His words left everyone in shock. How could he say something as grave as that so easily?Imelda searched the empress' face for any form of disagreement but all it held was conviction."Oh, no," she whispered.Jacob and Damien visibly relaxed into their seats. This was it. They had him just where they wanted him. He had dug his own grave and he wouldn't even need anyone to push him into it. It was certain. He was going to fail and they would personally kick him out of the family and he would go back to wherever he came from."If that's all, I'd like to be excused, grandma," Theo said and stood up when the empress nodded her approval.After him, the rest of the crowd followed suit, leaving only the empress in the large living room as she thought of ways to help her grandson come out victorious.She soon decided that she was going to have to sit back and watch. She had put him under Kim's care so she was sure he was in good hands.She said a silent prayer for her grandson before retiring

"What took you so long?" Chase asked with a raised eyebrow when Kim returned to the office."Oh, um…I had something bad for dinner," Kim replied and chuckled awkwardly, subtly wiping his clammy palm down his pants. "Are you ready for your big presentation? They will be here anytime," Kim asked him."Yes," Chase said firmly. "Let's go over the details one more time," Chase told him with a hidden agenda."Sure," Kim clapped his hands together and sat down as Chase went over the details of the contract he had prepared for the foreign investors.He had asked Kim to sit and listen to him present, in a bid to let him redeem himself. Kim had been very helpful to him when the empress sent him to Theo back in Piliste and it would be sad if Theo had to do something drastic to him because of his betrayal. But as Kim nodded his affirmation to every nonsense Theo said, Theo confirmed that Kim had already chosen his side of the game."Perfect," Kim beamed and wiped sweat away from his forehead. He

The empress couldn't wait for the end of the promised two weeks to make the announcement. She already had the answer she needed. He had not only doubled the company's monthly revenue, he had raised it by three times and not only that, he had entered a life-long contract with Vladimir, the only person that competed with her in business in the whole world. Vladimir wasn't a man to be easily moved, so for him to give Theo a standing ovation, it was no small feat.Her announcement came with an uproar and surprised gasps. Everyone knew that the empress had lost her first child and his wife to a gruesome accident and that their little two-year old was nowhere to be found and was tagged dead, so it came as a shock to one and to all.Plus the fact that the position of vice president had remained unoccupied since Gerald's death and now, his son fit the shoe perfectly."I thought as much. It could only be Alcantra blood running through the veins of such an outstanding young man," Vladimir said

The room was in a deathly silence and the only sound that broke that silence was the sound of Kim's body dropping to the ground with a loud thud. Jacob stood with a cold look on his face that mirrored Theo's. While Theo was scared of what just happened, he couldn't show it, instead, he reached for the box of paper towels that sat in the middle of the table, pulled out a few pieces and handed it to the empress, while he vaguely thought if that was the reason the box of paper towels were kept there."Thank you, son," the empress said as she collected the tissue from him and wiped her knife clean. "Guards," she raised her voice an octave higher and soon, three hefty men were barreling into the office.Theo stood there, his eyes transfixed on Kim's body that lay on the floor in a pool of his own blood. It still seemed like a dream to him. "Clean this mess," the empress said coldly as she turned to leave the room. She was almost at the door when she stopped again and turned on her heels.

"Fuck!" Jacob growled when he entered his office and in less than a second, he sent the laptop on his desk flying across the room.His chest heaved up and down rapidly as he tried to fathom what had just happened.He growled again and swiped his hand, sending all the papers and files on his desk filing everywhere.He went behind his table and sat down and buried his head in his hands."Dad," Damien rushed into the office. He was coming to ask his father about the outcome of the meeting but when his eyes landed on the whole mess in the office, his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. "Dad….what happened?" He dared to ask as he inched closer, even though deep down, he already knew the answer to his question.Jacob was too defeated to say anything, instead he kept his head buried in his hands and Damien thought he hadn't heard his question."Dad, talk to me," he repeated and this time, he was already standing in front of his father.Jacob finally raised up his head and the first thin