, kissed Serena on the cheek when he came home, and said that he had to do some work. He locked himself in his den for a few hours, only coming out to grab a snack or to ask Serena to make him a sandwich. Serena didn't want to think badly about her husband, but he was getting to be very lazy. He was in the bathroom when the phone rang. Let it ring, Serena thought. She was working on a complicated recipe, and couldn't disturb the process. After the fourth ring, she sighed and walked towards the phone. Ray ran out of the bathroom and called, "I'll get in in the den, hon," as the answering machine clicked on.
Serena went back into the kitchen, turned off the fan, and heard both Ray's and George's voices. She was about to go turn off the answering machine, when she heard Ray talking about her elderly grandfather.
"Yeah, so when the stiff dies, she'll inherit a fortune. That should be any day now. I'll be rich! Then I can go marry Michelle like I've been meaning to for the past five years, and we can move to Hawaii."
"Lucky bastard. I still don't see how you're going to pull it off, though," George said sullenly.
"You can be a real moron when you're hung over, George, you know? I'm going to steal it, idiot. She'll never guess where we've gone, and then you can come visit us in our mansion by the beach. I was worried when I found out that she was pregnant, but then I remembered the money, and now I can sleep at night."
"Knowing that you're leaving this woman destitute and with your child?"
"With a child that I never intended to have. I don't want children with Serena. I hinted at her getting rid of it, but she didn't seem to pick up on it. When I get to Hawaii, I can have all the little brats that I want with Michelle, as long as she keeps her figure."
Serena dropped her spoon, and held on to the counter to steady herself. What was she hearing? What was going on? …This had to be a dream, surely! Instead, all she knew was that the man she married, the man who was the father of her unborn child, had married her for the money she would unwillingly inherit at her beloved grandfather's death. And he was going to steal it.
Once the two had hung up, Serena grabbed the tape out of the machine, placed it in her apron pocket, and placed a fresh one in the recorder.
Ray walked quickly into the room. "Serena, honey, I'm really, really sorry. That was George on the phone. It seems that his sister is having her baby sooner than they thought, and he's a bit hung over. I'm going to have to drive him to the hospital, so please, don't wait dinner for me. I won't be back until tomorrow morning, too. I'm really sorry, about the theatre, sweetie, but, I promise, we'll go tomorrow."
"Well, it is an emergency," she said in a hollow voice. "Just be careful," she forced herself to say.
"Goodnight, sweetie. I'll see you in the morning," he said, and dashed out of the apartment.
Serena immediately picked up the phone and called long distance to Japan.
Author's Notes: Tell me how you like it. I have a few more chapters ready, but I'd like to know what you think! (Plus, I've got a bit of writers block near the end). Wish me luck!