Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Nora smiled. “I came today because I’ve already spoken with the police. I understand your husband is the family’s sole breadwinner, but his abuse of your child could land him in prison.”

Nina Young’s mother was clearly skeptical. “Prison? How is that possible? She’s our child—my own child. Do the police get to tell us how we discipline her? I’m the one who gave birth to her.”

“Yesterday, you wouldn’t even admit to hitting the child, but now you’re admitting it yourself.” Nora gave a humorless smile. “Just because you gave birth to her, does that make her your property? Even if the police don’t intervene, I will. And your husband won’t be getting out. Believe it or not.”

“You’re just a director. Do you think your family runs the police department?”

“Of course not. But I’m making my stance clear today. For as long as you refuse to see the error of your ways, your daughter will not return home, and your husband will not be released. You don’t earn any money yourself; life is going to be very difficult. I mean what I say. If you don’t believe me, just try me.”

“I just don’t get it. Why are you sticking your nose in other people’s business? Just send the child back, and your school won’t have any more trouble, right?”

Nora stood up. “I’m not just a director; I’m about to be a mother of three myself. And I hope this baby in my belly is a daughter. There’s a special bond between a mother and her daughter, you know. It’s different from with a son. But as a mother, I cannot and will not understand how another mother—her biological mother—could abuse her own four-year-old daughter over some ridiculous, archaic beliefs. She’s so little. What great wrong could she have possibly committed? If I didn’t know about this, it would be one thing. But I do know, and I have to get justice for this child. If you can’t treat her properly, then she’s better off not being with you at all. Do you have any idea how much she just wants to be loved by you? To grow up feeling safe and happy? Is it really that hard to show your own child a little affection?”

Her speech left Nina Young’s mother speechless.

Nora spoke up. “I’ll give you one week. Think about it. When you were little, did your parents treat you this way? You were a girl once, too. Call me when you’ve figured things out.”

With that, Nora left.

For three days straight, Nina Young’s mother didn’t come to the school.

On the fourth day, she finally appeared, still holding her son.

She found Nora and said bluntly, “I promise I won’t hit Nina anymore, and I’ll make sure her father doesn’t either. Please, let my husband out.”

“How am I supposed to believe you?”

“I can write a formal guarantee for the police.”

“Alright then. I’ll take you to the police station myself.”

In the end, at the police station, Nina Young’s mother wrote a formal statement, pledging that if she ever hit Nina again, she would accept a prison sentence.

The police lectured both her and her husband again, warning them about the detrimental effects of child abuse.

Nina Young’s mother and father promised over and over that it would never happen again, admitting they were wrong.

Only then was the father released.

That afternoon, Nina Young’s father was released.

He came to the school and sincerely admitted his mistake to Nina, promising he would never hit her again.

At first, Nina was terrified of her father, but she eventually agreed to leave the school and go home with him.

Nora breathed a sigh of relief, but she was still worried. She had the Men in Black monitor the family, just to see if they would abuse the child again.

Around nine o’clock that night, one of the Men in Black called. He said that from outside the Young family’s apartment, he could hear blood-curdling screams. It was Nina.

Nora knew at once that the parents hadn’t been sincere at all. She immediately got out of bed. Quentin Grant went with her, and they drove to the Young family’s apartment building.

When they got upstairs, the Man in Black reported, “The crying stopped abruptly about ten minutes ago.”

Nora had an ominous feeling as she knocked on the door.

When Nina’s father saw who it was, he immediately panicked.

“Where’s Nina?”

“She… she’s asleep…”

“I don’t believe you for a second.” Nora pushed past him and walked inside, calling out, “Nina Young! Nina! It’s Director Nora!”

There was no answer. Nora pushed open the bedroom door.

Nina’s mother was in her pajamas, holding her son and rocking him to sleep.

She pushed open another bedroom door; it was empty.

“Where is she?”

“She’s sleeping! What are you doing here? Is this a home invasion?”

Nora grew frantic. “I’m asking you, where is Nina! She has to be *somewhere* if she’s sleeping! Let me see her!”

Quentin Grant pushed open the bathroom door, and his face instantly darkened. “Nora, in here.”

Nora rushed over to look, her heart twisting into a painful knot.

Nina’s tiny body was curled up in a corner of the bathroom, lying facedown and completely still.

“Nina!” She rushed forward and gathered the small body in her arms, realizing it was already cold.

Nora lifted her. Nina’s body was limp in her embrace, her head lolling lifelessly in the crook of Nora’s arm.

“Nina!”

Nora looked at Quentin. “Quentin, call 911 now! Police and an ambulance!”

Quentin nodded. “Already on it. Let’s wait for the police to arrive.”

Hearing this, Nina’s father practically pissed himself in fear. He tried to bolt for the door but was blocked by the Men in Black.

They waited for the paramedics, keeping Nina’s parents contained. The ambulance arrived quickly. Quentin took Nina from Nora’s arms and rushed downstairs. A paramedic lifted the girl’s shirt, revealing horrifying welts from a clothes hanger. The child was unconscious.

Nora went with them to the hospital, where Nina was rushed into emergency care.

As they wheeled her in, Nora saw that Nina’s lips had turned purple.

‘She was deeply worried, terrified that the child wouldn’t pull through.’

Even Quentin felt these parents were despicable, completely unworthy of the title.

“Quentin, do you think… will she make it?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“Can you even call them parents? At the station, they swore up and down, wrote a guarantee… they said all the right things. But a leopard can’t change its spots.” As she spoke, Nora felt less hatred and more a profound sense of pity.

Pity for Nina, born into such a violent family. Pity for the ignorant parents. And pity, too, for the son who had been doted on from the moment he was born.

The light above the operating room door suddenly went out. A chill shot through Nora; usually, the light only goes out that quickly when resuscitation fails.

‘Was it the same for Nina?’

A moment later, the operating room doors opened, and a doctor emerged.

“Doctor, how is she? The child…”

“Mrs. Grant, I’m so sorry. The wounds on her body from the hanger weren’t what killed her. The fatal injury was to her head. It’s clear she suffered a severe blow to the head that caused catastrophic brain damage. We couldn’t save her.”