A Phone Call
After Vlad had taken his shower, he had managed to proceed down to his kitchen to prepare himself his morning coffee. As he poured the coffee grounds into the coffee maker, he looked around his expensive kitchen. 'It would be better if I had someone to actually make breakfast for, instead of myself.' He thought, turning the maker on. He leaned onto the counter, staring blankly at the fridge. If he had married and had children, would it be covered from top to bottom in childish scribbles that they called drawings? Vlad sadly looked away from the fridge, not wanting to acknowledge his loneliness. The coffee bubbled, signaling that it was ready to drink. Vlad silently pulled a coffee mug from the upper cabinet, and he stared. If he had kids, would the mug have said "World's Greatest Dad" instead of it being a bland white? He shook the thought from his head and poured the piping hot coffee into the mug. He added two spoonfuls of sugar, no cream, to his coffee. This was how it was everyday. He would wake up, take a shower, make and drink his coffee, then head out to work. It was so routine, that it was painful to bear. Not physically, but emotionally. He silently sipped the harsh and hot coffee. Not a sound was heard throughout the castle.
Vlad was tugging his black suit jacket onto his arms when the phone suddenly rang. He quickly abandoned the jacket and ran to pick up the phone. He picked it up and held the receiver to his ear.
"Hello, this is the Masters residence, Vlad speaking." He said. Somehow, he thought that was a rather stupid thing to say. Everyone basically knew that he lived alone.
"Mr. Masters? This is Jade Yu from Amitypark social services. Do you have a few minutes?" A woman said from the other line. Vlad raised an eyebrow in surprise. No one, save for a few choice employees, called his house. And this was from a woman from someplace called Amitypark? How strange…
"Yes, I have all the time in the world. Is there something the matter?" Vlad asked, surprise evident in his voice. The woman cleared her throat, then began to speak again.
"Mr. Masters, I'm afraid I have some rather sad news to deliver. Mrs. Maddie Fenton and Mr. Jack Fenton were killed in a bus accident last night at around 10 o'clock. They were returning from a night away from their children, and a Mack truck hit their side of the bus. The driver was drunk. I'm terribly sorry." The woman said sadly. Vlad couldn't believe what he was hearing. Maddie…dead? It couldn't be…Not Maddie. Vlad felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Hard in the stomach.
"Mr. Masters. The Fenton's left you something to you in their last will and testament." The woman said, breaking Vlad from his sad state.
"What did they leave behind?" Vlad said, his voice starting to crack. He was holding back the urge to scream.
"They left behind their third child to you. Her name is Tori Fenton. She's only 3 weeks old, so you can raise her as your own. Or…If you're not up to taking care of a child, we can put her into foster care and wait until she's adopted. It's your choice, Mr. Masters." She said. How could Vlad take care of a child that he had never even knew existed up until a few seconds ago? But…He couldn't leave her to live with strangers all of her life. At least she would be with someone that her parents had known throughout college.
"Ms. Yu? I'll take her."