Prince Harming

Two years had passed since Leski’s father lost his fight with colon cancer. She was still devastated by the sudden loss which seemed to consume her every thought. Even minor movement to scratch her arm felt like it exhausted any ounce of energy she tried to gather to move on with life. Move on. The concept of moving on from her father’s death was foreign to her. This wasn’t the first time Leski experienced loss though. She was well acquainted with coping in spite of grief. She overcame the sorrow from various failed relationships, being laid-off from a job she loved, and making the kind decision to end the life of her beloved cat, Moles, whose less than nine lives also battled cancer. Leski was surrounded by friends and family who showed how much they loved her on a regular basis, but no one’s best gesture could compare to the devotion her father showed her in his role as a parent. Her fondest memory was her dad calling her every Monday morning before her alarm buzzed in annoyance. He would remind her that life was full of possibility and she had the power to manifest her dreams. He always encouraged her to remain optimistic, focus on solutions instead of problems, and find the lesson in failures. After 36 years of her father’s influence and guidance, she developed a strong foundation of self-worth and kindness towards others. In all the ways Leski’s father showed love to her and others in the community, she never expected someone so strong would physically deteriorate right before her eyes. She was thankful to have so many great memories to reflect on, but his absence was a void she could not fill. Self-help books littered her bedroom floor, her voicemail box reached its maximum capacity for messages, and an abundance of text messages were ignored. Grief became a constant friend who understood her pain and kept her a prisoner in a cell of heartache.

Leski considered herself to be very fortunate after inheriting her father’s drop-shipping business which ran on its own, thanks to her father’s business savvy who employed third-parties that operated the routine daily business activities. It wasn’t unusual for the business to generate thousands of dollars every day. This gave Leski the luxury to mourn in bed for months before being forced by her family to make an effort at living again. Leski’s mother often visited her to make sure her daughter was doing better, but their relationship was never as close as it was with her Leski’s father. Leski could hear the doorbell ring several times but made the choice to pretend as if she didn’t hear anything. After attempting to hide under her comforter, she could hear a key being jiggled into her front door’s locks. “Ugh! Not today Mom!” Leski’s mother entered her room rolling a dark brown box that appeared to look like a treasure chest. It peaked Leski’s interest because she remembered seeing the chest in her father’s office as a child. Leski’s mother explained she was purging her life of old memories and no longer wanted to hold onto things that made her feel sad. Leski assumed her mother was referring to mourning her father and reminiscing on their life together, but little did she know, the contents of the chest were the source of her grief.

Leski’s mom left the chest in the middle of her bedroom floor and left her apartment without offering any further explanation for her delivery. Leski jumped out of bed eager to learn what information the chest safeguarded about her beloved father. As she worked the skeleton key into the keyhole, she pried the chest open to find an assortment of rare coins with a certificate valuing them at $20,000, a photo album, a little black book emblazoned with the word Moleskine® on the back, and a handwritten note. Leski’s grief immediately escaped her body as she read the note, replaced with anger that her father was a fraud. The little black book contained confessions of embezzlement crimes her father had committed within the company she inherited, and Leski was now liable for it.