The Disappearance of Eleanor O'Brien

 

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Prologue

    My brother was a homicidal maniac. I watched curiously behind him as he dissected a frog down its belly. The smell was putrid and the way it looked wasn't any better. This frog was the sixth today. Logan Cole was a genius and he was obsessed with science-y stuff. Every weekend my half-brother would bring a box of different animals and he would dissect them in the tool shed. I, on the other hand, would bring a box of pizza almost everyday and hide in my room. I would occasionally come out of my cocoon during the weekends to hangout with Logan. He didn't really talk much, not that I expected anything. He was six years older than me and he was already sixteen when we were officially introduced. I always had this feeling that he didn't enjoy my company but he wasn't really hostile, just aloof. 

    "Forceps, please," he said, without looking at me. His hand was outstretched and I moved to the side and grabbed the forceps off the desk. I handed it to him without a word and continued watching him pull out organs from the poor frog. It was unbearable at first. I puked the first ten times and then gagged the next twenty. By now I was tolerant of the smell and everything else included.

    His white coat was stained with blood and gooey stuff that smelled like rotten pineapples. I doubt he minded though. As he wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead, he gave me a side glance and continued peeling off more skin. My own skin crawled but I stayed put. He wasn't going to succeed today. Sometimes I think he would purposely mutilate the bodies to scare me off. I'd like to believe today was different.

    I was aware that I was being annoying and that he only came home because it was what dad wanted. If Logan had his way, I wouldn't see him for years. But still, every weekend I couldn't help but get up from my bed and stick to him like glue. He was the only family I had. My mom died three years ago and my father has been dead-like since. It felt like dad left with mom when she died. 

    "Aren't you supposed to be working on the inventory?" Logan's voice broke me out of my reverie.

    I smiled sheepishly and curled my toes. "How did you know?" I asked knowing fully well that our dad must have asked him to watch over me and make sure I did what I was asked to. "You should do it, you know," I continued. "You like doing all those stuff anyway. I don't have any interest in the business at all."

    He slammed the forceps on the table and fixed his steel gray eyes at me. His eyes, it was the only thing we had in common. His hair was midnight black and everything about him was chiseled to perfection, his jaw, his nose - everything. I was quite the opposite. I was small and my face was oval with button-like nose and high cheekbones. Even  his last name was different. He chose his mother's last name instead of our's. 

    "Don't be such a brat." Ouch. "Not everyone is given the luxury you have. You don't even have to do much and you're going to own the company when the time comes," he told me with bitterly.

    The company - god, how I hated that place. It was full of thieving and fake bureaucrats; all there just to leech off my father. But what my brother was saying was true. I was the 'heiress' to a multi-billion multination information technology company competing with Apple, Samsung and the like. While it was true that I have the luxury of owning a very successful company, it was also true that I didn't want anything to do with the business. And even if I did start showing any interest, I half expected my dad to let me study the basics after I finished high school. It was quite the opposite, actually. The moment I turned ten my father started teaching me things about the company; from investments to inventory to partnerships. But even then, I doubt he actually wanted me to run the place after he's gone because the perfect man for that was the guy standing in front of me right now.

    After his mom died, Logan moved in with us. The first year was rough. Mom didn't like him - not that Logan minded. He was just happy to be with dad after his mom passed away. He was also very happy when dad started taking him to the company. That was also the time when my mom decided that I should learn what there was to learn about the business. Sixteen year old Logan was more ecstatic than a kid in Disneyland whenever we visited the factory. That year, I think that's when dad also realized that his son was the perfect person to take over when he's gone. That's when he also realized that it could never happen and that it was a shame so he worked me bare to my bones.

    For the record, dad wasn't exactly unfaithful to my mom. Six years before I was born and my parents got married, my father had a girlfriend named Mariah Cole. My father didn't have prior knowledge that he had a son with her until Logan knocked on our door at three in the morning. So to appease mom, he promised he'd never give the company to Logan. That was enough for her I guess, because she lessened the hostility. So the next four years were bearable. My dad would bring us every weekend to the company and he would make us work. Logan enjoyed working but I didn't so it was twice as hard for me. My mother and father's nagging didn't help much. Dad would remind me to work harder next time because I was going to run the business in the future and my mom would always tell me to never ever get left behind by Logan.

