“You heard what?” Adonis sat upright on the sofa, he was astonished. “That you needed to do a fake marriage, aren’t you Adonis Marcellus?” The lady said his full name while looking at him confusedly. . Adonis was so surprised, he was a little tipsy a few seconds ago but on hearing this, the tipsiness had vanished. Who the hell spread the news that he was looking for someone to fake a marriage with, only one person knew about it and it was Laurel. Was she trying to help or what? “Do not say my name out loud for fucks sake, did Laurel send you here?” Adonis dropped the bottle of whiskey on the table in front of him, still shocked. Why would she even do this? Was she feeling guilty for rejecting him? But that isn’t possible, she wouldn’t want him to become the heir if she was also dating a possible heir. “Laurel? Of course not,” The lady looked a little more confused. “Who gave you this information exactly, tell me and then we can talk business,” Adonis’s full attention was now fo
Katerina was sitting on a chair backing Lilian, so fortunately, Lilian couldn’t see her reaction to that question. She was knitting baby clothes to pass time just like her own mother used too. She’d actually said she was going to visit Tony, but the reason she wanted to visit Tony had already been accomplished, unknown to Lilian that she already secretly visited him. “I will, when the child is born. I want him to know whether it’s a boy or a girl.” Katerina was wise enough to quickly think of a response and it was really a good one. “Really, I thought you were joking! Does he really deserve to know all of this? I’m still thinking it’s not a good idea. I don’t really have the time for court issues right now.” Lilian voiced her concerns, she knew what Tony was capable of, he could drag this. “You’re overreacting, Lily. How’d you expect a poor man to afford a lawyer, besides you’re the woman; you’ve higher chances of winning custody of the child, especially when they see that the fat
They arrived at the Marcellus family home and Rose was astounded by how beautiful the mansion looked. It made her realise just how wealthy this man was. She wasn’t going to settle for less when the time came for her to collect her money for the job. In no time they were already inside the Mansion, heading to Winconstin’s favourite lounge. Adonis could see Walker from the glass wall, he was always there. Rose took a deep breath as they stepped into the lounge as if leaving Rose Mack behind the door and bringing up Selena Simpsons. She plastered a vibrant smile on her face and tried to look a little bit shy. Although Rose was never shy, never! Winconstin was not expecting anyone, nor did Walker; so it was surprising for them to see Adonis walking into the lounge with a woman by his side. He was really bent on pleasing his father, Walker thought, rising from the sofa he was occupying. He allowed them to sit while he went and stood behind Winconstin. On seeing Winconstin, Rose was s
“Just the person I was waiting for,” Rose murmured to herself as she grabbed her cell phone and answered the call. “Hey hi, how’s it going, have you met him yet?” Lilian’s voice sounded low, but it didn’t really occur to Rose who was so much distracted by the cash in front of her. “I’m counting the bonus he just gave me a few minutes ago, why the hell didn’t you tell me it was Winconstin son?” Rose placed the phone on speaker while she continued counting the money. It wasn’t as if she wanted to confirm if it was complete, she just felt like counting it. “I didn’t think it was necessary. He already gave you money?” Lilian sounded surprised from the other end. “This is just a bonus for my acting, we’ve passed the first stage, his father loves me. The next stage is the wedding, you don’t need to worry, he has agreed on the condition.” Rose gave Lilian the update she needed to hear. “Wow, that was fast. He must really mean business, thank you, Rose. Enjoy the money and make sure you
Tony pulled up at the junction that led to Laurel’s house in his Mercedes, he was surprised not to find her there. He sighed and quickly picked up his phone and dialled her number. Women can be so slow because of their makeup, he thought. Even though she’d tell him she was ready, she wasn’t here yet, and he understood. But something seemed wrong when the call came back that Laurel’s phone was switched off. Tony was totally confused, he just spoke to her a few minutes ago, and there was no way her phone could have died, or did it? He tried calling the number again and it was the same. Tony reversed and swerved into Laurel’s street, heading for her house. It wasn’t so far from the junction, he parked right in front of her small apartment and came down from the car. He was dressed in his normal casual wear; Jean, sneakers and a T-shirt. The only thing one would notice that seemed expensive was his wrist watch and the dark shades he had on. He headed straight for the door, still feeli
