“You made my job easier by checking into that dump with hungry employees that are willing to sell their souls for money,” the woman continued. “I think now you understand why rich people go to the top hotels. It’s not all about bragging or extravagance. Security matters. When you have money, you don’t just go anywhere. It seems your daddy never taught you that before giving you a chunk of money.”“How do you know that he gave me money?” Rodney asked, giving the woman a quizzical look. He didn’t understand how she knew so much. Was someone in Alberto’s circle snitching on him? If so, that was a good thing. Served him right. He hoped that person could snitch on him to the police. If that happened, Rodney would forget about getting revenge on his father.“How did I know that you had travelled to New York?” she said with a smug look. “Research, is something you do before implementing a plan. I have been waiting for a long time to get back at that bastard. It has been years, and I have nev
“I told you,” Rodney said. “I’m nothing to that man. If you want revenge, get the children he loves.”“We would, but unfortunately, they are not idiots like you. They don’t go anywhere without guards. They don’t get into taxis, and neither do they check in to cheap rundown hotels.”“There’s the little one,” the man said.“No, leave Lyra out of this. She is an innocent person.”Ariadne sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she paced around the room in obvious distress. Her plans seemed to have fallen through before he even started. “The boy is right. We have no business ruining a child’s life. Marcus was that age, too. I will not touch that kid.”“Who was Marcus and what happened to him?”Suddenly the woman appeared next to Rodney and slapped him hard. “You are not here to ask questions about anything. And if I hear you say that name again, I swear I will kill you.”“Calm down, darling. Let’s go upstairs and come up with a plan.”“Wait, what if we torture him and send Alberto the v
As time went on, the gunshots increased in frequency. Rodney was torn between leaving the basement to find Harvey and staying to protect himself. Since the man had untied one of his hands, he used it to undo the ropes wound around the other. He proceeded to untie his legs that had been tied together. When he was finally free, he stood up and ran to the door. The shooting had stopped, but his heart was still beating fast. Rodney slowly opened the door and looked out. His lips parted when he saw a body on the floor. Although he could not see the face in that angle, he could tell it was the man who had spoken to him. He turned back into the room and locked the door. Since he had no idea what awaited him upstairs, he decided to remain until everything settled. However a light bulb went off in his head and he thought of the police. If they found him there, he would be dead meat. If the police found Alberto Roco’s son in a house with dead bodies, they’d definitely think he was the shooter
His hand found Harvey’s as he turned and stared at the door which opened to reveal to a woman. She wheeled in a room service cart as Rodney’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Why didn’t you knock?” Rodney asked her. The woman paused the cart and glanced at the door. “Because he told me not to.” “Who?” Rodney asked. Harvey’s footsteps could be heard approaching the door. Everyone in the room stared at the door way, waiting for the man to reach. He stepped in. Rodney’s face fell when he saw the last person he wanted to see in the world striding into the room. Alberto Roco even had the guts to smile. “What the hell are you doing here?” Rodney asked, glaring at his father. “Not pleased to see me?” the man said, tilting his head. “Even after I rescued you? The police were hot on your trail. Eventually they would have got you if my men hadn’t got there in time.” “You rescued us after putting us in danger. It was because of you that Ariadne kidnapped us. You killed her son. You are the
Rodney was extremely glad to hear from someone who warmed his weary heart. Due to all the complications he had encountered, she had slipped from his mind. “Lilly,” he said. “I don’t think your friend likes me very much,” Lilly said in a sweet tone. Rodney chuckled. “Not really. He just doesn’t trust people easily.” “What does he think? That I’m a scammer?” “Yeah, he does. He’s crazy sometimes.” “What if he’s right?” she asked. Rodney smiled. “Let’s just hope he’s not. Otherwise, he would never stop teasing me about it.” “Why do you think you can trust me? Is it because of my looks?” “Shouldn’t I trust you?” She laughed. Rodney liked her laughter. It was sweet, low and hearty. An image of her smile popped in his mind, and he realised he wanted to see her again. “Did you arrive in new York?” “Yes, in fact i have just landed. That’s why I called you. Where are you staying?” “I actually have no idea,” Rodney said and looked around. He picked up a brochure that was lying on the
An hour later, Rodney and Harvey were in a taxi, on their way back to the hotel. Rodney was mildly irritated by Harvey’s insistence that Lilly was a con woman who wanted to scam him. He didn’t feel like having a conversation with him and it seemed Harvey didn’t want to either. He was reading through news articles to see if anything had been published about the shootout on their first day in New York. Apparently, the CCTV Footage had been very grainy so nothing was known about the boys whose luggage had been found in the taxi. The taxi had described their looks to the police. Rodney laughed when he saw the sketches. They were so off. No one could recognize them. They returned and had a good night’s sleep. Morning came with a lot of stress. As they had breakfast in a restaurant a few blocks away from the hotel, they went through reviews of several real estate agents.“You know you can call your father to give you the contact of a good one, right?” Harvey said. “So we don’t have to suf
Rodney was told that he was supposed to fill in some forms to make a name change petition. He had to provide proof of citizenship and identity with relevant documents. Unfortunately, he was told his name couldn’t be legally changed in New York until he had lived there for at least six months. As they checked out several houses, he decided that he would lease the house under Harvey’s name. When he finally got his new name, he would update or move somewhere else. “This is the best so far,” Harvey commented. Harvey looked around the apartment, studying everything in it. He went to the window and looked out at the busy city. “I like it.” “That’s settled then,” Andrea Cruz, the real estate said happily. “We’ll go through everything and I will talk to the owner. It’s late now so we may have to finish up everything tomorrow. I assure you that you won’t regret it here. I only show good houses to my clients and never hide anything.” “I hope so,” Harvey said. Rodney sighed and returned t
As the taxi drove them back home, Rodney couldn’t stop thinking of how Lilly had conveniently said it was time for them to leave right after he asked an important question. Lilly had not been looking at Carrie. How could she have known that Carrie wanted to leave at that very moment? He was staring to question her but did not want to voice his thoughts to Harvey. He didn’t want to hear the ‘I told you so’s’. He was sure Harvey couldn’t wait to hit him with them. The next day, they were able to get into their apartment. Andrea gave them a contact of someone who could help them get everything they need to furnish the apartment in only a few hours. Once the lease was signed and money paid, Rodney and Harvey moved in. it took about two hours for them to get most of the essentials, they even paid to own some of the decoys. When everything was done, the boys celebrated with drinks they had picked up earlier. “We have a home!” Harvey yelled. “Stop yelling. The neighbours might get us kic