    After my mom's death, nothing much changed except for my father. Logan was still cold to me. My dad still made me do a lot of work but he was more of a boss than a parent. The first few months after my mom died, I thought he was going to tell me that I was no longer his 'heiress' and that he was passing on the company to Logan. Since my mom was gone, there was no point in keeping the promise. But I underestimated my father. Instead, he stayed true to his words and drove me to work even more. 

    I took a deep breath and smiled at Logan who was still shooting daggers with his eyes at me. "Yeah, right. I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I'll go now and work on the inventory."

    I jogged out of the shed with a heavy heart and before I closed the door I said again, "I'm really sorry".

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Chapter 1

    I was wearing a suit and it pissed me off. I just got off the Ellen show and was waiting for the driver to pick me up so my father can fly me off to Hawaii for a year or so. Two months ago I got into an 'accident', as I would like to call it. My brain refuses to accept the fact that someone had tried to kill me. And by kill I mean someone tried to blow up my car with me in it. If people asked me, I would've preferred it if everything stayed a secret. But the police and the media published the news before my dad could handle the entire mess. So everyone in the entire world knew that Eleanor O'Brien was almost killed by a psycho who planted a bomb in her car. So naturally my dad went ahead and told everyone that I was going to appear in television after I rest. It was to tell the world that I was fine and that the whole fiasco was nothing.

    Nothing my ass, I thought. The investigation suggested an inside job and that made it a whole lot worse. Of course, my father had to pay a lot so that tiny detail wouldn't reach the media and if it did, he made sure that it wasn't published or heard anywhere. It was something that could ruin the company completely.

    A black sedan pulled up in front of me and the driver jumped out of the car to open the door for me but purposely beat him to it and gave him a victorious grin. When I settled in the car I closed my eyes and I remembered the first time I woke up in the hospital. My left leg was half covered with cast and my face ached. Small cuts covered my entire body from the explosion and my whole body was sore. I also remember seeing unfamiliar faces in the room. There were nurses, doctors, reporters, police officers and other guys who stood guarded around my bed. It was easy to guess who they were and what they were doing. I was just thankful they weren't around anymore. No one was stupid enough to attack me in California. 

    The next few days and weeks after the whole Eleanor-was-almost-killed fiasco were chaos. There were always people in my room and it suffocated me. A week before I was discharged from the hospital my father told me that I was flying to Hawaii after I appear at a couple of shows and talk to the media. Aside from all the attention from the society, the flying to Hawaii so I could hide part was one of the best news of my life. The second best news was that Logan was going to stay with me. And he was already in Hawaii waiting for me. He had already arranged the place we were going to live in and the private tutors who were going to teach me the rest of the lessons I will miss because of being gone from school.

    After the driver pulled over in the airport, I quickly jumped off the car. I hurried inside and ignored his calls. I just didn't care anymore. I wanted to be in Hawaii as soon as possible.

    I bypassed all the security and a guy led me through the private part of the building, into a tube and finally into the airplane. My phone started ringing then as I settled down at a seat beside the window. I could see one of the stewardess closing the door and the other one rolling down a cart on the isle.

    Without looking at the screen, I placed my phone against my ear. "Hello?" I asked.

    "It's me," Logan's voice said on the other side of the call.

    I couldn't help but smile. In the years we've been together, this was the first time he called me first. It was strange and yet exhilarating; a step forward from where we were before.

    "What's up?" I asked.

    I heard him sigh and I grinned again. I can barely get anything out from him for years, a sigh was like a cry at this point.

    "I can't pick you up at the airport. My car won't start. I asked a friend to meet you up. Don't worry you can trust him. He'll be wearing a green shirt when you get there," he told me.

    "It's fine. I can take a cab if you want. I don't want to burden you or your friend," I offered.