“Sorry, I’ve to take this,” he told the officer before answering the call. “Hey, it’s me Adonis, how are you doing?” Adonis spoke from the other end of the phone, sounding happy. It wasn’t someone Tony was expecting, and he definitely wasn’t in the mood for any step brother hangout shit. Laurel was nowhere to be found and it was starting to seem scary. “I’m not in a good mood, Adonis. Let’s talk when this is over, please.” Tony replied, he would have hung up the call after saying what he said but, he didn’t want to be rude. They had started on a good note, it’d only be wise if it continued like that. “What’s wrong, brother?” Adonis’s voice sounded like he actually cared and wanted to know what had gone wrong. Tony hesitated, he wasn’t sure if he should break the news to family yet, he knew it was going to spread like wild fire and it would get to Sir Winconstin in no time. However, on second thought, maybe Adonis might be able to help. “We were supposed to be on our way to Laur
“Tony’s fiancée, I kept her away, so you could do your wedding first. We’re going to keep her away for a month, if Tony really loves her, he’d continue searching for her. Your father should be dead in less than a month, by the end of the month; you’d have become the heir.” Gina paused what she was doing and explained her plan to Adonis with a broad smile. “That was you?” Adonis was totally starstruck.“I just finished a call with Tony and he said he couldn’t find Laurel. Oh, how I hate this. Hope she won't be hurt?” Adonis couldn’t deny the fact that his mother’s plan was brilliant. So he had no reason to complain. Although it didn’t sit well with him, it was for his own benefit. He really thought Laurel would be at Lilian’s, he remembered his mother saying she’d handle some part of the plan, but he never knew it was about abducting Laurel. If he knew, he wouldn’t have told Tony that he wanted them to have a same day marriage. “She’s in one of the houses I bought close to the beach
Laurel was kind of relieved that at least someone had come to explain what was happening to her. She hoped to hear some good news, the man seemed very calm and it was like he wasn’t speaking to someone who had just been abducted. Whatever the case, she was anxious to know what this is about. “The first thing you should know is, you’ve actually been abducted. This isn’t a joke or a prank by anyone.” Gerald began, clearing his throat. He still had the small smile on his face. Laurel sighed, she shouldn’t be too surprised by that, all she did was hope. This wasn’t Tony’s pranks, this was a serious issue and she was about to find out why. “However, I cannot tell you the reason why we abducted you as your main abductors want that to stay secret. What I can tell you is that they do not mean any harm. Which is why you were brought to such a beautiful house. Your abductors do not seek money and do not want anything, they just want you away for some time. You will be fed, clothed and given
“I’m closer to my death than I could ever be, I have chosen who the heir to my bulk of my inheritance is, and it will be read to you from my Will once I’m gone. Rest assured, everybody gets something. I must tell you this, none of my predecessors have shared the inheritance with their sons. I’m the first to do this, because of the complexity of my family. I do not want fighting between you two. Am I clear?” Winconstin narrated, coughing weakly after he had finished speaking. “Yes sir,” they both chorused. Adonis was disappointed, his anxiousness had just been postponed, he ran his hand through his hair as he grinded his teeth. Tony on the other hand heaved a sigh, this wasn’t really important to him now, although he was heartbroken that his father was dying, the fact that Laurel would be coming home soon made him so happy. “You two can go now and start the preparations for your wedding immediately,” Winconstin concluded, he so much hoped he’d be able to attend that wedding, because
“Laurel was abducted by my mother,” Adonis revealed, placing one hand on his forehead. He just had to do it because he couldn’t read minds, they might be in there and Tony would go on and spit out what he knew. Someone who had just accused him of Laurel’s abduction and was eager to see Winconstin, that was a subtle sign. He couldn’t take that sort of risk. Tony was genuinely shocked, he wasn’t faking it or anything. All his mind went to Adonis and no one else, to think that Gina would do such a thing for her son was so sick. Gina was the first person to yell about the inheritance issue when she heard of him. Tony just realised why violent she could be, he didn’t think she’d be able to go this far. “I had no idea she was going to do it, although to be honest with you, it was my idea but I just said it, I had no plans to implement it. Remember when I called you to ask if we could have our wedding on the same day?” Tony nodded positively, his shock showed clearly in his expression.
