After half a month of not being home, Henry stretched lazily on his bed, stifling a yawn. His empty stomach got him out of bed, and his shoulders dropped when he couldn't find anything edible in the fridge. Perhaps he should add grocery shopping to Sarah's job description. He decided to drive to the nearest restaurant for breakfast and, since today was his rest day, he changed into grey sweatpants and sandals. He grabbed his car keys and headed to the basement parking lot while scrolling through his phone.

"That's him!" one of the reporters shouted, and the rest ran towards Henry. 

The sudden noise and clattering of shoes startled him. Odd. He paused to check out the unusual situation in the usually silent basement. A dozen cameramen stood in front of him with all their cameras and microphones focused on him. The camera flash nearly blinded him. Before he could say anything, they started bombarding him with questions.

"Mr. Salva, we've received an exclusive report that you ordered the demolition of the Savannah Street residential area."

"Yes, the public would like to know why you did that..."

"Can you confirm to the public that you were the one who approved the project?"

"Did you know that the demolition caused several residents to be injured? What do you have to say about it?"

"What else can he say?  Don't all businessmen only care about the money?"

"How could you be heartless?"

The chaotic scene in front of him merged with a painful memory of the past

A fire

A raging fire.

The yellow flames crackled in the wind, as if to display its power, devouring everything in its wake. Smoke billowed, and the wind distributed it everywhere, filling the air with a choking acrid smell. The neighbors coughed as they carried buckets and buckets of water, trying to put out the fire. The wind, however, was on a mission to thrash their efforts, making fire even spread faster.

He was six.

He woke up to a big fire in their home. It was only he and his mom at home that night. His mom had helped him get out safely, but she never made it out. Her white dress was covered with blood and soot. The blaring sirens from the ambulance and the fire truck had given him hope, but it slowly turned into a nightmare when his mother did not wake up.

Mamaaa! Mamaaa! He cried as he tried to shake his mother awake like he always did every morning.

Someone had whisked him away from the ambulance as they tried to resuscitate his mother and had taken him to a safe distance from the fire. It was dark, and he knew no one among the people present. They had left him alone as they tried to salvage the situation. The blaring sirens and the terrified screams of the onlookers filled the air, and his head spun from the traumatizing noises and chaos. In a blink of an eye, a group of news reporters swarmed around him.

Dread.

He felt it raw.

Ka-cha! Ka-cha!

All he could hear were the camera shutters going off. Camera flashes flickered around him like disco lights, and reporters bombarded him with questions without giving him a chance to process the situation. They did not have any shred of sympathy for a small boy. All they cared about was whether they could make a hit with the next headline.

"Mamaaaaa... Mamaaaaaa..."

That was all he could say.

Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he backed up until his back hit a brick fence, trapping him. He could taste the tears mixed with snort in his mouth, but he did not care. He desperately wanted to run into his mother's safe arms. The microphones multiplied in number, and the close proximity made them look like giant clubs next to his mouth. He shivered and forced himself to stop crying, afraid they might clobber him if he didn't answer their questions.

Just like now, all he could hear were camera shutters.

"Mr. Salva..."

"Did you hire them to beat him up...?"

"I heard that you authorized the project..."

Henry covered his head with both hands and ran toward the lift. Sweat covered every inch of his skin; sticky and uncomfortable. He pushed the lift button  frantically as if that would make the door open any faster. As he got inside, he leaned on the wall, hyperventilating.

Ding!

The lift door opened again, and he dashed into his apartment, thanking whoever invented biometric locks. His world spun, and his weakened knees barely supported his trembling body. He slammed the door shut and leaned his back against the door as his knee gave way, sliding back slowly against the door until he sat on the cold floor. He he took slow deep breaths to regulate his breathing and decided to call for help, only to discover he'd dropped his phone in the chaos.

After waiting for an hour, he grew restless. Inexplicable fear settled in the pit of his stomach and he had a strong impulse to leave the house. He figured the reporters must have left and he stepped out of his apartment again. Big mistake. He severely underestimated their tenacity.

***

Sarah arrived at the gate only to find a crowd reporters standing at the gate. She stood behind them and observed the situation first. She would be stupid if she walked into them unprepared. Who knows? She might reveal some crucial information by accident.

Three reporters had their heavy cameras on tripods while others carried the heavy loads on their shoulders. ID tags dangled on their necks as they paced around like ants on a frying pan, trying to find a way to get into the gate. Sarah finally understood why people live in such expensive apartments. For security reasons, unregistered persons couldn't get through the entrance without being buzzed in by a resident.

Those media houses that usually competed for information now worked together, united against a common target. Judging from their efforts, a single statement from whoever they were after would dominate the headlines for an entire week—or longer. They crowded the main gate, giving live updates every few minutes.

"Hello to our lovely viewers, we are at the front gate of Greenville Residence. This is where the young CEO of Salva Corporation lives and we are waiting for him to appear any moment now. We will update you as soon as..."

"We are still following up with the person behind the unscrupulous contractor who caused the death of our loyal citizens..."