    "No," he said. "Dad will have my head on a platter if he finds out."

    I laughed and boy, it was the best laugh I had in years. The Logan on the phone right now was entirely different from the brother I grew up with. He didn't make jokes and he was always cold towards me but today, today he was joking and he called me first! Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that he was just being nice because of what happened to me and some sick part of me thought it was all worth it.

    "I'll see you later," he mumbled.

    "Yeah, see you," I replied and hang up.

    The stewardess placed a glass of champagne on my table and gave me a gorgeous smile. "Good day?" she asked.

    "Great day," I replied enthusiastically and sipped my drink. "My brother called me."

    Before leaving she gave me an uneasy smile and strolled away. The rest of the flight was quiet. The ladies sat at the front and whispered to themselves while I daydreamed and admired the view outside. Six hours later I was out of the airport in Hawaii and waiting for my brother's friend. I was just about to call a cab and call my brother after waiting for fifteen minutes when a black car pulled up in front of me and a guy wearing a green shirt jumped out of the driver's seat.

    He was young, just like I expected. He gave me a boyish smile and offered me his hand. "Patrick," he said. "Friend of Logan."

    "Eleanor, his sister," I replied.

    After getting inside the car we sped out of the airport in a jiffy and we were soon driving along another highway and all I could see were trees and the ocean. I rolled the window down and let the wind blow my hair into a mess. The soaked in the air and felt my lungs breathe for the first time in two months. It wasn't my first time in Hawaii but I've never been to this part before. It was always to and from the airport and hotel. My eyes fluttered shut and I let myself fall asleep.

    I woke up when I felt the car slow down to a stop. We were still in the highway but there were no cars around anymore. We must have driven for quite some time. Slowly, I pushed myself up and fixed my hair. I looked at Patrick then and he started to unbuckle his seat belt.

    "What's wrong?" I asked him.

    He looked up at me, startled that I was already awake. He shot me an apologetic smile before seizing my hands and covering my mouth with the other. The first thought that entire my mind was, 'Well ain't this a total bitch?' because it was. Two months ago someone tried to kill me and now, someone was once again trying to kill me.

    I struggled against my assailant. My hands were hurting from pulling so hard and my legs were stuck under and in no way could help me right now. So I did what my instinct told me, I bit his hand off my mouth. He cursed and pulled away for a second before grabbing my hair and pulling me to him. I let out a scream but it was muffled when he brought a cloth to my face. I jammed my elbow against his stomach and his grip loosened around me. With another scream, I jumped off him and opened the door. And then I was running. My injured leg was hurting and I was doing all I can not to trip and crumple on the floor. I desperately searched for any sign of other people but there was none. The highway was deserted and no cars were passing by. Loud footsteps echoed behind me and I pushed myself to run faster.

    Who was this guy? Why is he trying to kill me? Was this guy pretending to be Logan's friend? Did someone purposely wreck my brother's car?

    I felt strong arms grab my shoulders and a huge weight against my back. We were flying for a second and then we both hit the ground hard. I tried to crawl away from underneath him but he rolled me on my back and trapped me underneath his legs. That's when I felt the first blow to my temple. He punched me once and then twice. The third time I managed to grab his fist and bite the same hand for the second time. While he cried out in pain I reached for his face and buried my thumbs in his eyes. It was all adrenaline pumping me throughout. So I pushed myself up once again and limped forward. When he caught me this time though, he didn't tackle me to the ground. Instead, he grabbed me by the hair and pulled me to the side of the road. He pushed me against the railing that separated the cliff and the highway. His face was full of scratches I must have inflicted when I tried to break out from the car.

    This time both my arms and legs were no use. He held both of my arms behind me and trapped my legs with his longer ones. I would've headbutted him but he was so much taller. I was beginning to see the end of this fight.

    "Why?" I choked out.

    He groaned and glanced at the road. "I wasn't paid to know the reason but Logan wants you to know that he's glad your finally gone."

    Before my mind could even register what he said, I felt him lift me off the floor and push me off the cliff.

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