The Billionaire's Adopted Twins

"Ouch! You're hurting me, Jerry. Please... . please.. stop, I beg you. I won't do it again, I promise. Just let me go, please."

Elena whimpered in severe pain. She tried so hard to break free from his strong firm grip as he towered over her in rage.

His face was contorted in a grimace and he had a sinister look. This was who Jerry; the father of her kids was. An angry beast who always abused her at the slightest chance he got.

"Why the hell didn't you pick up my calls? Haven't I warned you never to ignore them? I will teach you an unforgettable lesson today" Jerry shouted while tightening his grip on her wrist.

She had been sleeping when he called but he would not have it. Jerry moved to strike her on her face once more when a noise stopped him.

Jemma; one of their twins made a sound signifying that she had woken up. She was a light sleeper. Jerry's noise had woken her up.

Elena heaved a sigh of relief. She was happy. Maybe, just maybe the noise would stop him from hitting her this time. "Leave me alone before they walk in on us" she begged. He sneered at her.

" Please Jerry"

Jerry let go of her and walked out in fury.

She didn't want her kids to see such a violent act. They were too young for such. Elena quickly faked a smile at her daughter.

"Hey, baby. You're hungry right?" She bent to ask her with concern etched on her features.

"Yes mummy. Why are your eyes red? What happened to you?" Jemma said before she noticed a red scar on her mommy's wrist.

"Mummy, who hurt you here?" Jemma inquired with piqued curiosity while she held out her hand to assess the bruise.

"Come let's go have something for lunch," Elena said, drawing her attention away from the scar.

It was much easier to draw their attention away from these things now. However as they grew, what would she do? She couldn't keep it from them for too long.

In some years, they would know how devilish their father was and that the scars on her body were not ordinary marks. They were caused by him.

"How about an apple pie?" She asked her while they walked towards the kitchen.

"Yayyy I love it" Jemma grinned. She loved them so much. Apple pies were her best snack.

********

"Laura, I'm leaving him. I can't cope with this anymore. He batters me at the slightest chance. What if he turns on the kids anytime? One day he would hurt them too. Since I wouldn't be able to bear it, I have to leave before then."

Elena confided in her best friend with tears flowing down her eyes like a river. Jerry tormented her almost all the time. It became worse when her father, Gerard Brown died.

Laura had come at Elena's request. She wanted to tell her of her decision. Her friend would be angry with her if she left without informing her.

She had no choice but to leave now. She would have left years ago but then she had discovered that she was pregnant so she stayed back so the twins could have someone to call father.

"When are you leaving?" Laura asked her with piqued interest.

"We will go tomorrow. He goes to work very early. We'll be gone before he comes back. I called you to say goodbye. I'm sorry it's impromptu. I have to get out of here before he starts hitting the kids too. I won't be able to sit back and watch by then" Elena said, cleaning off her tears with a blue handkerchief in her hand.

"Alright then. I'll miss you. Please take care of yourself and the kids. Don't forget to keep in touch." Laura said with a fake smile as she rose to leave.

"Are you leaving already? What happened? Why not stay a little longer? Who knows when we will see each other again?"

"Any problem Laura? Why are you being panicky? Is everything alright?" Elena stood up and placed her hands on Laura

Elena was surprised. Her best friend was supposed to be all over her telling her not to go. What was going on? Something wasn't adding up. Laura didn't always behave like this.

However, what Laura said next calmed her fears.

"I need to visit my mother at the hospital. It is almost time for visitation. It's been a while since I saw her so i have to be there very early" Laura said as she looked at her watch frantically.

"Oh, that's true. My regards to her. Take good care of her. I'll miss you" Elena said unsuspectingly as she hugged her and saw her off to the door.

"You don't have to see me off. One of the kids might wake up wondering where you are. I don't want them to be scared. Call me when you get there. Bye Elena" Laura insisted.

"Alright then. Bye. Someday we will see each other again." Elena hugged her again. Laura faked a smile once more and left. Elena closed the door after her and went to sit down on the sofa.

Something was up with Laura she was so sure. There was something else she wasn't saying. Was Laura keeping secrets from her already? Since when?

"Maybe it's the thought of her mother's sickness" She wrapped her thoughts together. Just then Jonathan came running in from the rear of the house.

"Mummy, Look what we found while we were playing." He said while rubbing his eyes and holding a gun. Jemma came running after him. Elena's eyes widened and she gasped in utter shock.

What was a gun doing in their house? How did it get there? What business was Jerry now involved in? Her heartbeats thumped in her chest. Had Jerry gone to this extent? "Oh! We aren't safe anymore. We must leave" she moaned inwardly.

Laura hastened her footsteps on the road. She had something very urgent to do.

She had had enough of all this. She was tired of being his punching bag day by day. He had almost beaten her to a pulp one day, if not for the intervention of the neighbors.

The marks all over her body were a constant reminder of Jerry's beastly attitude. She couldn't go on like this. What if Jerry killed her someday? What would happen to her kids?