“Know what? For God’s sake.” Gina yelled, she was extremely tired and frustrated with Adonis naive attitude, it was becoming too much that she was starting to regret she ever did anything to help him become the heir. “Tony knows I was the one who abducted Laurel, he knows, he’s on his way here, father wants to see us both. We’re doomed.” Adonis approached the bed, pulling his tie loose. Gina sat upright on the bed, she was wearing a nightgown even though it wasn’t night yet, she didn’t seem surprised or shocked with what Adonis just revealed. “Take a chill pill, Adonis. All he did was accuse you, hope you haven’t agreed to his accusations?” Gina said, wondering why her son got so scared when he was a man. “I didn’t agree with his accusations, but I also didn’t ask him for evidence, even if he doesn’t have it yet. It’s only a matter of time before he does. I do not want my life ruined, Gina.” Adonis was beaming with anger right beside his mother’s bed. “It’s a bluff, Adonis. He ha
Adonis stared at Tony, his eyes popping out from their sockets, Tony had found out, but he wasn’t ready to give himself up just like that, as he stared at Adonis in the silence, he thought of the best response to give. Tony waited for a response, the look in Adonis’s eyes told him he had caught him by the tail, he wouldn’t deny it now. Just when they were both looking at each other, Adonis’s phone rang, giving him some sort of relief. He answered the phone while still staring at Tony, and Walker’s voice blared from the other end. “Your father needs to see you now, it’s urgent.” “Okay, I’m on my way.” Adonis responded and kept the cell phone back in his inner pocket. “I do not know what you’re talking about, Tony. How in the world can you accuse me of adopting Laurel.” Adonis scoffed and stood, buttoned up his blazers and walked towards the exit of the restaurant. Tony didn’t say a word, he knew it was him; Adonis wasn’t really good at lying, maybe he thought he was. He allowed A
Adonis glanced around until his eyes fell on Tony sitting at the far end of the medium sized restaurant. He was dressed like Adonis with the suit and everything, even with the shades, anyone who saw him would know he was wealthy. Adonis also came in his lamborghini, even though Tony had one he hadn’t driven it for one day. He preferred the Mercedes, it was a classy car, not like Lilian’s own in any way. Adonis walked briskly to the table Tony was occupying, drawing attention to himself, everyone's eyes were on him until he sat down. “You sure attract a lot of attention,” Tony chuckled lightly, glancing around. The people who were staring had started to go back to their business. “I can’t help it, and please do not mention my name out loud.” Adonis smiled broadly. He was still wondering why Tony called this meeting, he knew it would be more than just asking questions about family. Something was up and he could feel it. But he didn’t allow the anxiousness show on his expression, “I
Tony felt so much relief hearing that name, he fell on his knees right where he stood, his guards were confused, they wanted to help him up but he waved them off. “She didn’t speak for too long before a man collected the phone and told us that she was safe and that we have absolutely nothing to worry about.” Freedman added, he heaved a sigh and waited for Tony’s response. Winconstin and the detective were right, it was all an empty threat but it didn’t seem like it was though, especially for him. “I’m so glad she’s alive, the uncertainty was getting on my nerves. Was it a private number?” Tony asked, although they wouldn’t make such a mistake. He stood up and walked slowly, now he knew where he should go. “It was. Who do you think is doing this, Tony? Does she have any friend that is so jealous of her? For what reason is she being held?” Freedman’s tone was changing into a frustrated one. The questions just kept coming. Now that he knew his daughter was alive and well, but was he
The phone didn’t ring for five seconds before Tony picked up the call, and Katerina was surprised. Was he expecting a call? She thought. “Hello Katerina, not now please, I’m in the middle of a big problem.” Tony sounded disappointed from the other end. “Lilian just put to bed, that’s why I’m calling, it’s a girl.” Katerina reported the news afraid that Tony might hang up, she wanted to ask him what was really going on. “Oh! I’m really happy, Katerina, I guess our deal still stands?” Tony’s voice went from disappointed to surprised.“Yes, it does, but I wanted to ask you, why Laurel?” Katerina questioned, that was the main reason he called him. She could have broken the news to him any time, not immediately after Lilian gave birth. “I can’t answer that now, Katerina. We would talk about this when this issue on ground is over. Take care.” Tony replied and hung up the phone. Katerina sighed, glanced around the open space of the hospital before walking back into the building. She w
Gina walked slowly into the room, she had come all the way from the city just to see Laurel. Since her abduction, she hadn’t seen her physically, just through videos and pictures. Gina Marcellus wasn’t a very popular woman despite being the wife of the most popular and wealthiest man in the city, this was because everybody seemed to centre their attention on Winconstin, even now that he was retired and hardly comes out, he was still very relevant. However, because she wasn’t very popular, it didn't mean Gina could take chances, she had disguised like a normal person. She wasn’t wearing any expensive dress or jewellry and she didn’t even wear makeup which was what the media would recognize. She wore a skinny black Jean and boots, with a black jacket also, inside the jacket was nothing more than a tank top. It was the perfect disguise for someone who wasn’t really popular, she was also putting on a face cap that was turned backwards like she was a gangster. Laurel moved to the edge o
Katerina was sitting at the dining table knitting baby clothes when she heard Lilian loud screams, it frightened the hell out of her, immediately making her heart start beating faster than usual. Katerina dropped the wool and knitting tool on the dining table and hurried to Lilian’s room. When she got there, Lilian was trying to sit upright on the bed while giving out sounds of pain. When Katerina saw her, she knew exactly what had happened and that was why she was here. But there was a problem, one she never thought of until this moment. Lilian never thought of it either or maybe it skipped her mind, Katerina couldn’t drive! “Calm down, Lily, breathe.” Katerina said, helping her down from the bed. Katerina flung Lilian’s right arm around her neck and held her by the waist as they walked slowly towards the door.They’d have to find a taxi, but it’d be harder at night. Katerina wished she had thought of that earlier. “We’d have to find a taxi, Lily. I can’t drive.” Katerina reveale