"We have ascertained that Mr. Salva lives in this place. Don't worry. We will surely get to the bottom of this..."

A little further from the gate were two male reporters who worked for the popular 'What's Trending' newspaper company.

The short one took out his phone and made a call. "Hello, director, please reserve the front page for us, we will have the trendiest news tomorrow." He nodded and hung up the phone. His smile widened as he announced, "Buddy, the director promised to approve our seven-day paid leave if we accomplish this task."

A small group of crazy internet wannabes, capable of doing anything for likes, used their phones to live stream. They never cared about the truth, nor did they ever attempt to verify anything. Only the likes and follows mattered to them. Whenever these attention seekers appeared, someone's reputation was about to be dragged through the mud. Countless innocents had fallen because of their thoughtless actions.

What the hell happened? Why are they here? Sarah took out her phone and opened the browser app. She tapped on the 'most trending' icon, and the page took a few seconds to refresh. Her hands stilled, and her jaw slackened at the outrageous headlines.

'The new CEO approves the demolition of a residential area.'

'Was it an accident or plain greed?'

'The man behind the chaos'...

Her hands shook as headlines became more outrageous than the last.

Wait... Mr. Salva? Isn't that Henry's surname?

"Oh, no!" she cursed in low tones, shoving her phone back into the back pockets of her jeans. She slung her ladies' backpack over her shoulder and walked straight into the crowd.

"Excuse me miss, do you live in this building?" one of the reporters blocked her way and the cameraman focused his camera on her. The rest also tried their luck at prying information out of her.

"Do you know which apartment Mr. Salva is in?"

"What is your opinion about the scandal surrounding him?"

"Have you filed a petition to have that vile person evicted from this building?"

Sarah frowned and tilted her head to the side at such questions being hurled at her. What in the world is wrong with these people? First of all, bold of them to assume she lived here. How would she get the right to file a petition to evict him? Even if she did live here, why would she do that? And second, how was all this related to her?

Sarah took a deep breath and held out her hands in front of her. "Everyone, quiet!" she shouted. Her sudden outburst startled them, and the chaotic scene died down into a comfortable silence. "I believe I'm under no obligation to answer any of your questions. Stop bothering us. And now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

"But, miss, we only want—"

"Get. Out. Of. My. Way." Sarah glared at the girl blocking her way. The girl quickly stopped asking questions and retreated two steps back. Sarah walked towards the door and pressed her finger on the biometric lock. A barely audible 'beep' followed and the automatic sliding doors opened.

One downside of these automatic doors is that they close at a snail's pace. The crowd tried to follow her, prompting her to turn around. She waved her phone in the air and put on a serious face. "If anyone follows me, I'll call the police. That counts as trespassing."

"Umm... isn't that the girl who attended the dinner party with Mr. Salva?" the newspaper guy murmured.

And then the crowd went wild.

She bolted into one of the two operational lifts as soon as the door closed. The lift stopped at the tenth floor, and as she stepped out, she noticed the other one coming up too. Danger signals flashed in her head. Something wasn't right! Someone must have buzzed those reporters in. She needed to warn Henry ASAP. In her haste, she almost collided with Henry walking towards her.
She grabbed his hand and dragged the confused Henry back into the house without any explanation. She slammed the door shut and exhaled. "Whew, that was close!"

"What are you doing?" Henry asked, his eyes narrowed and fists clenched. His tone was unusual and he looked like he was about to lose his shit. He held the door handle ready to open the door, but Sarah pulled him back.

"You absolutely cannot go out." She pressed the button on the camera at the door, and footage of a chaotic hallway full of reporters carrying their cameras popped up. They were rushing towards their door.

"I'm STARVING and I have to get BREAKFAST!"

Sarah shrank back from his glare. "H-how, how about we order... a takeout?" Henry placed his hand on the wall above her head and looked her in the eye without saying anything. Sarah looked like she was about to cry, "Fine, I'll distract them. Please leave through the kitchen door." With that, she opened the door and stepped into the chaos.

He did not go anywhere. He watched those reporters harass her with questions. They shoved their microphones at her, and everyone yelled their questions at her in no particular order. Her voice was drowned out by the shouting of all the other people present. She crossed her arms over her head as the scene overwhelmed her.

Henry's stomach churned from the camera shutters and camera flashes. Cold beads of sweat formed in every pore on his body. His poor heart slammed against his ribcage as intense fear overcame him. What if they hurt her? No. He couldn't let her deal with the chaos alone. He had to get her out of there. He counted to three, opened the door, and yanked Sarah into the room before slamming the door.

He held his stomach with both hands and dashed into the bathroom.

"Henry, what is wrong?" Sarah screamed and followed him.

"I want to throw up."

"Are you unwell?" She rubbed his back as he dry heaved. "Henry?" panic filled her voice when her hand touched his sweat-soaked shirt. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

No answer.

He tried to get up, but his body refused to cooperate. She helped him up, letting him lean against her. He only managed to take two steps forward before his legs gave way.

"Henry?" She screamed as he collapsed on the floor, unconscious.