Elena resolved to leave Prescott Valley with her kids. She sat on a chair in the parlor lost in thought "We will go far away where he won't be able to reach us"

They had eaten dinner already and the kids had retired to bed.

"Jerry won't change. I have to leave here before he hurts us all." She concluded before going to the room to sleep. Tomorrow was D-day, so she had to sleep early.

Jerry would let himself in when he came back from the pub, drunk as always.

_________

"Elena said she would be leaving together with the kids today. She invited me to the house yesterday to tell me about it. Now, I have done my part. When do I get my money?" Laura said to someone on the phone.

She never had it in mind to betray Elena but her sick mother laid down there in the hospital, dying. The doctor had said it would cost her a huge amount of money for the surgery so she had to get the money at all costs.

This would hurt Elena when she found out but Laura was left with no choice here. She had to do Jerry's bidding. He had wrapped her around his finger, Laura had little or no choice. She couldn't watch her mother die.

"Why are you just telling me this? Shouldn't you have said it yesterday that you heard?" The voice fumed with evident anger.

"I tried calling you yesterday but your number wasn't going through. It's not my fault here at all. You should have kept your phone on. When do I get my money?" Laura emphasized.

"You'll get your money as soon as I confirm the truth. If she is truly escaping, I would give you, if she's not, you can forget all about the money. Good day," the voice replied to her and hung up.

"Arghhhh. Beast!" Laura was frustrated. She hated Jerry but this time around, he held a tight leash over her. She wondered how Elena survived all these years with such a man. Jerry was too hot-tempered but in this situation, she had to succumb to him.

It has been said that once you know one's weakness, you tend to use it to gain an upper hand over the person. Jerry Parker had found hers, her sixty-year-old mother lying down on the hospital bed in a critical condition.

So, he used it to strike a bargain with her. She had resisted the urge at first but when the doctor called her to say her mother's health had deteriorated. Laura finally caved into Jerry's demands.

She felt so bad for betraying her friend but she needed money to care for her mother. "I'm so sorry Elena. I really am." Laura moaned.

Jerry couldn't believe his ears. "That bitch had planned to run away all along. How dare she try this with me? She is my property! Doesn't she know that by now? No wonder she behaved so calmly when we woke up this morning. I must stop her." he thought inwardly.

Jerry turned on the path that led home and raced home. He hoped he wasn't too late to stop them. Elena belonged to him. How dare she ever think of leaving him?

Immediately Jerry left, Elena entered the room to start packing their things while the kids ate breakfast. She had to wait for him so he wouldn't suspect a thing. Jerry was smart and would smell a rat if she wasn't careful.

Jemma entered the room after eating up her breakfast. "Mommy, where are we going?" She asked while she jumped on the bed.

"Ummm, we are going on a short trip. Your dad knows already. He will come to meet us there soon but we have to go first" Elena lied through her teeth.

She didn't know how the kids would react to the situation. They were still too young to be without a father, however, being without a father was better than Jerry.

She quickly arranged a few clothes into the bag.

"I don't want Daddy to come meet us. We don't like him. He behaves like Scar." Jemma pouted and wrinkled her face in disgust while comparing her father to a wicked character in the movie Lion King.

By this time, Jonathan had already finished his breakfast too. "I've finished my food Mummy" he chirped.

"That's my boy!" Elena praised him. "Come and change your clothes, kids. We have to hurry up. There is no time" She brought out their clothes. After a few minutes, Jemma looked beautiful in her pink gown and Jonathan in his blue polo and striped trousers

She took the money she had been saving for the rainy days. Somehow, she had known that she would need money someday so she took money from Jerry's pockets anytime he wasn't aware.

"I'm happy we can finally travel to see the world" Jemma chirped to Jonathan.

"Jonathan love, please get me a piece of paper and biro" she urged him. "Alright Mommy," he said and ran off to do her bidding.

"Here it is," he stretched out his little hand to her.

"That's mommy's boy!" She ruffled his hair. "What about me?" Jemma asked.

"You're my girl too" Elena was happy to have had these rugrats. They gave her life essence. Without them, she wondered how she could have survived these years in marriage.

She then took a piece of paper and a ballpen. Elena scribbled a farewell on it and signed.

"Hey Kids. Let us go" Elena bent to carry the little black suitcase containing their things. She didn't take too much as she didn't want anyone to be suspicious of their movements.

Then she carried it out while the kids followed her out of the house in glee at the thought of finally leaving Prescott Valley.

"Where are you going with my kids?" A familiar voice spoke to her. Elena froze right there in shock. She could recognize that voice even in her sleep. A cold chill ran through her spine. She was in soup! Who had told him?

Elena sat on the cold floor in the attic with a throbbing black eye. Jerry had beaten her to a pulp. She looked so bad. Pain racked over all her body like a bullet. She had been here since yesterday morning.

She was hungry, famished, and tired. Her head was also banging with an ache. She wondered if she could survive the night without food or care.

She gazed at the window as the tears dropped off her eyes. "Why did I ever get married to a beast like him? Papa why did you sell me off?" She wailed.

"This is your punishment for trying to run away from me, you nasty slut! After today, you would never try it again. " Jerry had yankdd at her hair after beating her up and dragging her there himself amidst her faint protests.

He locked the kids in a room, ignoring their shouts of protest while he battered her severely. It was a miracle that she was still alive.

Elena wondered how her kids were faring with him. She longed to touch them and hold them in her hands reassuring them that everything was ok even when it wasn't at all.

"Jem and Jon must be scared. Oh my poor babies. Mommy is sorry" she lamented. Her throat was parched. She needed water and food but there was no way she could get it.

"If i know Jerry, I'll last three of four days here before he brings me any food" the thought of it made her shiver. How would she survive? Her belly growled with hunger and she could barely lift herself up.

"I have to live for my children. Elena, you must live. You have no other choice" she encouraged herself.

The tears rolled off her eyes as she remembered what caused all these. The betrayal from Laura still shook her to the core. They had been friends for so long. It was still surprising that Laura could have done this to her.

"Of all people Laura, I didn't expect it to be you at all. After all my trust in you..." she thought inwardly.

Elena had suspected Laura's nervousness but she didn't see this coming at all. How had Jerry managed to buy Laura? Well she wasn't surprised, Jerry could buy off the village if he wanted to.

He had dirty businesses all over that gave him much money. That was the reason she was able to steal some money from him. He spent anyhow on ladies and patronised pubs on a daily basis.

"So the only friend i could ever trust could betray me this way, how could I have been so stupid not to see the glaring signs before me" Elena vowed.

She regretted ever having a best friend as she prayed earnestly that Jerry would come to release her soon. She would beg him if she had to. She couldn't die. Not yet.

Elena felt hot and itchy so scratched her hair. Then she removed the hairpin that held her hair in a tight grip. Her long chestnut hair came tumbling down.

She pushed it to a side of her neck. She was about plaiting it to keep herself busy when something struck her mind.

She stared at the hairpin for seconds as if she was in a trance. A thought suddenly came to her mind. "I'll have to try it out first. I hope it works" she prayed.

Jerry had fed the children some remaining food in the freezer. He wasn't the type to stay home so he had gone to the pub where his friends were.

Before he left them, he made sure he double-checke the attic well. It was locked.

"You must not go down to the attic! Do you hear me? If any of you dares to disobey me, I'll spank you so hard" He had threatened and sneered at them before leaving the house. That would scare them a bit he thought.

Jerry had wired the money to Laura immediately he dealt with Elena yesterday. "Silly woman! If not for her stupidity, I wouldn't have to spend any dime on that brat's sick mother" he whined before sending one of his men to give her the money.

Laura was so happy that he had lived up to his word. She has thought that Elena would change her plans or that Jerry would not pay her. If he didn't, there was little she could do. She rushed down to the hospital to pay her mother's bills.

"Don't cry anymore. Come here" Jonathan moved close to his sister to pet her. It took him a lot of restraint not to cry also. Their father had been yelling at them since yesterday's incident like a bruised dog.

He was trying to be strong for her. If he cried, who would pet them both? "Hush Jem, don't cry too much or your head will ache" he whispered to her, looking towards the attic, hoping that somehow their Mommy would appear.

"What are we going to do now? Mama has been there since yesterday. She didn't have any food or water. I want to go give her something to eat but Papa will hurt us if we try it"

Jemma spoke amidst sobs. Her heart went out to her mother. It was almost noon. "Mama is strong," Jonathan said, flexing his muscles. Jemma forced a smile.

They both couldn't go see her because they were afraid. Suddenly they heard a faint voice calling out to them. They turned back to see who was calling them. The voice sounded in the passage. When they looked into it, their eyes widened in astonishment.

Laura had paid for her mom's surgery. Jerry wired it to her account immediately he confirmed the truth. "The jerk must be really crazy about her to have sent this money to me* Laura thought.

Her mind went to Elena and the pain Jerry must have inflicted on her but she took it off her mind. "There's no going back now" she whispered into the air.

Elena had opened the door to the attic using her hairpin. After a series of attempts, the door opened. She ran out to hug her kids.

What if Jerry was at home? She thought then stopped in her tracks to call out to them in whispers. If they didn't answer, it meant that he was at home, but if they came closer to the passage it meant that he wasn't home.

She called out in a faint voice. "Jem, Jon, are you there?" She couldn't resist the urge to hug them when they stepped into the passage.

"Mama" they both ran into her open arms. Tears of joy fell off her eyes. "Did he hurt you?" They nodded but Elena still checked for any sign of bruises. None was there, she released a long sigh of relief.

"We have to go now" she held them in both hands but a wave of faintness hit her. She staggered backward.

"Mummy eat first please," Jonathan advised her." No dear, I'm good" For now, they needed to leave. Elena entered the room to carry the small unpacked suitcase. She took more cash and they hurried out.